Smoked Jerk Chicken Legs with Maple Pit Beans and Creamy Slaw
One of my favourite things to make on the bbq is jerk chicken. Jerk chicken may not be the first thing that comes to your mind when you’re planning your backyard bbq, but to me it’s a great addition to the menu. Jerk chicken is typically made over charcoal and is such a flavourful way to make chicken, so why not make it the next time your fire up the bbq and switch things up from your tired old bottled bbq sauce. What makes this recipe even more tasty is that I smoked my chicken first before hitting it on the grill for a beautiful sear. The smoke and spice from the jerk sauce go so well together and paired with sweet pit beans and a cool, creamy slaw makes for a great meal. It’s perfect for any backyard bbq, whether it’s for just a couple of people or you want to double or triple the recipe for a bigger get-together.
Making jerk sauce is pretty straightforward and I recommend grilling off some of your ingredients before blending them together. I grilled my green onions, garlic and scotch bonnet peppers. I used four peppers because I like the heat, but you can adjust this as needed, up or down, based on your spice tolerance. I also added grilled pineapple to my jerk sauce for a bit of extra sweetness and some nice caramelization once it hits that plancha. Once that’s all grilled off, add them to a bowl with fresh ginger, soy sauce, salt, fresh thyme, lemon juice, cinnamon, and of course allspice and then blend together.
For the pit beans you can use pretty much any canned white bean, but I used butter beans. To start them off you need a healthy amount of butter and some chopped onions, stir in your beans and then season with paprika and garlic salt. I used balsamic vinegar for some acid and maple syrup. Let those cook down and reduce, then add in more liquid to keep it going and then brown sugar for additional sweetness. Such a delicious side for your jerk chicken.
The slaw is super simple to make and I think is a necessary component of any jerk chicken meal since the coolness from the slaw helps balance out the spice from the jerk. I decided to make a carrot slaw, but feel free to use cabbage instead or a mix of cabbage and carrot. I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over my shredded carrots and green onion to start to help break them down a bit, discarded any liquid and then mixed in sour cream instead of mayo to add the creaminess, season with salt. It’s so easy to whip together and that’s why I love this slaw recipe. If you want to find out how to make my Smoked Jerk Chicken Legs with Pit Beans and Creamy Slaw, keep reading or jump to the full recipe.
Preheat your smoker to 275F. Drizzle your chicken legs with canola oil and season with Alchemy Green Rub. Place your chicken legs in the smoker for about 20 minutes.
To start your pit beans, put your cast iron pan on the plancha and add your butter. Chop your onion and once the butter is melted, add the onions to the pan and stir.
Add your beans to the pan and mix. Add in your paprika, garlic salt, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, stir to combine and allow to cook and reduce.
For your jerk sauce, add your pineapple, green onion, scotch bonnet peppers and fresh garlic to the plancha, let cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip.
Once all the ingredients are nicely charred and slightly softened, remove from the grill. Chop up your pineapple and green onions and them put in a bowl or large measuring cup, along with the scotch bonnet peppers and garlic.
Peel and roughly chop your fresh ginger and add to the bowl. Chop your fresh thyme and add to the bowl, then pour in the soy sauce, juice from two lemons, salt, allspice and cinnamon.
Using an immersion hand blender, blend all the ingredients together until combined, but keeping it thick.
The liquid from the pit beans should have reduced, so pour in about one cup of water and stir, allow to continue cooking, another 5-10 minutes.
Then, add in your brown sugar to the beans, mix and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced again. Remove the beans from the heat so they don’t dry out.
Remove your chicken legs from the smoker and spread a layer of your jerk sauce on all sides. Place back in the smoker for another 10 minutes.
Take the chicken legs out of the smoker again and place directly on the plancha to sear. Add more jerk sauce onto your chicken legs and allow to cook 2-3 minutes then flip, add more jerk sauce to the other side and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes.
To make your carrot slaw, finely chop your carrots and add into a bowl. Chop your green onion and reserve about 1 tsp of green onion for garnish. Add in the chopped green onion to the bowl with the carrots. Squeeze the juice from one lemon onto your carrots and green onion, allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes and then drain the liquid.
Add in your sour cream to the carrots and green onions, season with salt and mix to combine.
To plate, move your pit beans over to one side of the cast iron. Place your chicken legs on the other side of the pan, add in your carrot slaw next to the chicken and garnish with the reserved chopped green onions.
And now for the full recipe...
Smoked Jerk Chicken Legs with Maple Pit Beans and Creamy Slaw
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
3 chicken legs
Canola oil
Alchemy Green Rub
For the beans:
1 can butter beans
½ white onion
¼ cup butter
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup water
For the jerk sauce:
2 pineapple rings
3 stalks green onion
4 scotch bonnet peppers
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp fresh thyme
2 lemons
4 tbsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
For the carrot slaw:
½ large carrot
1 stalk green onion
2 tbsp sour cream
½ lemon
Salt
How to Make Smoked Jerk Chicken Legs with Pit Beans and Creamy Slaw:
Preheat your smoker to 275F.
Drizzle your chicken legs with canola oil and season with Alchemy Green Rub. Place your chicken legs in the smoker for about 20 minutes.
To start your pit beans, put your cast iron pan on the plancha and add your butter. Chop your onion and once the butter is melted, add your onions to the pan and stir. Add your beans to the pan and mix. Add in your paprika, garlic salt, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, stir to combine and allow to cook and reduce.
For your jerk sauce, add your pineapple, green onion, scotch bonnet peppers and fresh garlic to the plancha, let cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip. Once all the ingredients are nicely charred and slightly softened, remove from the grill. Chop up your pineapple and green onions and put in a bowl or large measuring cup, along with the scotch bonnet peppers and garlic. Peel and roughly chop your fresh ginger and add to the bowl. Chop your fresh thyme and add to the bowl, then pour in the soy sauce, juice from two lemons, salt, allspice and cinnamon. Using an immersion hand blender, blend all the ingredients together until combined, but keeping it thick.
The liquid from the pit beans should have reduced, so pour in about 1 cup of water and stir, allow to continue cooking, another 5-10 minutes. Then, add in your brown sugar, mix and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced again. Remove the beans from the heat so they don’t dry out.
Remove your chicken legs from the smoker and spread a layer of your jerk sauce on all sides. Place back in the smoker for another 10 minutes. Take the chicken legs out of the smoker again and place on the plancha to sear. Add more jerk sauce onto your chicken legs and allow to cook 2-3 minutes then flip, add more jerk sauce to the other side and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes.
To make your carrot slaw, finely chop your carrots and add them to a bowl. Chop your green onion and reserve about 1 tsp for garnish, add the rest into the bowl with the carrots. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the carrots and green onion, mix and allow to sit a few minutes to start to break down a bit. Pour out any liquid that has accumulated then add in your sour cream and season with salt and stir.
To plate, move your pit beans over to one side of the cast iron. Place your chicken legs on the other side of the pan, add in your carrot slaw next to the chicken and garnish with the reserved chopped green onions.
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