Tropical Roasted Chicken

Talk about sweet, tangy, sticky goodness, this Tropical Roasted Chicken has it all. Rubbed with a delicious spice blend and roasted over pineapple and mangoes, it’s basted with a spicy glaze for dinner in an hour!

What is Tropical Roasted Chicken?

It all starts with a spice blend rubbed all over the chicken. Made using ground coriander, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, kosher salt and white pepper.

The chicken is quickly seared breast side down in a pan to help cut the roasting time and is either cut in half or spatchcocked (laid open) and roasted over pineapple, mangoes and limes.

A glaze is made using pineapple juice, vinegar, paprika and other ingredients to baste the chicken after roasting. So amazing!

What is Spatchcock Chicken?

A spatchcock chicken (“butterflied”) is a technique used to remove the backbone and flatten the chicken for a more even cooking in less time than roasting it whole, ensuring a juicy chicken with crispy skin. Check out how I spatchcock a chicken in the video below.

To start, be sure to have the chicken on a clean cutting surface breast side down. Starting at either the tail end or the neck area, use sharp kitchen scissors or poultry shears, and cut along each side of the backbone (cutting through the rib bones) as you go towards the other end and remove the backbone.

Discard the backbone or freeze for soup stock.

Flip the chicken over and press down hard OR, after removing the back bone, spread the chicken out and turn over. Flatten the breastbone using the heel of your hand so that the meat is butterflied and all one thickness.

Spatchcock Tip:

If it doesn’t lay flat do this – In the center area near the neck there will be a triangle of cartilage right where the breastbone starts (see my finger pointing to it in the photo below). Using a sharp knife, cut down a quarter inch and spread the cut area open to reveal the breast bone.

What does Spatchcocking a Chicken do?

By flattening out the chicken, you’re exposing the legs to a higher heat, helping them cook faster than the breasts which results in a juicy meat. It also ensures crisper skin and is much faster to cook than traditional whole roasting. Check out my BBQ Spatchcock Chicken recipe for another version using this technique.

The chicken I used for this dish ended up being so big, and since I wasn’t grilling on the BBQ which has more space than the casserole dish I used, I ended up cutting the chicken in two beautiful halves and laid each on top of the tropical fruit prior to roasting.

The pineapple fruit caramelizes as does the mango slices. The lime slices can be discarded, but serve the roasted pineapple and mango with the glazed chicken.

The glaze is the perfect balance of sweet, tangy and spicy using pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, paprika and serrano chile slices. I use two serranos, but feel free to cut back on the heat and use one if you prefer. Enjoy!

Tropical Roasted Chicken

This Tropical Roasted Chicken has it all. Rubbed with a delicious spice blend and roasted over pineapple and mangoes, it's then basted with a spicy glaze. Adapted from Bon Appetit.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: American, Western

Keyword: roasted pineapple, tropical roasted chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 1136kcal

Author: Kevin Is Cooking

Ingredients

• 4 lb chicken (See Note 1)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 fresh pineapple halved, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 2 mangos sliced
• 2 limes quartered

Spice Blend

• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Glaze

• 6 oz pineapple juice small can or fresh
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 4 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 serrano chile sliced

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut up the pineapple, mango and limes and set aside. Mix together the kosher salt, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, white pepper and cayenne in a small bowl.
• Either use or cut the whole chicken in half or spatchcock (See Note and watch video).
  
• Rub chicken with spice mixture all over, pressing to adhere.
• Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Cook chicken, breast side down, until browned and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a roasting pan with pineapple arranged on bottom in pan. Place chicken, skin side up, on top, then add mango and lime pieces all around. Transfer to oven and roast uncovered until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, about 40–45 minutes.
• While chicken roasts, make glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat bring pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, paprika and serrano chiles to a boil and cook until thickened, 12 minutes.
• When chicken is done, brush with half the glaze and roast for 3-5 minutes, until glaze is bubbling, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest 10 minutes. Serve chicken, roasted pineapple and mango (discard limes) with any juices from skillet on top.

Notes

1. The whole chicken can be halved or spatchcocked. By flattening out the chicken, you're exposing the legs to a higher heat, helping them cook faster than the breasts which results in a juicy meat. It also ensures crisper skin and is much faster to cook than traditional whole roasting. If spatchcocking: be sure to have the chicken on a clean cutting surface breast side down.
   1. Starting at either the tail end or the neck area, use sharp kitchen scissors or poultry shears, and cut along each side of the backbone (cutting through the rib bones) as you go towards the other end and remove the backbone.Discard the backbone or freeze for soup stock.
   2. Flip the chicken over and press down hard OR, after removing the back bone, spread the chicken out and turn over. Flatten the breastbone using the heel of your hand so that the meat is butterflied and all one thickness.
      Spatchcock Tip: If it doesn't lay flat do this - In the center area near the neck there will be a triangle of cartilage right where the breastbone starts (see my finger pointing to it in the photo below). Using a sharp knife, cut down a quarter inch and spread the cut area open to reveal the breast bone.
      

Nutrition

Calories: 1136kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 86g | Fat: 72g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 340mg | Sodium: 907mg | Potassium: 1182mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 2505IU | Vitamin C: 55.8mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 5.3mg

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