Jerk Chicken with Pickled Bananas

Ingredients

• 24 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2½ tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 can Guinness stout
• 1 medium red onion, minced
• 10 scallions, thinly sliced
• 20 large garlic cloves (5 minced, rest crushed)
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 6 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 habanero chiles, seeded and finely chopped
• ¼ cup hot sauce
• 3 tbsp whole black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 large nutmeg, freshly grated
• ¼ cup whole allspice berries, ground
• 3 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 5 dried bay leaves, crumbled
• 12 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Pickled bananas: 6 cups white vinegar
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 10 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 habanero chiles, split
• 12 whole cloves
• 12 branches fresh thyme
• 6 just-ripe bananas

Recipe

1. Toast coriander and cumin seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant, 2 minutes. Cool and grind.
2. Combine all marinade ingredients (except chicken) in a large bowl. Reserve ¾ cup marinade for basting. Add chicken to remaining marinade, cover, and refrigerate several hours or up to 2 days.
3. To oven-roast: heat oven to 425°F. Place chicken on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through and brushing tops with reserved marinade. Broil on high 5–8 minutes until skin is crispy.
4. To grill: heat grill to medium-low. Temper chicken at room temperature 15 minutes. Grill skin-side down, rotating every minute, for 8–10 minutes until skin is mahogany and crispy. Flip and cook 6–8 minutes. Brush reserved marinade on the skin side before serving.
5. Make the pickled bananas: combine vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, chiles, cloves, and thyme in a stainless steel pot. Boil 10 minutes (open windows!). Cool completely. Peel and slice bananas, add to brine, and pickle no more than 1 hour before serving.
6. Top chicken with remaining scallions and serve alongside pickled bananas and coconut rice.