Roasted Chicken With Pineapple Chilie Glaze

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Step 2

Mix coriander (refer to Note # 1 below), cumin, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle chicken with spice mixture, pressing to adhere; season with salt and pepper.

Step 3

Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Cook chicken, skin side down, until browned and beginning to crisp, about 5-8 minutes.

Step 4

Transfer chicken to a plate and arrange pineapple slices in the pan. *(NOTE: if you don't have an oven proof skillet, make sure you scrape every piece of the the brown bits from your skillet over the pineapple slices that have been placed into an oven-proof pan).*

Step 5

Place chicken, skin side up, on top of pineapple.

Step 6

Transfer to oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, 40–45 minutes.

Step 7

Meanwhile, bring chile, garlic, pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, and paprika to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until thickened and syrupy, 12–15 minutes; season glaze with salt.

Step 8

When chicken is done, brush with glaze and roast just until glaze is bubbling, about 2 minutes (Refer to Note # 2); repeat with any remaining glaze. Transfer chicken and pineapple to a cutting board; let rest 10 minutes. Serve chicken and pineapple with any juices from skillet alongside.

Cooks NOTE # 1: Ground coriander can be hard to find, so what I do is that I toast the coriander in the oven at 350-F until it becomes fragrant (takes about 4-5 minutes or so). Make sure to keep a watchful eye as it can burn easily. I then grind it in an electric coffee grinder that I especially use for spices only. I find that when I use this process for spices the flavors are superb as compared to the ready ground.

Cooks NOTE # 2: Instead of placing the chicken back into the oven, I have also placed it quickly under the broiler until skin and glaze are crisped up. Make sure you use an eagle eye to watch it carefully as it can burn.