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Roasted Chicken Legs with Caribbean-Style Barbecue Sauce
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 10 mins
Total Time
1 hr 25 mins
 

Smoky, sweet, and savory roasted chicken legs slathered in a Caribbean-style barbecue sauce.

Recipe Type: Dinner
Makes: 2 servings
Author: Brooklyn Supper, adapted from Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez
Ingredients
For the Chicken
  • 3 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds chicken legs (about 6 legs)
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or heat-tolerant vegetable oil
For the Barbecue Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion , diced
  • 2 large cloves garlic , smashed and chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 jalapeño (or a red jalapeño, if you have one), seeded and diced
  • 1/4 cup white rum
  • 1 6- ounce can tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
Instructions
  1. One day ahead of time, rub chicken legs all over with sea salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.
  2. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, sear for 2 minutes, and then turn heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10 – 15 minutes or until onions begin to caramelize. Add jalapeño and cook for 2 minutes more. Add rum, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom; simmer for 1 – 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cider vinegar, soy sauce, molasses, honey, ginger, spices, sea salt, and water, and simmer for 15 minutes. Finally, stir in lime zest and juice. Cool and pour into a jar. Cover and refrigerate for up to one week.

  3. To make the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  4. Heat a cast iron skillet over high to medium-high heat and add the grapeseed oil. Pan should be hot, but not so hot that the oil smokes. Sear the chicken legs for 2 minutes on each side, for a total of 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

  5. Spoon 1/2 cup barbecue sauce into a medium bowl. Turn to coat each leg in the sauce. Set legs back in the skillet, spoon any remaining sauce on top, and slide skillet into the oven. Cook for 20 minutes.
  6. Turn broiler to high. Set chicken under broiler for 3 – 5 minutes, cooking until top just begins to blacken.
  7. Rest chicken for 10 minutes. Serve with extra barbecue sauce and the sides of your choice.