Skillet Jerk Chicken Thighs (Whole30, Paleo)

Skillet Jerk Chicken Thighs is the delicious main attraction your meals are missing. This easy to prepare and easy to make dish is loaded with traditional jerk flavor and can be made in the oven, on the stove top or even on a grill. It's perfect for meal prepping and can be made in large batches. It stores well in the refrigerator for easy meals throughout the week. Jump right into this deliciousness and make it a part of your weekly rotation.

Prepping the chicken

For easy cooking I remove the bones from bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Keep the skin on. It adds great flavor to this dish. Here's an excellent Youtube Video for an  Easy way to debone chicken thighs . To season the chicken you will need half a batch of my delicious home made jerk seasoning and some salt. That's it. Season the chicken overnight for best results or at least for 4 hours.

Not going to lie here, I've totally seasoned the chicken and stuck it in the oven right after. When you're in a pinch you do what you need to do! And it was still delicious because the chicken roasts in all of its own juices as well as the juices from the jerk seasoning . I don't recommend this if you are grilling the chicken though. Definitely let it marinate overnight if grilling. You will not regret giving it that extra time to soak up all the flavor of the seasoning.

Roasting in the oven

My favorite method for cooking this Skillet Jerk Chicken is in the oven at 450 °F. It roasts up to an amazingly tender and juicy chicken and the pan juices are perfect for drizzling over potatoes or roasted veggies. I also like that I can put all my sides and roast them up in the oven at the same time. However, when the weather warms up and I am less inclined to heat up my house with the oven, I love putting my cast iron skillet on the grill. With this recipe cooking the chicken in a skillet on the grill produces the same results as the chicken roasting in the oven

It is not as easy to have a consistent temperature with the grill, so please ensure you have a cast iron skillet that is heat tested up to 500°F. I use my Lodge Cast Iron Skillet for grill cooking. It is rated for indoor and outdoor cooking and cooks evenly on high or low heat!  Check out this article on Epicurius.com to learn more about cooking with a cast iron skillet on the grill!

Cooking on the Stove to

For stove-top cooking, warm a skillet on medium heat until really hot, add a bit of oil then place the chicken skin side down in the skillet and cook until it is golden brown and has a really nice sear. Then flip over and continue to sear on the flesh side. This should take about 10 minutes of total cooking for both sides. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and allow to simmer until the chicken is completely cooked and tender and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (about 30 minutes more cooking time). If the juices cook down before the chicken is cooked, you may add some apple or pineapple juice to deglaze the pan.

Cooking on the Grill

Don't have a cast iron skillet to use on your grill? Put the chicken directly on the grill grate for some easy grilled Jerk Chicken thighs. Since the bones have been removed these thighs cook up in 30-45 minutes. Start by placing the seasoned thighs flesh side down and cook at 425 °F for 15-20 minutes, then flip on to the skin side and continue to cook. Look out for flare ups from the grill as the juices and fat drip from the skin. You can ease flare ups by moving the chicken to a different spot on the grill. Don't crowd your grill. Here's a great article on How to Prevent Grill Flare Ups for the perfect grilled chicken!

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5 from 5 votes

Skillet Jerk Chicken Thighs

Delicious boneless chicken thighs cooked in a bath of jerk seasoning

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Course: Keto, Paleo, Whole30

Cuisine: Caribbean

Servings: 5 Servings

Author: Althea Brown

Ingredients

• 5 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• ½ batch of Metemgee's Jerk Seasoning
• ¾ teaspoon of salt or salt to taste
• ½ cup of pineapple juice (may also use apple juice or water)

For stove top recipe

• 2 tablespoons of avocado or similar oil
• Up to ½ cup of apple or pineapple juice optional

Instructions

• Remove the bones from the chicken thighs. See notes on how to remove bones
• Then add chicken thighs, jerk seasoning and salt to a large bowl and mix together well, ensuring that all the pieces are completely covered on both sides with the seasoning
• Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight if possible
• When ready to cook preheat your oven to 450 °F
• Then place the marinated chicken thighs, flesh side down in a cast iron skillet, and place the skillet on the middle rack of the oven. Roast at 450°F for 30 minutes
• Then spoon the pan juices over the chicken thighs. Add the pineapple juice to deglaze the pan and continue to roast for another 15 minutes until the skin achieves a dark roasted color
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving

Cooking on the stove top

• Place a large skillet on medium heat and bring up to temperature
• When the skillet is hot add the oil and bring up to temperature, then add the marinated chicken thighs skin side down
• Sear the chicken thighs until gold brown (this should take about 5 minutes) then flip over
• Continue to cook until the flesh side also achieves a good sear, then reduce the heat to medium low (mid-point between lowest possible heat and medium heat), cover and let simmer for 30 minutes
• If the pan juices cook off before the chicken is fully cooked, you may add ¼ cup to ½ cup of pineapple juice to deglaze the pan then continue to cook until the chicken thighs are completely cooked or reaches an internal temperature of 165°F

Cooking on the grill with a skillet

• You may cook the chicken in a skillet on the grill. Bring the grill up to 450 °F
• Then place the chicken flesh side down in a skillet rated for high heat cooking
• Next place the skillet on the grill, close grill cover and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F, then remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes before serving

Cooking directly on the grill

• You may also place the chicken directly on the grill for a grilled Jerk Chicken Thighs
• Preheat the grill to 425-450°F
• Brush your grill with oil, then place the chicken flesh side down directly on the grill
• Cook for 20 minutes, then flip and continue to cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F
• Then remove from the grill and rest for 10 minutes before serving

Notes

Here's a great tutorial on how to remove the bones from chicken thighs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0IEiU_-Fjo