This Jezebel Chicken is coming to you straight from my new book, Southern Lights, and it’s one of my favorites for sure. I’m sharing this one because I am just a sucker for roasted chicken as general rule. I love how the natural juiciness of the pineapple pairs with salty soy sauce, hot honey, and the savory drippings from the chicken. There’s a drama to the particular cut we’re employing here as well, the leg quarters. They’re readily available and they roast beautifully – damn near foolproof, I tell you. The book is available for pre-order until its release on June 6, and a pre-order from you would mean the world to me.

In This Post

“Have you noticed that there are a lot of chicken recipes in this book? There are, I know. It is my family’s favorite and my two kids love nothing more than juicy roasted or fried chicken. Seeing as how fried chicken is rather laborious to make and not the lightest option, I often lean into the roasting of it.managing to be both humble and unbelievably luxurious seeming all at once, this one takes a classic fruity-sweet Southern Jezebel sauce and uses it as a twist on what is otherwise a very basic roasted chicken recipe. The difference-maker here, though, is the salt. We’ll season things the whole way through, and even so, I still like to serve roasted chicken with flaky sea salt on the side. Like a potato a simple roasted chicken goes from unnoticeable to extraordinary once the right amount of salt is introduced into the scene.”
Southern Lights

What you’ll need to make this Jezebel Chicken recipe

This is a simple thing, really. Chicken + salty/sweet marinade + fruit. The combination of spicy, store-bought hot honey, soy sauce, mustard, and then paprika and garlic is drool-worthy. All great things, I think. But what we’re doing is actually playing on the classic Southern Jezebel sauce recipe here, and I’m taking some license in how I’m wielding my favorite aspects of that. So, I suppose I should begin by explaining what, exactly, a Jezebel Sauce is. Yes, let’s do that.

What is Jezebel Sauce?

Jezebel Sauce is a popular and long-loved condiment in the deep South (purportedly from the Gulf Coast). Made from a combination of pineapple and/or apple jellies, horseradish, and mustard powder, this sweet and spicy sauce is so great in, on, and around a variety of things. Personally? I like in on a grilled cheese or burger. But classically, it’s poured all over a block of softened cream cheese and served as an appetizer.

Additionally, you will see classic Southern Jezebel sauce served with salty, savory meats such as roasted pork or a baked ham (very Easter appropriate). Here, I’ve modernized things just a little bit, opting for fresh, juicy (no added sugar) pineapple and punchy, spicy brown mustard and hot honey.

INGREDIENTS

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters (this works with any cut, I just like the legs here)

1 pineapple, cored and sliced into ¼ to ½-inch rings or spears

¼ cup store-bought hot honey (or regular honey)

About 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon paprika

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

3/3 cup chopped fresh herbs

1 shallot thinly sliced

Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Serving suggestions: Chopped green herbs such as parsley, dill, and/or cilantro

How to make this Roasted Chicken with Pineapple (Jezebel Chicken)

This is a VERY easy recipe for a very good roasted chicken, if I do say so myself. It comes together in five to 10 minutes and just involves a basic marinade and a good long roast. So, the oven is the real workhorse here, and time is the biggest ingredient to be sure.

We’ll lay the pineapple slices on the bottom of a baking pan or sheet pan. The chicken legs go on top, as they will drip and drop their salty, fatty juices down onto the fruit. This, as you may have gathered, all meshes together into what is truly the most heavenly sauce-of-sorts. The marinade is a sweet/salty mashup of pantry stapes, each serving its own worthy purpose here.

DIRECTIONS

Put the pineapple slices in a single layer in a large baking dish or sheet pan. Lay the chicken legs on top.

Mix together the honey, mustard, soy sauce, paprika, garlic powder, and vinegar in a bowl and pour all over the chicken and pineapple. Rub to coat evenly and put the dish in the fridge to marinate (covered or not), for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. Season the chicken and pineapple with salt and lots of pepper. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and roast for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the chicken is cooked through and deeply browned (it will likely appear burnt in places thanks to the sugars, but worry not! It’s all good).

Serve the chicken and pineapple with the drippings, a shower of chopped herbs, the sliced shallot, and some flaky salt if you like.