“There’s sticky chicken…then there is seriously sticky chicken. This is insanely sticky chicken!” I kid you not when I say that I am transported back to Hawaii every time I make these. It puts me in a good mood just making them! I mean, how much more tropical can you get than chicken with a pineapple marinade and coconut rice on the side? I want to drape myself in leis, put on the Beach Boys’ Kokomo, shake up some Pina Coladas and parteeee!!! (PS I stopped short at talking about coconut shell bikinis and grass skirts, that’s not a sight we need to think about!). When it comes to sticky chicken, there’s sticky, then there is seriously sticky. These Hawaiian Chicken drumsticks are insanely sticky. You are going to get messy getting stuck into these, and there’s just no better way to enjoy it. It’s finger lickin’ good! The secret to the stickiness is tinned crushed pineapple which forms the base of this marinade. The sweetness of the pineapple is balanced out with other flavourings including spices, garlic, ginger, and vinegar so the marinade is actually quite a complex flavour. When baked, they turn a wonderful dark golden colour and caramelises beautifully which adds extra flavour to this. “It took me a few goes to get this marinade right. I wanted a flavour EXPLOSION!” I have to admit, it took me a few goes before I was happy with this. I even googled quite a bit and tried other pineapple marinade recipes I found but the flavour of the marinades were not as strong or deep as I wanted (I like flavour explosions!) or the marinade was too thin so it didn’t make a sticky glaze. I don’t make chicken drumsticks often because they aren’t the healthiest cut of chicken. So when I do make them – usually when I’m entertaining because they are super good value – I want them to be seriously tasty! No second rate marinades for my drumsticks!
“Coconut rice is the perfect accompaniment to the pineapple marinated drumsticks. Coconut and pineapple go together like basil and tomato!” I was going to share this Hawaiian Chicken recipe with you with a tropical style salad on the side. But I couldn’t resist sharing my coconut rice instead. I know, I know, it’s meat and carb central here today, but coconut and pineapple go together like tomatoes and basil!! I had to! I promise you’ll see more greens in my next post. 🙂 So, if you’re in the northern hemisphere where it’s starting to cool down, this is a great dish to remind you of the summer just gone…..and if you’re in the southern hemisphere, this is the perfect dish to celebrate that summer is just around the corner!! To sign off, do you recognise these song lyrics?? I had this song playing while I was typing up this post!! Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I want to take ya Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go Jamaica off the Florida Keys (It’s the Beach Boys’s Kokomo. If you want to get into the groove, play the song while you’re reading the recipe!) SaveSave
