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Pineapple Jerk Chicken and Shrimp Skewers, this Caribbean inspired, easy and dang delicious summertime or anytime recipe is made in the air-fryer and full of bold delicious flavour! It’s comprised of marinated jerk chicken and shrimp on skewers, with your favourite seasonal veggies and pineapple stacked in-between! Serve for lunch or dinner as apart of the main course! Recipe includes step-by-step video and instructions.
Are you a lover of jerk recipes? Try this Jerk Chicken Sandwich and this Jerk Chicken Cobb Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing recipe for all the island flavour and heat!
Table of Contents
What is an Air Fryer?
An Air Fryer is a countertop convection oven that essentially mimics the results of deep fried foods, without the need for litres of oil and grease. Air fryers prepare foods with high temperature hot air, little or no oil and a high-powered fan resulting in food that’s super crispy and equally delicious!
How to Use an Air Fryer in 3 Simple Steps
Learning to use a new appliance can be very intimidating, however here are 3 simple steps on how to use an Air Fryer:
- Place Food in Basket – depending on your air fryer, you may need to work in batches. Also, you may or may not need to spray your basket or food with a high-smoke point neutral oil to help get your food nice and crispy on the outside.
- Set the Temperature & Time – most air fryers have a range of pre-programmed settings from fries to chicken, pizza and cupcakes feel free to use these. Typically, the range of time is from 5 minutes to 25 minutes, and from 325°F to 400°F.
- Cook – this process is very hands off, although for some recipes you may be required to flip or turn the food halfway through the cooking process.
- Clean Up – this is a very easy step as most air fryer baskets has a non-stick coating that will make for an easy clean-up.
Air Fryer: Best Practices & Tips
- Preheat your Air Fryer – not always necessary, however a great step to help prevent foods from overcooking. If your air-fryer doesn’t have a preheat option; set to the desired temperature and allow it to run for around 3 minutes before placing your food inside.
- Don’t use Aerosol Oil Spray Cans – which oftentimes contain additives like propellants and other agents that are said to chip away at air fryer baskets over time. Instead, opt for a oil mister or spray bottle and fill with a neutral oil that has a high smoke point.
- Do Not Overcrowd the Basket – to get that golden crispy exterior, air fryers circulate high temperature hot air around the unit in which you want to pass all sides of your food. Work in batches if needed, or opt for a larger air fryer.
- Add Water – to the air fryer drawer when cooking fatty foods (like bacon) to prevent smoking.
- Shake, Turn, Flip – the food in basket a few times or at the halfway point during cooking to make sure everything is browning and crisping up evenly.
What Jerk Marinade to Use
You can make your own Jerk Marinade however, if you want to save some time, Grace Jerk Seasoning (Mild) as well as Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning (Hot) are two brands I stand by. They come in both mild and hot heat levels, so if spice isn’t your thing, you can opt for the mild selection.
More Yummy Air-Fryer Recipes
Crispy Air Fryer Fried Chicken & Air-Fryer Greek Fries with Tzatziki
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Pineapple Jerk Chicken and Shrimp Skewers
Equipment
- Bamboo Skewers soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
Ingredients
Jerk Chicken
- 3 Chicken Breasts, large, boneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp Jerk Marinade, see notes sections below
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Soya Sauce
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt, more or less to taste
Jerk Shrimp
- 1.5 lb Jumbo Shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp Jerk Marinade, see notes sections below
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
Pineapple Jerk Chicken & Shrimp Skewers
- 1 Pineapple, whole, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 Red Onion, large, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 Tri-Coloured Bell Peppers, Red, Green, Yellow or Orange Bell Peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 Zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 tsp Salt, more or less to taste
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper, more or less to taste
- Olive Oil, spray for Air-Fryer
Maple Jerk Sauce
- 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tbsp Jerk Marinade, see notes sections below
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add chicken pieces, jerk marinade, brown sugar, olive oil, soya sauce, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix until well coated, and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight. Repeat the process for the shrimp using the jerk marinade, brown sugar, and olive oil.
- Prep remaining skewer ingredients, pineapple, red onion, bell peppers and zucchini, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, then set aside.
- Remove the chicken and shrimp from the marinade and thread onto skewers, alternating with pieces of prepared vegetables and pineapple (you can prepare all chicken and veggies, or all shrimp and veggie skewers).
- Place skewers in a gently oiled air fryer basket, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook for 15 (shrimp) – 25 (chicken) minutes on 400°F (200°C), flipping at the halfway point until done, working in batches if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
This sounds amazing! However, we don’t have an air fryer and want to cook on the grill. The chicken will take longer than the shrimp so I will skewer separately. If I were doing this for 4 I think 1.5 pounds of chicken and 1 pound of shrimp will work. Any more info and expertise would be helpful. This will be the perfect 75th birthday dinner for my friend! Her two favorites, chicken and shrimp. Thank you in advance for any help you have.
Hi Deb, sorry for getting back to you late on this. But yes, you can definitely do shrimp skewers and chicken skewers or you can make sure the chicken pieces are cut small for faster cooking! But I love the idea of grilling these – so yumm! Happy 75th birthday to your friend as well!