This nutmeg chicken is a Caribbean dish inspired by the beautiful island of Grenada. Succulent pieces of tender chicken that are seared in a pan and braised in a sweet spice infused syrup.
Grenada, oh sweet Grenada.....Today we are heading over to The Grenadines with this Grenadian style nutmeg chicken, it's flavoursome, sweet and darn right tasty!
Whenever I head back to the Caribbean I always make sure to make a B line and touch down in Grenada, known as the Isle of Spice.
This mountainous island is abundant in spices - ginger, cloves, mace, bay, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, coffee and 20% is contributed to the global supply.
Not only am I a foodie I'm also a spice lover too, believe me when I tell you I literally forage for spices when I visit a new destination.
I still have some unused spices from my previous trip to the Isle of Spice, can't seem to bring myself to use everything is its entirely - I am just weird?
Another place that I've heard so many positive things about is Zanzibar in Tanzania. To come to think about it, Grenada is like the sister island to this spice enriched east African country.
I hope to visit Zanzibar in the near future but it's a toss between there and Namibia - it's on my bucket list.
Anyway, back on topic this nutmeg chicken is brimming with flavours, it has a sweet tone, as the base of the syrup for the chicken is made with coconut palm sugar.
Now before you go into a frenzy, I used a low glycemic index sucrose called coconut sugar and subbed the soy sauce with coconut aminos - same difference but paleo friendly.
Of course with that being said, it is always wise to consume sugar in moderation - low GI index or not.
Slow cooker version
- Prepare the syrup by adding all of the spices and tapioca/coconut sugar to a saucepan to thicken for 3-4 minutes and set aside.
- Preheat the slow cooker
- Saute the onion and garlic then add the chicken and cook for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker then pour the syrup over it.
- Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours.
- Keep an eye on syrup/liquid levels during the cooking time (add a splash of water if needed)
Side dish suggestions
The steps
- Place the chicken in a medium sized bowl and season with the all purpose seasoning, pink salt, thyme and back pepper and set aside.
- Add the coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, chilli flakes in a saucepan.
- Mix the coconut aminos. maple syrup, water and tapioca starch together than pour it into the saucepan.
- Bring the saucepan to the boil and reduce to simmer while stirring for 5 minutes then set aside.
- Meanwhile heat the oil on medium heat.
- Proceed to saute the garlic and onion until soft and translucent.
- Add the seasoned chicken to the pan and proceed to cook the chicken until it's sealed (turns white-ish in colour) This will take several minutes. If the chicken gives off an liquid, you will need to get rid of this before adding the syrup by increasing the heat and stirring until the water evaporates.
- Pour the nutmeg syrup all over the chicken and bring to a rolling boil.
- Reduce the flame to medium-low, cover the pan with lid and occasionally baste the chicken throughout the 20-25 minute cooking time.
Can I make this ahead of time?
You can save yourself some time by chopping the base ingredients (onion, garlic etc..) seasoning the meat and leaving it to infuse overnight. This isn't a requirement but you can do it if you are pushed for time.
Another thing you could do is prepare the syrup overnight, once cooled, wrap and refrigerate it so it's ready to use the next day.
Notes and tips
- If you don't want to use chicken breast you may use wings, thighs instead, legs are better used for an oven or slow cooker version.
- Use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning if needed
- Make sure to prepare the syrup before searing the chicken just set it aside while searing.
- If you don't want to use coconut aminos use organic soy instead.
- You can use fresh or powdered ginger to make this recipe.
- Towards during the final steps of cooking the chicken, do a taste test and adjust the seasoning according to taste.
- For best results eat the chicken immediately or refrigerate and consume within 2-3 days.
- This dish is freezer friendly if need be.
More chicken recipes to try
**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**
Nutmeg Chicken (Grenadian Inspired)
Ingredients
To make the nutmeg syrup
- ⅓ cup of coconut palm sugar or raw cane sugar works too
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
- ¼ cup of coconut aminos or use organic soy
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon of scotch bonnet or chilli flakes
- 1 cup of water
- ½ tablespoon of tapioca starch
For the chicken
- 2 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil
- 2 lb chicken breasts approx (4 fillets) chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1-2 tablespoon all purpose seasoning see notes for the recipe
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried or fresh with stems removed
- 1 teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a medium sized bowl and season with the all purpose seasoning, pink salt, thyme and back pepper and set aside.
- Add the coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, chilli flakes in a saucepan.
- Mix the coconut aminos. maple syrup, water and tapioca starch together than pour it into the saucepan.
- Bring the saucepan to the boil and reduce to simmer while stirring for 5 minutes then set aside.
- Meanwhile heat the oil on medium heat.
- Proceed to saute the garlic and onion until soft and translucent.
- Add the seasoned chicken to the pan and proceed to cook the chicken until it's sealed (turns white-ish in colour) This will take several minutes. If the chicken gives off an liquid, you will need to get rid of this before adding the syrup by increasing the heat and stirring until the water evaporates.
- Pour the nutmeg syrup all over the chicken and bring to a rolling boil.
- Reduce the flame to medium-low, cover the pan with lid and occasionally baste the chicken throughout the 20-25 minute cooking time.
- If you are left with excess liquid and want the syrup to adhere to the chicken increase heat to high and allow the liquid to evaporate and stick to the chicken (be careful not to burn the chicken).
Notes
- If you don't want to use chicken breast you may use wings, thighs instead, legs are better used for an oven or slow cooker version.
- Use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning if needed
- Make sure to prepare the syrup before searing the chicken just set it aside while searing.
- If you don't want to use coconut aminos use organic soy instead.
- You can use fresh or powdered ginger to make this recipe.
- Towards during the final steps of cooking the chicken, do a taste test and adjust the seasoning according to taste.
- For best results eat the chicken immediately or refrigerate and consume within 2-3 days.
- This dish is freezer friendly if need be.
Jessica says
This was delicious! I made it for myself and my fiancee and he devoured it. I used brown sugar and soy sauce because that's just what I had on hand. It was easy to make and I think this will go in my regular rotation 🙂
Charla says
Aww you are very very welcome Jessica, glad you and your husband to be, loved it!
Home Cook says
Absolutely delicious! I used boneless/skinless thigh meat and various minor substitutions (mace instead of nutmeg, soy sauce, brown sugar, halved the recipe overall) and the result was delectable, sweetly spiced nuggets of goodness.
Since the result was so delicious, I really can't complain, but I do think the recipe could be simplified in a few ways- like, I don't really know why the nutmeg sauce needed to be cooked separately. I assume a more traditional recipe may have done so in order to scorch the sugar for flavor, but I didn't see why those ingredients wouldn't just be added after the chicken sealed. Also, since I don't have a seasoning blend handy, it was tedious to need to read another post mid-cooking, as it was composed of much of the same ingredients. I just added extra salt/thyme/pepper per the recipe, then added garlic powder and paprika to my chicken marinade. Consolidating it would've made this recipe much easier to follow. I also didn't need to cook mine nearly as long, but I did halve the recipe, hahah.
Overall, it's still a wonderful, accessible recipe for those of us who are interested in Caribbean food but don't need to cook a huge Sunday meal lol!
Charla says
Hi there, thank you for making the recipe and I appreciate the constructive criticism. I will definitely heed what has been said as I want my readers to not only enjoy the recipe but make it as easy as possible, so feedback like yours really helps.
Lagatta de Montréal says
I't looks lovely but I'll have to modify it, greatly reducing the sugars. I'm careful to avoid them and some relatives are diabetic. We held a fundraiser for the family of a friend from Grenada, after Ivan. It featured curry goat in a slow cooker - no worries, there were also plenty of veg dishes!
The island of Grenada is slightly smaller than the island of Montréal.
Charla says
No problem. Coconut sugar is a good option for those who are diabetic as it has a glycemic index of 35 and doesn't behave the way regular sugar does so can be safely consumed in moderation. Omit the maple syrup if you need to and/or reduce accordingly. Thanks for commenting.
Tekesha says
This is my kind of sweet treat! I would take a plate of this over a box of chocolates ANY DAY! Goodness gracious! 😀
Charla says
HAHA you're hilarious! Trust me, if you give this a try, you will give up chocolate for life.
Michael says
What an outstandingly beautiful site. I'm getting hungry!
Charla says
Thanks Michael, glad you like it.
Marant says
Hi Charla,
I must say, these dishes look positively sumptuous! These images are making me hungry! What is so interesting is your knowledge and use of some very exotic spices and ingredients. Never heard of Nutmeg Syrup!..Do you recommend a place online to get authentic spices? I'll be sure to return here next time I do a Caribbean Dish!
Marant
Charla says
Thank you for stopping by Marant. I'm going to create a post or possibly a page dedicated to purchasing spices. As many people seem to experience great difficultly when buying herbs and spices for ethnic cooking.
Dylan says
Great recipe, thanks Charla!
Charla says
You are welcome
Jason says
This dish looks so delicious. Love the pictures. I've been trying to eat healthier lately, so I think I'll try this.
Charla says
Thanks Jason I hope this recipe meets your needs ;).
Immaculate says
Charla, you know am a spice lover too right? This is brimming with all the flavors I love having around. You just made me want to travel to the Grenadines. As always really healthy recipe that I can indulge in- guilt free. Thanks for sharing!
Charla says
HAHA! you always come to the forefront of my mind, whatever I make a Caribbean recipe. This one is sweet but oh so tasty.