Nutmeg Chicken (Grenadian Inspired)

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

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Nutmeg Chicken (Grenadian Inspired)

Enjoy a taste of the Caribbean with this deliciously sweet Grenadian inspired chicken dinner

4.50 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Entree

Cuisine: Caribbean, Grenadian

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 236kcal

Author: Charla

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 449mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 71IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

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