Authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken

Name: Authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Jamaican
Ingredients: For the marinade; 3lb of chicken thighs, washed and cleaned as instructed in the post.; 2tsp of himalayan pink salt; 1 tsp of black pepper; 3 medium sized scallions, sliced; 2 tsp of coconut palm sugar; 4 cloves of garlic, minced; 1/4-1/2 tsp of browning sauce; -------------------------------; To make the gravy; 2tbsp of coconut oil; 1 medium sized onion, sliced; 1/2tbsp of dried thyme or 3 sprigs of thyme; 2 pimento berries (1/4 tsp allspice); a thumb sized piece ginger; 1tbsp of organic tomato puree; 1tsp of hot pepper sauce; 1 small red bell pepper; 1 small green bell pepper; 2 cups of hot water

April 22, 2015 by Charla 60 Comments

Authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken – experience the epitome of Jamaican cuisine by sampling this generously seasoned succulent chicken in a rich thick gravy.

Brown stew chicken is a favourite amongst English speaking Caribbean islands, it is traditionally eating with rice and peas (or peas and rice). Though, times are changing and with cultural trends taking a different direction, don’t be surprised if the masses pair this with something other than rice and peas.

I absolutely love Jamaican brown stew chicken and other variants of island style stewed chicken. Yes I am being biased but there’s reason for me to be partial to my roots. This Jamaican brown stew chicken recipe is SO flavoursome and I promise you this one will impress your guests. Heck, it’s the most delicious Jamaican brown stew chicken recipe you will ever make!!

What is Jamaican brown stew chicken?

The name brown stew, derived from the distinctive dark hue that’s created from browning the chicken with brown sugar.I cannot emphasis the importance of yielding that detectable dark brown colour, it’s crucial for that wonderful deep coffee coloured gravy to accompany the browned chicken.

Sunday would be the day that we would serve brown stew chicken, although there’s no reason why you cannot make this any day of the week.

Like most dishes each Caribbean island has their own variation of brown stew chicken, for now I’ll be showing you how to make delicious Jamaican brown stew chicken.

It’s very simple to pull off, once you master this the first time, you’ll be making this for Jamaican chicken dinner all the time – I can tell you that.

Is brown stew chicken healthy?

Yes, my version is!! As you already know, being healthy is my middle name , so expect a few adjustments to this recipe.

For instance, I roasted the chicken instead of frying it in a large quantity of oil. My philosophy is avoid deep fat frying where possible, if there’s a healthier alternative Charla will gladly pursue that root.

How to make brown stew chicken with yard style gravy

I do recommend preparing the chicken over night and leaving it to infuse the flavours. To begin, we need to create the marinade, it’s a simple concoction which includes some homemade browning and coconut sugar

Coconut palm sugar is a low glycemic index sweetener made from ‘tapping’ the sap of the coconut palm tree. This is by far more superior to the overly processed brown sugar, albeit expensive, keep in mind it’s nutritional properties are retained through it’s minimal processing.

Of course the chicken is cleaned/neutralised using the lime and vinegar technique, a traditional way of washing chicken and one that I still uphold as I embark this culinary adventure.

The next day is where the fun happens, prior to browning the chicken, scrap off the marinade and store in the refrigerator (we will return to this during cooking).

How to make Jamaican brown stew chicken – the steps

1, The chicken is clean and washed as per cultural practice, ready for the seasoning

2, Add your condiments which form the marinade – coconut sugar, scallion, garlic, black pepper, pink salt

3, Add the homemade browning sauce to the complete what will be your marinade

4, As you can see the chicken has now taken on the slight tint from the sugar and browning

5, Place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet with plenty of space as to not overcrowd

6, Sautee the onions until translucent in appearance

7, Cook the remaining vegetables along with the herbs, pimento berries and ginger

8, Finally add the browned chicken though before pouring the hot water into the pan.

How long does it take to cook brown stew chicken in the oven?

The chicken shouldn’t take too long to brown in the oven. There is roughly a 25 minute difference in cooking time. Yes it will take longer than frying, but as I said before, this is a great oil free method to follow through while yielding the same results – a win-win situation right?

As the chicken roasts, it will generate it’s own liquid, this is known as the dripping. You can add a tablespoon or two to the frying pan given that the flavour from the drippings is extracts of the overnight marinade.

The bell peppers will lend a vibrant colourful flare, the ginger will add warmth, while the pimento adds a hint of tropical spice. The hot pepper sauce provides that heat element, again I have a recipe coming up, so your girl has you covered in that arena too. I substituted tomato ketchup for organic tomato puree which doesn’t compromise the taste at all.

Once the chicken has been added to the pan with the other veggies and warm water (use warm water to keep the temperature consistent) – a slow simmer will create a deep enriched brown gravy.

Jamaican brown stew chicken slow cooker style

There’s always the option of making this recipe in a crock pot. There’s not much difference with the stove top vs slow cook method. You would still need to follow the exact same principles of browning meat, seasoning. The only difference would adding the meat and liquid to the slow cooker instead.

Set your slow cooker to the lowest setting and have the stewed chicken cook for 3 hours.

Notes

Recipe for the homemade browning sauce that you will need (see above recipe)
This recipe is paleo approved (omit the rice for potatoes) and free from gluten
Browning sauce is crucial to achieve that depth, not skip this step. Browning is used for that rich deep colour and NOT the same a burnt sugar which yield colour and a subtle sweetnote.

More Jamaican recipes

Gungo peas coconut curry

Jamaican rice porridge

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