Slow Cooker Brown Stew Chicken

A boneless, modern version of Jamaican brown stew chicken made in the slow cooker. Made with a medley of aromatic herbs and spices, succulent bone free, skinless chicken thighs that are braised to perfection. 

Have you ever tasted a recipe that is so good that you just have to make it again and again? What about capitalising on said recipe and making other variations of it?

Yup, that's me right now with this brown stew chicken recipe, most of you probably know this recipe or have even tried my stove top version and hopefully enjoy it!!

Today I want to show you just how you can make brown stew chicken using your slow cooker instead.

That's right, a non traditional method that yields such beautiful island style results.

Aside from using a slow cooker not much has really changed, a few tweaks here and there but ultimately this is a beginner friendly recipe.

You still need to marinate the chicken overnight or at least a few hours, sear it (brown it) and then braise the chicken until a delicious gravy is formed.

Reasons to slow cook chicken

• Less hassle .i.e. cuts down on the preparation and clean up especially if you have a 2 in 1 stew and slow cook unit.
• Slow cooking really helps to bring out that flavour.
• It's more energy efficient then using a conventional stovetop.
• You can run errands, do chores knowing that your chicken has been cooked and ready for dinner time.

As you can see there are a good number of reasons why slow cooking is a great method to explore.

Don't get me wrong, I still use my dutch pot and would never stray away from my culture to the point of beyond recognition.

I'm just showing you guys some alternative cooking options.

Choosing boneless chicken

I'm slowly falling in love with boneless skin thighs because of how juicy they are. If you haven't tried making ANYTHING with them then now is a time to change that.

My go to used to be chicken breast, which granted, I still eat but not as often anymore well.... actually.... it's subject to the recipe i.e. I would use chicken breast for a chicken salad or something that requires zero fat, if you get my drift.

Chicken thighs contain more saturated fat than breasts which are high in protein and much leaner.

However, you can easily do what I do to boost that lean factor by trimming off the excess fat.

Besides, boneless chicken thighs are cheaper, you don't have to pay extra for the skin and bone.

Plus, they brown quite nicely and don't experience the texture issue that you may get with breasts.

Hopefully I have won you over on why you should try this recipe using your slow cooker and boneless chicken thighs.

The steps

• Place the chicken in a large bowl then proceed to use a fork to create small holes in the meat as this will help the seasoning to penetrate more.
• Season the chicken with the garlic powder, onion powder, all purpose seasoning, black pepper, brown sugar and browning sauce.
• Rub the marinade into the chicken so it is evenly distributed.
• Wrap the bowl with saran (cling film) then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• Heat a skillet/frying pan with oil on medium heat then sauté the onion, scallion, ginger and garlic until soft and translucent.
• Add the chicken and proceed to brown the meat this will take some time to achieve (about 15 minutes or so) during that time the meat should extract its own juices, this will help with browning the meat, if too much liquid is in the pan, you need to increase the heat to cook off the excess liquid (you only want ¼ or a small amount left).
• Transfer the chicken into your crockpot/slow cooker (I'm using a 2 in 1 slow cooker so I don't need to do this step).
• Then add your tomato paste, water, hot sauce, thyme, pimento berries and a little more of my homemade browning sauce (about 2 tablespoon should do).
• Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on high for 4 hours.
• Roughly 1hr -45 minutes before the cooking time has finished add your bell peppers, check the texture of the gravy, it should be slightly thick with some body to it.
• Once the chicken has cooked, remove/discard the thyme stems, do a taste test and add pink salt or additional black pepper if required.

Frequently asked questions

Notes and tips

• You can freeze down any leftovers for up to 3 months.
• Boneless chicken thighs contain fat so be sure to trim off/chop off any excess fat before seasoning.
• This is the link to my homemade browning sauce and the all purpose seasoning that I use.
• You will notice that I add more salt towards the end of cooking simply because the all purpose seasoning contains salt so I don't want to add too much too soon.
• As per tradition wash the meat with vinegar plus lemon/lime/salt.
• The total amount of chicken should serve up to 6 people.
• Remember the amount of browning will vary depending on whether you are using my homemade recipe or the store bought kind.
• My homemade version isn't as concentrated and not as bitter therefore, I can afford to use quantities that are in tablespoon. If you are using the store bought kind then you will need to use less (about 2 tsp).
• Make sure the chicken is seared (browned) before moving onto the next step, the juice that the chicken extracts will be your best friend as this will help to seal in the flavour, remember to cook off most of the liquid by increasing the heat.
• You can use dried herbs/spices if you can't obtain them fresh i.e. thyme, pimento, ginger etc..

More chicken recipes to try

• Smoked Chicken Legs
• Jamaican Coconut Curry Chicken
• Nutmeg Chicken
• Trinidad Stew Chicken
• Cuban Mojo Chicken
• Haitian Stewed Chicken
• Tamarind Chicken

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