Authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken that is deeply flavored, intensely aromatic and straight classic island vibes.
Chicken is browned and then braised slowly for tender, delicious chicken pieces perfect for Sunday family dinner or make ahead weeknight dish.
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INGREDIENTS FOR JAMAICAN BROWN STEW CHICKEN
For the chicken
- Chicken
- Browning Sauce
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Paprika
- Ground Sage
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
For the marinade
- All Spice Berries
- Red Onion
- Bell pepper
- Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Ginger
- Scotch Bonnet Pepper
- Thyme
- Green onions
For the gravy
- Butter
- Ketchup
- Chicken Stock
- Hot Sauce
HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC BROWN STEW CHICKEN
The deep intense flavor and the list of ingredients would suggest this is a complicated dish. The reality is altogether different as this dish couldn’t be more simple to make. The key is patience.
Season the chicken well with spices and browning sauce, then marinate with aromatic vegetables.
Brown the chicken in a skillet, remove and saute the vegetables.
Make the gravy by adding the stock, ketchup, butter, and hot sauce. Mix well.
Add the chicken back and let stew slowly covered.
COOKING VARIATIONS
If you don’t have browning sauce you can make your own by burning sugar in the skillet. To do this you cook brown sugar in a skillet until it melts to almost like a syrup consistency. Add boiling water (slowly) after it’s melted and constantly stir to a thinner sauce consistency.
Cut the pieces into smaller pieces. This makes for a faster cook and makes it easier to brown all parts of the chicken.
Habanero can be substituted for scotch bonnet. You can dice the chili and add to the marinade. Alternatively you can cut slits into the sides of a whole chili and place in the skillet during cooking.
Wash the chicken in something acidic like lime juice or cider vinegar.
For a quicker easy weeknight version try this instant pot brown stew chicken recipe.
MORE CHICKEN BASED RECIPES
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Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 lbs Chicken Pieces 3 thighs and 3 drumsticks, cut into smaller pieces
- 1 whole lime juiced
- 1 tsp Browning Sauce
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Ground Sage
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
For the marinade
- 5 whole All Spice Berries
- 1 medium Red Onion sliced thinly
- 1 Bell pepper sliced thinly
- 6 cloves Garlic grated
- 1 inch Fresh Ginger grated
- 1 whole Scotch Bonnet Pepper
- 3 sprigs Thyme
- ½ cup Green onions diced white and green parts
For the gravy
- 1 stick Butter
- ½ cup Ketchup
- 1 cup Chicken Stock
- 1 tbsp Hot Sauce
Instructions
Season the Chicken
- Wash the chicken thoroughly with water and lime juice.
- Mix the spices together in a small bowl. Season the chicken pieces generously.
- Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add browning sauce and mix in well.
Marinate the Chicken
- Grate the garlic and ginger directly onto the chicken. Add the sliced vegetables, thyme sprigs, and all spice berries. Mix well with your hands. Place the chicken plus marinade in a large ziplock bag then let the chicken marinate overnight.
Brown the Chicken
- Separate the chicken from the vegetables, removing as many garlic and ginger pieces as possible.
- Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and brown the chicken on top and bottom about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add the the marinade mix plus the scotch bonnet chili to the skillet and saute 2-3 minutes. Add a pinch or two of the spice seasoning mix.
- Add the stock and deglaze the pan scraping up all the crispy stuff on the bottom of the pan. Add the butter, ketchup, and hot sauce then mix well.
- Add the chicken pieces back to the pan. Cover and simmer 30-45 minutes.
- add Cup of stock, butter,½ cup ketchup, 1 whole habanero, tbsp hot sauce.
- Remove the chicken, increase the heat, and reduce the sauce. Serve the chicken over rice topped with the sauce.
I can just imagine that the scotch bonnet pepper in this stew will really heat things up. The perfect comfort food for the cold weather season. I would love to wrap my hands around a bowl of this.
I will definitely be making this for our Christmas Eve dinner, it looks delicious and really makes my mouthwatering!
That chicken looks cooked to perfection. And I am loving how flavorsome and easy to make that sauce is. I am planning to try this one out soon!
Such a comforting meal. I served over saffron rice and it was delicious. Definitely will be trying more of your recipes! That jerk fried chicken is looking pretty good too!
Great recipe, came out absolutely perfect. I love all the flavors, we rarely have Jamaican food, and it was SO good. I will make this chicken stew again. Thanks so much for giving us your recipe.
I can't tell you how delicious this Jamaican brown chicken stew was, we loved it very much. Flavors were so so good. I shall make this again soon. Thank you very much for sharing this authentic recipe. 🙂
I don't think I've ever tried Jamaican food but this chicken stew looks so good. I love spicy dishes and imagine this has quite a kick!
I am always looking for flavorful chicken dishes. This is definitely one that I need to try once teh holidays are over.
I am always looking for flavorful chicken dishes. This is definitely one that I need to try once the holidays are over.
Oh my god, that stew looks scrumptious! The richness of the stew is mindblowing.