Brown stew chicken is a Jamaican classic where chicken is cooked in a browning sauce along with veggies. This delicious stew is best enjoyed with coconut rice or mashed potatoes.
Check out my Indian Mughlai Mutton Stew and Kerala Chicken Stew recipes if you are fond of Indian style curries.
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About This Recipe
Jamaican brown stew chicken is a classic Jamaican stew dish that is made with chicken, vegetables such as red bell pepper, green bell pepper, browning sauce, and some aromatic spices that makes this dish irresistible.
The end result of this combination is soft and tender chicken in a rich brown stew gravy and a wonderfully scented kitchen. The aroma of brown stew chicken will make you instantly hungry!
Succulent and deliciously marinated chicken pieces in a gravy that is packed with lots of flavors, Jamaican stew chicken has it all.
This Caribbean style dish comes from Jamaica and is very popular among Jamaican households and English speaking Caribbean islands. Well, this dish is a hit at many places such as Antigua, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Belize, Dominica, and Caribbean communities throughout the world.
This recipe has a special brown sauce, which gives this chicken dish a fantastic color and flavor. The most important part that makes all the difference in this dish is marinating the chicken well.
This Jamaican Stew Chicken is,
- Delicious
- Soft & Tender
- Full of flavor
- Popular in Jamaican households
What is Browning Sauce?
Browning sauce is a popular condiment in a Caribbean household and is made by using cane sugar. It adds a depth of flavor and dark color to the stews and soups it is added to.
You can easily find it in supermarkets these days but I prefer to make my own as it is super easy and economical. If going for the store-bought sauce, look out for Gravy Master, Grace, or Kitchen Bouquet brands.
Also, the homemade sauce is thinner than the store-bought one. So if you are using the store-bought sauce, use just ¾ cup of it in the recipe.
Ingredients
Chicken – Chicken is marinated first and then cooked before adding to the gravy. It’s preferable to use chicken with bones in this recipe as the bones add a lot f flavor to the stew. If you are not a fan of bone-in chicken, use boneless chicken instead.
For marination – I have used chicken bouillon powder, ginger, garlic, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper to marinate the chicken.
Once you marinate the chicken, refrigerate it for about an hour. But if you have more time, keep it for as long as one day and it will give you the best flavors.
Make sure to bring the refrigerated chicken to room temperature before frying to avoid seizing.
For the Browning Sauce – To make the browning sauce, we will just need brown sugar and water. Brown Sugar is melted and then mixed with a little water to make the mixture.
For the Gravy – For gravy, we will need onions, garlic, green and red bell pepper, tomato sauce, hot sauce, chicken stock, and salt.
Tomato sauce and hot sauce adds tanginess and heat to the gravy respectively. If you do not have chicken stock, you can even go for vegetable stock but the flavor will differ a bit.
You can also adjust the amount of hot sauce depending upon how spicy you want the stew to be.
How to make Brown Stew Chicken?
We will start by making the browning sauce. If you are buying the sauce, skip this process. Add ½ cup of light brown sugar to a small saucepan and cook on low medium heat until it melts and gets dark brown in color. Keep mixing it continuously using a silicon spatula and make sure the sugar doesn’t scorch.
The sugar goes from perfectly browned to burnt in just a few seconds. So be very careful at this step.
Once the sugar is melted and gotten slightly darker in color, start to add 1 cup of water in a thin stream and mix well until all the sugar dissolves in water. Remove the pan from heat and keep it aside.
Now let’s marinate the chicken. Wash 2 pound (1 kg) bone-in skinless chicken (Use 1 pound (500 g) if using boneless) and wipe the pieces dry using a kitchen tissue. Add all the marinade ingredients like 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper powder, 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder, ½ tsp minced ginger, 1 tsp minced garlic, in a large bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix well with the other ingredients. Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least an hour or better overnight.
To make the gravy, heat ¼ cup of any neutral oil in a large cast-iron skillet (I used a 12-inch pan). When the oil is hot, arrange the marinated chicken pieces in the pan in a single layer.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on high heat until the chicken is nicely browned from the bottom side. Then flip the pieces using a tong and cook for another 2-3 minutes so that it browns well on the other side as well. Remove the browned chicken to a plate.
In the same pan, add ½ cup diced onion, 1 tsp minced garlic, ½ cup sliced green pepper and ½ cup sliced red pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add 2 tbsp tomato ketchup and 1 tsp hot sauce to the pan and cook for another minute. Add the brown sauce that we made at the beginning and the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. If using store-bought brown sauce, use ¾ cup of it.
Now add the browned chicken pieces to the pan and give everything a mix.
Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Well, some people confuse browning sauce with Worcestershire sauce, which cannot be used as a substitute. Browning sauce is the key ingredient of this recipe, which cannot be replaced.
Yes, definitely! You can use any fish fillet and use it instead of chicken. The process and ingredients will remain the same. Just make sure that the cooking time will be different, as fish tends to cook faster.
You can even make this stew using beef, even it tastes great.
Some people like the sauce is even thicker. In such cases, you can add in all-purpose flour, cornstarch, or ketchup to thicken the same.
Slow Cooker Recipe
You can also make this Jamaican stew chicken in a slow cooker. Make the browning sauce in a pan over the stovetop.
Marinate the chicken and cook it on a pan over the stovetop till its browned from both the side. Add all the ingredients including the chicken and browning sauce in the slow cooker and cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours.
Once done, serve with your choice of rice.
Serving Suggestions
Well, it tastes great when served with steamed white or brown rice, but you can also serve with rice and peas, rice and beans, coconut rice or maybe serve with a side of fried plantains or french fries?
I like to whip up a quick batch of my best ever Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and serve this stew over it.
Storage Suggestions
Store this brown stew chicken in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days in an airtight container. Reheat it in a pan or microwave, until nice and warm before serving.
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Recipe Card
Brown Stew Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the browning sauce
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup warm water
For the marinade
- 2 pound bone-in skinless chicken pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons mixed fresh herbs
For the gravy
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ cup sliced green bell pepper
- ½ cup sliced red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock
- salt to taste
Instructions
- We will start by making the browning sauce. If you are buying the sauce, skip this process. Add ½ cup of light brown sugar to a small saucepan and cook on low medium heat until it melts and gets dark brown in color. Keep mixing it continuously using a silicon spatula and make sure the sugar doesn’t scorch.
- The sugar goes from perfectly browned to burnt in just a few seconds. So be very careful at this step.
- Once the sugar is melted and gotten slightly darker in color, start to add 1 cup of water in a thin stream and mix well until all the sugar dissolves in water. Remove the pan from heat and keep it aside.
- Now let’s marinate the chicken. Wash 2 pounds (1 kg) bone-in skinless chicken pieces (Use 1 pound (500 g) if using boneless) and wipe the pieces dry using a kitchen tissue. Add all the marinade ingredients like 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper powder, 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder, ½ tsp minced ginger, 1 tsp minced garlic, in a large bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix well with the other ingredients. Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least an hour or better overnight.
- To make the gravy, heat ¼ cup of any neutral oil in a large cast-iron skillet (I used a 12-inch pan). When the oil is hot, arrange the marinated chicken pieces in the pan in a single layer.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes on high heat until the chicken is nicely browned from the bottom side. Then flip the pieces using a tong and cook for another 2-3 minutes so that it browns well on the other side as well. Remove the browned chicken to a plate.
- In the same pan, add ½ cup diced onion, 1 tsp minced garlic, ½ cup sliced green pepper and ½ cup sliced red pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp tomato ketchup and 1 tsp hot sauce to the pan and cook for another minute. Add the brown sauce that we made at the beginning and the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. If using store-bought brown sauce, use ¾ cup of it.
- Now add the browned chicken pieces to the pan and give everything a mix.
- Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
