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.
Here are some more of my Caribbean recipes that you might like – Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Jamaican Marinade, Cornmeal Porridge, and Saffron Rice.
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About This Recipe
Jamaican brown stew chicken is a classic Jamaican (Caribbean) stew dish that is made using bone-in chicken, vegetables, browning sauce, and some aromatic spices.
This chicken stew is very popular among Jamaican households and English-speaking Caribbean islands like Antigua, Trinidad, and Tobago, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Belize, Dominica, etc.
To make this brown stew chicken, bone-in chicken is marinated with herbs and spices for a few hours. It is then lightly browned in an oven or on the stovetop and then stewed along with a special brown sauce until it is tender and the meat falls off the bone.
The brown sauce gives this chicken dish a fantastic color and flavor and makes it different from the other chicken stew dishes. You can either make it from scratch like I did or buy it from a store to save you some time.
The end result of this combination is soft and tender chicken in a rich flavor-packed brown stew gravy and a wonderfully scented kitchen.
What Is Browning Sauce
Browning sauce is a popular condiment in a Caribbean household and is made 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 from scratch as it is super easy and economical to make. If going for the store-bought sauce, look out for Gravy Master, Grace, or Kitchen Bouquet brands.
The homemade browning sauce is thinner than the store-bought one. So if you are using the store-bought sauce, use just ¾ cup as compared to 1 cup of homemade sauce.
Ingredients
Chicken – It’s preferable to use bone-in chicken in this recipe as the bones add a lot of flavor to the stew. But If you are not a fan of bone-in chicken, use boneless chicken instead. You can choose to keep the skin on or off.
To Marinate The Chicken – You will need chicken bouillon powder, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper to marinate the chicken.
To Make The Browning Sauce – To make the browning sauce, you will need brown sugar and water. Brown sugar is caramelized and then mixed with a little water to make the sauce.
To Make The Gravy – You will need onions, garlic, green and red bell peppers, ketchup, hot sauce, chicken stock, and salt to make the gravy.
Adjust the amount of hot sauce depending upon how spicy you want the stew to be.
How To Make Brown Stew Chicken
Marinate The chicken
Mix 2 pounds (1 kg) of bone-in skinless chicken with 2 tablespoon white vinegar and wash it with water. This step is to remove any extra smell from the chicken. Wipe the pieces dry using a paper towel.
Note – Use 1 pound (500 g) if using boneless chicken.
Transfer the chicken pieces to a large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, ½ teaspoon minced ginger, and 1 teaspoon minced garlic to the bowl and mix well with the chicken.
Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least an hour or better overnight.
Make The Browning Sauce
If you are buying the sauce, skip this process.
Add ½ cup of light brown sugar to a small light-colored skillet and cook on medium-low heat until it melts and gets dark brown in color (4-5 minutes). Keep stirring it continuously using a silicon spatula and make sure the sugar doesn’t scorch.
Note – The sugar goes from perfectly browned to burnt in just a few seconds. So be very careful at this step.
Once the sugar is dark brown in color, start to add 1 cup of water in a thin stream while stirring it with a wire whisk. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved in water. Remove the pan from heat and keep it aside.
Make The Gravy
Take out the chicken from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter until it comes to room temperature to avoid seizing (getting dried) while frying it.
To make the gravy, heat ¼ cup of any neutral oil in a large cast-iron pot (I used a 12-inch pot) over high heat.
When the oil is hot, arrange the marinated chicken pieces in the pot 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 they brown well on the other side as well. Remove the browned chicken to a plate.
In the same pot, add ½ cup diced onions, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, ½ cup sliced green pepper, and ½ cup sliced red pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add 2 tablespoon ketchup and 1 teaspoon hot sauce to the pot and cook for another minute.
Add the browning sauce that we made earlier and the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. If using store-bought browning sauce, use ¾ cup of it.
Add salt to taste and stir well.
Now add the browned chicken pieces to the pot and give everything a mix.
Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is tender.
Serve hot with steamed rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Browning sauce is the key ingredient of this recipe, which cannot be replaced. Some people confuse browning sauce with Worcestershire sauce, but it cannot be used as a substitute.
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 make this stew using beef or pork as well.
Add some all-purpose flour or cornstarch slurry to the ready sauce and cook until it thickens.
Slow Cooker Brown Stew Chicken
You can make this Jamaican stew chicken in a slow cooker as well. 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 to the slow cooker and cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours.
Serving Suggestions
This chicken stew is traditionally served with Jamaican rice and peas, rice and beans, coconut rice, or fried plantains.
But it also tastes great with steamed white rice, brown rice, or quinoa.
I personally 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.
You can also freeze it for upto a month. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then heat well and serve.
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Recipe Card
Brown Stew Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
To Make The Marinade
- 2 pound bone-in skinless chicken pieces (1 kg, cut into 1 and ½ inch chunks. Use 1 pound (500 g) if using boneless.)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons mixed fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley and sage)
To Make The Browning Sauce
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup warm water
To Make The Gravy
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup diced onions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ cup sliced green bell pepper
- ½ cup sliced red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock
- salt to taste
Instructions
Marinate The Chicken
- Mix the chicken with white vinegar and wash it with water. This step is to remove any extra smell from the chicken. Wipe the pieces dry using a paper towel.
- Add the chicken pieces to a large bowl. Add salt, ground black pepper, chicken bouillon powder, minced ginger, and minced garlic to the bowl and mix well with the chicken.
- Cover the bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least an hour or better overnight.
Make The Browning Sauce
- Add light brown sugar to a small light-colored skillet and cook on medium-low heat until it melts and gets dark brown in color. Keep stirring 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 keep mixing well until all the sugar dissolves in water. Remove the pan from heat and keep it aside.
Make The Gravy
- Heat oil in a large cast-iron pot (I used a 12-inch pan) over high heat. When the oil is hot, arrange the marinated chicken pieces in the pot 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.
- Add onions, garlic, green pepper, and red pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ketchup and hot sauce and cook for another minute. Add the browning sauce that we made earlier and the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. If using store-bought browning sauce, use ¾ cup of it.
- Add salt to taste and stir well.
- Now add the browned chicken pieces to the pot and give everything a mix.
- Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is tender.
- Serve hot.
Ashley
Yes. Easy to follow and came out great!
Neha Mathur
Good to hear 🙂
Chris
I added all the ingredients in a pot, browned the chicken then added the chicken to the pot, simmer for 30mins… done!
Neha Mathur
Nice 🙂