Though this recipe was not passed down from my mom, the technique and basic principles I did learn from watching her prepare this amazing dish. Quite honestly, this is my favorite dish and it’s cooked at least once a week at home. Served with sliced avocado, cucumber and tomato on a heaping bed of brown rice. Just thinking about it, makes the greedy juices in my mouth flow.
Though you may have heard that “browning” the meat can be difficult, this is a very simple and easy recipe to follow. With the aid of pictures I’ll show you how easy it is to brown or caramelize the chicken, so everything turns out perfect
You’ll need…
1 (4-5 pounds) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced or crushed
1 teaspoon fresh/bottled ginger – crushed. (use 1/2 if it’s ginger powder)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (one that can withstand high heat)
1 medium onion – chopped
1 medium tomato – chopped
2-3 tablespoon cilantro (or 2 tbs Trinidad green meat seasoning)
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 hot pepper (only if you like your food spicy)
1 green onion or chive – chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (1 teaspoon dried)
1 lime or lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar
Lets get started…
Preparing the chicken. Cut or ask your butcher to cut the chicken into serving size pieces. In a bowl empty the cut chicken and squeeze the lime or lemon (or vinegar) onto the chicken, then add some water from your tap to cover the pieces of chicken. Now wash each piece individually, removing skin and any fat (we’ll try to keep this a bit healthy). Now rinse with a new batch of water and drain.
Now in the same bowl with the freshly washed chicken you’ll add ALL the ingredients EXCEPT the oil, sugar and cup of water, we’ll be using those to cook the chicken. Here’s what it should look like (remember to mix everything around and let it sit (marinate) in the fridge for about 1hr before cooking.
FYI, you’ve just seasoned the chicken. After about an hour or so it time to get things moving. It’s best if you could find a solid or heavy pan/pot, like a dutch oven for the actual cooking process. The heavier the pan, the better the oil will heat evenly and the chicken will caramelize for you. On high heat, add the oil to the pan. Just before the oil starts to smoke, add the brown sugar. TIP – be sure to have the seasoned chicken handy, use a long handle spoon (it will get hot) and oven mitts to hold onto the pot to turn the pieces of chicken to get it evenly coated. It’s important that you keep an eye on things and be ready to act fast. Next tip – it can get a bit smoky with the high heat at this point, so you may want to turn the exhaust fan over your stove on or open a window in the event you have smoke detectors installed.
Here’s a pic of adding the sugar to the hot oil.
Move around the sugar in the pot (remember to use a dry spoon with a long handle), until it starts to melt. Now keep a close eye on things here, since you’re looking for the sugar to go a bit foamy, and change color to golden. See pic below. Notice the bottom left of the picture where the sugar appears a bit darker? That’s the exact color you’re looking for before adding the chicken.
At this point you can start adding the pieces of chicken into the pot with the caramelized sugar. Try to be quick, since you don’t want the sugar to go much darker than in the picture above. Be sure to coat every piece of chicken so it “browns” evenly. Now cover the pot and let simmer for about 5 -10 minutes. you’ll notice that the pot will now have some excess water in it.
Remove the lid and turn the heat back up to high. Let’s get rid of that water that formed earlier.We’re ensuring that all the pieces of meat is nice an golden brown at this point. Ensure that there’s no water left in the pot.. it will seems as if it’s starting to stick or burn.
Now add the cup of water to the bowl that contained the seasoned chicken. Swish it around so you get all the seasoning bits that were left back. Add this water to the pot so you can continue cooking the chicken for another 25 minutes or so. Turn the heat back down to a simmer and let cook until the water thickens up to a nice gravy like consistency.
Couple points..
Salt – be sure to taste near the end to add extra salt as to your liking.
Sauce – my mom hates allowing any form of sauce with her stew chicken, she like it to “fry down” so it dry. Makes for a more unique and traditional flavor. But I like to leave it with sauce or gravy so I can put it on a bed of brown rice.
Questions? Leave me a comment below and I’ll try my best to help you as best as I can.
Maybe you have a different version of this recipe? Feel free to submit your recipes – let’s make you a famous online chef 
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Hello!
I just became your friend on Foodbuzz, so today I was going through your posts. This one here has to be my favorite so far. I never knew about “browning” method before! Learned from you, thank you for sharing this recipe.
Spirited Miu Flavor’s last blog post..Turkish Pan Borek w/ Nettle & Feta : Phyllo Pastry That Won’t Bite You Back!
Thanks for visiting. I’m very glad that I was able to share this with you.
Love the stewed chicken-I am not a huge meat eater and prefer things stewed like this. Question-do you know anything about meat pies? I am looking for the golden crust for the meat pies-wondered if you could help?
Patty Gironda’s last blog post..Honey and Sesame Wonton
Patty, thanks for stopping by and commenting. Re: Crust . To be quite honest, I’ve never made a meat pie nor crust.. though I do enjoy them. Maybe someone else who’s reading can assist Patty?
First to answer Patty’s question. Are you referring to the Jamaican Patty? The pastry used there is a flaky pastry. In terms of the colour, for Jamaican patty, you can make the crust by adding some saffron to the dough to give it that wholesome yellow colouring or brush the pastry with saffron-infused egg wash. Barring that, an egg wash of an egg and 1 tablespoon water will give you a nice light brown glaze but it will not have that yellow colour that the Jamaican patty has.
Chris, there is definitely noting quite like a Trini Stew Chicken. I love the unique taste of it.
Cynthia’s last blog post..Tasting What You Eat
Hello
Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe. I just have a question, though. Is the carmelized sugar a vital step? Will the recipe taste bad without it?
The carmelized sugar is the main step you want it to get brown but not burnt.Somewhat similar to a gumbo roux.
Hello Lillie, to be quite honest..it is! However, my cousin is diabetic so my aunt usually avoid this step and use soy sauce and “browning” to get the dark rich colour. The taste is not the same though, but close.
Browning sauce is a blend of caramel color, vegetable concentrates and seasonings. Available since the early 1900s, the sauce is used to add a rich dark color to foods. Traditionally added to gravies and sauces, browning sauce also works well in soups and stews to darken the broth. Today’s time-crunched cooks sometimes brush or stir browning sauce into beef, poultry or pork prepared in the microwave to give it an oven-roasted appearance. In some grocery stores, browning sauce is located near the prepared and dry gravy mixes. Two popular brands are Kitchen Bouquet and Gravy Master. A little browning sauce goes a long way, so be sure to measure it carefully. A teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet provides 15 calories, no fat and 10 mg of sodium—not a bad trade-off for a richer, more appealing color in many prepared dishes.
I just wanted to share that I followed this recipe to the letter and it was absolutely delicious! I did not have a scotch bonnet/habanero pepper so I used a whole jalapeno instead and it was the perfect amount of spice.
Thank you for the tip about the sugar- it really makes the recipe what it is. I was a little worried at first because I tasted the sauce as I was boiling out the juices “on high” and it was very very sweet that I was afraid I made a mistake but once the steamed juices cooked down and I simmered the recipe again in the cup of water it tasted absolutely perfect.
Savory, and not too sweet or salty at all. I ate it two days in a row and am thinking of making it again this week. Again,thank you for sharing
is this for real unbelieveable
uh i didnt like it
Excellent guide from you.
Very detail, good pictures, and lovely comments from you.
Great share.
I’ve made several versions of this recipe, and they are all quite tasty. My favourite variation uses organic ketchup instead of sugar. Use a very heavy pot over medium-high heat (no oil added) and cook the ketchup until it takes on a dark reddish-brown colour. Gradually add tiny amounts of water and stir frequently to keep the mixture from crusting on the bottom of the pan. Once your desired colour is achieved, go ahead and add the chicken, etc. Because I don’t add any oil to the pan, the process takes a lot more ‘babysitting’ at the beginning to keep things from burning/sticking. But once the chicken is nicely browned and the liquid is added, there’s no need to hover over the pot. This makes for a more tangy sauce, and there’s no danger of a sugary taste if you fail to carmelize the ketchup properly.
Squeezle´s last blog ..Friday Night Wine Down : Shiraz/Syrah
Thanks for the recipe,
I have a question about the marinade. Do you add the marinade to the pan with the chicken? Do you cook the tomatoes and oniond also.
Thanks
Re: Squeezle Thanks for the tip / variations. I’ll have to give it a try.
re: Lillie I’m glad you enjoyed it.
re: heath. Absolutely. All that wonderful goodness is added to the pan, so it gives the dish added flavour and body.
Chris De La Rosa´s last blog ..Profile of the Fiery Scotch Bonnet Pepper.
This stew chicken recipe just sounds delicious. I’m feeling hungry just reading it. This is the best website. Just a note to the health conscious folks, you don’t have to use oil to make stew chicken. I just learned that recently from my mom and her stew chicken is the bomb too. The chicken does not stick because it springs so much of its own fluids.
This is my favourite.Very nice variation to the way I used to do it. Keep up the good work. I look forward to your many recipes.
Thanks.
This one was amazing and very simple to follow. I can’t wait to eat it again- I think this is going to be a regular!!!
Thanks for taking the time to leave your comments. please share the site with your friends so we cna have even more comments coming in.
happy cooking
chris
Chris De La Rosa´s last blog ..The 2009 Ancaster Home Show.
Hello Chris,
Sorry it took me so long to comment on ur recepies. I have not tried any of them as yet but, i will try-on this one for size.
I must say though i am not a big fan of stew chicken but this one sure sounds wonderful and full of flavor. Thanks for the tip!!
I love this recipe i make it every week without fail and my hubby and daughter can’t get enough of it. I’m just wondering if you have a recipe for a great curried mutton i would love to try.
Keep up the great work this is my favorite recipe site going, love from overseas London UK.
My stew chicken never came out quite right until I tried your recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Chris, thank you for giving me my favorite new stew chicken recipe! I followed all the steps religiously and the meal turned out wonderfully. Stew chicken is one of my favorite Caribbean dishes; I usually get my occasional fix from a local restaurant. However, I’ve had to cut back a bit on the dining out, so I decided to try making some of my favorites on my own. This was actually my second time trying a stew chicken recipe. The first time I used another one I’d found online and it was good but this time the meal tasted much closer to what I’m used to getting from the restaurant. By the way, I added a touch of browning sauce to the marinade to help ensure the rich, brown color. Also, next time, I will add a bit of corn starch to the sauce at the end for a slightly thicker gravy. Thanks again!
Angel, glad to know that you were successful with it and you can now save on having to hit the restaurant. If you’re adding browning, the safe way to do it is near the end so you can control the rich colour we seek. This way if you can add as necessary.
Happy cooking
Chris…
flora ramdass from myrtle ave can make a great stew chicken
Last fall I bought stewed chicken and rice from a lady vendor at a fair in Georgia, USA. She said that she was from Tobago. That was all I had to go on, stewed chicken and Tobago for this delicious meal that I purchased. I am delighted to have found your presentation. It nails the recipe I was looking for. The pictures of the marinading and browning are fantastic. Great job. I have made this several times since.
Al
Al, I happy to know that you're finding the recipes helpful.
happy cooking
chris…
Chris this is good stuff and probably done all over the Caribbean with subtle changes. I for one don't use the ketchup or tomato, instead I would use what we call in Dominica, green paw-paw (papaya) or a medium Irish potato and a couple dashes of Cajun & Soul Seasonings. But a very tatsty pot especially here in the Caribbean where we produce what we call our "yard fowl" and cook this as a sunday meal!!!
Nigel, Thanks for taking the time to share the version you enjoy. Only recently on a friend's facebook page I saw some pics of him cooking "yard fowl" by the river side. That took me back to my early teens when I did the same with friends.
Love the idea of using the green paw-paw.
happy cooking
chris…
This is exactly how my Mom taught me to to stew Chicken. Instead of Lime or Lemon juice to wash the CHicken, She used to put a capful (or a tbsp) of some dark Trinidad rum.
I've seen people season the chicken with rum as well. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comment with us.
chris
hello chris, saw your previous comment about your cousin being diabetic so i had a different suggestion. i have pre-diabetes (high blood sugar) so i replace all brown sugar, in most recipes, with splenda brown sugar blend. just turn the heat down a bit and follow the scaling directions on the back of the splenda bag and it tastes the same as using brown sugar !!
Thanks for that tip.
Hi Chris – i lived in Trinidad for a while but wasn't eating any meat at the time. I do remember learning a brown stew fish, but it was when i first got there & could never quite remember all. So glad I found your page! i miss that food bad bad!!!
one question – down there we have the natural sugar, not white processed – but the natural cane looks similar to brown sugar – just want to clarify because i dont use browning sauce & was taught how to brown w/cane sugar. For this dish are we using natural cane sugar or the actual brown sugar? thanks so much,
my fowl is marinating right now for tonight!
you're so right about the sugar. it's something I had forgotten, until I was cooking at my sisters place back in Oct. The brown sugar (cane) is a bit more grainy and and I found that I need a little less than the brown sugar we get in north america. The brown sugar here is very packed and dense in texture. To date I've used, cane sugar, packed golden brown sugar and granulated sugar and they all work fine. However you will have to play around with the quantity you use as each gives it's own unique colour.
BTW in my recipe I used the packed North American golden sugar. There's also a dark brown sugar.. but that one is hard to work with.
Love your site!!! Keep the recipes coming!
thanks.. stay tuned.
Love your site!!! Keep the recipes coming!
this is one recipe I've gotta cook for my friend. Thanks
Hi Chris,
Thank you, you’re doing a great job so keep the recipes coming my friend. Do you have a Restaurant? If you do I’ll surely visit one day to taste your delicious food. By the way I also love Stew Chicken and Rice so I don’t let my own dries up I usually leave a little gravy. God Bless!!!!!!!!!
Doonwati