Caribbean Stewed Chicken With Butter Beans
Caribbean Stewed Chicken with Butter Beans is a rich, flavourful Caribbean brown-stew made with deeply seasoned chicken, Scotch bonnet, herbs, coconut cream, and tender butter beans. This full-size batch stretches the meal and feeds a family or group.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken legs/thighs
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3/4 tablespoon salt adjust to taste
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 pimento peppers sliced
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 Scotch bonnet pepper sliced
- 6-8 cherry tomatoes chopped
- 6-8 leaves chadon beni
- 3 tablespoons parsley chopped, divided
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 2 scallions chopped, divided
- 6 sprigs thyme divided
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons golden brown sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream
- 1 can Butter beans 540 ml / 19 oz (lima beans)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into serving-sized pieces, and in keeping with deep-rooted Caribbean traditions, wash it after removing the skin and most of the fat with lemon juice and cool water. Lime juice or 1/2 cup of white vinegar will also work. Caution: If you read the reports about washing chicken and you are not comfortable doing so, do not.
- Drain the chicken and season with the salt, onion, pimento peppers, garlic, Scotch bonnet pepper, cherry tomatoes, chadon beni, 1/2 of the parsley, ginger, 1/2 of the scallions, 1/2 of the thyme leaves, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Mix well to combine, and marinate for at least 2 hours. Overnight will give you better results. As a little fella growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, the scent of the seasoned chicken was definetly one of my faves.
- In this step, I'll ask you to follow along in the video below, as it's the critical step in the recipe. Heat a heavy pot over medium-high heat, add the oil followed by the brown sugar, and stir. It will go frothy, then turn a deep amber in colour. This is when you'd add the seasoned chicken to the pot and stir to coat.
- Should the sugar go black, shut off the stove, allow the pot to cool completely, wash, dry, and start over. A common question I get when people see me start with sugar is whether the finished dish will be sweet. I can guarantee you that once you follow the steps I outlined, it won't.
- Should the sugar go black, it will ruin the stewed chicken by making it bitter. Be warned also, that your kitchen may go a bit smoky, so you'll want to vent it properly, or it will trigger your smoke detector.
- Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 6 minutes. The chicken will sprout its own natural juices.
- In the interim, pour the water into the same bowl you marinated the chicken in to pick up remnants, and set aside. I'd also recommend rinsing the butter beans to remove the brine it was packaged in as well.
- Uncover the pot, raise the heat to medium-high, and burn off the liquid. The goal is to get that deep, delicious-looking colour a good stew chicken is supposed to have. This also heightens the overall flavour of the dish.
- After 3-4 minutes, you should start seeing the oil that we started with, and the chicken pieces will have a lovely amber-golden colour.
- Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil. As it starts simmering, add the coconut cream, along with the remaining thyme, sprigs and everything.
- Cook for another 4-6 minutes uncovered, rolling. Then add the butter beans and cook until they've absorbed the rich, flavourful gravy base. In about 5-6 minutes, the chicken should be fully cooked, the gravy should be a bit thicker, and the beans packed with flavour.
- Top with the remaining scallion and parsley. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking, and adjust the sauce or gravy's consistency to your liking, keeping in mind that it will thicken further once cool and with the residual heat of the pot.
- Should you like this dish, may I recommend making the Stewed Chicken With Potatoes I shared a while back, and it would be nice if you could share your thoughts in the comment section below if you made this Stewed Chicken With Butter Beans.
Video
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use lima beans instead of butter beans? Yes. Butter beans are also commonly called lima beans, and the recipe uses the terms together. Canned butter beans are convenient for this recipe and readily absorb the rich gravy. I must stress that rinsing the beans in cool water is very important to remove the brine they're packaged in. Can I use cilantro instead of chadon beni? Yes. If you cannot find chadon beni, 3 tablespoons of cilantro can be used as noted in the original recipe. The flavour will not be the same, but cilantro is a practical alternative. How long should I marinate the Chicken for the dish? Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours. Overnight will give you better results, especially when you want the seasoning to really work into the chicken. Why does the brown sugar need to become amber before adding the chicken? The brown sugar is responsible for developing the deep colour and is an important part of the flavour of the stew. You want it to become frothy and then deep amber. If it goes black, it will make the finished stew bitter, and you should start over. How spicy is Caribbean Stewed Chicken With Butter Beans? The Scotch bonnet pepper provides the heat, but you can adjust the amount according to what you can tolerate. The pepper also contributes flavour, so you do not have to make the dish extremely hot to benefit from it. Habanero peppers are excellent substitutes for the Scotch bonnet, but NOT the pimento peppers. Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!