Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken combines juicy marinated chicken thighs mixed with tender veggies and a sauce that’s full of Jamaican flavor! It’s a perfect dish for when you’re craving a taste of the Caribbean or need a switch up from the standard plain chicken dinners! Not to mention, it is so incredibly simple to make!
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Instructions
Prep
Remove chicken from packaging, rinse under cool water and pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels. Set aside.
Mince the garlic, slice the green onions, and seed and dice the scotch bonnet pepper (be sure to wear gloves, scotch bonnets are very hot, you don't want the pepper oils on your hands).
The Marinade
In a large mixing bowl add dark brown sugar, scotch bonnet, salt, green onion, ginger, thyme, apple cider vinegar, browning sauce, pepper, and allspice.
Combine all ingredients, add in chicken thighs, using tongs or a gloved hand rub the marinade into the chicken meat.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight 12 to 24 hrs is optimal for the best flavor).
Make The Stew
With tongs remove the chicken from the marinade, shake off or scrape any excess marinade from the chicken pieces and set them aside for later (reserve the marinade as you will add all of it to the stew).
In a large stock pot or dutch oven, add olive oil, then bring to medium-high heat.
Working in batches, add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides, or about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set it aside on a clean plate.
In the same pot at medium high heat, add in the onion, stir for a couple minutes until onion turns brown (not burnt). Add the carrots and bell peppers, stir to combine. Then add in the tomatoes, stir for 2-3 minutes.
Add chicken broth to the pot, chicken pieces, bay leaves, and the reserved marinade (scrape the bottom of your pot to get up all the bits).
Bring to rapid boil, then reduce heat to get a very low boil/simmer.
Cook uncovered for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the liquid has reduced by half.
When the stew has reduced to your satisfaction, serve over rice, and enjoy!
Notes
Scotch Bonnet Peppers can be hard to find and can be substituted with habaneros or even jalapeños.
However, the Scoville Heat Units(the measurement scale for the spiciness of chili peppers) are vastly different for these peppers. A jalapeño ranks at 2,500-8,000 SHU, and scotch bonnets and habaneros both rank at 100,000-350,000 SHU. The jalapeño will give you a milder heat, and the scotch bonnet or habanero will give you a more intense heat.
Wear gloves while chopping any chili peppers - you don’t want to get the pepper oils on your skin or in your eyes!
Not all salt is the same! Kosher salt is lighter in weight than regular table salt or sea salt and usually requires more to achieve the same flavor.
If you must substitute table salt for kosher salt, add half the amount (one tablespoon). You can always add more salt later if you wish!
Cooking times may vary when making the brown stew chicken. Your goal is to reduce the liquid of the stew by half.
Keep an eye on your stew to make sure it reduces properly. If your stove takes a little longer, you can remove the chicken once it’s fully cooked and add it back in at the end for a few minutes to prevent overcooking.