Brown stew chicken

Ingredients

Chicken and seasoning

• 1.5 kgchicken, cut into pieces, skin on
• 1lime, halved
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 4spring onions, chopped
• 4 sprigsthyme
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tspground allspice
• 2 tbspsoy sauce

Stew

• 3 tbspoil
• 2 tbspdark brown sugar
• 1onion, sliced
• 1red pepper, sliced
• 2carrots, sliced
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1whole scotch bonnet chilli
• 2 sprigsthyme
• 1 tbspketchup
• 500 mlwater or chicken stock
• 1 tbspplain flour, optional

Directions

1. Wash the chicken pieces in cold water with the cut lime, rubbing the lime over each piece, then rinse and pat them thoroughly dry. This is standard practice in Jamaican kitchens and it also takes off the slipperiness that stops seasoning clinging.
2. Season with the salt, pepper, spring onion, thyme, garlic, allspice and soy sauce, and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Scrape the seasoning off the chicken and set it aside. Any onion or thyme left clinging will burn in the sugar and turn the gravy bitter.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy pot until it shimmers, then add the brown sugar and leave it completely alone. It will melt, foam up, and darken to the colour of strong tea.
5. The moment it turns very dark and begins to smoke faintly, lower the chicken in. This burnt-sugar browning is the technique the dish is named for, and the window is about fifteen seconds wide: too early and the stew is pale and sweet, too late and it is acrid.
6. Brown the chicken on all sides in batches, 3 to 4 minutes a batch, then lift it out.
7. Fry the onion, red pepper, carrot and the reserved seasoning in the same pot for 5 minutes.
8. Return the chicken, add the tomatoes, ketchup, thyme and water, and lay the whole scotch bonnet on top. Do not pierce or cut it: left whole it gives its perfume to the pot, and broken it gives a heat that cannot be taken back out again.
9. Cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the gravy has gone dark and glossy.
10. Lift the scotch bonnet out carefully and discard it. If the gravy is thinner than you want, mash the flour with a little cold water, stir it in and simmer for 3 minutes.
11. Serve with rice and peas, or with boiled green banana and dumplings.

Technique

• The sugar stage is the whole dish and it cannot be hurried or walked away from. Have the chicken standing ready beside the pot before you start it.
• The browning technique is shared right across the Afro-Caribbean, which is a good part of its history.
• A whole scotch bonnet in the pot is standard and gives fragrance rather than fire. Anyone who wants heat can break theirs on the plate.

Substitutions

• Bottled browning sauce stirred in at the stewing stage, if you would rather not caramelise sugar.
• Chicken thighs alone, which stay far more forgiving over a long stew than breast.

Variations

• Brown stew fish, made the same way with whole snapper.
• Brown stew pork, with a longer simmer.
• With butter beans added for the last 15 minutes.

History

Chicken browned in caramelised sugar then stewed with thyme and pimento, the browning technique shared across the Afro-Caribbean.

Frequently asked questions

What is Brown stew chicken?

Brown stew chicken is a main from Jamaica: chicken browned in burnt sugar, stewed in rich gravy. Chicken browned in caramelised sugar then stewed with thyme and pimento, the browning technique shared across the Afro-Caribbean.

How long does Brown stew chicken take to make?

Brown stew chicken takes 20 min plus 2 hr marinating of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Brown stew chicken?

Yes, within limits. Bottled browning sauce stirred in at the stewing stage, if you would rather not caramelise sugar. Chicken thighs alone, which stay far more forgiving over a long stew than breast.

What is the most important thing to get right in Brown stew chicken?

Return the chicken, add the tomatoes, ketchup, thyme and water, and lay the whole scotch bonnet on top. Do not pierce or cut it: left whole it gives its perfume to the pot, and broken it gives a heat that cannot be taken back out again.