Brown Stew Chicken
This classic Jamaican brown stew chicken dish is incredibly flavorful. All the complementary sweet and spicy notes will make you want to whip this up for a weeknight meal and entertaining. And besides being delicious, it’s an absolute breeze to make!
I love spicy things in general (just in case you haven’t figured that out yet 😜). I come from a lengthy background of spice-loving people, which is one reason I am so in love with this chicken stew. The aromatic blend of garlic, ginger, pepper, thyme, and green onions makes my mouth water long before serving a plate of this stew.
Honestly, this stew is just downright comforting! It makes your house smell amazing and will remind you of long weekends spent at home with family while your mom cooked everyone’s favorite meals. In fact, don’t be surprised if this dish turns into one of your own family favorites.
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Content… Why It’s Called Brown Stew |
Why It’s Called Brown Stew Chicken
Browning sauce is one of the major flavor enhancers of an authentic Jamaican brown stew chicken recipe. Thus, the name of a popular Caribbean condiment that blends caramel color, vegetable concentrates, and seasonings. This sauce deepens the flavor in meat and darkens the broth in soups and stews.
How to Make Brown Stew Chicken
Marinate the Chicken
- Prep Chicken – Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Next, place the chicken in a bowl and season it with salt and pepper according to your taste.
- Season – Then add the chicken bouillon powder, ginger, garlic, white pepper, thyme, paprika, and green onions. Thoroughly mix everything with a spoon or your hands until every piece of chicken is well-coated. (Photo 1)
- Marinate – Cover tightly and set aside in the fridge. Marinate for at least an hour or overnight. (Photo 2)
- Ready to Cook – When ready to cook, remove particles from the chicken and reserve the marinade for later.
Make the Stew
- Sear Chicken – Heat the oil in a large pan (I used 12-inch cast iron), then brown the chicken for 3-4 minutes until golden. (Photos 3-4)
- Set Aside – Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set it aside on a plate.
- Saute – Drain excess oil from the skillet, leaving 2-3 tablespoons of oil behind. Add onions, garlic, thyme, hot sauce, paprika, brown sugar, browning sauce, ketchup, bell peppers (if desired, add some or all of the bell peppers towards the last 10 minutes of cooking), and salt to taste. A scotch bonnet pepper is also a nice addition for more heat. (Photos 5-6)
- Stir for about 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the leftover marinade from the chicken and deglaze the pan with the chicken stock or broth. (Photo 7)
- Add Chicken – Bring everything to a boil and return the browned chicken to the pan. (Photo 8)
- Simmer – Cover the pot and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the chicken becomes fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce thickens slightly.
- Adjust Seasoning – Do a taste test and adjust salt, black pepper, and the soup consistency as needed.
- Serve with rice, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- In a hurry? Make this recipe in the crock pot! Just toss all the ingredients into the slow cooker after browning the chicken. Cook it on high for 3-4 hours and serve over rice.
- Leave out the hot sauce for a mild version of brown chicken stew.
- Browning the chicken and sautéing the onions isn’t necessary, but this small step results in colossal flavor. So, I recommend not skipping it.
- When you deglaze your pan with cool water, stir frequently. The broth combined with stirring lifts flavorful bits sticking to the pan, prevents it from burning, and makes your stew incredibly tasty.
Make-Ahead and Leftovers
This stew will stay good for a few days in the fridge, so feel free to make it a couple of days ahead. Then, you can heat it up on the stovetop on medium-high heat.
Store your leftover stew in an airtight container in the fridge. It should keep for 3-5 days. I prefer reheating this stew on the stovetop on medium heat, but you can microwave it if in a hurry.
What Goes With Brown Stew Chicken
Honestly, this stewed chicken is fantastic all on its own. Still, if you’re asking me what’s on my dinner table, you’d probably find coconut rice, fried plantains, and steamed veggies.
I’d also be serving sorrel drink over ice because it is another island classic that is beautifully refreshing. And for dessert? Rum raisin cake with rum glaze for dessert. 🤤
More Soul-Satisfying Jamaican Recipes to Try
- Jamaican Oxtail Stew
- Callaloo
- Jamaican Meat Pie
- Gungo Rice and Peas
- Jamaican Easter Spice Bun
- Slow Cooker Curry Chicken
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
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This post was first published in May 2014 and has been updated with a new recipe, photos, tips, and a video
Brown Stew Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1 3½-5 pound (1.5-2.5k) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon (2g) chicken bouillon powder
- 1-2 teaspoons (2-4g) fresh ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon (5g) garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon (1g) white pepper
- 1 teaspoon (1g) fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon (1g) paprika
- 2 green onions, diced
Brown Stew Chicken
- 2 tablespoons (28ml) canola oil, or more as needed
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1¼ cups)
- 2 teaspoons (10g) garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon (4.7g) hot sauce (or sub chili sauce)
- 1½ teaspoon (3g) paprika
- 1 tablespoon (12.5g) brown sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons (5-10ml) browning sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons (32-48g) ketchup
- 2 small bell pepper, sliced (red or green)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 cups (235-475ml) chicken broth (or water)
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken with paper towels.
- Then place chicken in a bowl and season with salt and pepper according to preference.
- Then season with the chicken bouillon powder, ginger, garlic, white pepper, thyme, paprika, and green onions. Thoroughly mix the chicken with a spoon or hands until it is well coated, cover tightly, and set aside in the fridge. Marinate for about at least an hour (preferably overnight).
- When ready to cook, remove excess marinade from the chicken and reserve for later. Heat up a large pan (mine was a 12-inch cast iron skillet) with about 2 tablespoons oil.
- Brown the chicken about 3-4 minutes until chicken is a golden brown, remove and place on a plate. Drain excess oil from the skillet, leaving about 2-3 tablespoons of oil.
- In the same pan, add onions, garlic, thyme, hot sauce, paprika, sugar, browning sauce, ketchup, bell peppers (if desired add some or all of the bell peppers towards the last 10 minutes of cooking), and salt to taste. Stir for 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent. Add the reserved chicken marinade.
- Deglaze pan with the broth or water. Bring to a boil and return the brown chicken back to the pan.
- Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, more or less or until chicken is cooked through (no pink showing) and sauce thickens, slightly. Adjust for salt, pepper, and consistency with more broth or water as you cook.
- Turn off the stove, remove the stew, and serve with Caribbean rice and beans.
Tips & Notes:
- You don’t have to brown the chicken and sauté the onions and spices before making the stew, but this small step results in big flavor. I recommend you don’t skip it!
- When you deglaze your pan with cool water (or broth), stir frequently. The cool water on the hot pan combined with your stirring will lift any flavorful bits sticking to the pan, prevent them from burning, and make your stew incredibly tasty.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
I loved the recipe. I followed it to the “T”…it came out great can’t wait to try more.
Thanks so much!
This recipe is incredible! Delicious just as written, and after I’d made it a few times I added both sliced jalapeno and a tiny pinch of Carolina Reaper powder to give it a bigger kick. My meat-and -potatoes husband now asks for this instead at least once a week! Thank you!!!!
Thanks so much! Glad to hear hubby enjoys it as much as we do.
I am a little nervous about making this because I’m used to making Spanish style stew chicken. But I absolutely love Jamaican brown stew chicken and I’m looking forward to putting all this together. I will post an update of the results. Heading to the store now
You will love this one too! keep us posted.
I am anxious to try this beautiful recipe. However, I was wondering if you can suggest a substitute for the browning sauce? Where I live there would not be anything like that available in the tiendas or markets? Thank you,cans love your recipes.
Browning sauce is burnt sugar. Do you have molasses? or leave it out completely. Will be updating blog soon with a good substitute .
I’ve been making your recipes for a few years now. This is my favorite go to dish for ANYTHING! Thank you for such tastiness!!
Oh my! Thanks so much for your continuous support . Happy Holidays.
This is an amazing meal – so easy and so flavourful. Thanks so much!
Thank you for the feedback, Kelly!
Can I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken?
Yes you sure can.
Just like the wonderful Jamaican place down the street. I did leave in the green onions and garlic. I added some cornstarch to thicken a bit, otherwise just as written.
Great! Thanks for the feedback.
Hi!
When do you add the brown sugar? I’m assuming with the rest of the spices and browning/ketchup to make the gravy?
Thank you
Hi. Yes, it’s along with the browning sauce and ketchup in step #5.
This recipe worked out perfectly! I was surprised that it tasted so authentic. I did throw in a scotch bonnet instead of the chilli hot sauce. I would recommend definitely recommend doing that. I took out the bonnet at the very end since it can get extremely spicy but cooking it in the sauce with a few fork marks in the bonnet released a lot of its flavour.
I have made this multiple times turns out delicious every time thank you for sharing
Remove what excess particles?
The green onions and or garlic from the marinated chicken.
I made this tonight along with your rice and beans recipe and it was simply amazing. Utterly delicious.
Our only complaint is that when viewed on a mobile device, your recipe keeps moving around as your adverts reload.
Noted. Thanks for sharing this with us
This is my 2nd time making this soooooooo delicious! Thank you
So happy to hear this .Thanks for the feedback.
I want to thank you …this came out SUPER DELISH….i added more bell peppers at the end and crush pepper and two bay leaf when I started cooking it..I followed you to the tee…ty..i look forward to mastering this and I will follow more of your recipes..oh yeah rice and pigeon peas on the side.
With rice and pigeon peas on the side… that sounds absolutely Divine!! I am glad you love this recipe, Martin. Thank you so much for the feedback.
I made this for the first time as I enjoy Caribbean food. It was delicious which is an understatement. I didn’t have time to marinate it but still the chicken soaked up all the flavours and it was so tender as well. Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic!! I am so happy this recipe was a hit with you, Petra! Thank you for the feedback :)!