Caribbean Style Stew Chicken

Caribbean Style Stew Chicken…it’s a dish that I fondly remember making an appearance at my mother’s dinner table almost every Sunday with variations of beef or pork too. Rich and bursting with Caribbean flair, the true flavor of this dish comes from the caramelized brown sugar that is used as the base for the sauce and subsequently what the meat simmers in. But don’t let that fool you, this isn’t a sweet dish, it’s quite savory with gorgeously subtle caramel undertones. Making it is a cinch but there are a few tricks to know to the process. Taught to me by my mother, here is how you make this staple Caribbean dish…

To begin, we’ll gather our ingredients. Today I’ll be using some boneless, skinless chicken (though beef or pork works beautifully as well!) that will be seasoned with salt, pepper, gluten-free soy sauce, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, cayenne pepper, tomato sauce, thyme, onion, garlic, chives, ginger, basil, cilantro (or culantro aka chadon beni if you prefer) and dried oregano. For the caramelization we’ll need oil and raw organic brown cane sugar.

Now, just a quick note about the sugar, regular brown sugar is what my mother used to make this but the reality of brown sugar is that it’s not clean. As a matter of fact, it’s stripped down white sugar that they’ve added molasses back into (ironically they do this after they remove the molasses and process the sugar to death). I’ve tried other sugars including coconut and date and the flavor profile was drastically changed. Finally though, I spotted a bag of raw, organic brown cane sugar on sale, and after doing some research, I learned that the molasses content is never removed, and that the overall process of this sugar passes the clean production test!

After adding all the seasoning to the cubed chicken

We’ll mix it all together and allow it to marinate for at least an hour.

Now comes the tricky part: Browning the sugar in oil. This is something you need to keep your eye on because it can go from nice and caramelized to burnt in just seconds. If that happens the stew will be dark and bitter. But if you add in your chicken too soon, the meat will be pale and cloyingly sweet. This dish is all about balance. A good measure is to keep your heat on med-high and watch until the sugar completely spreads out and starts to froth and bubble and you can just see the underside beginning to darken.
Be sure you have your seasoned meat ready at hand to add it to the pot the moment it resembles #6 in the above image. Once you add the meat, quickly turn/mix the meat to evenly coat all pieces in the browned sugar. Note that there will be a loud hiss and some pops and splashes of the oil as you add in the chicken (especially if there is a lot of liquid in the marinade) so be careful! Molten hot sugar is no joking matter. I’ve found that using a deeper pot does help to mitigate the splashing and sizzling as well as adding the chicken in all at once so that it creates its own barrier over the oil.

Once all pieces are coated (this should take no more than 5-10 seconds from the moment you add the meat in) lower the heat to med-low and let the chicken rest for two minutes to continue caramelizing before turning it once more.

Once the meat has cooked half-way through we’re going to add some liquid to the pot. Now the choice is yours here, you can add in water or low sodium chicken broth and/or you can even add in a touch of coconut milk if you like (in a ratio of your preference). Once the liquid is added to almost cover the chicken we’re going to cover the pot and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half.
Also, as a bit of an aside, it would be amiss of me to not mention that in true Caribbean fashion a whole uncut hot pepper 🌶️ is typically added to the pot when the liquid is added and the meat is left to simmer. The pepper adds a whole other dimension of flavor to this dish beyond heat. Before serving the pepper is removed to prevent it from breaking or splitting because if it does, the entire dish becomes VERY spicy 🔥🔥🔥

The end result is a richly colored and flavorful meat that is only just slightly sweet and very well seasoned. The balance of flavors here is paramount and this meat dish pairs well with so many things from rice and beans to one of my favorite Caribbean dishes: Green Banana Pie. This method is also the key step to creating a sensational Caribbean-style Pelau which is also a phenomenal one-pot rice, peas, and meat dish that is the unnamed national dish of Trinidad and Tobago!