Brown Stew Chicken

By Millie Peartree

Updated February 7, 2021

  • Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
45 minutes, plus at least 2 hours’ marinating
Rating
4(357)
Comments
Read comments

Popular in many Caribbean households, this chicken dish gets its deep rich color from store-bought browning sauce, like Grace, which is made from a combination of concentrated vegetables, seasonings and caramelized sugar. The browning sauce is used in the marinade, where it’s bolstered by brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and warm spices. The chicken is braised and cooked low with sweet vegetables, like carrots and onions, and yields a thick gravy that’s just as delicious spooned over rice or paired with cabbage.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

FOR THE MARINADE

  • 2 tablespoons browning sauce, such as Grace

  • 2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

  • 1 teaspoon chile powder

  • 1 teaspoon allspice powder

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

FOR THE CHICKEN

  • 4 whole bone-in, skinless chicken legs (about 3 pounds)

  • Kosher salt and black pepper

  • 2 whole scallions, halved crosswise

  • 4 fresh thyme sprigs

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed

  • 1 medium onion, sliced

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 3 Roma tomatoes, washed and quartered

  • 3 medium carrots, sliced ½-inch thick on a bias

  • 1 quart chicken stock, plus more as needed

  • 3 dried bay leaves

  • Rice, roti or naan, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

49 grams carbs; 324 milligrams cholesterol; 1048 calories; 29 grams monosaturated fat; 13 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 65 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 1849 milligrams sodium; 66 grams protein; 14 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the marinade: Add all marinade ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the chicken: Season the chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken, scallions and thyme in the bowl with the marinade and mix to combine. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. (Any longer will change the texture of the chicken.) Remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before starting to cook.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a shallow Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add sliced onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic to pan, cook for 30 seconds or until tender, stirring to keep the garlic from scorching. Using a pair of tongs or spoon, remove onions and garlic from the pan. Place in a medium bowl and set aside.

  4. Step 4

    If needed, add more oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add chicken to the pan, letting the excess marinade drip back into the bowl, and reserving the scallions and thyme sprigs. Working in batches, sear chicken on both sides until dark brown, adjusting the heat if necessary to avoid burning the marinade, about 3 to 4 minutes total. Discard excess marinade.

  5. Step 5

    Return onions to pan. Add tomato paste and stir. Place quartered tomatoes and sliced carrots in the pan. Slowly pour in chicken stock to nearly cover. (Add more as needed.) Using your spatula, scrape off the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add bay leaves and the reserved thyme and scallions from the marinade.

  6. Step 6

    Bring to a rolling simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove thyme stems and bay leaf, and discard. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with rice, roti or naan bread.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
357 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Julie

What exactly is browning sauce??

Amy

Tasted good. Used Kitchen Bouquet. Added 2x the spices; 1st as directed in marinade, & extra/2nd set just before adding chicken stock. full quart of stock created a lot of broth, so added corn starch to slightly thicken then shredded chicken to make it more of a soup; for stew, would make with less stock. Flavors were good, but lacked balance; felt it needed some additional acid to season- either dash of cider vinegar or lemon/lime juice. also next time will add minced habanero w/onion for heat

Rebecca

Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet can be substituted for Grace’s browning sauce.

better than scrubs

Delicious. Made the browning sauce as Joan P described. Let it get the color of Coke before taking it off for a few minutes and adding the water. Used palm oil (reserved for African and Caribbean dishes) instead of olive oil. Nestled the chicken in with the onions - no need to remove if you add the garlic just before the tomato paste. Great with rice and the rum butter cabbage

Barbara

I'm confused. Step 2 says "Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. (Any longer will change the texture of the chicken.)" but if i marinate it overnight, it's unlikely I will be taking it out of the 'fridge for at least 12 hours or longer. Is that ok? Do I remove the chicken from the marinade an hour before using, or do I just remove the bag with the marinade and chicken an hour before ah, doing something with it. Step 5 has dodgy directions too.

Wanda

Ingredients of Grace Browning Sauce: Cane Sugar, Water, Caramel, Salt, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative). Not a vegetable to be found.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.