Caribbean Chicken
This is another one of my favorite chicken recipes, Caribbean Chicken. It is super tasty and always a hit with everyone.
How good is this recipe? Well, let me just tell you that you need this Caribbean chicken recipe in your life is that good. Trust me, if you like chicken, this will become one of your favorite chicken recipes. This recipe has been passed down to one of my best friends, which originally comes from her mother in law’s housekeeper while they were living in the Caribbean.
She used to fix this recipe all the time and everyone used to always raved about how good it was. I first had this Caribbean chicken about 2 months ago when I went to my friends house for dinner and she decided to fix it. When I tasted it I had to have the recipe at once. Since then I have made this recipe several times. I am not much of a poultry or meat eater but between this Caribbean chicken, the Moroccan chicken, the parsley and garlic chicken cutlets, and chicken paprikash I made a while back I think is going to be hard to beat these chicken recipes.
I think my chicken recipe repertoire has gotten a lot better in the past month, however, I think I am going to take a brake from the chicken and focus more on veggies and fish for a while. Anyhow, a few suggestions for this dish:
- Make sure you use a big bowl to marinate the ingredients. The bigger the better.
- Turn ingredients around 2-3 times while marinating to make sure all of the liquid distributes equally over the ingredients.
- Cook Caribbean chicken in a big, more like huge, pot :-) Well this is a super winner chicken recipe.
If you make it serve it with brown rice. It goes perfect with it.
Enjoy!
Place the ingredients in your preferred big bowl and mix through. Cover and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Place the sugar in your preferred heavy pot and when it is bubbling and turning brown take the chicken pieces out of the bowl and add it to the hot pan to brown on all sides as best as you can. It’s OK if some sides don’t brown. Mine are never perfect. Then place the marinated ingredients in the pan plus ketchup and about 1-2 cups of water.
PrintCaribbean Chicken
Yield: 8 servings
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 whole small organic chicken cut into pieces, or 3 lbs chicken breast cut into large chunks
- 4-6 organic chicken thighs
- 4-6 organic drumsticks
- 2 large tomatoes, sliced into big chunks
- 2 large onions, cut into large chunks
- 4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp celtic salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unrefined sugar
- 1/2 cup organic ketchup
Directions:
Place first 12 ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Let chicken stand in seasonings for at least 30 minutes, like in the pictures, cover and place in the fridge. I have done between 30 minutes to 1 hour most times. In a large heavy pot, this is what I used, heat oil over high flame.
Add the sugar distributed through the bottom of the pan like in the pictures. When the sugar begins to bubble and color is getting a pale to dark brown take chicken pieces and arrange them into the pan. Cook them on all sides until they brown a bit for about 2-3 minutes.
Add ketchup, marinade, 2 cups of water and stir until blended. Bring chicken to a rapid boil, then lower the flame, cover pan partially, and let cook for 1 hour stirring in between 2-3 times.
Sprinkle some fresh herbs if desired and serve over brown rice.
NOTE: If you have too much liquid at 45 minutes, uncover the pot and turn the heat to a high setting. Some of the liquid will cook away. I like my gravy on the thicker side so this is what I do around 45 minutes.
Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 8 servings.
Hello there. My name is Miryam and I am the clinical dietitian and Physician Assistant behind Eat Good 4 Life. My wish is to inspire you to start cooking healthier so that you can live a longer and happier life. Thanks for stopping by (
You might say you’re not much of a poultry eater but I think of you as the queen of poultry. This one looks great, just like your other chicken dishes! You make so many different types of chicken. Love it. :)
This looks amazing.. Love the taste of Jerk Chicken, hence Caribbean Chicken would be so intense with all those flavors. Yummy!
Mmm…Que rico! This dish looks amazing!
This looks fabulous. Just my kind of recipe!
The first 12 ingredients don’t include the olive oil. Is this put in the pot with the sugar?
Oops. I just re read the recipe again and found it…..
My boyfriend and I made this recipe on our day off and it was phenomenal! I would just rather have all dark meat than put the breast in there. But the sauce was awesome! :D
Awesome, I am glad you guys liked it :-)
Has anyone tried this with bonesless chicken breast and/or boneless thighs?
My boys will not eat chicken off the bone. Perhaps, I will use a mix of boned and boneless pieces. I will not cut up the boneless pieces and see how it works out.
Any suggestions?
I have actually done a mixture of thighs, drumsticks and breast before because I like the chicken breast the best since it is more clean with less bits of fat and stuff. It should be fine if you do what you suggested. The difference is that the other parts are more tender and soft and the chicken breast is a bit more dense. Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you enjoy this dish.
Are the Nutrition Facts based on the entire recipe or just one of eight servings?
1 of 8 servings :-) Thanks for visiting.
5*!!! Made for company and got RAVE reviews!!
I am so glad. Thanks for letting me know :-)
Hi. Can I make this recipe with roasted chicken leftovers?! The sauce sounds delicious and was wondering if I could make it aside and add pre-cooked chicken.
Thanks
Do you think this will come out the same in a pressure cooker?
I have no idea but I think pretty close. You will just have to play around w/ the cooking times though :-)
Hi
This recipe comes from Trinidad and Tobago,it’s called stewed chicken. The reason I know this,is the burning the sugar in oil,and caramelising the chicken,is something you really only see in Trinidad, it’s called creoling and comes from the creole islanders. You’ll find this recipe on other islands in the carribean,mostly called brown stewed chicken,(also made with fish or beef) but the creoling is pretty much a trini thing! My dad is Trinidadian and this was our Sunday dinner pretty much every week. Great recipe though and very authentic.
Thanks so much. This recipe was handed down by my best friend that got it from one of her Caribbean friends that used to be a cook. She passed away and this recipe has become very especial to her. She was kind enough to let me post it and share it with my followers, visitors and friends :-) Thanks for stopping by.
wow im gonna cook this recipe but i think i will give a bit of a kick with with a few chilies and pinch Cayenne pepper
Habañeros work well in this dish.
Hey Miryam!! This looks awesome!!!
Do I add a whole chicken, 4-6 drumsticks& 4-6 thighs? Thank you!! I wanna try this tomorrow for our BBQ!
Yes all of it :-)
Yes the pieces like you mention, 4-6 drumsticks and 4-6 thighs :-) Thanks for stopping by.
Chicken marinating as i type this……..
The dish looks “Broke Da Mouth” as they say in Hawaii!!!
Soon……………
Made this tonight and I made a mistake and used sherry instead of balsamic. It was sooo good my picky eater kept asking for more. I also used Cajun seaoning!!!
Thanks for letting me know. I am happy that your family enjoyed it :-) Thanks for visiting.
Hey I’m from the Caribbean this recipe I’d called stew chicken it’s one of the top dishes in my country ..I just wanted If you don’t want to use the brown sugar…you could also use browning its a black sauce which went use give your chicken the dark colour..
Thanks for the tip :-)
Awesome!!!!! My house smelled so good. Im glad i found your blog, my family and I have been changing our eating habits to healthier options and your recipes are amazing. I thank you from the bottom of my heathier heart <3
That is great, I am glad it was a super success. This is one of my ultimate favorite chicken recipes :-) Good luck w/ the healthier habits and for stopping by. Hope to see you around more!!
I’m making this for a dinner party tonight and can’t wait. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will follow up to let you know how we all liked it.
I hope you like it :-) I need to make it again soon. Thanks for stopping by.
All my guests last night loved it. W will definitely be making this one again. I really liked how nice the chicken browned in the sugar and oil. It was my first time using sugar that way.Thanks again for sharing.
I am glad your guests loved it. That is awesome. Thanks for reporting back :-)
I made my own version of this – I used two lbs. of boneless skinless chicken thighs and just put all the ingredients into the pot, no marinating or browning. I used tomato paste instead of ketchup. I cooked the stew covered on low for about three hours. Came out beautifully, thanks for the recipe inspiration!
Hello, just to be sure I understand, when you say to add the marinade, do you mean the big chunks of onion and tomato, too, or just the liquid generated by them? I was wondering because I don’t see a lot of large pieces of veggies in the final dish. This looks delicious!
Yes everything. It kind of disintegrates up a bit. I hope you like the dish. Thanks for stopping by.
It’s rather pretentious to tell people to use “organic” chicken and “organic” ketchup. Regular old chicken and regular old ketchup will work PERFECTLY fine … in fact, quite possibly better. There seems to be little to no evidence supporting the use of so-called organic products, and what little evidence one might be able to point to is, in my experience, trivial and in no way justifies the frequently outrageously higher pricing.
Oh … and Celtic salt? Really?!? You might as well just slap a warning on the site that says: I’m Better Than You Are … Na na na na … na na.
It is no pretentious at all. I am not forcing you to use such. You can use which ever. This is what I always use. For your information there is plenty of evidence that shows that organic chicken is free of antibiotics and hormones. USDA organic stamp is there for a reason. Guidelines, regulations and tests must be performed on such items to make sure they meet the standards of seal. As far as the celtic salt is concern, this is an unrefined and unprocessed variety where salt minerals are still intact and not removed. If you want to use other refined, processed versions is up to you. Again I am not forcing anyone to use neither. This is what I use and I will note that on the ingredients. Do some research!!
OMG, how rude of you! Hope you went trolling somewhere else and got a burger at Mickey D’s
There is no need to be rude
Tried this and came out excellent. Will make again! Looks like a foolproof recipe that can withstand substitutions depending on whats in your cabinet. Was out of tomatoes, so just used a little tomato sauce. And also has to use red wine vinegar in place of balsamic. Thanks so much!
I am glad you liked it. It is one of my favorite chicken recipes of all times :-)
Hi. I have cilantro instead of parsley. Would that be totally different or is it ok to sub? Thx
No that is totally fine. I hope you like it :-)
Just tried this. like the previously correspondent I was short of flat leaf parsley so also used coriander(cilantro). I made some other minor changes, I like just a bit of a kick to my Caribbean food so added some Jamaican Hot Pepper sauce towards the end of cooking. Also found the final sauce was a bit too sweet for my liking so added a good squeeze of lime juice. So when I use this recipe again(and I will) I’ll cut the amount of ketchup I use and maybe even increase the vinegar in the marinade
moonshado – the sweetness is as a result of the sugar not browning sufficiently. It’s a very delicate balance to get just the right browning. I am from the Caribbean and the way I was taught is to observe the smoke from the browning sugar and when it starts looking brown (just as it starts to) put your chicken in.. If it’s still too sweet, cut potatoes into cubes (medium sized) and put in the pot. It helps to absorb some if the sweetness. Otherwise, practice makes perfect!!!!!!
I’ll certainly bear that in mind. Having had a previous disaster and turned the sugar into a more than passable imitation of road tar, which just about ruined a very good pot i am now very cautious when browning sugar. Next time I’ll dig out an old pot and steel myself to brown the sugar a bit longer Thanks for the tip.
Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group?
There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content.
Please let me know. Thanks
I don’t mind as long as you credit me and link back :-)
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up!
I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back in the future.
Many thanks
I’m from Trinidad where this recipe comes from. As other posters mentioned the actual name is stewed chicken, it is basically a national dish. Traditionally we used culantro which can be found in Asian markets or cilantro can also work in the marinade…also you can add a whole scotch bonnet pepper while cooking to add a truly authentic Caribbean flavor, however don’t cut it unless you like spicy food. One final tip, many of the locals add coconut milk during the cooking process, it makes for a very rich sauce!
Thanks so much for all the cooking tips. I will sure do that next time I make this recipe. Great to hear from a true Caribbean cooking expert :-)
Am I the only one curious – you cut up one whole chicken PLUS add 4-6 thighs and 4-6 drumsticks? Or is that an or???? Want to make this, but hate cutting up a whole chicken. Thanks
Yes both of them. You can use chicken breast chunks in place of the whole chicken if you like too but you must use drumsticks and thighs too, or at least I do :-)
I’m surprised many comments on here saying this is a Trinidadian dish. My dad always made this for me and he is from st. Lucia and my mom from Jamaica. Anyway, I miss their cooking, as they are states away, so I’m attempting it again today. I hope yours turns out wonderfully!
I am West Indian, specifically from Trinidad and Tobago. We are boss at stew chicken. Good recipe, but what I’ve learned and is passing on is , it’s not necessary to add any liquid, after browning chicken on all sides and adding seasonings, turn stove on low amd cover ,the chicken will generate all the natural juices you need to cook it .
Thanks so much for the tip. I really appreciate it :-)
Recipe was good, however I tasted it after about 30 min and it was a bit on the sweet spectrum, with a weird metal taste, so I added about 1 tbsp Marjoram and a tsp chipolte chilli powder. Which added a more savory and spicy note. Will make again!
I have decreased the amt of sugar to 2 tbs, I think that will help :-) Thanks for stopping by.
Im with commenter above, Merilyn, whose question you did not answer and Danielle whose comment you replied to but did not really answer. Is the recipe 1 whole chicken PLUS 4-6 thighs and 4-6 drumsticks? Or is it one whole chicken OR 4-6 thighs and 4-6 drumsticks? The recipe list is not clear on this at all!
Yes it is both. I have made a minor change on the recipe list and you can use chicken breast cut into large chunks in place of the whole chicken. I use chicken breast a lot of the times in place of the whole chicken. The recipe it is using whole chicken w/ the drumsticks and thighs. Hope this helps.
I love this dish and it’s spot on for Caribbean food. If you’re looking for more inspiration visit me over here http://caribbeanfood.com.
Winter is all around us here in Australia, frosts and the cold winds. So glad I came across this dish today this recipe is all about warmth and sunshine. Will be cooking within the next week.
My husband made this tonight, and I must say it exceeded our expectations. Excellent dish – I wouldn’t change a thing! Thanks for sharing.
Made this tonight! Delicious – so flavorful! Will make this again…
I am glad you liked it. I need to make it myself soon :-)
could this be done in a crock pot?
I think you could but never have. I would skip the sugar method bc you won’t be able to do it on a crockpot but that is it pretty much! Let me know if you try it that way. Thanks for stopping by.
I;m using a crock pot – but was planning to separately brown the chicken in the sugar in a pan and then put it into the crockpot with the rest of the marinade mix – don’t see why this wouldnt work? I’ll let you know how it turns out.
i got ahead of myself and included all ingredients in marinade. I have chicken marinating now but coming cooking time should I still put sugar in pot and brown chicken or skip this step
You have to brown the chicken but I would add less sugar if you can to avoid the chicken to turn out too sweet. I hope you like it :-)
I am making this wonderful sounding dish tonight. A little confused though. You mention a pan and a pot and the instructions are to brown the chicken in the sugar in the pan and then return to the pot, but the photos show All the ingredients in the same pan (pot) in which the browning was done. But in the final photo has everything is in a blue pot. Are you using two different vessels, or is the enamel pot simply a serving dish. Am I missing something.
I just used the one black pot you see w/ the sugar and raw chicken in it. The other enamel vessel was another time I made it and because the picture looked better than the original one I swapped it. I hope this helps!
This is so good
Wonderful recipe – lots of compliments – probably didn’t need as much added liquid – maybe 1/2 cup of water or stock. I added some baby carrots just to ‘up’ the veggie content. Really loved it and will try some of your other recipes.
That is aweosme. I am glad everyone liked it. I need to make it again soon :-)
This was the best caribbean chicken we’ve ever had! Followed the recipe as stated but I substituted the spices for a a spice mix I picked up in Jamaica. It was very flavorful and delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this!
I am glad you liked it :-) Thanks for stopping by.
This was excellent. Believe it or not, among four of us – three of us women, there was barely enough chicken remaining for leftovers! I used 3 lbs of chicken breast (good for the non-dark meat eaters) with six legs and six thighs. I also used regular sugar – no time to go search for unrefined, and it worked really well. Watch the sugar carefully, as it does brown quickly over high heat. I marinated my chicken for a few hours while preparing some other dishes and the flavor was wonderful. Make sure you only brown a few pieces at a time or it will start to steam rather than brown, especially if you are getting more of the onion and tomato pieces. I also ended up putting the entire pot in a slow cooker to finish cooking at the end, because I wasn’t serving the dish right away. It turned out excellent.
That is super awesome. I am glad you guys liked it. Thanks for letting me know that it turned out good in the slow cooker. I might do that next time I make it. Thanks for stopping by.
Ok im cooking this as ww speak do i brown my chicken first them put everything in the
I got it …. Sorry read it wrong… Thank you
Can this recipe to marinate longer then just 30 minutes or an hour? I am making it tonight look so delicious ,thank you!
Sure it can :-)
Hi
Is it possible to oven cook this ( slow cook ) rather than on the hob? If so what temperature and for how long would you recommend?
Thank you !
I think so. Perhaps 375 fahrenheit. As far as time I don’t know, you will have to keep an eye on it and see but I would say at least 45-1 hr.
Hi, I marinated over night and am making today. Can I make this in a crock pot? Brown the meat first and then finish in a crock pot for 1 hour on high???
how did it turn out? I’m gonna brown the chicken and put this in my crock pot to cook too!
That’s stew chicken, you should change it to its proper name. My grandmother made it every Sunday. My mom does too, but she uses beef, pork, and turkey to switch up when we get tired of chicken. Stew beef is my favorite! It’s delicious, but not as delicious as curry beef, oh god. Stew chicken and stew salt fish are a staple in Caribbean homes. I know a lot of people said stew chicken is a trini dish, whether or not it started there, I don’t know. But it’s also made where I’m from. I’m from St.. Vincent and the Grenadines. You can also add chunks of English potatoes to it, same for when making curry meats. Just add them in half way. If you add rice and peas to the pot then you get pilau (another one of my favorites). Sooooo good.
Hi.Had this for dinner tonight. Marinated overnight, browned chicken in oil and sugar this morning and transferred it all to my slow cooker. Didn’t add any water and just before serving I thickneed the juices a little with cornflour. It was absolutely delicious….the best chicken meal I’ve ever had. Can’t wait to make it again !! Thanks
I checked some other Tridinad Stewed Chicken recipes and decided to add grated ginger, scallions and chili paste (I would have added scotch bonnet pepper if I had any), I was just worried there wasn’t enough heat otherwise. We like spicy foods. I also looked up YouTube videos on the caramized sugar technique, some said it would be a waste using Olive Oil so I replaced it with vegetable oil. I think this will be a great addition to my go-to recipes. I love it! Thank you so much for sharing!
Perhaps coconut oil would be better its has a higher heat ratio to other oils
Is there anyway I can convert this to slow cooker.
I am not sure…you can try and let me know :-)
Add some Ketchup Manis for that Dutch style :)
I have a question. Would you serve this with rice? I am trying to find a good side dish to make this an authentic Caribbean dish. I will be making this in about a week so I hope you can help me out with this. Thank you in advance.
Yes. That is how I actually serve it when I make it.
Thank you for the prompt response. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for this recipe
This is my families new favourite
Love it love it love it!!!!
Thanks…I am glad it was a total success!!
These look so cute! They sound absolutely perfect mid morning!
this makes me wanna try other chixken recipe than me and my kids the fried chicken!lol.. this really looks delish! would like to make one for dinner!
Great, a very freshly prepared dish, surely they will have lots of vitamins. Thank you for sharing the article very well
I found this recipe far too sweet. If I ever make it again, I will substitute tomato paste for ketchup and leave out there sugar altogether.
This chicken recipe is looking really tasty! Thanks a lot!
Your hands are very skillful and full of art, and you have a very creative brain to make these wonderful dishes