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This Grenadian chicken stew has bone-in chicken legs, vegetables, and lots of flavorful spices. It’s the perfect Caribbean chicken dish.
Disclosure: I was paid for my time in Grenada. As always, all opinions and thoughts are 100% my own.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed I set off with Gina and traveled to Grenada for the Pure Grenada Nutmeg Festival over Thanksgiving.
While there, we soaked up the sun, enjoyed the warmth, and ate our nutmeg-loving hearts out.
We spent lazy mornings cooking breakfast in our open-air cottage, afternoons sitting on the beach talking about how much we loved the sun, and the evenings eating till we could no more.
So many desserts were consumed in 2 weeks. I wish I had taken a log of all the sweet treats we consumed.
It would have been amazing to look back on.
How to make Grenadian Chicken Stew
However, one breezy day, our Grenadian friend Jen picked us up and invited us to spend the day with her family.
We all went grocery shopping together and then headed to her house to try our hands at traditional Grenadian cooking. Her lovely husband, Christopher, walked us through exactly how he prepared his chicken stew and what each ingredient makes it unique.
Christopher started by letting us both know that Grenadians are obsessed with keeping a kitchen clean and washing their hands while cooking. He grew up without refrigeration for most of his life, so he learned how to prepare food to taste delicious and (most importantly) not make you sick.
The chicken was prepped by rinsing it in lime water (I skipped this step) and cutting off any extra fat. He then cut up fresh carrots, onions, bell peppers, and garlic and tossed them with curry powder, smoked paprika, oregano, kosher salt, and black pepper.
The most interesting part of this dish was when I watched him pour sugar onto the bottom of the stew pot. Instinctually, he knew just the right amount of sugar and how long it would take to go from sugar to beautiful dark amber.
At that moment, he poured in the chicken, added some water, and waited for time to do its magic. To adapt his recipe, I used chicken stock instead of water.
The part I enjoyed most was the love of the day.
I quietly moved around the kitchen, taking pictures of Christopher cooking and, in the next room over, listening to Jen and her daughter laugh as they decorated their Christmas tree. It made me miss home. It made me miss being in the kitchen with my mom and sharing our love for cooking secret family recipes.
I watched Christopher lift the lid off the chicken and knew from years of experience exactly how long it would take before it was perfect. He then stirred the callaloo and mashed the pumpkin. It was as if these skills had been ingrained in him since he was born.
After it was ready, we all sat at the family dinner table and feasted. Even though I wasn’t part of their family, I felt like they had opened the door and welcomed me with open arms. And after a few nips of rum and two helpings of chicken stew, I was officially stuffed.
Even though Grenada was heaven, I eventually had to go home.
It’s the downside of traveling, I know.
However, after I got home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the chicken stew I had at Jennifer and Christopher’s home, so I knew I needed to make it!
I kept the basics of what he taught me but changed a few things to give it my spin. I opted not to wash my chicken (I have a trusted source here in the United States) and used chicken stock instead of water.
This dish is best served over rice, but I’m happy to eat it in the pan.
More chicken recipes
- Need a one pot meal? Try my African Chicken Peanut Stew.
- Craving crispy skin chicken? Try my Air Fryer Chicken Thighs.
- Love that sweet and spicy combo? Try my Hot Honey Chicken Skewers.
- Want big flavor without a lot of work? Try my Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs.
Grenadian Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in chicken legs, skin removed
- 3 medium-sized carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 whole red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2-3 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl add chicken, carrots, garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Mix together.
- Sprinkle on curry powder, smoked paprika, oregano, kosher salt, and pepper. Stir to evenly coat the whole mixture in seasoning.
- In a large pan (I used my 3.5 quart braiser pan) add sugar over medium-high heat. Keep an eye on the sugar and watch it start to melt and slowly turn from clear to golden brown to dark amber brown. You have to keep your eye on the sugar as it can go from perfectly caramelized to burnt in a few seconds.
- Once the sugar is dark amber in color (think the color of maple syrup) add in the chicken and veggies and just enough chicken stock to reach the top of the chicken without totally covering it.
- Stir in ketchup, cover with a lid and let simmer over medium heat until the chicken is fall off the bone tender and fully cooked, about an hour. The mixture will cook down so if it starts to get dry and the chicken is not fully cooked simply add a little more stock.
- Once fully cooked sprinkle with cilantro and serve plain or overtop rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
yummmmmmmmm! Never been to Grenada but now I can have a taste of it at home! Yum!!!!! This sounds so tasty!
I just made a double batch of this tonight and it was soooo delicious. It really has a lot of flavor! All five of my kids loved it too and some of them are picky eaters. I’ll definitely be making this again and I think it will make a great dish to serve company too! Thanks for sharing it!
Hi Celeste! Thank you so much for letting me know you tried the dish. I’m so glad the whole family loved it!
Wow what an amazing experience!!! That chicken looks tantalizing. Beautiful photography!!
What happened to the lime water? No mention of it in the ingredient list or directions.
@Wendy Zecchino, I agree! I looked for it but it was nowhere to be found.
Where is the information for the lime water? And are you making it with lime juice or calcium hydroxide?
I don’t see the part about the lime water. Can you tell me where to find that?