Jamaican Fricassee Chicken
This Jamaican Fricassee Chicken is going to be your new favorite weekend dinner. The chicken is fried, then cooked into a sweet, savory tomato sauce and served as desired.
It’s been many years since I’ve had this dish.
I grew up having this maybe once or twice, and as I grew older, I realized it’s one of those Jamaican dishes that isn’t so popular.
One day, after making some Brown Stew Chicken for dinner, D reminded me of Fricassee Chicken, and we had both agreed that it wasn’t something we had done in a long time.
So why not try it out and share the recipe with you guys? Get ready for a new dinner idea.
What Is Fricassee?
Fricassee is a stew made from pieces of meat, browned in butter or oil, and then cooked in a sauce made with cooking stock.
The meat is usually chicken but can also be rabbit or veal, and cooking is limited in variation to what the cook has in hand to prepare it.
Fricassee was first served in the mid-16th century by the English, though the word is of French origin.
There are many variations to making this dish, dating back from French cooks to now, where it is in a savory sauce.
In the Caribbean, the chicken is fried in hot oil or caramelized sugar and then simmered into a savory tomato sauce.
Ingredients To Use
- Chicken Parts – I used chicken thighs cut into medium-sized pieces
- Seasoning – onions, garlic, escallion, cumin, all-purpose seasoning, jalapeno powder, thyme, pimento seeds, ginger, and salt
- Produce Used – carrots, irish potatoes, tomato, sweet pepper, ginger
- Sauces – browning sauce, ketchup
- Scotch Bonnet Pepper – this is optional. Remove the seeds before use to lower the spiciness.
- Brown sugar
- Water
How To Make Jamaican Fricassee Chicken
This process may seem tedious to some, but the result will be worth it. After making your sauce, the rest is a breeze.
To make this recipe –
Green Seasoning Directions:
- In a blender, add all the ingredients for the green seasoning and one tablespoon of water.
- Blend until combined. The mixture should be slightly thick but not watery.
- Set aside to marinate chicken.
Directions for Fricassee Chicken:
- Clean chicken by removing skin and excess fat. Wash with vinegar and cold water, and set aside in a bowl.
- In a large bowl, season chicken with green seasoning, browning sauce, ketchup, cumin, all-purpose seasoning, and jalapeno powder. Set aside to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Place a large pot on medium-high heat, then pour oil into the pot. Fry each piece of chicken on both sides for 5 minutes, then set aside.
- Remove excess oil, but leave some to prepare the sauce.
- To create the sauce, in the same pot, saute onion for 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with water, then add ketchup, brown sugar, browning sauce, all-purpose seasoning, tomato, marinated seasoning, and salt to taste.
- Allow sauce to simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the sauce reaches a thick consistency.
- Add chicken to the sauce and cover with water. Allow to cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Halfway through the cooking process, add potatoes and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and tender.
- Serve as desired.
Serving Suggestions
We enjoyed this delicious chicken recipe with some steamed rice and fried plantains to the side.
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Rice and Beans/Peas
- Roasted Veggies
- Pumpkin Rice
Substitutions and Tips for Fricassee Chicken
Over the centuries, there have been many variations to making this dish.
But from a Caribbean standpoint, the steps to making this dish are similar.
- Cooking wine or chicken stock is a good substitution for water when cooking this recipe.
- In the Caribbean, we like to use ketchup to help thicken the gravy of savory sauces or stews. You can use tomato paste as a substitute.
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
- Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating this dish can done on the stovetop in a small pot on medium to low heat. Or you can reheat in a microwave for 1-2 minutes.
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Fricassee Chicken (Jamaican-Style)
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken thighs cut into halves
- 2 tbsp. browning sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose seasoning
- 2 tsp. jalapeno powder
- 1 large carrots chopped
- 1 large irish potato chopped
- Vegetable oil
- 1 cup warm water
Green Seasoning:
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 sprigs thyme
- A few pimento berries
- 2 stalks escallion
- 1 green sweet pepper
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper remove seeds if you don't want it too spicy
- 2 tsp. ginger
- ½ tsp. salt
Sauce:
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tsp. browning sauce
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose seasoning
Instructions
Green Seasoning Directions:
- In a blender, add all the ingredients for the green seasoning and one tablespoon of water.
- Blend until combined. The mixture should be slightly thick but not watery.
- Set aside to marinate chicken.
Directions for Fricassee Chicken:
- Clean chicken by removing skin and excess fat. Wash with vinegar and cold water, and set aside in a bowl.
- In a large bowl, season chicken with green seasoning, browning sauce, ketchup, cumin, all-purpose seasoning, and jalapeno powder. Set aside to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Place a large pot on medium-high heat, then pour oil into the pot. Fry each piece of chicken on both sides for 5 minutes, then set aside.
- Remove excess oil, but leave some to prepare the sauce.
- To create the sauce, in the same pot, saute onion for 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with water, then add ketchup, brown sugar, browning sauce, all-purpose seasoning, tomato, marinated seasoning, and salt to taste.
- Allow sauce to simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the sauce reaches a thick consistency.
- Add chicken to the sauce and cover with water. Allow to cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Halfway through the cooking process, add potatoes and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and tender.
- Serve as desired.
Notes
Serving Suggestions:
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Rice and Beans/Peas
- Roasted Veggies
- Pumpkin Rice
