When it comes to food from Trinidad and Tobago, adding a ton of flavor goes a long way to making unctuous and irresistible stew chicken. The basis of Stew Chicken is Green Seasoning. We made green seasoning back when we cooked Guyana. There are hundreds (thousands!) of recipes for green seasoning, so I thought it’d be fun to make up a second batch with this recipe. I used a different mix of herbs and aromatics, like ginger, garlic, tomato, green onion, and thyme. These flavors speak to Trinidad and Tobago’s preferences… and go wonderfully with this chicken.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4-8 people | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 60-90 minutes | 1-8 hours |
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When it comes to food from Trinidad and Tobago, adding a ton of flavor goes a long way to making unctuous and irresistible stew chicken. The basis of Stew Chicken is Green Seasoning. We made green seasoning back when we cooked Guyana. There are hundreds (thousands!) of recipes for green seasoning, so I thought it’d be fun to make up a second batch with this recipe. I used a different mix of herbs and aromatics, like ginger, garlic, tomato, green onion, and thyme. These flavors speak to Trinidad and Tobago’s preferences… and go wonderfully with this chicken.
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Ingredients
For the green seasoning:
- 1 lime , juiced
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tomato
- 3-4 green onions
- 1 handful fresh cilantro , stemmed
- 3 sprigs thyme , stemmed
- 3 sprigs parsley , stemmed
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 onion , quartered
- 1 tsp ginger root (grated)
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- habanero peppers , to taste
For the chicken:
- 2-4 lbs whole chicken legs
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cups water
Servings: people
Units:
Instructions
For the green seasoning:
- Add the ingredients for the Green Seasoning marinade to your blender or food processor… in the order written (liquids first). Be sure to cut things small enough for your machine to handle the pieces. Alternatively, you can just chop the marinade ingredients and forget the blender. A note on the hot chili peppers: I used about half a habenero (without the seeds), and found the spice level somewhere between mild and medium.
For the chicken:
- Pour the green seasoning over the chicken and marinate at least an hour. Overnight is better.
- Now for a fancy trick. We’re going to use some brown sugar to color the chicken. All you need to do is heat up the oil and brown sugar in a large pot. Cook until the sugar caramelizes (it will get foamy and may smoke a bit). Quickly add the chicken. Cook until browned on both sides, a few minutes per side.
- Pour on the marinade… (right about now the house will start smelling really, really good). Cover and simmer about an hour, adding water as desired to thin the sauce or make more of it. Personally, I added no extra water, and enjoyed the wonderfully deep and concentrated flavor. Serve with orange rice.