Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken

Ingredients

• 900 g bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 300 ml chicken stock
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
• salt and black pepper
• 1 scotch bonnet chilli, finely chopped (seeds removed for less heat)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 red onion, sliced into half-moons
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 20 g fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp browning sauce or dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Score the chicken pieces a few times through to the bone with a sharp knife — the cuts let the marinade reach the meat, not just sit on the skin. Drop them into a large bowl with the browning sauce, scotch bonnet, allspice, dried thyme, grated garlic and ginger, and season generously with salt and black pepper. Mix thoroughly so every piece is coated, cover, and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours — overnight is better.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Shake the excess marinade off the chicken (keep the marinade — it goes back in) and pat the skin dry; water means steam, and steam means no browning. Brown the chicken in two batches, skin-side down first, 5–6 minutes a side until deeply mahogany. Don't crowd the pot — all at once and the pieces sweat instead of caramelising. Transfer to a plate.
3. Tip the brown sugar into the pot with the rendered fat and let it cook for 30–45 seconds until it turns a rich amber and smells like dark toffee. Watch it — burnt sugar turns bitter and you can't claw it back. This is the foundation of the colour the dish is named for.
4. Add the sliced red onion, green pepper and grated carrot straight onto the caramelised sugar. Stir to coat and cook for 4–5 minutes over medium heat, until the vegetables soften and take on a glossy bronze.
5. Stir in the grated garlic that came through with the marinade and let it work for just 30 seconds until fragrant — don't burn it, bitter garlic ruins the whole pot. Add the diced tomatoes, the rinsed lentils and the reserved marinade. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes start to collapse, then pour in the chicken stock — the liquid is what breaks the tomatoes down properly so they taste of fruit, not tin. Drop in the thyme sprigs and bring to a gentle boil.
6. Nestle the chicken back into the pot skin-side up, along with any juices from the plate. Drop the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes until the meat pulls easily from the bone. Lift the lid for the last 10 minutes to let the sauce reduce and gloss up — it should coat the back of a spoon and cling to the chicken.
7. Taste the sauce and adjust — it wants to be deeply savoury with a slow scotch bonnet warmth building behind it. Season again now if it needs it; at the table is too late. The marinade and the long simmer have already given you the acid backbone, so resist the urge to squeeze anything in.
8. Spoon the chicken and its glossy sauce over white rice or rice and peas, scatter the chopped parsley generously over the top, and serve. To batch: cool thoroughly and freeze in portions; reheat gently on the hob with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.