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You are here: Home / beans / Caribbean Chicken Fricassee, Maybe

Caribbean Chicken Fricassee, Maybe

March 9, 2009 By Laura 9 Comments

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Caribbean Chicken Fricassee is intense and delicious flavor in one dish, and it is perfect when you want some island flavor.

Fricassee: (noun; plural “fricassees”) meat or poultry cut into small pieces, stewed or fried and served in its own gravy.

Or so says Wikipedia.

At any rate, I guess what I made still qualifies, although in a moment of time change-induced fatigue and absentmindedness I left all of the stock (2-3 cups!) out of this. Ironically we decided we liked it better this way–the sauce was thick and intense.

As you all know I have been a little out of the loop lately, but when I saw the theme for this month’s Monthly Mingle, Caribbean Cooking, I was immediately scrambling to find a recipe. I wish there were more events (or maybe I just miss them) celebrating the international foods I am interested in. At any rate, this one got me excited.

This fricassee–if it was a fricassee in the end–is outstanding. Bernstein says that people tend to get messy while eating this because they pick the bones clean and she was not kidding–my kids were a mess. Alex in particular went through 2 chicken legs, sucking them bone dry–pun intended, and was outraged when we would not let her have another, since I had planned for the meal to last 2 nights. The recipe called for one 3-4 lbs chicken cut into pieces, but I prefer to use breasts and legs since the legs are much easier for the kids to eat.

I served the fricassee with Caribbean rice and peas–made on the fly. I took extra aromatics from the prep work for the main dish (i.e., onion, garlic, ginger, sweet bell pepper), fried them in a little oil, added one can of coconut milk (I used light for this) and 1 can of drained and rinsed kidney beans, brought it to a boil, added 2 cups of rinsed long grain rice and then added water to cover by 3/4 inch (maybe 1 cup about). I brought this to a boil, moved to my simmer burner, covered and simmered for 8 minutes. Then (I have gas and it gets too hot), I turned the burned on and off–2 minutes off, 3 minutes on–for another 12 minutes for a total of 20 minutes simmering and steaming. This is a great method, by the way, if you have trouble with your gas burner scorching rice; it is my regular method for jasmine rice.

Print
Caribbean Chicken Fricassee
Adapted from Cuisine A Latina, Michelle Bernstein
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Caribbean
Keyword: one pot
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 3-4 lbs chicken, cut into parts (or 3-4 lbs of your preferred parts)
  • salt to taste
  • 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper, plus more later
  • 1 pinch allspice, plus more later
  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 1 large onions finely chopped
  • 1 large sweet bell pepper finely chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
  • 1/2 jalapeno with seeds OR 2 jalapenos seeds and membranes scraped out and each split in half (for jalapeno flavor with less heat)
  • 1/4 t allspice
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock–optional and I did not use
  • 3 T Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 T soy sauce
  • 2 T ketchup
  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions
  • 1 T chopped cilantro
  • 1 T chopped flat leaf parsley
  • 1 t chopped fresh thyme
  • dark brown sugar to taste
Instructions
  1. Whisk the pinches of black pepper, allspice and cayenne pepper into the flour, plus a pinch of salt. Dry the chicken pieces and then dredge them in the seasoned flour. 

  2. Meanwhile, heat a large dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Pour the olive oil in and heat it to shimmering. Fry the floured chicken, 2-3 pieces at a time, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate. When you are done, pour off about half of the oil.
  3. Add the onions, peppers and garlic to the pot and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. 
  4. Stir in the ginger, jalapeno and allspice and cook another minute or 2. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid by half. 
  5. Add the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and ketchup (and stock if using) and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the pot and cover tightly. Reduce to low heat and maintain a simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (40 minutes for me).
  6. Stir in the scallions and fresh herbs. Add dark brown sugar to taste–I used 1 tablespoon.
  7. Serve with rice and peas (see comments above).

Filed Under: beans, Caribbean dishes, chicken, rice, stews

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Comments

  1. HoneyB says

    March 9, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    Oh wow! It had to be good if you had an upset child over not letting him have more! lol. I tend to like anything with coconut milk in it. I want to try this one! Should I deliberately leave the broth out also? 😉

    Reply
  2. noble pig says

    March 9, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    I could definitely mingle with this! It looks and sounds tasty…how I miss the carribean!

    Reply
  3. Elyse says

    March 10, 2009 at 12:03 am

    This looks absolutely delicious! I love that you left out the stock. It looks great the way it turned out; I’m all for a more concentrated, thicker sauce. What a happy accident!

    Reply
  4. Sharon says

    March 10, 2009 at 12:25 am

    What a delicious meal! You know, I’ve never had a fricassee. I’m usually afraid to cook things I can’t spell 😉

    Reply
  5. Joanne says

    March 10, 2009 at 8:35 am

    This looks mouth-wateringly good, and you’re right, probably better without the stock. I tend to like thicker sauces over soupier ones.

    Reply
  6. MeetaK says

    March 10, 2009 at 8:51 am

    the fricassee looks really d’lish. love the thick sauce and the rice is perfect. a great entry and thanks for joining us at the mingle!

    Reply
  7. Grace says

    March 10, 2009 at 3:22 pm

    that’s so pretty! frankly, i think i enjoy simply saying fricassee, much less eating it. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    March 11, 2009 at 9:12 am

    omg – I definitely told my mom and dad about this one!! I would really love to try making this probably this week! My tummy is growling just thinking about it!!!
    -Mallory Weaver

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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