Spicy Braised Chicken

  4.6 – 47 reviews  • Poultry
Level: Easy
Total: 4 hr 20 min
Prep: 30 min
Inactive: 1 hr 45 min
Cook: 2 hr 5 min
Yield: 4 servings
Level: Easy
Total: 4 hr 20 min
Prep: 30 min
Inactive: 1 hr 45 min
Cook: 2 hr 5 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  1. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  3. 8 pieces chicken (2 breasts cut in half, 2 thighs, 2 legs), skin removed
  4. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  5. 2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  6. 1 onion, cut into chunks
  7. 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  8. 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
  9. 1 habanero chile
  10. 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  11. 2 dry bay leaves
  12. 12 sprigs fresh thyme, tied into a bundle
  13. 1 cup dry white wine
  14. 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
  15. 1 tablespoon concentrated gravy sauce (recommended: Gravy Master)
  16. 1 tablespoon butter
  17. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  18. Chicken giblets
  19. 1/2 cup diced onion
  20. 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  21. 2 cups chicken stock
  22. Coconut Rice n’ Peas, recipe follows
  23. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  24. 1 medium onion, chopped
  25. 1 teaspoon salt
  26. 2 cups long-grain rice
  27. 1/2 cup coconut milk
  28. 1 (12-ounce) can pigeon peas, drained and rinsed
  29. Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat a 7 1/4-quart Dutch oven on medium-high heat, then melt butter and add oil. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper and sear until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside. Add carrots, onion, celery, and apple, the whole habanero, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and saute until they start to soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine and let reduce by half, scraping up any brown bits remaining on the bottom of the pot. Nestle chicken into pot and add enough broth to almost cover the chicken, about 1 1/2 cups and the gravy sauce. Cover and simmer for 1 hour 45 minutes or until chicken falls off the bone. In the last half hour, remove the lid and let liquid reduce.
  2. To make the gravy: In a medium saucepan, melt butter with oil over medium high-heat. Add giblets and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Add onion and continue cooking another 5 minutes, until onions start to soften. Add flour and stir, cooking another 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the stock. Bring to a simmer and strain. Discard giblets and put gravy back in the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm on the stove and add to braised chicken once it’s cooked.
  3. Serve Braised Chicken over Coconut Rice n’ Peas
  4. Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and salt and saute, until onion becomes translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice and saute another 2 minutes to toast rice. Add coconut milk and fill saucepan with enough water to cover the rice by 1/2-inch or measure by placing your thumb tip on the rice and filling the pot with water until the water reaches the middle of your thumbnail. Bring rice to a simmer, cover and cook until rice is tender and liquid has evaporated, about 15 to 17 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and let rice stand another 5 minutes, covered. Fluff rice with fork and then fold in pigeon peas. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  6. Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Reviews

Brandon Mcdonald
Yummy. Replaced gravy master with a packet of Sazon and with some  chicken base. 

Exchanged giblets with chicken skin and a few drumsticks. 
Used a whole can of coconut milk. 
Was still delicious. 
Will make again. 

Angela Mccann
After searching for a recipe that  I had all or most the ingredients for, I found this wonderful chicken dish.  I only made one small change and that was using baby carrots instead of diced  carrots.  The dish appears just like it does in the picture.  Although a habanero is included in the recipe it is not too spicy.  No more boring chicken dishes for our family. 
Ryan Washington
My husband is from Barbados, so this needed to be very good for me to avoid getting the side-eye from him…and he loved it! I followed the directions with three exceptions. One, I did not cut up an entire chicken but rather used two whole breasts cut in half and four thighs…all on the bone with the skin taken off. Two, I did not have (and I don’t like giblets so those didn’t go into the gravy. Third, I supplemented extra flavor in the gravy by adding hot madras curry powder. The result was delicious! The chicken fell apart to the touch, so although you had to pick out some small bones, it worked for this rustic dish. The only criticism I have is my coconut rice required much more liquid than noted. I’ve used much better coconut rice recipes…substitute your own but don’t make plain rice! The subtle coconut flavor and creamy mouthfeel are perfect with this spicy dish. And don’t wimp on the habanero. Just one will give you a nice balance of heat and sweet. Highly recommend!
Andrea Brown
This dish is super delicious!!! I don’t care where exactly it originated but my husband and I love it! The first time I made it, I listened to some reviews, unfortunately, that it was not spicy enough, so I put 3 habaneros with all the seeds in. It was delicious but we burned our mouths. The next time I made it, I used red pepper flakes instead and it came out great as expected. I also used red wine because I ran out of white and the result was the same. I really couldn’t tell the difference. The total cook time for me in the oven was only an hour and the chicken pieces were already tender. So that’s 40 mins covered and 20 mins with the lid off.

For the gravy, I never used giblets since my husband and I have an aversion to innards. I used chicken soup base and added sauteed veggies (bell peppers, carrots, celery & onions since the veggies in the stew have pretty much turned into mush. I will definitely make this in a family gathering and wow everybody!

Dennis Price
The dish was very flavorful. Husband really enjoyed it. And said rice was perfect. I followed all the directions exactly, except I did not add pigeon peas to rice. Will make again!!!
Maria Roy
it was AWSOME! i really enjoy it
Michael Mcdonald
It was not a bad dish. We will make it again, just with a little tweak here and there. Did not put as many spices in it as called for. Would rather add at the end, than overdue. Only complaint I have, is chicken was dry. Had enough liquid, but does not take 1 hour and 45 minutes to cook. I checked it a little over an hour and was too done at that time. Not a bad dish for first time trying.
Shelby Chung
This dish was SOOOOOOOOO good!!! My family LOVED IT, and cant wait to have it again!!! It was SUPER EASY to do, jus follow the instructions,and add a lil “urself” to the mix!!
Julie Woods
This recipe was very good; however next time, I’ll probably one use one bay leaf. Two bay leaves were too strong. Thanks Sunny!
Amy Bonilla
really liked to coconut rice very tasty. I used the braised chicken concept and added some extra spices. I used cardamon, salt, pepper, finely ground crushed red pepper, ancho chili powder and sweet paprika on the chicken while searing. I skipped the celery I made the gravy and added part of a cinnamon stick and star anise to the gravy for 1 hr then took it out. I loved the gravy over the rice comfort food.

 

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