Belize stew chicken without recado is a traditional way of making chicken that can be done very simply or can be dressed up with different spices or additional vegetables. Onion, garlic and stock do the work, the pot runs slow for an hour or more, and the gravy comes out clear brown rather than red. Stew chicken sits among the regular midday meals in Belize alongside rice and beans, escabeche and garnaches (source), and this is the version plenty of households cook without reaching for a spice ball.
With Recado or Without
Both versions are everyday food in Belize. Neither one is the special version and neither is a fallback.
Cast iron dutch oven (Le Creuset)
Heavy cast iron Dutch oven with enamel coating - distributes heat evenly for long, low-temperature cooking and braising without losing liquid to evaporation.
The difference is the paste. Stew chicken with red recado is rubbed with an achiote paste that stains the meat deep red and brings oregano, cumin, clove and allspice with it. This page is the pot without it: the chicken browns to its own colour, and the seasoning comes from what is already in your kitchen.
Curious what recado actually is? See our guide to Belizean recado for the full story, or the recipe for making red recado from scratch.
Making Belize Stew Chicken
This is a simple, savory recipe. There are many ways to vary it depending on what you have available. We enjoy adding potatoes, chayote and other vegetables to the pot. Please share any additions you make to your stewed chicken in our comments section below.
Prep 20 minutes. Cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Serves 6 to 8.
Belize Stew Chicken Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 lb (1.8 kg), cut up, or the same weight in bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 lime, for washing the chicken
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cooking oil
- 1 large onion, diced, about 1 1/2 cups (200 g)
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 to 3 cups (480 to 720 ml) chicken stock, or the same in water with 1 to 2 cubes Maggi Pollo
- Spices of your choosing: 1 teaspoon (2 g) black pepper, 1 teaspoon (1 g) dried thyme or oregano, 1 bay leaf are a good starting point
- Salt to taste, depending on how much is already in your stock
- 2 to 4 potatoes or chayote, about 1 lb (450 g), peeled and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks
Belize Stew Chicken Recipe
- Wash your chicken with water and lime, trim off any excess fat.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot.
- Pat chicken dry and rub with salt, pepper, and any additional seasoning. Dry skin is what browns. Wet skin steams.
- Brown chicken until golden brown on each side, working in batches if the pot is crowded.
- Add onions and garlic to the pot and sauté.
- Pour chicken stock in, or water with Maggi Pollo. Liquid should almost cover the chicken but remember this is a stew, not a soup.
- Turn down the heat to allow for a gentle simmer. A rough boil will make your chicken tough.
- Simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, covered.
- Add the potatoes or chayote for the last 30 minutes. Salt at the end, once the stock has reduced and you can taste what it actually needs.
Storage and Make-Ahead
In my opinion, Belizean stew chicken is better the next day. If you have the time cook this ahead of your dinner and allow to sit in the stew. Gently reheat and enjoy all the flavors when they have had time to soak into the chicken.
It keeps four days refrigerated. Reheat it covered over low heat with a splash of water, because the gravy sets firm in the fridge as the potato starch cools.
It freezes three months, though the potatoes turn grainy. If you know a batch is going in the freezer, leave them out and add fresh ones on the day you serve it.
Equipment
A heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, big enough to hold a whole cut-up chicken in one layer for the browning stage. A 6 quart (5.7 L) Dutch oven is about right. Thin pans run hot in patches and the low steady simmer is the entire technique here.
A pressure cooker gets it done in roughly 20 minutes under pressure. Brown first, cook under pressure, then simmer uncovered a few minutes to bring the gravy back.
A slow cooker takes 5 to 6 hours on low, and the browning still has to happen in a pan beforehand.
Tips and Variations
We enjoy this stew with a few peeled potatoes chopped into roughly two-inch chunks. The longer the potatoes cook they will thicken the stew.
Bone-in is not optional if you want gravy. The bones are where the body comes from, and a boneless breast will be dry well before the pot is ready.
Drop in a whole habanero and lift it out before serving. Left whole it gives the gravy its scent without heat. Chayote, carrot and a wedge of pumpkin all belong in the pot too.
Maggi Pollo is what a lot of Belizean kitchens reach for and it is already salty, so hold the salt until the end. Nutrition is estimated from standard ingredient labels, per serving, eight servings from a 4 lb chicken with potatoes.
Related Recipes
The same pot with achiote paste is Belizean stew chicken with red recado.
What goes on the plate beside it: rice and beans, potato salad, fried plantain and cortido.
For the other slow pots in the Belizean kitchen, try stewed beans or stew beef.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make Belizean stew chicken without recado?
Yes, and plenty of Belizean households do. Onion, garlic, stock and a slow simmer carry the pot. It is a normal weekday dish in Belize rather than a compromise, and stew chicken is listed among the country’s regular midday meals (source).
What can I use instead of red recado?
Nothing, on this page, because it is not built around a substitute. If you want the red colour and the achiote flavour, make the recado version instead. Paprika will colour the pot but it does not taste like recado.
Why wash the chicken with lime?
It is standard practice in Belizean kitchens, and the acid takes the slickness off the skin before it goes in the pot. Rinse and pat completely dry afterwards, since wet skin will not brown.
Stew or soup, how much liquid?
The liquid should come almost to the top of the chicken but not cover it. Two to three cups is usually right for a whole cut-up chicken. It reduces as it cooks and the potatoes thicken what is left.
My chicken came out tough. What went wrong?
A rough boil. Hard heat tightens the muscle and longer cooking will not bring it back. Keep the surface barely moving for the whole hour and a half.
When do the potatoes go in?
Last 30 minutes if you want them to hold their shape, earlier if you want them to break down and thicken the gravy. Both are normal.
How many does this serve?
Six to eight from a 4 lb chicken with potatoes in the pot, which is a family dinner with leftovers. Halve everything for three or four.
Shop This Recipe
A cast iron skillet holds heat evenly through the long browning step that gives Belizean stew chicken its deep color before the stock goes in.
A heavy-bottomed pot holds the hour-plus simmer without scorching the bottom - the recipe specifically calls for one to keep the heat gentle and even.
Bone-in chicken thighs in a covered stew can look done before they clear 165F - an instant-read thermometer is the only way to know without cutting in.
About Chica Post
Chica Post is Belizean by marriage and love. She has traveled across Belize — Corozal, Orange Walk, Dangriga, Stann Creek, and everywhere except Toledo — and has been to Mexico many times. She is raising two bilingual boys and keeping Belizean food alive in an American kitchen. She co-authored many of the original recipes on this site and took the photographs. She writes for the Belize News Post.
