Jamaican curry chicken was the first dish I learned how to cook at around 8 or 9 years old. And it’s probably the one dish that I have truly perfected over the years, having adjusted the recipe over and over again until I got it just right. Here, I’ll walk you through what makes Jamaican curry chicken so unique while also sharing my recipe for curry chicken.
What Type of Chicken to Use in Jamaican Curry Chicken?
When I’m making curry chicken, I always go with a whole chicken that I cut into small pieces. Every piece of chicken somehow takes on its own profile in the curry stew. Also, leaving the bone in and the skin on the chicken gives the dish the best flavor as well.What Makes Jamaican Curry Different?
Cooking curry chicken the Jamaican way usually means the meat is seasoned ahead of time with the curry powder. This is unlike other Caribbean islands like Trinidad, where the meat is seasoned without the curry powder and later cooked in a prepared curry sauce. There are also a few tried-and-true steps like “burning” the curry with garlic and searing the meat first that gives this dish its true signature flavor.Jamaicans also leave out many of the herbs and peppers other islanders use, like chadon benni (also known as culantro), cilantro, and parsley. We simply use a variety of onions, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper, and allspice to flavor this dish.
