Haitian Braised Chicken

Recipe Source: Mom

Recipe Result: finally mastered

Every Haitian mom has some variation on a dish of marinated meat braised with tomato and onion. I remember growing up and having this for dinner every Sunday, like clockwork. Back then, my friends would ask me what Haitian food is like, but I had no idea how to describe it. Now that I've been cooking for a few years and learned some techniques, I can say that the bulk of Haitian cooking is all about braising.

I've watched my mom make this several times, even had her walk me through the steps as she was making it. But there were a lot of subtleties that I had to figure out through practice. In a way, this dish is what really made me consider writing a recipe journal. I must have tried cooking Haitian braised chicken a couple dozen times before I felt like I mastered the recipe. Here's what I learned in the process.

1) Most of the flavor comes from the meat getting sufficiently browned, and the cookware you use for braising makes a pretty big difference in how well it browns. When I first tried braising chicken, I had been using my usual stainless steel sauce pan, but the browning would happen too fast and I couldn't get the meat to release its juices the way I wanted. Then my mom bought me a cast aluminum pot (technically, a caldero). Cast aluminum is used all throughout the Caribbean and Latin America because it's cheap and lightweight. It heats up a little slower than your average stainless steel pan, so it gives the meat a good gradual brown. A dutch oven would also be great to use.

2) The other primary source of flavor is tomato paste, and when it's added to the pot. When I started trying to recreate this dish, I would dissolve the tomato paste in the water that I would add as the braising liquid. But I was impatient with letting the liquid reduce and letting the tomato paste impart its flavor. I learned that adding the tomato paste while the chicken was still browning gave better color and more intense flavor. Before I understood that step, I would cheat and use some gochujang (Korean soybean/chili paste) for extra flavor. A little MSG makes everything better... right?

3) Patience is the key. When you add the water after the chicken browns, you really need to be patient and let it reduce on medium-high heat. If you have time, let the water reduce to almost half so you're left with a good, concentrated sauce. Then add more water and let it reduce some more. Though, I am still working out the optimal time to let the chicken brown before adding chicken and the optimal time to let the sauce form and develop flavor so that the chicken doesn't get overdone. The dark meat always comes out great, but breast meat gets slightly dried out.

Ingredients:

- 4 chicken thighs

- 1 half of a split breast (I pick up a pre-packaged split breast and then ask the butcher to cut it into 3 pieces for me)

- 1 lime, cut into thick wedges

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed/minced

- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

- 2 tsp olive oil (for marinade)

- an additional 1 Tbsp olive oil for braising

- 1 Tbsp tomato paste

- 1 small yellow onion (3" diameter") or 1/2 of a large yellow onion (4" diameter), sliced into rings

- salt and pepper to taste

- a pinch (~1/8 tsp) dried thyme, or about 1/4 tsp of fresh thyme leaves

Procedure:

1) Rub each piece of chicken with the lime wedges. Then season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides. Arrange the chicken flat in container you can fit in the refrigerator. Add the 2 tsp of olive oil, the vinegar, and the garlic. Mix it all together, so all the pieces of chicken are marinating. Cover the dish and refrigerate, letting it marinate overnight.

2) Wash your hands. Seriously.

3) In your dutch oven, caldero, or whatever you have, heat the 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. When it's hot, put in the chicken so that the sides with the flattest surface area are face down. Let it cook for 10 minutes or so without moving the chicken. Keep it still so it browns nicely. When it does start to brown, throw in the 1 Tbsp of tomato paste and flip each piece of chicken. Toss all the chicken around so that the tomato paste gets spread around the pan, then let it sit over the heat and brown some more.

4) Both sides of each piece should be nice and browned. Don't worry if you get some slightly burnt spots too, it adds to the flavor. Add 1 cup of water, or however much you need to nearly cover the chicken, like in the photo below. Dial up the heat to medium-high and bring the pot to a boil. Let the pot simmer on medium heat, and add the sliced onion, the thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. I also recommend a couple of dashes of hot sauce at this point, for the spiciness and the acidity from the vinegar. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. You can add more water if you want more sauce in the end.

Yields about 4 servings. Enjoy!