Chicken Foot Souse

Chicken foot souse is a vibrant, tangy Caribbean delicacy made with a delicious medley of cooked meat, spices, herbs, and veggies typically enjoyed as street food or at bars and parties.

Guyanese Chicken Foot Souse

In Guyana chicken foot souse is typically sold by a female vendor (the souse lady) outside of markets, clubs or parties. It is a popular late night street food and is known to help cure or prevent hangovers. It is collagen rich and loaded with vitamins and minerals. Souse is the meaty version of a ceviche made with cooked meat in a briny, spicy pickle. Although grammatically it should be chicken feet, in local Guyanese creole which often ignores plural forms of nouns, it is chicken foot.

Chicken Foot Souse in My Family

My dad is the king of souse in our family. He always makes his famous (in our family) chicken foot souse on New Year’s eve and for house party. But he especially makes it whenever my husband visits, since he (my husband) loves this souse.

One New Year’s eve, we didn’t make it to New York (where my dad lives) and I wanted to make my dad’s souse to carry on his souse tradition. Like any Caribbean parent, my dad did not have a written out recipe and he gave me the steps bit by bit, later admitting he had forgotten a few things along the way. After a few tries I nailed his souse and I’ve been making this recipe ever since. I now serve it at all of my New Year’s eve parties and it is enjoyed by Caribbean and non-Caribbean guests alike.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Chicken Foot Souse

• Caribbean Comfort Food: This dish is rich with savory flavor, and a lip puckering, mouthwatering broth.
• Made Conveniently with an Instant Pot: It has changed my life! No joke! It’s quiet so you don’t hear all that noise typical pressure cookers make. Also it doesn’t release any steam while pressure cooking so your entire house doesn’t smell like boiled chicken feet. Which is a plus plus in my book.
• A Unique Twist on a Guyanese Classic: My dad ALWAYS adds corn to his chicken foot souse. When I posted the chicken foot souse video on instagram, many people commented that they never had corn in souse, but I am telling you the sweetness of the corn and the tanginess of the vinegar creates an interesting flavor explosion that I welcome with every bite. And of course skip the corn if you don’t like it.

What is souse?

Souse is a general term used to describe a range of dishes that involve pickling or marinating meats. Vinegar is a key ingredient in Caribbean souse, which is usually made with pig feet, cow tongue, or chicken feet/foot.

Ingredients for Guyanese Chicken Foot Souse

Chicken claw/feet, vegetables, spices, vinegar, lime juice, spicy wiri wiri peppers and seasonings come to make this briny dish.

• Chicken claw/feet: Trim and rinsed.
• Corn (optional): Adds a bit of sweetness. Skip it if you don’t like it in souse.
• Water: To wash and soak chicken feet and additional water to cook the chicken foot.
• White vinegar: This tenderizes the meat and adds flavor.
• Spices & Seasoning: I use Lawry’s seasoned salt (or other all purpose seasoning), table salt, garlic, whole cloves, garlic, dried thyme, finely chopped wiri wiri peppers, finely chopped celery leaves, thinly sliced scallions.
• Lime juice: For a bit of citrus flavor.
• Cucumber: Thinly sliced cucumber adds a bit of crunch to this dish
• Corn (optional): Corn is not a traditional ingredient for chicken foot souse but my dad adds it for a bit of sweetness and texture.
• Onions: Thinly sliced onions picked in the souse adds a little crunch and deep onion flavor to the dish.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Chicken Foot Souse

Prep the Chicken Feet

Start by cutting the nails/tips from the chicken claws/feet. I used my kitchen sheers because to easily snip the tips off.

Then carefully inspect the underside of the feet and trim away any bruised skin. These chicken claws barely had any bruising but sometimes there are large brown patches.

Wash and Scald the chicken claws.

Soak the chicken feet in a mixture of vinegar and water for 30 minutes then drain and rinse thoroughly with water. Then add to a pot, add salt, cover with water and bring up to a boil. Continue to boil for three minutes, then drain and rinse.

Pressure Cook Chicken Foot and Corn in Instant Pot

Add the prepped chicken feet, corn (if using), all purpose seasoning (Lawry’s seasoned salt), garlic cloves, dried thyme and about 5 cups of water to the instant pot or pressure cooker. Then pressure cook on high for 30 minutes or until the chicken claws/feet are tender and the skin starts to pull away from the bones.

Making the souse

After pressure cooking the chicken feet and corn (if using), transfer everything to a heat safe bowl, preferably with a cover. Then while the souse is still hot, add the lime juice, vinegar, cloves and onion rings and mix together well.

Then layer on the cucumber, chopped celery leaves, chopped wiri wiri pepper and scallions.

Mix well ensuring that the chicken claws/feet and all of the seasoning and veggies are submerged into the broth. Let the souse rest uncovered until it is completely cooled then cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, or over night for best results.

Step-by-Step Video Instructions

Storage

You can store leftover chicken foot souse in an airtight container in the fridge. It will coagulate once refrigerated and you must reheat the souse before serving. It is best to reheat your souse on medium heat on the stove top but you may also reheat it in the microwave.

Tips for the Best Souse

• Use fresh chicken feet for the best taste. There should be no discoloration, strong odor, or slimy coating.
• Make sure that there is enough water to cover the chicken feet and corn in the pot. I used my instant pot (electric pressure cooker) when making this recipe, and most of the liquid remained during the pressure cooking. When using a traditional stovetop pressure cooker, you will need to add more water before pressure cooking because a lot of the liquid evaporates during pressure cooking.
• Souse is best served warm. Although I let my souse cool, then refrigerate over night after making it. I reheat it before serving to guests.

Recipe Variations

• Meat: Swap out pig feet/ trotter or cow feet for chicken feet in this recipe. You can also use cow face which is the most popular version of souse in Guyana, but I dislike the texture of cow face.
• Skip the corn: If you don’t want corn in your chicken feet souse, skip it. The recipe works with or without it.
• Make it spicy: I make my souse mild so that everyone can enjoy it. Add more hot peppers to turn of the heat. Sometimes I add a few whole wiri-wiri peppers so that guests can take one and pop it open for additional heat.

Frequently Asked Questions