Recipes for the season
Guyana Chronicle
December 21, 2003
Garlic Pork
Ingredients
3-4 lbs lean pork (with just a little fat)
2 pints vinegar
½ lb garlic
1 bunch thyme (1 broad leaf and 4 stalks fine leaf)
6-8 wiri-wiri peppers
4-6 cloves
4 tsp salt
Method
1. Cut pork into suitable sized pieces. Steep pork in a solution of ¼ pint vinegar and water, then lift out using two forks and put into a large jar or bottle.
2. Pound garlic, peppers, and thyme. Add to the rest of the vinegar. Add salt and cloves. Pour over pork, making sure that there is enough liquid to cover pork completely.
3. Leave to soak for about 3-4 days or longer if possible.
4. Into a pan, put pork with some of the vinegar liquid and leave it to boil until liquid evaporates. The fat of the pork should also melt supplying the fat in which the pork will fry until brown.
5. Serve hot
Roast Beef
Ingredients
1 joint good quality beef
2-3 oz fat
salt and pepper
Method
1. Wipe meat thoroughly with a damp cloth. If liked, rub with seasonings or pack seasonings into every crevice – none should be left on the outside as they will burn. Do not slice meat.
2. Using metal skewers and clean twine, tie joint into shape if necessary.
3. Melt fat in dripping pan. When hot, place in meat and baste on both sides.
4. Put meat in a very hot oven, so that the outside will quickly brown and form a coating which will keep in the meat juice. Lower heat after the first 15 minutes. The dripping should sizzle gently. For large joints, allow 20 minutes for every pound and 20 minutes over.
5. Baste meat (pour a spoonful of oil from the dripping pan over the meat) every 20 minutes. This keeps meat moist and juicy and helps it to brown.
6. When cooked, put meat on a hot dish and keep hot while gravy is made.
N.B. If potatoes are to be roasted, place around joint in tin, about 1½ hours before joint is finished
Pepperpot
Ingredients
2 lbs stewing steak or brisket
½ lb pickled meat
2 pig trotters or one cow heel
2 lb ox tail
1 cup casareep
2 red peppers
1 one-inch piece dried orange or lemon peel
1 one-inch piece stick cinnamon
3 heads clove
2 oz sugar
salt to taste
Method
1. Wipe and clean meat thoroughly
2. Put heel and trotters in pan. Cover with water and bring to boil. Skim.
3. When half-tender, add other meats, and hot water to cover. Cook for about one hour.
4. Add other ingredients and simmer until meat is tender. Adjust flavour for salt and sugar.
5. Serve hot.
NB. This dish develops more flavour when left over a period of days. It must be reheated to boiling point each day. This is a typical Amerindian dish.
(Recipes extracted from `What’s Cooking in Guyana’