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Meat & Poultry

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Meat & Poultry

A Hearty Chicken Soup For The Soul.

34 Comments on A Hearty Chicken Soup For The Soul.

jamaican chicken soupLet’s be clear.. this is NOT your typical Caribbean style soup, but you’ll be amazed at how simple and tasty this is. Especially on those days when you’re drained or your suffering from the flu and your stomach can’t accommodate anything heavy. Kieana, our eldest daughter has been sick with flu like symptoms the past few days, so she called me from school and asked if I could make up a batch of my special Chicken soup for her. This is a hit in our home whenever anyone is sick. Unlike me who prefers extra spicy foods when I’m not feeling well, our girls like it a bit more simple.

I should also mention that the recipe below makes enough for about 4-5 people, but all remainder can be stored in a freezer bowl and frozen for another time (keeps for about 2 months). We’ve got some portion-sized bowls that we use to freeze leftovers, so on those days we’re tired.. we pop it in the microwave and we’ve got a hot, homemade meal. All you need then is some good French bread and butter. My Trinbagonian friends would probably prefer a couple hops bread or coconut bake for sure.

Note: If you like spicy, you can easily learn from my way of enjoying this soup. When I serve myself, I usually add a bit of pepper sauce, a few drops of soy sauce and if I have any.. some shredded shado beni or cilantro.

You’ll Need…

1 chicken breast (boneless | skinless)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 stalk celery
1 scallion
3 cloves garlic sliced thin
2 sprigs thyme
1 carrot (peeled / sliced)
1 onion diced
3 medium potatoes (1/2 inch cubes)
4 cups chicken broth
egg noodles or pasta
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup frozen corn and/or peas (optional)

The first thing we’ll do is cook the chicken breast, so it can cool and make it easier for us to shred. Do so by putting a deep pot on medium heat and place the butter and olive oil to heat. Then add the chicken breast (make sure it’s dry) and cook on low/medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how thick the breast is. Be sure to flip every 4-5 minutes or so, to cook evenly.

cooking chicken noodle soup

As this cooks, lets prepare the vegetables that will go into the soup.

ingredients for chicken noodle soup

what you need for chicken soup

chicken soup noodle

carrots for chicken soup

The chicken should be cooked all the way through by now. Remove from the pot and put aside to cool. Now in the same pot, turn the heat up to medium and add the onion, garlic and celery. Cook that for about 4 minutes, then add the carrots, scallion and potato… stir around. Allow that to cook for a couple minutes, before adding the thyme, black pepper and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.

trini chicken noodle soup

recipe for caribbean chicken soup

caribbean chicken noodle soup

cooking trini chicken soup

All the vegetables should now be tender. It’s time to add the chicken. Using a fork (I used my fingers) pull away on the chicken breast to shred it into small pieces (see picture below). This is when I usually add my egg noodles or any pasta I have in the cupboard. I just grab a handful and add to the pot. As well as frozen peas or corn to the pot as well.

chicken for soup

noodles for trinidad chicken soup

caribbean chicken soup

Since I used chicken broth that’s already a bit salty and I don’t like a lot of salt, I usually never have to add any salt to my dish. However, this is the time to check to see if there’s enough salt for your liking. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, just enough time for the pasta to cook.

chicken noodle soup recipe

Give this one a try the next time you need something light and energy boasting and be sure to leave me your comments and variations in the comments box below. I’d love to hear from you.

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Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Tropical Curry Beef With Potato Recipe.

54 Comments on Tropical Curry Beef With Potato Recipe.

curry beef with potato and rotiOne of the things I love doing is watching cooking shows, but ever since I reduced the amount of channels we get from our cable package, I was left without the cooking channel. I hated having to pay for channels we never watch, just to get the Cooking Channel. Even to get the cooking channel added as a stand alone within our current package, means having to pay pretty much the same price as I was paying before when it was packaged. The next option for me is Youtube, and it FREE.

There is no better source than YouTube for cooking videos and I can spend hours at a time.. well, if I didn’t have to work etc. It’s simply mind-blowing when you start looking at how people from all over the world use curry. It’s got to be one of those things that have the most variations I’ve ever come across. There’s no 2 regions that cooks curry the same… even within the Caribbean itself, there are a few different techniques for cooking with curry. That said, here’s my tropical curry beef with potato:

You’ll Need…

1 lb beef (cut into 1 inch cubes)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon green seasoning mix (optional)
1 scallion
1/2 hot pepper (habanero, scotch bonnet or whichever you like)
dash black pepper
1 medium tomato diced
2-3 tablespoon cilantro or shado beni (chopped fine)
1 teaspoon ketchup
1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon geera powder (cumin)
1 onion sliced
3 cloves garlic (crushed and sliced)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup water (for cooking curry)
3 1/2 cups water for final cooking stage
3 medium potatoes (1/4s)

* I used a special Madras blend of curry powder that I get from the islands. I find it to be uniquely Caribbean-like and not as heavy or pungent as the ones that comes directly from India. Be sure to read the label of the curry powder you use if doing this recipe gluten free as some may contain flour as a filler and will not meet your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Cube and wash the pieces of beef with the juice of a lime or lemon (not mentioned in the ingredients list) and water. Drain off the excess water and season with the salt, black pepper, ketchup, scallion, green seasoning, cilantro or shado beni and tomato. Then cover and place in the fridge to marinate for about 2 hours. If you’re in a rush, marinate for at least 15 minutes.

seasoned beef for curry

After the two hours of marinating, put a pan on medium/high heat and allow the 3 tablespoons of oil to heat. Now add the onion, garlic and hot pepper and allow to cook until you start seeing the edges go golden brown. This is an indication that it’s time to add the curry powder and ground geera (cumin). Cook for a couple minutes, then add the 1/4 cup of water. We’re now cooking the curry to allow it to bloom. This will cook for about 5 minutes before after it starts drying off. Allow all the liquid to burn off and you should have a sort of grainy paste on the bottom of the pan… add the seasoned beef at this point and stir.

onions for curry beef

onions and garlic for trini curry

cooking curry for beef

cooking jamaican curry

jamaican curry beef

recipe for curry beef with potato

recipe for curry beef

Stir well so everything gets coated with the cooked curry. Then cover the pot, turn down the heat to low and allow this to cook for about 25-35 minutes. you will notice that it will spring a lot of natural juices.

trini curry beef

While this cooks, peel, wash and cube your potato and place it in the bowl you had the seasoned beef in. Then pour in the 3 1/4 cups of water and try to pick up any seasoning that may have been left behind. TIP I like seeing pieces of potato when the dish is finished, so this is why I cut each potato into 4 pieces (big) so it will not totally melt away as we cook the beef to tenderness.

After about 25 minutes on very low heat (gentle simmer), remove the lid and turn up the heat to burn of any remaining liquid. After which you add the water and pieces of potato, bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer. Ensure the pot is covered and cook for about 40-50 minutes. Basically until the beef is really tender and most of the liquid is gone. If you find that the liquid is till runny and the beef is tender, simply turn the heat up  and cook until you get to the desired thickness. Check for salt near the end..since everyone preference for salt is a bit different.

putting potato in curry beef

potato with curry beef

trinidad curry beef recipe

currying beef

potato and curry beef

curry beef with roti

I was lucky enough to have some buss-up-shut roti in the freezer, so I nuked it and had a wonderful dinner. BTW, if you ever have excess roti, simple place in a freezer lock bag and freeze. I have some that lasts up to 3 months (as long as there’s no air in the bag) and they heat rather well in the microwave. So if ever I go to a friend’s home and they’re serving roti and have extras at the end of the night.. I bring those babies home with me for future use.

I’d love to hear from you, so please leave me your comments in the area provided below.

happy cooking

chris…

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Meat & Poultry

A classic lazy-man dish using canned corned beef.

79 Comments on A classic lazy-man dish using canned corned beef.

caribbean cornedbeef recipeA combination of being tired, lazy and hungry forced me into our pantry to find something quick to eat with the leftover rice we had from the night before. I not much of a breakfast person, but when lunch time comes around I need to get some food in me. I work from home (have done so the past 11 years now) so I have the convenience of  eating well if I want to. Today all I wanted was something fast, but I wasn’t ready to sacrifice on taste. There was Mr. Hereford corned beef staring at me, as if it was saying “I dare you”…

This dish takes me back to when we owned a “parlor” (like a variety store) in Trinidad and late at nights the local drunks and bachelors would come calling on us to sell them a can of corned beef or Vienna sausages so they could have a quick meal. Even though we had closed for business hours ago and were in bed (our house was at the back of the store). I still remember telling my brother to shut up and pretend we’re not hearing them.

You’ll Need…

1 can corned beef
1 medium tomato chopped
1 medium onion sliced
1 scallion sliced
1 hot pepper sliced (remove seeds to control heat) I used a habanero pepper
dash black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ketchup
1/4 bell pepper – optional (sliced thin)

Heat a pan on medium heat, then empty the contents of the can of corned beef into it and break it apart. The original way I’ve seen this done is to heat some oil in the pan first, but since I’m trying to get back in shape I’m holding off on amount of oil and fatty stuff I use.

fast corned beef recipe

cooking canned cornedbeef

corned beef and rice

The corned beef itself is very fatty, so basically there’s no real need for oil. The next step is to prepare the onion, pepper, tomato, scallion and bell pepper. Normally bell peppers and scallions are not used as this in it’s original form is very rustic. But not only do I like the added flavour, I like using up the stuff I have in the fridge when I cook, so it doesn’t waste. Then toss everything into the pan with the corned beef and hit it with a dash of black pepper. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Don’t cover or you’ll risk everything going soggy and into a “mush”. BTW, this is cooked on a medium heat and is good 5-7 minutes after adding all the ingredients.

ingredients for cooking cornedbeef

trini cornedbeef

recipe for cooking trini style corned beef

trinidad corned beef

caribbean cornedbeef recipe

This dish is only complete for me with sliced cucumber on the side as in the pictures below. Besides rice, this can also be enjoyed on sandwiches, as a topping for crackers, roti, sliced bread.. even stuffed in pitas.

trinidad cornedbeef and rice

Trini cornedbeef and rice

Do you have a different way of making this? Leave me your comments below as I’m always looking for different ways to prepare the dishes I grew up on and I’m sure everyone else would love to learn different techniques.

Did you enter the contest yet? Win the 2010 Tribe Carnival Magazine.

happy cooking

chris…

Caribbean Pot on Facebook
Meat & Poultry

Ultimate Trinbagonian Stew Chicken.

67 Comments on Ultimate Trinbagonian Stew Chicken.

trini recipes stew chickenIf you’ve been reading the blog or getting the weekly recipes sent to you directly you’ll know that I’ve been tagging some recipes as being “Ultimate” (Ultimate Curry Goat | Ultimate Curry Chicken), so today I’ll like to add another classic dish to the “Ultimate” series.

I think it was about 4 years ago and we were on the French side of St Maarten for the day. We had booked an all-day beach getaway with a brief tour of the island. It was about 11 am and we had already done the island tour and we had a 1 hr break in Marigot at one of the craft markets before heading off to the beach to spend the day. Our daughters were already getting bored (they hate tourist traps) and according to them..STARVING! As we walked around looking for something for them to eat, they noticed one of the restaurants had  a huge sign up with their daily specials and a stew chicken platter was one of the featured items. Yup! They had found their own little shangrila! They were soon very disappointed and mad at me (don’t ask me why), as it turned out that the restaurant was only just serving breakfast and the lunch dinner menu would not be open until another couple hours. If only steupes (kiss teeth) could kill, that poor girl who told them that, would be dead on the spot. You couldn’t even force feed our daughters croissants even if their lives depended on it. Yea, that was a pretty grumpy day after that. I think their taste buds had already made reservations only to be canceled by the talk of breakfast and croissants.

In this “stew” we’ll be trying to  only use fresh ingredients to truly get that “ultimate” taste at the end, so you’ll notice that I didn’t opt to use some of my already prepared green seasoning mix.

You’ll Need…

4-5 lbs chicken  – cubed into serving size pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced or crushed
1 teaspoon fresh  ginger – crushed/sliced
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (one that can withstand high heat)
1 medium onion – chopped
1 medium tomato – chopped
3 tablespoon cilantro (or shado beni) chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 hot pepper (only if you like your food spicy)
1 green onion or chive (scallion) – chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (1 teaspoon dried)
1 lime or lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar
1 small shallot

* If you can get Spanish Thyme (aka podina), use 1-2 medium leaves finely chopped with the seasoning of the chicken.
* CHICKEN – I used a whole chicken that I divided into servings size pieces. I like the mixture of dark and white meat, but if you prefer you can use chicken parts such as legs and/or thighs and if you only eat chicken breast (or chicken chest as it’s commonly called on the islands) as one of my good friends does.. basically it’s your choice. If using chicken breast, it’s important that you allow the seasoned meat to marinate at least 2hours to really infuse the meat and to help prevent it being overly dry when cooked.

TIP :  Leave the ginger in large pieces if you’d like to fish out when the dish is done.

Since I don’t have a separate cutting board for meat and vegetables I usually prepare my seasonings first before getting the chicken all over the board. This simply means chopping the onion, pepper,thyme, shallot, cilantro, tomato, garlic and scallion.

seasoning for stew chicken

The next step is to cut, wash and season the chicken. If you’re lucky enough to have drum sticks and thighs there’s no need for cutting the meat into serving size pieces. In a future video I’ll show you how to divide and part-off a whole chicken. Put the pieces of  chicken in a large bowl, squeeze the lime or lemon juice (or vinegar) on it , then add a couple cups of water and wash. Try to remove as much fat and skin as you can. Rinse with a new batch of water and drain. * The water used in washing the chicken pieces is NOT mentioned in the ingredients list.

Now season by adding everything except the sugar, oil and water mentioned in the ingredients list. Mix thoroughly and allow to marinate for a couple hours in the fridge. For best results, marinate overnight.

trini stew chicken

As we’ve done with other “stew” recipes, it’s now time to brown the meat and not only give it a rich brown colour, but give it it’s truly unique taste. If you use the search box above (providing you’re not reading this from an rss feed) and search for “stew” you’ll find the other recipes. On a medium to high heat, put the oil in a heavy and deep pan to heat. Then add the sugar.. move it around until it starts going liquid. Please have the seasoned meat very close and I recommend you use a long handle spoon to avoid getting burn by the splattering oil when you add the seasoned meat. This is all about timing…  if the sugar is “burned” it will give it a bit of a bitter taste. What you’re looking for is small bubbles, which will then start going a bit frothy and go from light to golden/dark brown (see pics below). As soon as you see this happens (refer to pic) start adding the seasoned chicken a few pieces at a time. Remember to stir constantly to ensure all the pieces gets coated evenly.

how to stew chicken

trini stew chicken recipe

cooking stew chicken

the ultimate stew chicken recipe

After you’ve added all the seasoned meat to the pot, turn down the heat to medium/low, cover and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes. You’ll notice that it will spring some of it’s own natural juices. While this cooks, add the 1 1/2 cups of water to the bowl you had the chicken marinating in. Swish it around to pick up any of the marinade that may be stuck to the bowl. We’ll be using this shortly. Remember to stir the pot every 5 minutes or so.

After about 15 minutes, remove the lid and turn up the heat as it’s time to cook-off all the liquid in the pot and to give the chicken it’s final “brown” colour. This can take about 5 minutes and it’s important that you stir constantly so it does stick to the bottom of the pot. When all the liquid is gone, add the water we’ve had sitting in the bowl. Stir and cook on medium heat for another 20-25 minutes (depending on how thick your pieces of chicken is).

trinidad recipe for stew chicken

trinidad stew chicken

I like my stew chicken with a bit of gravy to pour over rice, but I hate it being to thin. So if after cooking for 2o minutes I find it a bit too runny, I remove the lid and turn up the heat to get it to the consistency I like (basically you’re reducing the liquid by about 75%). Remember to check for salt at the end, in the event you’d like to add a bit more.

how to cook trinidad stew chicken

trinidad stew chicken recipe

And here it is with some brown rice and the water cress salad I shared with you a few days ago.

trini recipes stew chicken

stew chicken with rice

So there you go, the Ultimate Stew Chicken recipe. Now I’m sure many of you may have your own unique way of preparing this dish, so I’d love for you to share your tips in the comment box below. This serves about 5-6 people as a side dish to rice, macaroni pie, roti, ground provisions, macaroni and cheese and even mashed potatoes. Besides rice, I love my with the prepackaged (white) mac and cheese. Trust me on this one.

happy cooking

chris…

Caribbean Pot on Facebook
Meat & Poultry

Salted Pig Tail And Ground Provisions Soup.

44 Comments on Salted Pig Tail And Ground Provisions Soup.

salted pigtail soup recipeLike the recipe I posted back in May 2009 for a Saturday favourite “Pig Tail Soup“, the base ingredients for this soup is pretty much the same. Except the final texture (consistency) and overall taste does differ. Yet another traditional dish enjoyed through the islands, with variations according to every one’s own unique way of preparation. My uncle on my mom’s side would make this soup on a Monday after a weekend of feteing (partying) to according to him..revive! Before we get to the recipe I must mention that you must be careful when stewing (browning) the seasoned pigtail. Since the meat still has it’s skin and it’s very fatty, when it hits the oil/sugar it will splatter a bit. Use a deep pot if you can and a long handle cooking spoon. Just to be safe.

You’ll Need…

2 lbs salted pig tails (cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces)
1 sweet potato (about 1lb)
1-2 lbs yams
4 eddoes (about 1 lb)
3 medium/large potatoes
3 tablespoon chopped cilantro (if you don’t have shado beni)
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 carrot (cut into coins)
1/4 teaspoon blackpepper
1/4 hot pepper (adds great flavour and some bite)
1 scallion (green onions)
3 sprigs thyme
1 can black eye peas – 19 oz/540 ml (Use whatever canned beans you may have in the pantry)
6 cups hot water
3 tablespoon oil
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ketchup
1 tomato
1 pimento pepper (optional ..if you have)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
Macaroni (optional)

* Feel free to add any other ground provision you may have (cassava, dasheen or green bananas). If you’re good at making dumplings, it would also make a great addition to this soup.

* I used black eye peas in this version, but my favourite is lentils which I didn’t have.

*NOTE: Try to get your butcher to cut the salted pigs tails for you, as it can do some serious damage to your knife if you try doing it for yourself.

The very first step is to cut the salted pig tails if you didn’t already get your butcher to do so. Then wash and place in a deep pot, to which you’ll add enough water to cover it by at least 1 inch. Bring this to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer. I cook this for a fairly long time (at least 1 hr), until it’s tender. This also works to remove some of the salt the pig tails were preserved in.

pigtail soup

trinidad pigtail soup

While that simmer away I peel and cut the provisions/vegetables I’ll be adding to the soup (potato,yams,eddoes,sweet potato,carrot etc). I then wash and place in a bowl with water to prevent it from going discolored. I also chop/dice the other ingredients..pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, scallion, thyme, cilantro..etc.

TIP : Try you best to cut the vegetables so they’re all pretty much the same size, so they can all cook at the same time.

salted pigtail soup

salted pigtail with provision soup

provision for pigtail soup

After 60-70 minutes the pigtails should start getting really tender. Remove off the stove and drain well. In the same pot (no need to dirty a bowl) let’s season the cooked pigtail with: onion,garlic,pimento pepper, hot pepper (I use habanero), scallion, thyme, cilantro, garlic, ketchup, black pepper and worcestershire sauce. Mix well and get ready to brown or stew.

In a large pot over high/medium heat, heat the oil then add the brown sugar. Move around the sugar so it melts and start going caramel like. You’ll start seeing bubbles (frothy) and it will change colour, going from golden to dark brown. See pic below to see when we’ve reached the right colour. Now start adding (remember what I said above about splatters) the seasoned meat. Stir well so everything gets coated evenly.

recipe for pigtail soup

seasoned pigtail for soup

browning pigtail for trini soup

browning pigtail for soup

trinidad salted pigtail soup

Allow this to continue browning for about 5 minutes so we get a nice rich brown colour. Remember to stir often to avoid it sticking or burning. Then drain the provisions/vegetables we had sitting in the bowl of water and start adding the pieces to the pot. Stir well so they get coated as well.

cooking salted pig tail soup

trini pigtail soup

The next step is to rinse the peas (remember you can use your favourite peas) under running water. I do this since I don’t care for the liquid it’s packaged in. Then add it to the soup pot.

peas for pigtail soup

recipe for trini slated pigtail soup

Stir everything well, then add enough water to cover everything. In my case it was 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 35 minutes. If you’re adding green bananas (remember to peel first) add the last 10 minutes of cooking, same can be said if you’re adding macaroni and/or dumplings . Check to see if your yams etc is cooked, by pushing a sharp knife through it. If there’s no resistance, you know it’s fully cooked.

The way to end this recipe is to add about 1 tablespoon of golden ray butter the last couple minutes. But since that butter is not the best for our health and sourcing it may be difficult if you live in North America… you can leave that out. However, that added flavour is truly unique.

Now check for salt. Notice I didn’t mention salt in the ingredients list, since the salt from the salted pic tails is usually enough for this dish. however, this is a personal preference so check at the end (after you’ve add the golden ray if you’re doing so) to see if you’d like to add some more.

trini salted pigtail soup

how to cook pigtail soup

salted pigtail soup recipe

I’d love to hear from you guys to know your recipe for making this. I know my mom browns the provisions instead of the pigtails (just her way I guess)… leave me your comments below.

happy cooking

chris…

Caribbean Pot on Facebook

Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate Curry Goat Recipe.

116 Comments on The Ultimate Curry Goat Recipe.

jamaica curry goatEver since my Ultimate Curry Chicken recipe I’ve decided to attach the word “Ultimate” to any dish I make for sharing with you all, that goes beyond my expectations. I must say that I’ve never been a fan of curry goat and I’m sure I can count the number of times I’ve had it on my fingers. But I’m so glad that I tried this recipe a couple nights ago, so I now have  a new appreciation for it. For the great cook that my mom is and I guess I can add my sister, aunts and grandmother to the list… I think I’ve trumped them all with this recipe. Just don’t tell them I said that.. that will lead to “confusion”.

For those of you who showed interest in the recipe when I mentioned I was cooking it the other night on the Face Book Fan page, I do apologize for the delay in actually posting it here. Lately I’ve been swamped work with the new website I launched as well as my other web properties, so finding time to blog about cooking is not as easy as before.

You’ll Need

2 lbs goat cut into 1-2 inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper
1 medium onion sliced
3 cloves garlic crushed or sliced thin
3 sprigs thyme
1 tomato sliced
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (any hot pepper you like)
2 scallions
1/2 teaspoon curry powder for seasoning the meat
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder for cooking
1/4 teaspoon geera powder (cumin)
1/4 teaspoon amchar masala (optional but goes well with this dish)
1 leaf Spanish thyme crushed (optional)
4 leaves shado beni (bhandhanya)
1/2 teaspoon ketchup
3 tablespoon oil (something that can withstand high heat)
3 1/4 cups water

* If you don’t have access to the shado beni you can use 1 table spoon of green seasoning or 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro.

* I used boned goat meat, but feel free to use boneless if you want. If using boned, remember to get the butcher to cut it into pieces for you as the bones are VERY tough and will do damage to your knives.

* If you can’t get goat meat, I’m sure you can use lamb with great results.

Wash and drain the meat, then season with everything listed above except the water, oil, onion, garlic, pepper and 1 1/2 tablespoons of curry powder. BTW if you’re wondering what curry powder I use, it’s the Raja Jahan Special Madras curry. Made by Turban Brand Products of Trinidad and Tobago, it’s my absolute favourite. Mix well, cover and put in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hrs. Try to seal tight as the smell can easily overwhelm the inside of your fridge. Remember to take it out of the fridge about 10 minutes before cooking so it gets back to room temperature.

seasoned goat for curry

trinidad curry goat

Here’s a pic of the geera and amchar masalaI used (my 2 secret ingredients) :

curry for goat recipe

Lets get to cooking now. In a heavy pot put the oil to heat on medium/high, then add the onion and garlic and allow to cook for a few minutes (until they go soft and the garlic releases it’s flavours). Now add the hot pepper and curry powder so it cooks with the onion and garlic. Give this a minute or 2, until it starts to stick or go really thick. Now add a 1/4 cup of water and allow this to cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring.

As the water dries off, you’ll notice that the curry will take on a sort of grainy texture and the oil will start being visible again at the bottom of the pot. The colour of the curry will also go darker.. this is an indication that it’s time to add the seasoned meat to the pot.

curry goat recipe

guyana goat curry

goat curry

cooking curry for goat recipe

Turn up the heat and start adding the pieces of seasoned goat a few pieces at a time and stir between each batch you add. This will allow each piece to get coasted with the curry sauce we just created. After you’ve added all the meat, there are 3 steps.

1. Cover the pot and bring to a gentle simmer (it will release it’s own juices).

2. Add the 3 cups of water left from the ingredient list to the bowl that had the seasoned pieces of meat. This will allow the water to pick up any of the seasonings that may be left behind. Set that aside for later.

3. Stir every 5 minutes or so.

jamaican curry goat

currying goat recipe

cooking curry goat

Allow this to cook for about 25 minutes on a gentle simmer, then remove the lid and turn up the heat. We now need to burn off all those natural juices that were released as it simmered. You’ll know when it’s all gone when you stir the pot and can see the bottom of it without any liquid. Now add the 3 cups of water we had transferred to the bowl we seasoned the meat in. Bring that to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and let it do it’s thing. Remember to keep it covered and stir every 15 minutes or so. We’re basically braising the meat so it’s nice and tender with a rich thick gravy. This can take up to 1 1/2 – 2 hours depending on how soft you like your meat and how old the goat was before it was butchered. Older goats will take longer to cook.

TIP: Feel free to use a pressure cooker for the step (when we added the 3 cups of water) to cut back drastically on the cooking time. I’ve also seen my aunt do this step in the oven as well. She puts it in a baking dish covered with tin foil and set at about 375 and it cooks away slowly in there. Since I’ve never used a pressure cooker, I’m afraid I can’t say how long it will take using that cooking option.

cooking trini style curry goat

how to cook curry goat

After 1 1/2 hrs, it’s time to test to see if it’s as tender as you like. Simply take a piece out and allow to cool on a side plate, then press with a fork or bite off a piece to see how tender it is. If you’re happy with it’s texture, it’s time to reduce the gravy to a thickness you like. Usually the gravy will be perfect, but if you find that it’s a bit runny, simply raise the heat and burn off. Pay close attention so you don’t burn it in the final stages of cooking.

jamaica curry goat

curry goat

trini curry goat

So what do you pair this with? This is a classic dish to eat with rice (most people like white rice, but I’m a HUGE fan of brown rice), ground provisions, roti (any type), at Jamaican restaurants you’ll get rice and peas, great for sucking up the gravy with pita bread and if all fails… level it down on it’s own 🙂

Leave me your comments or different versions of this recipe in the box provided below. It’s really appreciated. BTW, this will easily serve 4-5 people.

Happy cooking

chris…

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Meat & Poultry

A non-traditional oven roasted pork recipe.

26 Comments on A non-traditional oven roasted pork recipe.

caribbean recipesWith the busy schedule we live (even though I work from home) I try my best to have a family meal on Sundays. And it seems that too is becoming harder to schedule with our girls being older now and having so many plans of their own. I remember how nice it was to have a Sunday lunch (probably the most important meal in the Caribbean) with everyone when we were growing up on the islands. The scent, the food, family being together and the “ethnic fatigue” that makes you want to sleep after that amazing meal. Though our girls may never experience that, at least they will recall Sunday dinners when they grow up and have a family of their own. Do you have a tradition when it comes to meals? Leave me your comments below.

You’ll Need:

1 pork loin roast, about 4-5 pounds (you can use boneless, but I like the extra flavour from the one with the bone intact)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (fresh ground is best)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Hot pepper sauce (or Tabasco)
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons fresh squeezed)
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar

Note: This in NOT a traditional dish from Trinidad and Tobago, but I’m positive you’ll love it.

Note: Many pork loins you get at the butcher or grocery may have the fat trimmed off it. If you can, get a cut with a thin layer of fat on the top (see my pic below) While it cooks in the oven that fat will help keep the meat from becoming too dry.

Start by preparing the baste well be using, by combining all the ingredients (except the pork) in a medium saucepan and then bring it to a boil. Allow it to simmer for about 7-10 minutes. I use a whisk to help everything mix together properly.

Then preheat your oven to about 325 while your baste simmers. I also wash the meat off with some cool water and dry it off before placing into my roasting pan. If you don’t have a pan with a cover, you’ll need some aluminum foil to tent the pan to seal in the juices while it roasts for the first couple hours.

roast pork recipe

home made pork roast marinade

pork loin roast recipe

Now your oven should be ready. Spoon some of the baste we just made onto the pork loin, cover the pan and place on the middle rack of the oven. Let that cook for about 2 hrs at the temp we set. Continue basting (spoon on) every 25 minutes or so. In my case I like pouring the entire basting liquid I prepared into the roasting pan and baste from that. Please note that since we used vinegar in the liquid, you will get a strong smell every time you open the roasting pan. Vinegar is one of those things our noses are very particular about, since we don’t use it as much in the Caribbean as it’s done in North America. Don’t be alarmed… your entire house will have a wonderful smell as this slowly cooks away in the oven.

oven roasted pork loin

Allow this to cook for about 2 hours, then remove the lid and allow it to cook for another 30-45 minutes with the lid off. Remember to keep basting. With the lid off you’ll notice that the fat (BTW, place the fat side up in the pan when roasting) will start to get dark and almost look as if it’s burning. Don’t worry about that. That’s added flavour 🙂

Couple points.

1. After removing from the oven, allow the meat to rest a bit before slicing. This will allow any juices to redistribute back to the meat and help the meat itself relax.

2. The sauce at the bottom of the pan will be a bit tangy from the lemons and vinegar. It’s up to you to use it as a drizzle on the slices of roasted pork. But I find that our girls don’t really care for it.

trinidad bake pork

tangy pork roast recipe

caribbean roast pork

new trinidad pork roast recipe

trinidad bake pork recipe

So guess what I’m having for lunch today? Yes, roast pork sandwiches with a garlic/mayo/mustard sauce and slices of red onions.

Let me know if you have any questions by leaving me a message in the comments box below.

Happy cooking

Chris…

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Meat & Poultry

A formidable homemade burger with a Caribbean twist.

29 Comments on A formidable homemade burger with a Caribbean twist.

trinidad burger recipeIt was about 11.30 pm and we had just flown in on a 5 hr flight from Toronto and we were hungry. Normally when we hit Piarco International Airport we would get some KFC for the  drive to my sister’s place. We Trinbagonians have a weakness for KFC, but ONLY the KFC in Trinidad and Tobago… supposedly there’s something unique about the taste that you can’t find elsewhere. KFC was closed, plus not everyone in our party wanted fried chicken.

The next option was to drive through St James and grab some fast food at one of the many food vendors that line the street. For those of you not familiar with the area, St James is west of the capital (Port Of Spain) and it’s a place that never sleeps.  The two options we found were burgers and gyros. First the gyros or what is supposed to be gyro… basically they had some sort of sliced meat that they were putting onto a wrap you’d use for fajitas and topped with a sort of garlic mayo. Not my idea of a good gyro since I need genuine tzatziki sauce to even consider eating this, but you’d swear it was the real thing as the line was long.

The burger wasn’t a suitable option either, as it was dry, lacked any flavour and basically a cheap frozen patty that was cooked on a flat top in a ton of oil and it’s own grease. Yea, I gave it a try since as mentioned I wasn’t impressed with the gyro. However, they (same burger joint) had a shredded chicken sandwich they were calling a chicken burger that really stood out.

As a kid on the islands the only option for a burger was Wimpeys, then years later Mac Donalds came and left and now there’s several local joints where you can get burgers. Then there’s Burger King and many of the bigger restaurants include it in their menu. BTW the burger at Ruby Tuesday at Movie Town (opposite the national stadium) is well worth the price. We’re usually on the islands about 2-3 times a year and I’m still to find a local spot where you could get a decent burger. Maybe it’s due to the mentality of the people as burgers are not really considered “Trini” food, so it’s not widely accepted.

Here’s a “good” burger recipe I introduced to some friends during our last visit. (btw though you can’t get a good burger on the islands that’s affordable, the buns at the various local bakeries are amazing)

You’ll Need…

For the burger:

2 lbs ground beef (medium or lean works best as regular will have a lot of fat and will shrink when cooked)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoon grated onion (or chopped fine)
dash black pepper
1/4 hot pepper diced very fine (habanero or scotch bonnet gives that true Caribbean twist)
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon BBQ sauce (your favourite)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

* The hot pepper is optional. If you don’t have fresh hot peppers, you can easily substitute your favourite hot sauce (pepper sauce). Use as much as you think you can handle.

For the topping.

1/2 cup diced tomato
2 table spoon rough chopped cilantro
2 table spoon fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup diced avocado
2 table spoon finely diced red onion (or any sweet onion)
dash salt
dash black pepper
1/2 cup diced ripe mango (try to get a ripe mango that’s firm)

* You’ll notice that I didn’t have any mango in my topping, as I basically used what I had in the fridge. It’s hard to get me outside (except to BBQ) during the winter months or I’d head over to the grocery and pick one up. Try to include the mango if you can.

In a large bowl, put all the ingredients for the burger and mix thoroughly. I use my hands to really ensure everything gets mixed properly. Then I move on to shaping the burgers. I place a piece of parchment or wax paper onto a baking sheet to make the burgers easier to remove when it’s time to grill. Then I form about 6 balls with the meat mixture and place them onto the baking sheet. Using my fingers I press down on the meat working from the inside out to form a burger shape. TIP – To ensure the burgers cook evenly and all the way through I usually make a dip in the middle so that part is a bit thinner (you should be able to see this in the pic below). Also note that the cooked burger will shrink, so try to work it a bit wider than the buns you’ll be using. This way when it shrinks during the cooking process it will still cover the entire bun. I try to form it about 1/2 inch thick. I then place the burgers in the fridge to marinate for about 1 hr. If you don’t have room in your fridge, you have 2 options. 1 grill immediately or 2. Allow the mixed meat to marinate before shaping the burgers.

homemade burger

homemade burger recipe

making burgers from scratch

caribbean burger

how to shape burgers

The final step is to grill the burgers. I try to get the grill up to between 300-400 degrees ( I much prefer 300 to slow cook – a much juicer burger) and I allow them to cook on each side for about 5 minutes (each flip), flipping 4 times . So in total it cooks for about 20 minutes. But do keep an eye on things as depending on the type of ground beef you get (fat content) you may have flare-ups which can char the burger. Also note that if you use a 400 degree grill it will cook faster.

Though I’ve never used one, I’m sure you’ll get great results from one of those indoor grills like the George Foreman.

While the burgers grill, prepare the topping using the ingredients mentioned above. Basically all you’re doing is dicing/chopping and mixing well.

tropical burger topping

hamburger salsa

Here’s the finished burger topped with a slice of Swiss cheese and the fresh topping we made above.

trinidad burger recipe

caribbean burger recipe

Do you have a “Caribbean” burger recipe you’d like to share? Leave me a comment in the area provided below.

Happy Cooking

Chris….

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Meat & Poultry

Ultimate Curry Chicken?

47 Comments on Ultimate Curry Chicken?

trinidad curry chickenA few months back I came across a wonderful video online of a fellow Trinbagonian living in the US who created a cooking video called “The Ultimate Curry Chicken” and though his method and ingredients of cooking curry chicken was a bit different than mine, I’m sure it was just as tasty. If you’ve watched my introduction video (click on “About” above) you’ll know that curry is not one of the things we grew up on and only years later when I moved to Canada and lived with my aunt, did I really start eating it. Don’t get me wrong, our mom is an excellent cook when it comes to anything curry, it’s just we didn’t have it as often. I’ve been lucky enough to have my mom close (about 1 hour away) the past few years, so over this time I’ve taken her recipe and made some slight changes to call it my own. BTW if you’re in the Toronto area and you’re looking to have some food catered (Trini dishes), be sure to contact me and I’ll not only get you some amazing food, but I’ll even hook you up with a nice discount. I’m not in the catering business, but my sister is and it seems she’s doing an amazing job with the rate her business is growing.

You’ll Need…

3 Lbs Chicken
3/4 tablespoon salt
dash black pepper
1/4 hot pepper (scotch bonnet, habanero or any hot pepper you like) *Optional.
heaping tablespoon curry powder (madras)
1/4 teaspoon roasted Geera (powder)
1 medium tomato diced
1 medium onion sliced
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 teaspoon green seasoning mix
2 + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
1 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons water (to cook curry)
1 scallion
Shado beni (see note below)

* I usually use dark meat (with bones) when cooking curry as I find that the overall taste of the finished dish is more tasty. However the recipe works just as well with white meat (may be a bit dry though)

* Since shado beni is not readily available to us in the city where I live (and I can’t grow it) I usually get some shipped to me and immediately after I get it, it goes into my freezer. Then whenever I’m cooking I break off a few leaves to add to my dish. So if you can get access to some at your local store, remember that freezing is also an option if you get a large package. I also find that the frozen leaves holds more flavour than if you were to puree the leaves as we do with green seasoning mix.

* If you don’t have the green seasoning the recipe calls for, feel free to use about a tablespoon of each of the following (chopped):
– cilantro
– thyme
– shallots
* Spanish thyme would also be a good addition if you can get access to it.

* In the recipe you notice that I cooked the frozen shado beni with the onions before adding the curry. If you’re using fresh shado beni you’ll get better results if you season the chicken with it, rather than cooking it as I did. If you don’t have any shado beni, you can also substitute cilantro for it (add about 2-3 tablespoon chopped to the seasoned chicken)

I got a package of chicken legs with back attached, so this means I had to cut it into serving size pieces before I could get started. After I cut the chicken into pieces  it was placed in a bowl with some water and the juice of the lime (see ingredients above) to be washed. I then drained out the water and squeezed it as dry as I could.

chicken for curry recipe

seasoned chicken for curry

The next step is to season the chicken and allow it to marinate for a couple hours. Add the salt, black pepper, tomato, green seasoning, and scallion (chopped) to the bowl with the chicken and stir so everything gets coated.

seasoned trini curry chicken recipe

After it’s been marinating for a couple hrs, it’s time to start cooking. In a fairly large pan, heat the oil (2 tablespoon) on high heat and get prepared to add the sliced onions, garlic and hot pepper. Allow this to cook for a few minutes until the onions go soft and start to go a bit brown. I then turn the heat to medium and add a few leaves of the frozen shado beni to the pot followed by the curry and geera (cumin) and stir. You may notice that the pot is “dry”, this is when I add another tablespoon of oil to the pot so nothing sticks. The next step is to add the 6 tablespoons of water, turn the heat down and allow this to cook for a couple minutes. This will bring out the true aroma of the curry.

how to curry chicken

frying curry for chicken recipe

jamaican curry chicken

As the liquid burns off it’s time to start adding the pieces of seasoned chicken to the pot. Turn the heat back up to high and stir each piece so it get’s in contact with the cooked curry. After you’ve added all the seasoned chicken, turn the heat to medium-low and cover the pot.

trini curry chicken

guyana chicken curry

You’ll notice that the chicken will spring it’s own juices, so after 15 minutes remove the lid and turn the heat up to high. We’ll now burn off that liquid. As the liquid burns off from the pot (make sure you keep stirring) you’ll see nothing but a bit of oil at the bottom with a sort of curry paste (this is the good stuff).

In the same bowl you seasoned the chicken add the 1 1/2 cups of water so we can pick up any remaining seasoning that was left behind. Now add the water from the bowl to the pot to continue the cooking process.

ultimate curry chicken

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer with the pot covered (stir occasionally). After 20 minutes, remove the cover and check the sauce or gravy to see if it’s the consistency you like. Usually I have to turn the heat up a bit to reduce the curry sauce as I like it a bit thick.

trinidad curry chicken

curry chicken recipe

I’m sure many of you may have a different way of making curry chicken or as our friends from Guyana say “chicken curry” , so I encourage you to share you method with us in the comments box below this post. Don’t forget to also join us on facebook below:

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Meat & Poultry

Breadfruit simmered with stew pork and coconut cream.

43 Comments on Breadfruit simmered with stew pork and coconut cream.

breadfruit recipeAs I sat down to enjoy a massive plate of this scrumptious dish, I was taken back to my childhood when my great uncle would come over to our home to play cards with my dad and grandfather. It was the norm back then that whenever he visited my mom had to prepare this “oil-down” dish since he looked forward to it every visit. Additionally… as a boy my dad grew up on the family’s cocoa and coffee estate, so breadfruit was one of the staple foods my great grandmother would prepare for him along with green banana’s and other ground provisions (yam, dasheen, eddoes.. etc). He passed on his love for this “put meat on your bones” type of food to me and my brother. My sister’s are a different story.

Though this is not a traditional “oil down” way of preparing breadfruit, I’m sure it can qualify on some level since the key ingredients of meat, breadfruit and coconut milk are all used.  Here’s my take on this time-honored meal.

You’ll Need…

1 1/2 pork – cubed into 3/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ketchup
2 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced or crushed
1 teaspoon fresh or bottled ginger – sliced. (use 1/2 if it’s ginger powder)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (one that can withstand high heat)
1 medium onion – chopped
1 medium tomato – chopped
2 tablespoon Trinidad green seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cans coconut milk (5.6 fl oz or 165 ml)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 hot pepper (only if you like your food spicy)
1 lime, lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar
1 “full” breadfruit (not ripe)


* if you don’t have the “green seasoning” use:

2 sprigs of fresh thyme (1 teaspoon dried)
1 green onion or chive – chopped
2 tablespoon cilantro (or shado beni if you can get it)

We’ll start by cutting the pork into small pieces. Then with some water in the bowl with the pork pieces, pour in the juice of the lime (lemon or the vinegar) and wash the pieces of meat. Rinse with a new batch of water and squeeze dry. We’ll then move on to seasoning the meat. Basically you’re adding everything in the ingredient list except the oil, breadfruit, sugar and coconut milk.

Mix and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes to 2 hours. The next step is to “stew” the pork as we did in previous recipes. See the original stew pork recipe here.

seasoned pork for oildown

trinidad oil down recipe

how to season pork for trini stew

In a heavy, deep pot heat the oil on medium to high heat. When the oil is hot add the brown sugar and move around with a cooking spoon (make sure the spoon is dry). We’re trying to get the sugar to go bubbly and golden to dark brown (see pics below). Since this is an important step (easy to burn) it’s important that you have the seasoned pork close so you can add it as soon as the  sugar reaches a caramelized state. When the sugar get to the colour you see in the final pic below, start adding the pieces of pork. Be careful as you’re adding meat with moisture to very hot oil/sugar.

how to stew pork

trinidad recipe for cooking breadfruit

recipe for stewing pork and breadfruit

Quickly (but carefully) add the pieces of seasoned meat to the pot and stir so everything gets coated with the caramelized sugar. Turn the heat down to medium/low and cover the pot. Allow this to cook covered for about 30 minutes… it will spring it’s own natural juices so you don’t have to worry about it burning or sticking. If you find that the liquid is drying fast, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally!

stewing pork for oil down

While this cooks let’s prepare the breadfruit. You’ll notice that I said “full” breadfruit in the ingredients list. Basically this means a fully mature, but not ripe breadfruit. A fully mature breadfruit will have a lovely buttery texture when cooked. Cut the bread fruit into 6-8 wedges as I’ve done in the pics below. Now with a sharp pairing knife or potato peeler, peel away the skin and discard. The final step is to remove the core off the wedges (usually soft and not solid in texture). Now place in a bowl with water until you’re ready to add to the pot with the pork.

trini bread fruit recipe

breadfruit recipe

We’ve now been simmering the pork for about 30 minutes so it’s time to “fry it down” (burn off all the liquid) by turning up the heat to high. As the liquid burns off you’ll notice 2 things. 1 the colour of the meat will go a bit darker and 2. it will start to stick to the bottom of the pot. Keep stirring until all the liquid is gone and you can see oil at the bottom of the pot.

stew pork for breadfruit

Add the pieces of breadfruit to the pot and pour in the coconut milk. As soon as you can tell that it’s come to a boil, turn down the heat to the lowest your stove can go so it’s a very gentle simmer. Try to stir the pot a little to release anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot when we had the heat on high. Allow this to simmer gently for about 30 minutes (try to stir a couple times, but be gentle as not to break-up the pieces of breadfruit). Normally my mom would place some dasheen bush leaves on top of everything to allow it to steam-cook (I’ve also seen her put cabbage leaves when she didn’t have dasheen bush), but in this simplified recipe we’ll use the pot’s lid to help seal in the juices.

trini steam breadfruit

steam breadfruit and stew pork

After about 30 minutes you should have little or no juices at the bottom of the pot and the meat should be tender and the pieces of breadfruit fully cooked and infused with the flavours of the coconut milk plus the stewed pork.

breadfruit oil down

trinidad breadfruit and stew pork

breadfruit oil down recipe

This is a one pot meal that’s very filling. Serve hot and watch your guests lick their chops!

Tip: If you’re like me and love the flavour of ginger but hate biting into the ginger pieces, slice it thick so you can see it easily when the dish is done to be removed before serving.

If you have any questions relating to this or any of the recipes on the site, please leave me a comment below and I’ll try my best to answer. Since I do manage several other websites there may be a delay, but I promise to get to it. You may even get an answer from others who visit the site on a daily basis as well. Additionally, if you have another way of preparing this dish, be sure to share it with us.

Meat & Poultry

Fry cabbage with leftover stew pork.

17 Comments on Fry cabbage with leftover stew pork.

fry cabbage with rotiLooking back at the difficult time we (brother and sisters) gave my mom due to the food she would prepare for us, I was overcome with a terrible sense of guilt. There were times we would refuse to eat even though she was making the most of what’s available, as well as trying to make stuff for us that were healthy. Full circle? We go through the same thing with our daughters, but we have influences like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King and the other fast food joints all over this city that my mom didn’t have to compete with.

Cabbage was of those things which I would refuse to eat when I was younger (there are a few I’ve already mentioned on this blog), unless it was in chow mein. But I find myself drawn to it the past few years. Here’s a dish that was passed down to me by my grandmother who recently celebrated her 94th birthday. Instead of using pork, she would use left over stew chicken or salted cod to flavour it, since I don’t think she’s ever had pork in her life.

You’ll Need…

1/2 of a medium cabbage shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion sliced
2 cloves garlic sliced thin
1/4 habanero pepper sliced thin (pepper is optional, but adds a great flavour – feel free to use any hot pepper you like)
leftover stew pork
2 tablespoons olive oil

Note: if you don’t eat pork , you can always use leftover stew beef or chicken and salted cod is also a very tasty alternative. You can also check out the recipe I posted before for cabbage with corned beef. If you’d like to have the recipe with the salted cod, leave me a comment and I’ll post it for you. Vegetarians, you can leave out meat completely from this dish and it’s still excellent.

Start by slicing the onion, garlic and hot peppers very thin. Then in a large saucepan, heat the oil and add the onion, garlic and pepper. Allow this cook for a few minutes while you prepare the cabbage.

cooking fry cabbage

how to cook fry cabbage

cabbage recipe

Allow the onions etc to cook for about 5 minutes on medium to low heat. The idea is to soften it to release it’s sugars and flavours. The next step is to add the shredded cabbage (I think it was about 5 cups or so) and stir gently. The pot will seem crowded and stirring will be a bit difficult, but it will reduce as it cooks. DON’T cover the pot or risk having a lot of liquid forming and making the dish soggy.

trini fry cabbage

trinidad fry cabbage

simple cabbage recipe

trinidad fry cabbage recipe

Allow this to cook for about 15-20 minutes (medium to low heat) or until the cabbage is cooked though to the texture you like. Then add in the pieces of stew pork (chicken or beef) and stir. Allow this to cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the pork is heated through if you had it in the fridge.

trini stew pork and cabbage

fry cabbage with pork

trini fry cabbage recipe

stew pork and fry cabbage

fry cabbage with roti

You won’t believe how tasty this cabbage dish is until you’ve tried it. I was fortunate to have some roti to eat this with, but it’s just as good with rice, ground provision, in a sandwich or as an everyday side dish.

TIP! Since I’ve confessed before that I can’t make roti, when my mom is in town we get her to make up a batch for us (buss up shut) and I freeze them in individual portions in zip lock freezer bags. Now don’t get me wrong, nothing beats fresh made roti, but when you reheat these it’s very close to the fresh stuff. So the next time you have someone over who can make roti, have them make you a batch and freeze them for times like this or go to your local Caribbean restaurant and get a batch to freeze. The only other tip I can give you is when heating in the microwave, don’t set the time for too long. Give it a 45 second blast, allow it to stop.. then hit it again for another 45 seconds. For some reason it it goes continuous, it ends up being a bit soggy. If you’re heating sada roti, I would recommend that you wrap it in paper towels or a tea cloth when reheating to avoid it going sorry.

Did you know that you can also freeze and reheat doubles? YUP! The closest joint that sells doubles in 1 hr away in Toronto. So when we drive down to visit my sister or go shopping we usually get several batches that we freeze.

FINAL TIP! When putting the roti or doubles into freezer bags to freeze, try your best to squeeze out any excess air from the bag as you seal it. If you have one of those “seal a meal” gadgets, take full advantage of it.

Leave me your comments below  and…

Happy Cooking!

Meat & Poultry

Finger licking BBQ chicken recipe.

29 Comments on Finger licking BBQ chicken recipe.

trinidad bbq chickenCouple weeks back when we were on vacation in  Trinidad we took the drive “down south”  (San Fernando, the second largest city in Trinidad and Tobago) to enjoy some BBQ. Last February when we went down for Carnival I had mentioned to my sister that I felt like eating some good island BBQ so she took us down to Cipero in San Fernando to eat at a BBQ joint run by some Muslims. I’ve now been there 2 times and I’m still to remember the name… the food is so good you tend to blank everything else out!

This BBQ recipe for chicken is not like the one we enjoyed while we were there, however it’s very tasty as it’s infused with many of the typical seasonings we use when cooking meat on the islands. BTW, if you know the BBQ joint I’m speaking about, do leave me a comment below so I can tell others the name.

* You have 2 options when making this BBQ chicken. You can precook it as I’ve done, or you can let it marinate for a couple hours (be sure to make some cuts in the thickest part of the chicken) and grill directly on a medium heat grill. I would even recommend that you grill it a bit on indirect heat to avoid flare-ups. Remember if you don’t precook the chicken it will take much longer to cook on the grill.

Note: If you’re feeding the average Trinbagonian BBQ chicken (any BBQ meat) it’s important to note that we don’t want to see any “red” or “pink”. It’s an immediate turn-off and we probably won’t eat it. However over the years I’ve learned to appreciate a medium done steak.. still trying to convince my dad that it’s good tasting like that.

You’ll Need…

7 chicken legs with back attached. (or about 3-5 lbs chicken pieces)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon thyme
1 scallion chopped
2-3 tablespoon shado beni (or chopped cilantro)
1-2 leaves of Spanish thyme minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes (or fresh sliced scotch bonnet/habanero pepper)
dash of black pepper
1 table spoon ketchup
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 pimento pepper
1 medium onion rough chopped
1 tomato diced
2 cloves galic.
1 lime

* You’ll need about 1 cup of your favourite BBQ sauce.

Note: I didn’t have the items in “bold” above, so I used a tablespoon of the prepared green seasoning paste I have handy in my fridge. it’s made up of basically the same thing.

Start by trimming off any excess fat or skin from the chicken and wash with the juice of the lime (or lemon) and water (drain). Then place in a fairly large pot and toss in all the ingredients mentioned above. On medium to low heat, cover and allow to simmer (gentle) for about 30 minutes. Please ensure it’s a very low simmer as we don’t want to over-boil the chicken pieces. Stir every 10 minutes or so.

trinidad bbq recipe

trinidad chicken bbq recipe

seasoned bbq chicken

You will notice that there will be a lot of liquid formed during simmering. Remove the chicken pieces (dump out the remainign liquid from the pot) and get the grill ready for the final step (the chicken will not look all at that appealing at this point). Try to get the BBQ at about 300 degrees and start grilling the chicken. Since the chicken is already cooked, this point is just to get the meat firm, add some colour and flavour from the BBQ sauce.

steamed chicken for grilling

island bbq chicken

caribbean bbq chicken

how to heat bbq sauce

In the pic above you’ll notice that I have the pan with my BBQ sauce and brush sitting on the BBQ. This allows the sauce to heat up so I don’t brush cold sauce onto the chicken pieces. Within 10-15 minutes your chicken will be ready. Just remember to flip a few times and brush with BBQ sauce to give it all that wonderful sticky BBQ goodness.

bbq chicken legs

trini bbq chicken recipe

trinidad bbq chicken

Back to that BBQ joint on Cipero Street in San Fernando… I would recommend that you stick with the chicken (comes with fries and salad) as I’ve found that the beef and lamb is very tough. And do be careful with the hot sauce that’s provided. If you can’t tolerate much heat, don’t try to follow the locals and pour in a ton of hot sauce. You’re just asking for pain then 🙂 And do try the sort of garlic mayo they have as well.

Happy Cooking

Chris…