salted pig tails Archives | CaribbeanPot.com

The traditional way this dish is made is with Dasheen Bush Bhagi (tender leaves of the Taro plant), however being in Canada means that securing decent Taro leaves is very challenging. Yes, I could drive to Toronto to the many West Indian grocers, but from experience I know that it’s insanely expensive and the quality is (most instances) terrible. Everyday baby spinach, which is easily sourced at any local grocery store is an excellent replacement.

You’ll Need…

1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 lbs prepared salted pig tails
1 lemon (juice)
4 sprigs thyme
2 scallions (chopped)
1 pimento pepper (chopped)
1 small onion (sliced)
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups diced pumpkin
8 okra (ochro) chopped
1/2 lb baby spinach (chopped)
2 cup par-boiled brown rice (wash)
3/4 teaspoon salt (see note)
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups water
1 scotch bonnet pepper

Notes! May I recommend that you watch the video below to follow along as much more about the recipe is discussed there. Get your butcher to cut the pig tails for you or boil them whole (full lengths) and when tender, cut into smaller pieces. Even though the salted pig tails were boiled, there will still be remnants of salt which they were cured in. With that in mind, adjust the salt later on.

Before we get started we’ll need to boil the salted pig tail pieces for 1 hr and 15 minutes (as explained in the video) to help tenderize them and to remove most of the salt it was cured in. I had my butcher cut them into 1 1/2 inch pieces, which I washed with the juice of a lemon. Then they were boiled for 30 minutes, that water was then discarded and a fresh batch of water was used for the remaining cooking time.

In a deep pan add the oil on a medium/low flame, followed by the pre-cooked pigtail pieces. The goal is to render out some of the fat and in the process, get some of that flavor to start with. After 3-4 minutes add the onion, thyme, black pepper and scallions to the pan and cook for a further 4 minutes.

At this point we’ll add the diced pumpkin (squash will work as well) and okra to the pot.

We’ll follow this up with the washed and chopped spinach. It will look like a lot, however it will wilt down. Cook for 5 minutes.

I used par-boiled brown rice (washed). Add and stir well.

You’ll then add the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil.

I chose to float the Scotch Bonnet pepper as I wanted the flavors from the oils in the skin and not the raw heat. The goal is to NOT break the pepper while cooking, and fish it out at the end. If you want the finished spinach rice with a kick, you may chop the pepper and add it.

20 minutes later (cooked on a medium low heat) and it’s time to taste and add the salt if necessary. At this point I shut the stove off, placed the lid on the pot and allowed the residual heat to finish cooking things.

About 6 minutes later it was ready to be served. While I used salted pig tails, you may use salted beef or smoked turkey with similar results.

As explained in the video, depending on the type of rice you use, the amount of liquid you’ll need will differ as well as the cook time. White rice cooks quicker.

Spinach Stewed with Salted Pigtail and Coconut Milk.

May 27, 2025October 21, 2016Leave a Comment

You’ll notice that I’m referring to all the ‘greens’ as spinach in this recipe, so kindly bear with me. I had good crops of Swiss Chard, Jamaican Callaloo (chorai bhagi) and Kale in my garden this past summer, so it was only natural that I did this dish.A dish mom would make for us, however she would use dasheen bush (tender leaves of the dasheen plant) and there were times she would add a bit of cooked yellow split peas to the mix (she had a name for that dish which I can’t recall at the moment).

You’ll Need…

4-5 cups (each) Swiss Chard + Kale + Jamaican Callaloo
1 lb salted (cured) pigtails
1 med tomato or 6 cherry tomatoes
1 small onion
2 scallions
1 can coconut milk
4 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds and as much as you can handle)
1 tablespoon olive oil

* Juice of half lime or lemon (optional)

IMPORTANT: if doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Have your butcher cut the salted pigtails about 1 inch with his band-saw or risk doing some damage to your kitchen knife if trying to cut it at home, due to the tough bone in the middle. Then rinse off, place in a pot covered with water and bring to a boil. Boil on medium heat for 20 mins, then discard the water and repeat with new water for a further 30 mins. By boiling for two times you’ll make the pieces of salted pig tails very tender and help to remove most of the salt it was cured in.

Drain and set aside when you’ve boiled it two times in fresh water.

Wash and trim (discard blemished leaves and hard stems/rib.. especially the Kale) the ‘spinach’ then roll into a cigar shape and cut into ribbons. I would recommend washing again just to be sure you remove any possible dirt you didn’t get the first time. Place in a deep bowl with water (or your sink) and shake around, any dirt will settle to the bottom. I must mention that I didn’t use any of the stems of the Jamaican callaloo.. though I could use the tender ones if I wanted.

Heat the oil on a medium flame in a wide pot, then go in with the diced onion and garlic. Lower the heat all the way down and cook for a couple minutes. Then add the chopped scallions, pieces of salted pig tails (pre-cooked), scotch bonnet pepper and black pepper. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes on low. This is the sort of flavor base we need to get things going.

Now turn up the heat to medium and start adding all the chopped ‘spinach’ to the pot. It will seem like a lot, but after a couple minutes it will wilt down. Go in with the coconut milk and bring to a boil. As it comes to a boil, give it a god stir, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.

After 20 minutes, remove the lid and turn up the heat. The goal is to now burn off any liquid in the pot. In my case it took about 5 minutes to do so. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. You’ll notice that I didn’t add any salt to my dish as the salt from the salted pigtails (yea, you won’t get it all out by boiling) will be enough to season the dish. Lastly I went in with some cherry tomato I found in my garden and the juice of 1/2 a lemon (or lime).

The lemon juice at the end really brightens up everything and it helps to prevent any sort of ‘itch’ you may experience at the back of your tongue when you eat ‘greens’. This dish is great with rice, dumplings, ground provisions or roti.

You can cook it longer if you like your ‘spinach’ more tender/melted as traditional bhagi and if pork is not your thing, you can always use salted cod or smoked turkey wings or something.

Meat & Poultry

BBQ Pig Tails.

May 27, 2025June 14, 201222 Comments

BBQ Pig Tails is not one of the more glamorous dishes to come out of the Caribbean and to be honest the first time I saw this being grilled in Barbados a few years back, I was a bit apprehensive. Don’t get me wrong, I loved salted pig tails in soups and stewed, but I found the whole grilling idea a bit weird. I don’t discriminate when it comes to food, so it was only a matter of time before this piggy dish made its way on my grill.

Though it wasn’t a dish you’d hear about when I was growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, I know from speaking with my dad and uncle, that it’s quickly becoming a popular option when the charcoal grills are prepped and ready to do nice things to meats (and vegetables?). BBQ pig tails are very easy to put together and you can personalize it by the seasonings you add to it when it’s boiled and you’re free to use your favorite BBQ sauce to give it the finishing touch.

You’ll Need…

2 lbs salted pig tails
1 tablespoon green seasoning
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 lime or lemon

Using the juice of a lime or lemon, wash the salted pieces of pig tails and rinse with cool water. Scrape with a knife and keep an eye out for any hairs (remove). Then place in a deep pot with water and bring to a boil. Allow this to boil on a rolling boil for 45 minutes.

After 45 mins, drain and rinse with clean water. Then place the pig tails back in the pot, top with water and bring to a boil. As it starts to boil, add the green seasoning (see here for a video on making green seasoning) and reduce the heat so it’s a rolling boil. Allow this to boil for 50 minutes. The boiling in water will do two things; remove the salt the pig tails were cured in and help the meat to become very tender. By adding the green seasoning (or any seasoning/herbs you like), you’re infusing the pig tails with additional flavors.

After 50 minutes of boiling, discard the water and get ready to grill. Don’t rinse as you want the green seasoning to remain on the pieces of pig tails.

Place on a hot grill (about 375-400F) and keep any eye on it as it’s easy to char with all the skin and fat. After a couple minutes you can start brushing with your favorite BBQ sauce.. do so liberally! Turn the heat down a bit as you really want to develop some caramelized flavors and not burn the bunch. Keep flipping and brushing with bbq sauce you so you’ll end up BBQ pig tails which are sticky and well infused with the smokey flavor of the grill.

All it takes is about 10-15 minutes on the grill, but it’s important that you keep moving them around and keep brushing with BBQ sauce. Your BBQ pig tails will now be ready to serve.. cut them (use a cleaver or chefs knife) into 2 inch pieces and top with some chopped parsley (make it pretty looking). With all the pre-boiling we did, the meat will be falling off the bones. The sweetness from the caramelized BBQ sauce from the open flame of the grill will add a wonderful flavor to the sort of salty undertones of the brine these pig tails were originally cured in.

I hope you’re enjoying all the recipes off the grill I’ve been sharing this month and don’t hesitate in giving this BBQ pig tails a try.. you’ll be surprised how tasty they are.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

salted pig tails

Spinach Rice Recipe: Nutritious and Flavorful One-Pot Dish.

Spinach Stewed with Salted Pigtail and Coconut Milk.

BBQ Pig Tails.

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