Meat & Poultry

Quick And Simple Jerk Pork Stir Fry.

I luv me some Jerk Chicken, and while Jerk Shrimp is underrated IMHO.. Jerk Pork is simply special (outstanding). Especially when it’s been marinated overnight in a wicked Jerk Marinade and grilled over charcoal or on my Traeger Smoker. You MUST allow things to happen low and slow though. With that said, I had some leftover Jerk Pork from the night before so I decided to clear out the fridge a bit and rock a wicked Jerk Pork Stir Fry.

You’ll Need…

1/2 lb jerk pork slices
1 1/2 tablespoon grape seed oil (optional)
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 medium onion (sliced)
3/4 red bell pepper (chopped)
3/4 orange bell pepper (chopped)
1 medium carrot (thin sliced)
2 stalks celery (with leaves)
3/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chili crisp
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
3/4 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 scallions (chopped)
leaves of celery (chopped)

Notes! May I recommend that you follow along with the video below. Should you want this extra spicy, add any of your fav hot peppers or a dash of pepper sauce (hot sauce). The jerk marinade I used in grilling the pork had scotch bonnet peppers in it.

Further. Should you want to add grated ginger, sliced cabbage, mushrooms and zucchini to the stir fry, please do so. Additionally, you may add cooked noodles and have it become an outstanding one-pot meal.

Prep all the ingredients as the cook time will be fairly quick.

Heat the oil (use your fav oil) on a medium flame (I explain why I like using a wok), then add the celery (sliced), followed by the onion and garlic. Turn the heat down slightly so we don’t burn the garlic. Should you want to add grated ginger, do so now.

After 2-3 minutes, turn the heat back up to medium and add the peppers and carrot, along any other vegetable/s you feel like adding. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes.

Now go in with the Hoisin, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and Chili Crisp. Stir well and cook for another minute. I don’t usually add any salt as the jerk marinade I used along with the soy sauce is enough sodium for me. But later on you may add salt should you like (after tasting the completed dish).

In goes the thinly sliced Jerk Pork and cook until the pork is heated through. About 2-3 minutes on that medium flame.

Just before turning off the stove add the scallions and celery leaves and toss. The residual heat will warm those through and brighten up the overall stir-fry.

I’m not the biggest fan of sesame oil, so I went lightly, however you may adjust this to your liking. Should you be adding cooked noodles to the mix, may I suggest that you double up on the sesame oil, soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Oyster sauce is a great addition to this Jerk Pork Stir Fry as well.

Serve warm!

I hope you get an opportunity to make this awesome Jerk Pork Stir Fry for you, your family and friends.

Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate Garlic Pork.

Yea ULTIMATE may be a bit bold, but if you’ve had time to go though the series of recipes I title as being “ultimate”, you’ll understand. While this is a “Christmas or holiday” dish in the Caribbean (wherever there’s a Portuguese influence), there’s no reason why you cannot rock this for your family on the regular. All you need is a little patience for the pork to marinate and take on the wonderful seasoned garlic flavor.

You’ll Need..

2 scallions
2 head of garlic (20-24 cloves)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
5-8 bird’s eye peppers (any pepper you have or like using)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4-6 pimento peppers (seasoning peppers)
10-12 sprigs thyme
bacon fat (or any type of oil or fat you would like to use).
3 1/2 – 5 lbs pork
Juice of a lemon to wash the pork
white vinegar (2-3 cups)

Wash and drain the herbs, peppers and garlic.

Rough chop the scallions, peppers, garlic and parsley. Then put the the chopped stuff along with the salt, sugar and pulse in your food processor or blender. You will need to scrape down the side… nice chunky consistency. Should you not have a machine, give everything a fine chop with your knife.

Cut the pork (something with a marble – fat) into strips. (cheap cut of pork) Wash with cool water and lemon juice (drain)

In a glass container, toss in a tablespoon of the puree, then 2 sprigs the thyme, then pork.. repeat until it’s all in the jar in layers. We use a glass container so the acid and pungent garlic flavor will not make your fridge smelly. If your glass jar got a metal lid, place a bit of plastic wrap on the underside of the lid, so the vinegar mixture doesn’t cause it to rust.

Top with vinegar, stir and seal. Make sure it’s covered in the vinegar and into the fridge for at least 5 days.

After 5 days! I then decided to add a bit more flavor.. I browned 1/2 lb of bacon in a dry pan and saved the fat. Bacon was for breakfast. Use smoked bacon for best flavors… this one was apple-wood smoked.

Remove the marinated pork out of the fridge and drain. Give it a quick shake and cut into bite size pieces.

Yes, it’s ok to have some of the marinade still on the pieces of pork. You will need to pat the pieces of pork dry with paper towels before frying or you’ll risk having to deal with splattering fat.

I like cutting into pieces before frying as I find I get more crispy edges and a juicy center. You can fry the pork in the original long strips and cut into bite size pieces later should you choose.

Use a pot with a high side, so the splatter will not burn you or get your stove messy. Heat the bacon fat on a medium heat and fry until golden. Flip so all the sides will brown evenly. About 10-12 minutes in total.

Drian on paper towels.

As mentioned above, this is usually served with Plait Bread on Christmas morning in places like Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. However I make sandwiches all year with this as I refuse to be bound by seasons.

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Caribbean Curry Stewed Pork.

Curry and Stew! My 2 best friends when it comes to Caribbean culinary culture. Combine them and only good things shall happen. I grew up eating pork 2 ways.. Ginger Stewed (brown sugar like you’ll see below) and roasted in the oven or ‘bake pork” as mom would say. ONLY after coming to Canada did I ever eat Curry Pork (living with my aunt) and years later I combined both for this amazing dish.

You’ll Need…

2-3 lbs pork ( I used pork tenderloin)
1 lime or lemon
3/4 tablespoon salt (adjust)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 scotch bonnet pepper (sliced)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
4 scallions (divided)
1 1/2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
2-3 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 1/4 tablespoon curry powder

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 requirements (especially the curry powder you use as some contain flour as a filler). I used a pork tenderloin in this recipe but any cheap piece of pork will work (something a little fatty will be best), just be prepared to adjust the cooking time accordingly. I used the entire Scotch Bonnet pepper.. feel free to do the same but note it will be spicy. Cut back and don’t use any of the seeds nor white membrane surrounding the seeds if you want to cut back on the heat level. AND remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.

Cut the pork into cubes (about 2-3 cm), wash with the juice of a lime or lemon and cool water. Drain dry.

Season the pork with the salt, black pepper, ketchup, onion, tomato, Caribbean Green Seasoning, scotch bonnet pepper, ginger, scallions (1/2) and curry powder. Mix well and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Place a heavy pot on high heat, add the oil and sugar. The sugar will start to melt, go frothy, then amber in color (do not proceed if the sugar goes BLACK). Add the seasoned pork to the pot in batches, while your stir. Use a spoon (dry) with a long handle as the melted sugar will be HOT.

Heat still on high, bring to a boil with the lid on (about 3 minutes). Then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Now remove the lid and crank the heat to high. We need to burn off all that natural liquid (about 6 minutes or so) and in doing so we’ll intensify the color and flavor.

Put the water in the same bowl you marinated the pork in and swish it around to pick up any remaining marinade. As you burn off ALL the liquid and you can see the oil we started off with at the bottom of the pot.. add this water and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a medium low and cook with the lid slightly ajar. Basically we’re braising until tender.

After about 45 minutes, you now have to personalize things. Taste and adjust the salt and decide if it’s tender enough for you (cook longer if necessary) and finally burn off any extra liquid to get to the consistency of gravy you like. I turned up the heat and cooked it for another 5 minutes, then I topped it with the remaining scallions as I turn off the heat.

ABSOLUTELY – one of the best pork dishes you’ll ever have. Fork tender and packed with rich Caribbean flavors. Add a bit more ginger for more of a ‘punch’ and if you don’t care about gravy, burn off ALL the liquid at the end – the flavor will be intense! (only way mom would do it – no ‘sauce’)

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Caribbean Stewed Pork Ribs.

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We’ve grilled them, done a sort of “oven BBQ” during the winter and this coming summer I plan on doing a classic smoked/jerk over a charcoal fire, but for now I’d like to share yet another way to do pork ribs. You’re free to use the short ribs type you get at the Asian markets (ones sold for making dry garlic ribs), baby-back or your regular rack of pork ribs for this recipe. Using the classic Caribbean technique of ‘stewing’ to start, then we’ll slowly braise these ribs until they tender and packed with rich Caribbean flavor.

You’ll Need…

3-4 lbs pork ribs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 slices ginger
1 medium onion (diced)
1 medium tomato (diced)
2 birds eye pepper (bird pepper – chopped)
1 tablespoon veg oil
1 1/2 tablespoon golden brown sugar
2.5 – 3 cups water
4 sprigs thyme

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

Give the ribs a quick wash with cool water and the juice of a lime or lemon (not mentioned in the ingredient list). Drain and get to seasoning. Add everything to the bowl EXCEPT the thyme, veg oil, brown sugar and water. The Bird Pepper is optional.. providing you want a kick to the dish.. you may use any spicy pepper you have on hand or like. Mix well and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least a couple hours.

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In a heavy pot over a high flame heat the vegetable oil, then go in with the brown sugar. This step is crucial (we DON’t want to BURN the sugar). Using a dry spoon, stir the sugar until it starts to melt. It will go frothy, then amber in color (act fast). Here is where you add the season pork ribs to the pot. If the sugar goes black. STOP and start over or it will have a bitter taste. (watch the video below for more help with this).

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Yes, it’s ok if the marinade goes into the pot as you add the pieces of ribs. But try to keep some back in the bowl. In the same bowl you marinated the ribs add the water and swish around so you can pick up all that goodness to add to the pot later. Stir well to coat the ribs with the ‘stew’ base we started off with. Turn the heat down to medium/low, cover the pot and let that go for about 10 minutes (stir a couple times). It will sprout it’s own natural juices.

After which it’s time to infuse the ribs with the color and flavor of the brown-stew. Remove the lid and crank up the heat to high – we want to burn off all that liquid. Be sure to stir. It will take about 4-6 minutes.

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After all the water is gone and you start seeing the oil we started off with at the bottom of the pot, it’s time to add the water we had in the bowl we marinated the ribs in. Stir and bring to a boil. As it comes to a boil, top with the sprigs of thyme, reduce the heat to a simmer and place the lid on the pot.

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Stir every 10-15 minutes. After about 1 hour and 25 minutes, you can now personalize this dish a bit. Taste for salt and adjust to your liking and you can now crank up the heat and burn off the liquid until you have a gravy the consistency you like. If our mom was doing this she would burn off ALL the liquid, but in my case I allowed it to go on high for about 5 minutes.. until I had a somewhat thick gravy or sauce. (I had this with rice)

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These Caribbean stewed ribs are a great side-dish for your next family dinner or it can certainly make an impression the next time you hit a potluck at work.. go ahead and take all the praise. You can always start the “stewing” process on the stove-top and finish off in a slow cooker if you wanted.

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Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Pork Chow Recipe (Trinidad and Tobago Cooking).

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My first encounter with this wonderful spicy pork dish was a New Years Eve night (say old years night in the Caribbean) at my cousin’s home. They had recently come back from Trinidad and while there another cousin of ours made a batch of this to partner the adult beverages everyone were partaking in.  In Trinidad and Tobago we have what we refer to as “cuttas”, as the Spanish have Tapas as sides for drinking. We have an assortment of spicy, fatty, fried and otherwise alcohol friendly foods which are a big part of our drinking culture. Chow is typically made from tart fruit (like green mangoes)and pickled with extra hot scotch bonnet peppers, lemon juice and herbs. But in this recipe we’ll replace the mango with marinated pork, fried until crispy and golden.

You’ll Need…

1-2 lbs pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Caribbean green seasoning
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 cups veg oil
Juice 1 lemon (or lime)
1 scotch bonnet pepper (more if you want it more spicy)
1 clove garlic
2 scallions
1 tablespoon chopped Shado Beni (or cilantro)
1/2 small red onion
pinch sea salt
pinch black pepper

IMPORTANT!: If doing this dish gluten free, do go through the entire list of ingredients (especially the soy sauce) to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

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Place the clean pieces of pork (I like using pork with a bit of fat – cheap cut) in a bowl and season with the Caribbean Green Seasoning, soy sauce, grated ginger and black pepper. Mix well and allow it to marinate in the fridge for at least a couple hours.

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Heat the vegetable oil in a wide pan on a medium flame, then gently go in with the pieces of marinated pork. Use paper towels to blot out any extra moisture off the pieces of pork so it doesn’t splatter back at you when added to the hot oil. Fry until golden and crisp (about 20-25 minutes) flipping every 4-6 minutes. I used the ends of pork ribs, which were very tender and about 1/4 of an inch thick (about 1/2 inch tick at the thickest spot).

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Remove from the hot oil, place on paper towels to soak up any excess fat and allow to cool before cutting into 3/4-1 inch pieces. Set aside in a bowl.

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Prep the other ingredients as the pork cools a bit (thinly slice the onion, scallions and scotch bonnet pepper \ crush the garlic). Remember to wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after handing scotch bonnet peppers.

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Now it’s just a matter of assembling everything together, give it a good mix and finally go in with the lemon juice. I didn’t have any shado beni, nor cilantro.. but that would be a key ingredient to add in here as well.

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You can serve this both warm and cool, but to be honest it’s MUCH better a bit warm, as the sort of pickle effect you get from the hot peppers and lemon juice just seems to scream at your taste buds. Not your typical Caribbean chow, but definitely a dish to serve when you have friends over or just need something spicy in your life. Great as a snack, makes an excellent side dish.. even better on sandwiches. Special HAIL OUT to my cousin Sophie for this wicked introduction!

Recipe Card

Pork Chow

Instructions

Video
  1. Place the pieces of Pork (2 pound) in a bowl and season with the Green Caribbean Seasoning (1 tablespoon), Soy Sauce (1 tablespoon), Fresh Ginger (1 teaspoon), and Ground Black Pepper (1/4 teaspoon). Mix well and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least a few hours.
  2. Heat the Vegetable Oil (as needed) in a wide pan on a medium flame, then gently add the pieces of marinated pork. Use paper towels to blot out any extra moisture off the pieces of pork so they don’t splatter back at you when they touch the oil.
  3. Fry until golden and crisp (about 20-25 minutes) flipping every 4-6 minutes.
  4. Remove from the hot oil, place on paper towel lined plate to soak up any excess fat and allow to cool before cutting into 3/4 to 1-inch pieces. Set aside in a bowl.
  5. Prep the other ingredients as the pork cools a bit. Thinly slice Red Onion (1/2), Scallion (2 stalk) and Scotch Bonnet Pepper (1) and crush the Garlic (1 clove).
  6. Assemble everything together, add the Fresh Cilantro (1 tablespoon) and give it a good mix before drizzling in the juice of the Lemon (1).
  7. Serve warm and enjoy. Season with Sea Salt (1 pinch) and Ground Black Pepper (1 pinch).
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Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Island style Curry Pork Recipe.

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Curry wasn’t cooked often in our home when we were growing up (dad was not a fan of curry), especially pork. Mom’s go-to recipe when it came to pork was either stewed (stewed pork recipe) or roasted in the oven. When I moved to Canada and started living with my aunt (mentioned her in my cookbook), I learned to both appreciate and master the art of cooking Caribbean style curry dishes. Pork being one of them.

This curry pork is absolutely delicious.. tender pieces of pork, simmered in a delightful curry sauce which is not heavy and wickedly spicy if you break the scotch bonnet when cooking. The key here is to try and get pieces of pork with bones.. lean pork will work, but the bones gives it that extra layer of flavor (IMO).

 

You’ll Need…

3 lbs pork (I used ribs ends)
1 heaping tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1 tablespoon chopped shado beni (culantro)
2 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon roasted Geera (cumin)
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tomato
2 shallots
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 scallion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
water – about 3-4 cups

Notes: If you cannot source the shado beni (aka culantro), use 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro. I like using a madras blend curry powder, but one made in the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago). If doing this gluten free, do pay attention to the curry powder you use to make sure there’s no flour added. Some curry powder adds flour to their blend.

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Cut the pieces of pork (if your butcher didn’t already) and wash, drain and get ready to marinate (this is key). I used a cheap piece (already cut at the grocery store) of pork, with pieces from around the rib area of the piggy.  In a big bowl, mix in the green seasoning, salt, black pepper, ground cumin, tomato (diced), salt, ketchup, chopped scallion and grated ginger with the pieces of pork. You have two options here when it comes to the scotch bonnet pepper. If you want raw heat, cut and use as much as you want in the marination process. If you want flavor, when we get the pot going, add the whole pepper and try NOT to break it.. or you’ll release the beast!

* Remember to wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after using cut scotch bonnet peppers.

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Give everything a good mix, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is best). Let’s jump to actually cooking now! Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan (one with a lid) on a medium heat, then add the diced onion and garlic.. lower the heat as low as it can go and allow the flavors to develop for about 3-5 minutes. With the heat still on low add the curry powder and mix well. The goal here is to cook off the raw taste of the curry so we don’t get a rawness to the finished dish.

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It will go darker, you will have that lovely bouquet of curry in your kitchen and it will have a tendency to clump.. that’s natural.  If you find that it’s too dry, feel free to add a bit more oil to the pot. After 4-5 minutes, turn the heat to high and start adding the seasoned pieces of pork to the pot. The goal is to coat the pork with the curry and to deglaze the pot.

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Bring it up to a boil (it will release natural liquid), then turn it down to medium low, cover the pot and let it go for about 8-10 minutes. Then remove the lid and turn the heat back up to high. We want to burn off all that natural liquid and really intensify that curry flavor in the pieces of pork.

In the same bowl you marinated the pork (don’t discard the marinade), swish around 3 cups of water and set aside for use. Once the liquid is burnt off, it’s time to add that water to the pan (be sure you can see some of the oil we started off at the bottom of the pan before adding the water). Bring that to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, cover the pot and let that slowly braise for about 1.5 hrs.

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After its done it’s thing, we have to personalize this a bit (pork should be tender by now).. turn up the heat and burn off the liquid until you have a gravy consistency you like (I like it somewhat thick) and taste for salt. Adjust accordingly as my appreciation for salt will be different than yours. After turning off the stove I like to go in with the chopped shado beni (or cilantro) and let the residual heat help release the flavors from that. Do remember to remove the whole scotch bonnet pepper before serving.

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TIP – Pork can be fatty… (remember I didn’t use a lean pork), so you’ll notice that some of the fat will rise to the surface of the pan. Spoon out and discard (not down your sink though – that can clog pipes).

If you want to make quicker work of this you can add it (after the initial 10 minutes of cooking the pork in the curry – before we added the water) to a pressure cooker for about 10-15 minutes (with 2 cups water) After it’s safe to open the pressure cooker, remove the lid and turn up the heat to thicken the gravy.

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* This can be frozen with great results. Simply thaw, heat and serve when you’re ready for another dose of curry pork..which also happens to be gluten free. Curry traditionalists may query the use of tomato and ketchup, but I assure you the acid will help balance the flavors nicely.