Guyanese Pepperpot

Guyanese Pepperpot

Adapted from Mad Love: Big Flavors Made to Share, from South Asia to the West Indies by Devan Rajkumar. Photography by Suech and Beck. Copyright © 2023, Devan Rajkumar. Republished with the permission of Figure 1 Publishing.

You can purchase Mad Love: Big Flavors Made to Share, from South Asia to the West Indies here.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 lbs (1.36 kg) beef, lamb, goat or mutton chunks, washed
• 2 lbs (0.9 kg) oxtail
• 2 lbs (0.9 kg) cow heels, boiled 20 minutes and drained, optional
• 2 onions, chopped
• 5 sprigs thyme, plus extra for garnish
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 (3-inch, 7.6 cm) dried orange peels
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) salt
• 2/3 cup (156 ml) brown sugar
• 1 tsp (5 ml) whole cloves
• 2–3 Wiri Wiri chili peppers, chopped, to taste
• 7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) chopped ginger
• 1 cup (237 ml) cassareep

Method:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add meat (in batches if necessary) and sear for 7–10 minutes, until brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Add oxtail and cow heels to the pan and brown for 7–10 minutes. Transfer to the same plate.

To the pan, add onions, thyme, cinnamon, orange peels, salt, brown sugar, cloves and Wiri Wiri chili peppers. Sauté for 7–8 minutes, until onion is golden brown. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute.

Pour in 1 cup (237 ml) hot water, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove all the brown bits known as fond. (Don’t neglect this step! It’ll add flavor to the dish.)

Add the seared meat, oxtail, and cow heels back to the pan. Pour in cassareep and sauté for 4–5 minutes. Pour in 5 (1183 ml) cups hot water and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover.

Simmer for 3–4 hours, until meat is tender. Set aside to rest overnight at room temperature.

As the cassareep helps to preserve the meat, the pepperpot can be kept at room temperature and reheated once a day for up to a week.

Simply bring it to a boil until it’s warmed through. (Alternatively, it can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.) Garnish with thyme and serve with plait bread.