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Guyanese pepperpot
Beef stew with cassareep
Dark Christmas beef stew with cassareep, cinnamon and wiri wiri pepper
Pepperpot is Guyana's national dish and the centre of Christmas morning, when families in Georgetown and the countryside eat it with thick slices of plait bread. It comes from the Amerindian peoples, who used cassareep, a black syrup boiled from cassava juice, to flavour and preserve meat. Beef (often with cow foot or oxtail) simmers for hours with cassareep, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, sugar and hot wiri wiri pepper into a glossy, dark, sweet-savoury stew. The mistake is serving it the day it is made; it is much better after a day or two. Chef's tip: bring it back to a full boil every day you keep it, as Guyanese families do, and always keep it in the fridge.
- Total time
- 200 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ lb beef chuck and oxtailin 5 cm pieces
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 6 garlic clovescrushed
- ½ cup cassareep
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 6 cloves
- 1 strip of orange peelabout 8 cm
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Season 3 ⅓ lb beef chuck and oxtail with 1 ½ tsp salt. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy pot and brown the beef in batches for 5 minutes each.
15 minStep 2: Add 1 onion and 6 garlic cloves and cook for 5 minutes.
5 minStep 3: Stir in ½ cup cassareep, then add 6 ¼ cups water, 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 cloves, 1 strip of orange peel, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 4 thyme sprigs and 3 wiri wiri peppers or 1 scotch bonnet. Bring to the boil.
10 minStep 4: Cover and simmer gently for 2 hours 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the meat is falling-apart tender (well past 160°F) and the sauce is dark, glossy and thick. Uncover for the last 20 minutes if it is thin.
150 minStep 5: Remove the cinnamon, peel and thyme stems. Serve hot with plait bread or rice.
Step 6: Cool quickly and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, bringing it back to a rolling boil each time you serve it.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 40 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does guyanese pepperpot take?
- About 200 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 180 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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