One of the things that defines a West Indian Christmas is the variety of gastronomical delights brought from our Spanish and Portuguese heritage!
The traditional parang music tells many lovely tales of "La Anuncion" and "Alegria" but none brings me closer to home than the naughty but nice " Ah want a piece ah Pork" by the calypsonian "Scrunter"
No parang party is complete without Rum, pastelles and warm "hops bread" stuffed with ham or roast pork and laced with Chow chow ( piccalilli relish) and hot pepper sauce.
Every year, my family "The Sheppy/DeSouza" clan get together on December 22nd,for an evening of Garlic Pork making, which is always accompanied by much "Ole Talk" and Grog and general good cheer. We even cook up some of the freshly marinated pork on the very night of preparation but we all agree that it reaches its finest by day three. Anything beyond that just gets a little too acidic for our liking and has to be boiled before use, it freezes well though!
Carne Vinho Da Alho (Meat Wine and Garlic) is an old Portuguese method of preserving meat in wine or wine vinegar, garlic and herbs prior to the days of refrigeration. I have been told that a carefully prepared batch, kept in an airtight container in a cool dark cupboard can achieve a vintage of over a year... I wouldn't attempt it!
This garlic pork recipe was passed on to me by my second cousin Kirk, who learned it from his Dad "Uncle Sunny" who passed on in October of this year.
I joyfully dedicate this post to the living memory of our dear Jacinto "Uncle Sunny" DeSouza
What You will Need for 1 large Jar (4-5 servings) :
1 Large Jar (typically a caterer sized Mayonnaise Jar or any large jar 3-4 Quarts), Washed with hot water and properly dried.
5-6 Lbs of pork belly and ribs cut into 2 inch cubes ( get the butcher to do this for you)
Lots of Salt (having about a cup on hand will be safe)
1 lb Large garlic peeled ( Soak in warm water for about 20 mins, they peel easier this way)
Lots of fresh fine leafed thyme stripped (about a cup of leaves)
3 liters of apple cider vinegar
1-2 liters of white vinegar for washing (get the cheapest you can)
5 Hot Scotch Bonnet Peppers (These need to be de-seeded and quartered, and will lose most of their heat in the brine)
The Prep:
Trim the rind and wash the pork and sit in a colander to drain off as much water as possible as water makes the stuff rot. Now wash with the white vinegar, drain and wash again with more white vinegar and set to drain once more.
Meanwhile (we get the kids to do this),
peel all the garlic
and strip all the leaves off the thyme stalks. Blend up the garlic with enough apple cider vinegar to make it a quite a bit runny (you may have to do this in two or three batches unless you have a really BIG blender).
Pour the garlic/vinegar puree into a large clean basin ( wash with white vinegar) and add a large handful of thyme leaves.
Now comes the really fun part, the Salmuera (salt/garlic/vinegar mix) has to be tested to balance the salt/acid ratio. This is strictly a matter of taste.
Begin by adding 1&1/2 tablespoons of salt to the mix and stirring with very clean washed in white vinegar hands, yes with the hands! This is importatant if you want to get it perfect.
Form the fingers into a "Meggie" by placing all the fingertips onto the tip of the thumb, stir into the Salmuera and insert the entire meggie as far into your mouth as it will safely go! I am not joking!
Get everyone involved but make sure all hands are washed and rinsed in white vinegar first. Have a photographer on standby for great memories.
The burning on the lips and around the mouth comes from the garlic, the sides and middle of the tongue sense the salt and the sour, the back and the tip taste the bitter and sweet.
Wait a few minutes and discuss, add another tablespoon of salt and taste test again (don't forget to wash your hands), now compare the flavors, you may need to repeat, adding more salt or vinegar until you all agree that you have the right balance.
Once you've gotten the mix right, you need to rinse the jar ( or jars, we usually do about twelve jars) with a little white vinegar.
Now put a ladelful of the salmuera into the jar and add a layer of pork and a couple pieces of hot pepper,
continue in alternating layers of salmuera, pork and pepper until you have filled the jar.
Use a wooden spoon or a chopstick to poke the stuff down and pack the jar fairly tight ensuring that there is enough liquid to completely cover the pork.
Place a piece of cling film over the mouth of the jar and put the lid on nice and tight.
Wash hands well and enjoy another rum!
Now I'll describe my favorite recipe for cooking Stewed Garlic Pork.
It's best done early in the morning as this gives the kitchen the rest of the day to ventilate!
Every time I'm about to put on a batch, I can hear my Dad saying " Now de house smellin' like Christmas!!"
You'll need:
A deep heavy bottomed pan
1 Tbs Brown Sugar
1 Cup of Sherry (more if you're like me)
A dollop of honey
Using tongs, remove as much pork as you need from the jar and set aside in a bowl.
Heat the pan and add the sugar. Just as the sugar begins to melt and caramelise, drop in the pork and smell the magic!
After a minute or two, stir around the meat and reduce heat to med. You may want to add some of the salmuera from the jar if you like other wise add some water and stew down for another 5- 10 minutes. There is a magic moment where the sauce goes almost transparent, that's the fat being rendered down. Turn off the fire and add whatever sherry you didn't drink while cooking!
Allow to rest for a few minutes and serve with "Hops bread" ( Bun with texture of a baguette) or just as it is with the fingers!
Merry Christmas All !!
The traditional parang music tells many lovely tales of "La Anuncion" and "Alegria" but none brings me closer to home than the naughty but nice " Ah want a piece ah Pork" by the calypsonian "Scrunter"
No parang party is complete without Rum, pastelles and warm "hops bread" stuffed with ham or roast pork and laced with Chow chow ( piccalilli relish) and hot pepper sauce.
Every year, my family "The Sheppy/DeSouza" clan get together on December 22nd,for an evening of Garlic Pork making, which is always accompanied by much "Ole Talk" and Grog and general good cheer. We even cook up some of the freshly marinated pork on the very night of preparation but we all agree that it reaches its finest by day three. Anything beyond that just gets a little too acidic for our liking and has to be boiled before use, it freezes well though!
Carne Vinho Da Alho (Meat Wine and Garlic) is an old Portuguese method of preserving meat in wine or wine vinegar, garlic and herbs prior to the days of refrigeration. I have been told that a carefully prepared batch, kept in an airtight container in a cool dark cupboard can achieve a vintage of over a year... I wouldn't attempt it!
This garlic pork recipe was passed on to me by my second cousin Kirk, who learned it from his Dad "Uncle Sunny" who passed on in October of this year.
I joyfully dedicate this post to the living memory of our dear Jacinto "Uncle Sunny" DeSouza
What You will Need for 1 large Jar (4-5 servings) :
1 Large Jar (typically a caterer sized Mayonnaise Jar or any large jar 3-4 Quarts), Washed with hot water and properly dried.
5-6 Lbs of pork belly and ribs cut into 2 inch cubes ( get the butcher to do this for you)
Lots of Salt (having about a cup on hand will be safe)
1 lb Large garlic peeled ( Soak in warm water for about 20 mins, they peel easier this way)
Lots of fresh fine leafed thyme stripped (about a cup of leaves)
3 liters of apple cider vinegar
1-2 liters of white vinegar for washing (get the cheapest you can)
5 Hot Scotch Bonnet Peppers (These need to be de-seeded and quartered, and will lose most of their heat in the brine)
The Prep:
Trim the rind and wash the pork and sit in a colander to drain off as much water as possible as water makes the stuff rot. Now wash with the white vinegar, drain and wash again with more white vinegar and set to drain once more.
Meanwhile (we get the kids to do this),
peel all the garlic
and strip all the leaves off the thyme stalks. Blend up the garlic with enough apple cider vinegar to make it a quite a bit runny (you may have to do this in two or three batches unless you have a really BIG blender).
Pour the garlic/vinegar puree into a large clean basin ( wash with white vinegar) and add a large handful of thyme leaves.
Now comes the really fun part, the Salmuera (salt/garlic/vinegar mix) has to be tested to balance the salt/acid ratio. This is strictly a matter of taste.
Begin by adding 1&1/2 tablespoons of salt to the mix and stirring with very clean washed in white vinegar hands, yes with the hands! This is importatant if you want to get it perfect.
Form the fingers into a "Meggie" by placing all the fingertips onto the tip of the thumb, stir into the Salmuera and insert the entire meggie as far into your mouth as it will safely go! I am not joking!
Get everyone involved but make sure all hands are washed and rinsed in white vinegar first. Have a photographer on standby for great memories.
The burning on the lips and around the mouth comes from the garlic, the sides and middle of the tongue sense the salt and the sour, the back and the tip taste the bitter and sweet.
Wait a few minutes and discuss, add another tablespoon of salt and taste test again (don't forget to wash your hands), now compare the flavors, you may need to repeat, adding more salt or vinegar until you all agree that you have the right balance.
Once you've gotten the mix right, you need to rinse the jar ( or jars, we usually do about twelve jars) with a little white vinegar.
Now put a ladelful of the salmuera into the jar and add a layer of pork and a couple pieces of hot pepper,
continue in alternating layers of salmuera, pork and pepper until you have filled the jar.Use a wooden spoon or a chopstick to poke the stuff down and pack the jar fairly tight ensuring that there is enough liquid to completely cover the pork.
Place a piece of cling film over the mouth of the jar and put the lid on nice and tight.Wash hands well and enjoy another rum!
Now I'll describe my favorite recipe for cooking Stewed Garlic Pork.
It's best done early in the morning as this gives the kitchen the rest of the day to ventilate!
Every time I'm about to put on a batch, I can hear my Dad saying " Now de house smellin' like Christmas!!"
You'll need:
A deep heavy bottomed pan
1 Tbs Brown Sugar
1 Cup of Sherry (more if you're like me)
A dollop of honey
Using tongs, remove as much pork as you need from the jar and set aside in a bowl.
Heat the pan and add the sugar. Just as the sugar begins to melt and caramelise, drop in the pork and smell the magic!
After a minute or two, stir around the meat and reduce heat to med. You may want to add some of the salmuera from the jar if you like other wise add some water and stew down for another 5- 10 minutes. There is a magic moment where the sauce goes almost transparent, that's the fat being rendered down. Turn off the fire and add whatever sherry you didn't drink while cooking!
Allow to rest for a few minutes and serve with "Hops bread" ( Bun with texture of a baguette) or just as it is with the fingers!
Merry Christmas All !!
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