COPPERWhat is the national dish of Grenada?
The national dish of Grenada is oil down: breadfruit, salted meat, chicken, dumplings and young dasheen (callaloo) leaves packed in layers in one pot and cooked in coconut milk with turmeric until all the liquid is absorbed and coconut oil settles at the bottom. The Government of Grenada's official website presents it as the national dish.
What is oil down?
Oil down is a one-pot stew of salted meat and vegetables. The official government portal describes it as a hearty meal of salted meat, chicken, dumplings, breadfruit and callaloo, made from young dasheen leaves, stewed in coconut milk, herbs and spices, and very popular in local restaurants.
The name comes from the end of cooking. All the liquid is cooked down until the coconut milk is absorbed, and a layer of coconut oil and meat juices settles at the bottom of the pot. A soupy oil down is not finished.
How oil down is made
Unlike most stews, oil down is not stirred. The pot is "packed", and how to pack it is a matter of family tradition. Our oil down recipe uses the most common order:
- Bottom: salted beef and pigtail, soaked overnight and boiled 30 minutes, with large wedges of breadfruit. The breadfruit is the bulk of the pot, not a side.
- Middle: thyme and one whole, unpierced scotch bonnet.
- Top: chopped dasheen leaves and finger dumplings of flour and water.
- Liquid: coconut milk coloured with turmeric, plus water to just reach the top of the breadfruit.
Cooking time and variations
Covered tightly, the pot simmers about an hour over low heat without being stirred. It is done when the liquid has gone and oil pools at the bottom. Turmeric, which Grenadians call "saffron", gives the golden colour.
There is no single recipe: each household and each parish makes it its own way. Saltfish, smoked herring or salt beef can stand in as the salted meat, some families add conch and crab, and there is a vegetarian version. Many Grenadians point out that the colours in the pot match the national flag: green callaloo, red carrot and the gold of turmeric.
Making it takes time and many hands. It starts with knocking a breadfruit off the tree with a long stick, followed by peeling, chopping and kneading dumpling dough, before at least an hour on the fire; the whole process can fill a morning. Oil down is often cooked in a large pot that Grenadians call a karhee, or curry pot.
The recipe has evolved over time, Shirma Wells of the Grenada Tourism Authority told NPR: some Grenadians now leave out the lesser parts of the pig.
Where oil down comes from
Almost every ingredient tells part of Grenada's history. Dasheen and its leaves were grown by the island's first Amerindian inhabitants. Enslaved West Africans brought the tradition of one-pot meals. Salted fish was imported as cheap food for the enslaved, and so was breadfruit, brought from the South Pacific in the late 18th century. Turmeric arrived with South Asian workers after emancipation in the 1830s.
Oil down is a social dish, cooked at family gatherings, beach parties and Carnival. "If you're cooking oil down, it's because you have a group of people gathering to eat," Simeon Cornwall, who researched the dish for Grenada's National Museum, told NPR.
At home it is usually a woman who makes it, but at a block party or beach party the men tend to take over the cooking, Karen Hall, owner of a restaurant near St. George's, told NPR. The chef Esther Benoit remembers fighting with her sister over who got the most dumplings.
It is also made in Trinidad and Tobago, where it is usually simpler, without dumplings but with hot pepper. Guyana has a similar stew called mettagee, and Jamaica a seafood cousin called run down.
Other dishes to know from Grenada
Callaloo soup uses the same dasheen leaves as oil down. In Grenada it is cooked with okra, coconut milk, crab and salted pork, then beaten until green and velvety, and callaloo soup is traditionally eaten on Saturdays.
Bake and shark comes from Trinidad, Grenada's southern neighbour: a yeast dough disc fried until it puffs, split and filled with lime-and-garlic shark, culantro sauce and tamarind. Grenadian street food also includes aloo pie, doubles and dal puri wrapped around curried goat, and nutmeg and mace are used in abundance.
For something sweet, Grenadians reach for kurma, guava cheese, fudge, tamarind balls, currant rolls, rum-raisin ice cream and Grenadian spice cake.
You will find all three dishes on our page about the food of Grenada. For the neighbouring islands, see our guide to Caribbean food.
The recipes
- Oil down🇬🇩 Grenada · 13 hours and 50 minutes
Callaloo soup🇬🇩 Grenada · 3 hours and 35 minutes
Bake and shark🇬🇩 Grenada · 2 hours and 30 minutes
Questions people ask
Why is it called oil down?
Because it is cooked until all the liquid is absorbed and the oil from the coconut milk, with the meat juices, settles at the bottom of the pot.
Is oil down from Grenada or Trinidad?
Oil down is Grenada's national dish, but it is also made in Trinidad and Tobago. Grenadians tend to add dasheen leaves, dumplings and turmeric; Trinidadians usually leave out the dumplings.
What meat goes into oil down?
Salted meat is the base: salt beef, pigtail, saltfish or smoked herring, often with chicken. Some families add conch or crab.
How long does oil down take to cook?
At least an hour of simmering once the pot is packed, plus overnight soaking of the salted meat.
Is oil down the official national dish of Grenada?
Yes. The Government of Grenada's official website presents oil down as the national dish.
Keep reading
- Traditional food of Grenada: 12 dishes to know
- What is the national dish of Antigua and Barbuda?
- What is the national dish of the Bahamas?
- What is the national dish of Barbados?
- What is the national dish of Cuba?
- What is the national dish of Dominica?