Pepperpot recipe

A dark meat stew preserved by cassareep, the boiled-down bitter cassava syrup, which lets the pot be kept for days and simply reboiled.

5 hoursmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 240 ml cassareep
• 900 g stewing beef
• 2 pig trotters
• 900 g oxtail
• 2 scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 stick cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 onion
• 3 clove garlic
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 tsp salt

How to make Pepperpot

1. Wash 900 g of stewing beef, 900 g of oxtail and 2 pig trotters in water with lime juice, then drain.
2. Put the trotters in a large pot, cover with water and boil 45 minutes, until the skin softens.
3. Add the beef and oxtail with fresh hot water to cover, plus 1 chopped onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 bunch of thyme, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves and 2 whole scotch bonnet peppers.
4. Pour in 240 ml of cassareep and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and stir so the liquid turns almost black.
5. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 3 to 4 hours, until the meat falls off the bone and the sauce is thick and sticky from the trotter collagen.
6. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt only at the end, and lift out the whole peppers before they burst.
7. There is no substitute for cassareep; without it you get a spiced stew, not pepperpot.
8. Traditionally the pot is not refrigerated but brought back to a full boil once a day, and the flavour improves over three or four days.
9. Serve with bread and butter, or with rice.

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