and Preparing Coconut Choose a heavy coconut. Hold it to your ear and shake. If you hear water sloshing inside, it’s a good one! Poke out the eyes with a clean screwdriver or ice pick. Drain the coconut water inside. With a hammer, smash coconut into half a dozen pieces. With a paring knife, pry meat away from the shell and trim brown, hairy skin from the meat.
Buying and Pitting Mangoes Mangoes are ripe when you press your thumb against the skin and it yields to your pressure. They can be purchased green and ripened at room temperature. With a sharp paring knife, peel mango and pare it as you would a peach, slicing against the pit.
Deep-frying You can deep-fat fry in a deep fryer, a wok, or even a high-sided skillet. A large, heavy, saucepan, which usually comes high-sided, is ideal because you can rest a thermometer against the side. The average temperature to be reached in deep-frying is 360°F.
Sauces Salsas Dips & Dressings
THE REAL JERK SAUCE
The technique of jerking is thought to originate with the “Maroons,” West African slaves who escaped their Spanish masters to live in remote mountain areas of Jamaica. Later they fought the British, who arrived to re-colonize Jamaica after the Spanish left to search for gold in Central and South America. Because they were always on the run, the Maroons devised a way of spicing and slow cooking pork. The meat was marinated in an exotic mixture of Scotch bonnet peppers, pimento (allspice) berries, escallion, thyme, and other secret ingredients.
After marinating, the meat was cooked over an outdoor pit, about a foot deep. Charcoal from old, burned pimento trees was shoveled into the pit and then the pit was lined with fresh pimento wood. The low, sustained heat from the coals allowed the meat to cook slowly so that it lost little of its natural juices.
In the last two decades, “jerking” has taken the world by storm. There are scores of different jerk sauces and seasonings available in your local supermarkets, but there’s nothing like homemade jerk sauce. The secret to the success of The Real Jerk restaurant, and all our jerk recipes, starts with our own jerk sauce. We are pleased to reveal our “secret” recipe with our customers and readers.
1 lb Scotch bonnet peppers
1 small onion, chopped
3 stalks escallion, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
3 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp whole pimento (allspice) berries
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
In a food processor or blender, purée all ingredients until the sauce is coarse, yet pourable.
Makes about 4 to 5 cups.
Scotch bonnet peppers are fiery little devils. Wear rubber gloves when seeding or chopping them. After handling, try not to touch your eyes or mouth, and wash your hands thoroughly. Also be careful not to inhale the fumes when you lift the lid off a food processor or blender.
COCONUT MILK
You will notice that many of our recipes use coconut milk. Coconut milk is not the liquid found in coconuts. That’s coconut water. Coconut milk, along with other food staples, was introduced into Jamaica by indentured slaves from India who were brought to the Caribbean to work the plantations after the abolition of slavery.
Coconut milk is made by combining coconut meat and hot water to create a liquid that acts like a dairy product. Before the days of refrigeration, coconut milk (often stored in empty coconut shells) was the only diary-like substance that was safe to use. Coconut milk still takes the place of dairy products in many Caribbean dishes and beverages.
2 cups coconut meat, chopped
1 ¼ cups warm water
To prepare the coconut, poke out the eyes with a clean screwdriver or ice pick.
Drain the coconut water inside.
Using a hammer, smash the coconut into half a dozen pieces.
With a paring knife, pry meat away from the shell and trim brown, hairy skin from the meat.
In a food processor or blender, purée the coconut with the water.
Strain the mixture through a sieve or cheesecloth, squeezing all the liquid from the mixture.
Makes 1½ cups.
Fresh coconut milk should be your first choice when cooking, but you can always use ready-made forms: canned, liquid, frozen, powdered, or in a solid block form.
When buying a fresh coconut, look for a heavy one. Hold it to your ear and shake it. If you can hear the water sloshing inside, it’s a good one.
RUNDOWN SAUCE
When you see “Rundown Mackerel” or “Rundown Shrimp” on the menu of a Caribbean restaurant, it refers to the coconut sauce, called “rundown,” that has traditionally been a primary base for many Caribbean dishes, especially for times when meat was scarce. We use rundown sauce in many of our recipes.
2 cups coconut milk
1 tbsp salt
1 cup water
1 large onion, sliced
1 stalk escallion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
6 whole pimento (allspice) berries
1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper
In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine coconut milk, salt, and water and boil for 15 minutes until sauce begins to thicken.
Lower heat and stir in remaining ingredients.
Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove
