Pepper Pot

I usually cook this dish for carnival Sunday and keep some for Monday after playing mas.

Ingredients

• 1 lb cow heel
• 1 lb oxtail
• 1 lb beef, cubed
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• broadleaf thyme , chopped up ( to taste)
• fine leaf thyme, chopped up ( to taste)
• a few leaves of fresh basil
• 5 hot peppers
• ¾ cup cassareep ( extract from cassava root)
• 1 small piece of spice
• 3 cloves
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1 large onion
• oil for frying

Procedures

1. Wash cow heel - mix with all the other meats, except the salted pigtail.
2. Season meats with salt, black pepper, thymes, garlic, onion, brown sugar, cloves, basil and piece of spice.
3. In a large heavy pot, like an iron pot, heat up oil ( about 3 tablespoons) and fry meat for about 5 - 10 minutes, turning it with a pot spoon until all pieces are "browned" ( they do not actually have to look brown at this stage, but should not be looking pink again ).
4. Boil salted pigtail for 5 – 10 minutes, drain and add to other meats.
5. Pour cassareep over meat and stir through- cook for 5 minutes more, then add water to cover and simmer meat for about 6 hours or until meat is very soft and comes off the bones.
6. About 1 hour before finishing the pot, float the hot peppers on top of the meat, one at the time- keep tasting the meat for hotness - some people like it hotter than others.
7. Bursting these peppers will result in a very hot pepper pot, so watch out.
8. Serve with root vegetables.