Griot

Ingredients

Epis and marinade

• 1.5 kgpork shoulder, skin left on where possible, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 250 mlsour orange juice (zoranj si), or 150 ml orange juice with 100 ml lime juice
• 1large onion, quartered
• 1green pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 8garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 bunchflat-leaf parsley (60 g)
• 6spring onions, chopped
• 1 tbspfresh thyme leaves
• 1scotch bonnet, pierced but left whole
• 2 tspfine salt
• 1 tspcoarsely ground black pepper
• 4whole cloves

To cook and serve

• 500 mlwater
• 1 litrevegetable oil, for frying
• 1lime, cut into wedges
• 300 gpikliz

Directions

1. Wash the pork chunks in water acidulated with the juice of a lime and a little salt, rubbing each piece, then drain well. Haitian cooks call this netwaye vyann and never skip it.
2. Blend the onion, pepper, garlic, parsley, spring onion and thyme to a coarse green paste (epis) with 3 tbsp of the sour orange juice.
3. Toss the pork with the epis, remaining sour orange juice, salt, pepper and cloves, cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours, overnight for the classic result.
4. Tip the whole lot into a heavy pot with the water and the pierced scotch bonnet, bring to a simmer and cook covered on low heat for 50–60 minutes, until a chunk gives easily to a fork.
5. Lift out the meat with a slotted spoon and let it drain and dry on a rack for 20 minutes. Boil the remaining liquid down to about 150 ml, strain, and reserve as sauce ti-malice base.
6. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180°C (350°F). Fry the chunks in batches for 5–7 minutes, without crowding, until the outsides are dark mahogany and audibly crisp while the inside stays juicy.
7. Drain on a rack, salt lightly, and spoon over a little of the reduced cooking liquid at the table.
8. Serve hot with pikliz, lime wedges, banann peze (fried green plantain) and diri kole ak pwa.

Technique

• Griot is a two-stage dish: the boil cooks it through and seasons it, the fry only builds crust. Frying raw pork gives dry, hard cubes.
• Dry the boiled chunks properly. Wet meat drops the oil temperature and steams grey rather than crisping.
• Leave the scotch bonnet whole and unbroken during the boil for perfume without heat; the fire is meant to come from the pikliz on the side.

Substitutions

• No sour orange: 60 percent orange juice to 40 percent lime juice with a strip of grapefruit zest is the standard Haitian diaspora fix.
• Pork shoulder can be replaced by pork belly cut in strips, which crisps faster and needs only 40 minutes of boiling.

Variations

• Griot boukannen: the boiled chunks are finished over charcoal instead of in oil, common at roadside stands.
• Tasso kabrit uses the same epis and method with goat, and tasso dinde with turkey.

History

Pork marinated in sour orange and epis, boiled then fried; it is the centrepiece of Haitian celebrations and is served with pikliz.

Frequently asked questions

What is Griot?

Griot is a main from Haiti: citrus-marinated pork chunks boiled then fried crisp. Pork marinated in sour orange and epis, boiled then fried; it is the centrepiece of Haitian celebrations and is served with pikliz.

How long does Griot take to make?

Griot takes 30 min of preparation and 12 hr marinating + 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Griot?

Yes, within limits. No sour orange: 60 percent orange juice to 40 percent lime juice with a strip of grapefruit zest is the standard Haitian diaspora fix. Pork shoulder can be replaced by pork belly cut in strips, which crisps faster and needs only 40 minutes of boiling.

What is the most important thing to get right in Griot?

Wash the pork chunks in water acidulated with the juice of a lime and a little salt, rubbing each piece, then drain well. Haitian cooks call this netwaye vyann and never skip it.