Oil down

Ingredients

Meat

• 400 gsalted pigtail, cut into pieces and soaked overnight
• 300 gsalt beef, soaked overnight and cubed
• 300 gsmoked pork or fresh pork belly, cubed

Pot

• 1whole breadfruit (about 1.5 kg), quartered, cored, peeled and cut into wedges
• 500 gfresh dasheen (callaloo) leaves, stalks peeled, leaves shredded
• 2green bananas or 1 green plantain, peeled and halved
• 1onion, sliced
• 4spring onions (chive), chopped
• 4garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1celery stalk with leaves, chopped
• 1carrot, sliced
• 1 tbspground turmeric (island saffron)
• 1whole scotch bonnet pepper, left unbroken
• 1 litrethick coconut milk, from 2 grated dry coconuts
• Black pepper

Dumplings

• 250 gplain flour
• ½ tspsalt
• About 120 ml water

Directions

1. Soak the salted meats overnight in cold water, changing it twice, then boil them in fresh water for 20 minutes and drain. Skipping this leaves the whole pot inedibly salty.
2. Make the dumplings by working the flour, salt and water into a stiff dough, then rolling it into finger-length spinners between your palms.
3. Grate the coconut and squeeze it with warm water to extract thick milk, or use two tins of full-fat coconut milk.
4. Lay the meats in the bottom of a large heavy pot, ideally an iron karhee over a wood fire, and scatter the onion, chive, garlic, thyme, celery and carrot over.
5. Build the pot in layers on top: breadfruit wedges, green banana, dumplings, then the shredded dasheen leaves piled high, since they will collapse to nothing.
6. Whisk the turmeric into the coconut milk until it is bright yellow and pour it over. It should come about three-quarters of the way up, never covering the pot’s contents.
7. Lay the whole scotch bonnet on top, unbroken, cover tightly and bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady low simmer.
8. Cook 60–75 minutes without stirring. Shake the pot by the handles now and then instead; stirring smashes the breadfruit into mush.
9. The dish is ready when the liquid has been drunk up by the breadfruit and a clear ring of coconut oil sits shimmering at the bottom of the pot. That moment is what the name describes.
10. Lift the whole pepper out carefully, still whole, grind black pepper over and serve straight from the pot with a spoon, warm rather than hot.

Technique

• Oil down is Grenada’s national dish and is cooked communally, at beach limes and on Emancipation Day, in one huge pot over an open fire.
• Never break the scotch bonnet. It perfumes the coconut milk while it stays whole; burst it and the pot becomes unbearably hot for most eaters.
• Fresh breadfruit must be at the right stage, firm and full but not yet soft and sweet. Overripe fruit disintegrates into porridge.
• Raw dasheen leaves contain calcium oxalate and will make your throat itch; they must be fully cooked, and the stems must be peeled first.

Substitutions

• No breadfruit: green banana, green plantain and firm dasheen root take its place, though the buttery texture of breadfruit is hard to replace.
• No dasheen leaves: use fresh spinach or Jamaican callaloo, added in the last 20 minutes as it cooks much faster.
• No salted meats: fresh pork with an extra teaspoon of salt works, but you lose the deep cured background that defines the dish.

Variations

• Classic Grenadian oil down with salted pigtail and salt beef.
• Fish oil down, made with salt cod added late in the cooking.
• Meat-free oil down, built on breadfruit, dumplings, dasheen leaves and coconut milk alone.

History

The national dish, breadfruit and salted meat simmered with callaloo in coconut milk until the liquid cooks away and the oil comes down.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oil down?

Oil down is a main from Grenada: national one-pot: breadfruit, callaloo, salted meat in turmeric coconut milk. The national dish, breadfruit and salted meat simmered with callaloo in coconut milk until the liquid cooks away and the oil comes down.

How long does Oil down take to make?

Oil down takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6–8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Oil down?

Yes, within limits. No breadfruit: green banana, green plantain and firm dasheen root take its place, though the buttery texture of breadfruit is hard to replace. No dasheen leaves: use fresh spinach or Jamaican callaloo, added in the last 20 minutes as it cooks much faster. No salted meats: fresh pork with an extra teaspoon of salt works, but you lose the deep cured background that defines the dish.

What is the most important thing to get right in Oil down?

Soak the salted meats overnight in cold water, changing it twice, then boil them in fresh water for 20 minutes and drain. Skipping this leaves the whole pot inedibly salty.