Ingredients
Meat
- 1.5 kgsmoked brush-tailed porcupine, in pieces
- or 1.5 kg smoked or fresh game meat
To clean
- boiling water
- a stiff brush
- coarse salt
Sauce
- 150 godika, bush mango seed paste
- or 150 ml red palm oil
- 2onions, chopped
- 6garlic cloves, crushed
- 1thumb ginger, grated
- 3tomatoes, chopped
- 2hot chillies, chopped
- 2stock cubes
- salt
To finish
- a handful of basil or scent leaf
To serve
- cassava sticks
- boiled plantain
- rice
Directions
- Pour boiling water over the pieces and let them sit for ten minutes. Scrub them all over with a stiff brush. Rub them with coarse salt and rinse thoroughly. Repeat until the water runs clear. Cover the cleaned pieces with warm water. Soak them for at least an hour.
- Drain them and cut them into serving pieces. Red palm oil is the alternative base if you cannot find it. Grate or chop the block finely. Loosen it with a little warm water into a paste.
- Warm a little oil in a heavy pot over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook them for eight minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chopped chillies. Cook them for two minutes until fragrant.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for six minutes. Add the soaked porcupine pieces and turn them in the base. Add water to just cover the meat. Crumble in the stock cubes and season with salt. Bring it to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer it gently for about ninety minutes.
- Top it up with hot water so the meat stays covered. Test it with a fork after an hour and a half. Stir the loosened odika paste into the stew. Simmer it uncovered for another twenty-five minutes.
- Stir it regularly, since it catches easily. The sauce should be thick and should cling to the meat. Add hot water if it has gone too stiff. Taste it and adjust the salt and chilli.
- Stir in the basil off the heat. Serving it is done hot at a gathering. Serve it in a wide bowl with cassava sticks or plantain.
Technique
- Bush meat is regulated; buy only from a legal source and never carry wild meat across borders.
- Handling wild animals carries real zoonotic risk, so wear gloves and cook it through completely.
- Smoked meat must be scrubbed, soaked and simmered far longer than fresh meat.
Substitutions
- Any smoked game meat, prepared the same way.
- Red palm oil in place of odika bush mango paste.
Variations
- Cooked in red palm oil rather than odika.
- With smoked fish added to the pot.
- Made hotter, with far more chilli.
History
The most prized bush meat in Gabon, where forest game long outweighed livestock; smoked carcasses are sold along the roads into Libreville.
Frequently asked questions
What is Porc-épic?
Porc-épic is a main from Gabon: brush-tailed porcupine smoked then stewed in bush-mango or palm sauce. The most prized bush meat in Gabon, where forest game long outweighed livestock; smoked carcasses are sold along the roads into Libreville.
How long does Porc-épic take to make?
Porc-épic takes 1 hour of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Porc-épic?
Yes, within limits. Any smoked game meat, prepared the same way. Red palm oil in place of odika bush mango paste.
What is the most important thing to get right in Porc-épic?
Bush meat is regulated; buy only from a legal source and never carry wild meat across borders.
