Traditional Guyanese Pepperpot Recipe

This Guyanese Pepperpot recipe is the number one traditional dish of Guyana, and is considered to be the national dish.

Pepperpot is essentially a meat stew dish that uses Cassareep (a sticky black sauce made from cassava root) to give it it’s strong, aromatic flavor.

Being a national favorite, it is often eaten on special occasions such as Christmas day or at weddings.

Whilst Guyana is in South America, it is more culturally aligned to the Caribbean, which is perfectly summed up with this Pepperpot dish.

Different meats can be used depending on preference and family but most common are goat, pork, beef and mutton.

The Guyanese adore Pepperpot and you will see why after cooking this recipe! The meat becomes beautifully soft and tender, slowly cooked in the aromatic cassareep sauce and served with thick bread for dipping. Yum!

Ingredients

4 lbs of meat beef and goat
1 lb pig trotters optional
1 cup cassareep
2 sticks cinnamon
2 stalks stalks basil
2 pieces orange peel
4 cloves garlic
1 chili pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
10 cups water
4 sprigs thyme
2 small onions
vegetable oil
thick white bread

Instructions

Wash and drain the meat including the pig trotters.
In a large cooking pot, heat the vegetable oil and add in the beef and goat meat, and the pig trotters. Cook until browned.
Chop and add in the garlic, chili pepper and onions. Stir to let them cook.
Add in the cassareep, cinnamon sticks, orange peel, brown sugar, salt, and thyme.
Finally, add in the water to cover all the ingredients and stir well. Let it come to a boil.
Once the pot is boiling you will need to skim any scum from the top of the pot and then reduce the heat to low.
Cover the pot and leave to cook for 3 hours, checking on it to skim any excess scum.
After 3 hours, the broth will have reduced to a thicker, rich, aromatic sauce. Stir to check you are happy with the consistency and cook longer if required.
Serve up 6 portions leaving any leftovers to be reheated in true Guyanese fashion. Cut up some thick white bread and serve on the side.
Enjoy!

Pepperpot is a fantastic dish and easy dish to make with relatively few ingredients. It’s very straight forward but you can follow any number of recipes to get it just right.

Take a look at the slow cooker version to get an idea of how you could make the dish in a more modern way. If you want to experiment with different meats then you can absolutely do that to give it your own twist.

Don’t forget to keep the cassareep and chili pepper to maintain that authentic Caribbean flavour!

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