So I woke up this morning with a stuffy nose and I looked outside my window and it was one of those really dreary bleak mornings.
To tell you the truth, all I could think about is being in a tropical isle allowing the sun to keep me warm but that was not going to happen so I decided that I would make some Jamaican Beef Soup, modified version of course.
First of all, I could not find a beef so I used a beef shank center cut. I hope you’ll forgive me for that. About three pounds of that, salt and pepper on both sides and then it went into a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Keep in mind that I’m not cooking this beef, I’m simply browning the beef for my soup.
Earlier, I mentioned that this was a modified or simplified version of the traditional Jamaican beef soup. The reason of course is because I don’t have any Cho Cho, west Indian pumpkin, turnip, I don’t have yam or coco for that matter but I did the best I could and I think it turned out rather well. If you’re cooking this in the true Jamaican tradition, you would have all of the ingredients I mentioned earlier and then it would not only smell like a Jamaican, it will taste like a Jamaican cooking.
This is secret ingredient number one, you know what that is, pig’s tail, smoked pig’s tail and now you know. Then I layered my pot, first the beef with some scallion and then the carrots and then the pig tail, they’re in there and then I added the potatoes and barley, barley with the thyme just in the top and then I was ready.
Then secret ingredient number one, scotch bonnet pepper and pimento at about 12 berries. It all went in there and it all was good. And then I add enough hot water all the way up as much hot water as I could. I put in cold water really except that I didn’t want to slow down the process and then I put the lead on and let it cook. This book is my inspiration, it was given to me by my sister and I just wished that I had more copies to give to people or at least to tell them where they can purchase it. Anyway, once my soup starts to cook, I simply put the lead on and let it stay for about an hour and 15 minutes or maybe hour and a half.
At this point of course, I want to add my spinners, what Jamaican call spinner, your dumplings and the potato and then I cooked it for another 30 minutes or maybe 45 minutes and then it is soup.
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