Griyo. That Haitian fried pork! I have met people who says they don’t like griyo. Those people don’t deserve to be Haitian. Griyo is our national meat alongside some pikliz, and rice and red beans that forms our national meal. Griyo is such a delicacy. I don’t even think I need to tell you how much I love it. And it’s hard not to love this recipe.
Tasso or griyo??
Ingredients:
4 lbs pork shoulder
1/2 cup of fresh parsley
3 sour oranges
1/2 cup of fresh thyme
sea salt to taste (I added 2 tbsp)
1 whole head of garlic
3 habanero peppers
1 onion for the sauce
Let’s get started!!!
Cut the meat in medium size cubes. Don’t cut them too small because they shrink while being cooked, but also they shouldn’t be too large. You can cut the shoulder yourself or you can have the butcher at the store to do it for you. They do it for free. Once you have all of your meats cut, rub them with limes and/or sour oranges and rinse it off.
Make the “epis” for the griyo. In a food processor or blender, add all of the fresh spices and salt, and blend until smooth. Keep the onion out. You might notice that my recipe requires a big amount of thyme and garlic; don’t be hesitant on that front. The meat needs it. Now, for the acid part of the “epis”, please, pretty please use sour oranges. The flavor of sour orange works best with pork than lime. You can only use lime if after looking around, you can’t find sour oranges. But for the love of Haitian food, do NOT use lemons.
Pour the “epis” on the meat and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes to one hour. By letting the meat marinate, the flavor of the “epis” has time to penetrate the meat. But, you can skip this step if you are too anxious too eat. In a heavy bottom pan, cook the meat. No need to add water or oil, the meat will give off its own. Just keep an eye on it, and mix it with a spoon every five minutes. If the liquid that the meat gave off is starting to dry out before it is fully cook, add water 1/3 cup at a time until it’s completely cook.
Once the meat is fully cook, turn off the flame and get ready to fry it. In a large pan, add a good amount of oil, and wait until it’s hot enough. Add the meat in the oil, but make sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry them for one minute and a half on each side. Set them aside.
For the sauce, add some water to the meat sauce that the meat gave off while cooking. Taste the salt and add more if you want. Add the onion slices and let it come to a simmer. You can also add bell pepper slices. Once it comes to a simmer, turn off the flames.
Enjoy
Thank you for your time
