One-pot meals and I are besties these days. Keeping an eye on an increasingly active infant means I just do not have the time to prepare elaborate meals any more; pretty much everything I make these days is a one- pot meal that requires very little effort!
I have been craving to see the ocean ever since my daughter was born, but living in Colorado means the beaches are ridiculously far away. I must have been daydreaming about the Caribbeans, which automatically led me to think about jerk (because, obviously, who wouldn't?), and before I knew it my jerk pork stew was bubbling away in the oven!
I used this recipe to get me started. I tweaked the recipe to suit my tastes, and since I do not have a grill, I decided to convert it to a hearty stew instead. I wanted a soupier stew, so I went ahead and added coconut milk, which also helped tone down the super-spiciness of the dish! If you want a thicker, spicier stew, then feel free to add a lesser amount of the coconut milk!
This recipe requires very little hands-on time; the marinade does most of the work the first day and the oven does the rest! I had learned an awesome tip on America's Test Kitchen that came in very handy when I was preparing this dish: They had showed that meat need not be browned in batches (which can take forever), but when cooked uncovered in the oven, partially submerged in liquid, the Maillard reaction will brown the meat anyway. It worked like a charm! Try it sometime! :) —Madhuja
WHO: Madhuja is a Colorado-based blogger and no stranger to our contests.
WHAT: A spicy, Caribbean-inspired jerk pork to make us dream of the beach.
HOW: Make a stew from a braise by cooking pork in its fiery marinade, then adding potatoes and other vegetables to the same pot. Coconut milk thins the broth and tames the flames.
WHY WE LOVE IT: We love a meal that comes together without a lot of tending, and this stew fits the bill. While the coconut milk cuts the heat from the habaneros, this stew is very spicy—and very flavorful! (Though use less brown sugar if you don't like things too sweet.) —The Editors
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