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Griot (Twice-Cooked Marinated Pork)

Name: Griot (Twice-Cooked Marinated Pork)
Prep time: 1 h 43 min
Total time: 13 h 43 min
Cuisine: Haitian
Ingredients: pork shoulder roast — 1400 g; lime juice — 60 g; white vinegar — 15 g; epis — 120 g; sour orange juice — 120 g; onion — 200 g; garlic — 32 g; fresh thyme — 6 g; cloves — 1 g; scotch bonnet chillies — 5 g; salt — 10 g; freshly ground black pepper — 5 g; water — 350 g; oil — 920 g

Griot (Twice-Cooked Marinated Pork) reads richness 7.7, sourness 6.9 and umami 6.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Haitian main, about 13 hr 43 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 7.3 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.1 / 10
Sour & Bright — 8.7 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.7 / 10
Rich & Fat — 7.8 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.9 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 7.7 · Sourness 6.9 · Umami 6.9 · Citrus 5.8 · Salinity 4.4 · Allium 4.2 · Heat 2.7 · Warm Spice 2.4 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Floral 1.7 · Sweetness 1.6 · Bitterness 1.6 · Fruity 1.5 · Earthy 0.8

What's in it (14)

pork shoulder roast — 1400 g
lime juice — 60 g
white vinegar — 15 g
epis — 120 g
sour orange juice — 120 g
onion — 200 g
garlic — 32 g
fresh thyme — 6 g
cloves — 1 g
scotch bonnet chillies — 5 g
salt — 10 g
freshly ground black pepper — 5 g
water — 350 g
oil — 920 g

Time & effort: about 13 hr 43 min (1 hr 43 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 211.5 kcal, 10.2 g protein, 18.1 g fat, 1.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Griot is the centre of a Haitian celebration table, and the whole point is the double cooking: the pork is braised until it surrenders, then fried until the outside is lacquered and crackling while the inside stays juicy. Cut the cubes large and leave the fat on.
Wash the pork in the lime juice and vinegar, rubbing it into every surface and then draining — this lave viann, washing the meat, is the first move in a Haitian kitchen and it is done for flavour as much as for cleanliness.
Rub the pork with the epis, then add the sour orange juice, onion, garlic, thyme, cloves, the whole unbroken scotch bonnet, salt and black pepper. Cover and marinate in the fridge 12 hours. Sour orange is sold at Caribbean and Latin groceries as naranja agria; if you cannot find it, two parts orange juice to one part lime is the closest honest approximation.
Tip the whole marinade into a heavy pot with the water, bring it to a boil, then cover and braise over low heat for about 75 minutes, until a fork goes into the meat with no resistance and the liquid has reduced by half.
Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon and drain it well on a rack for 5 minutes, then pat it dry. Wet pork will not brown and will spit dangerously in the oil.
Strain the braising liquid, discard the aromatics, and boil it down over medium heat for about 12 minutes into a spoonable sauce called sos ti malis when a little more onion and scotch bonnet are added.
Heat the frying oil to 190 C and fry the cubes in batches for about 6 minutes, until dark brown, crusted and audibly crisp at the edges. Drain briefly.
Serve with pikliz, which is not a garnish here but the other half of the dish, plus diri kole or fried plantain.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Ayam Rica-Rica (Manado Chilli Chicken) — Indonesian
Iskembe Corbasi (Tripe Soup) — Turkish
Grilled Skirt Steak with Garlic Butter — American
Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken with Asparagus — American
Skillet Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Pan Sauce — American

Keep reading: what richness, sourness, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.