Barbadian · main

Pudding and Souse

Pudding and Souse reads sourness 5.7, citrus 5.6 and richness 4.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Barbadian main, about 5 hr 10 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.3 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.7 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 7.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 5.7 · Citrus 5.6 · Richness 4.9 · Sweetness 4.2 · Umami 3.9 · Allium 3.7 · Salinity 3.2 · Heat 2.8 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Herbaceous 2.0 · Nutty 1.4 · Fruity 1.4 · Floral 1.2 · Bitterness 1.2 · Earthy 1.1

What's in it (16)

• pork shoulder roast — 1200 g
• water — 3000 g
• lime juice — 90 g
• salt — 15 g
• english cucumber — 400 g
• onion — 200 g
• scotch bonnet chillies — 5 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 20 g
• water — 60 g
• white-fleshed sweet potato — 900 g
• dark brown sugar — 100 g
• onion — 60 g
• bajan seasoning — 45 g
• ground allspice — 5 g
• freshly grated nutmeg — 3 g
• unsalted butter — 30 g

Time & effort: about 5 hr 10 min (4 hr 10 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 65.4 kcal, 3.5 g protein, 5 g fat, 2.3 g carbs

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

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Saturday food in Barbados, sold from rum shops and roadside stalls from late morning until it runs out. Souse is boiled pork dressed in a sharp cucumber and lime pickle; pudding is a spiced steamed sweet potato pudding, dark and dense, eaten in slices beside it. It is one dish with two halves and Bajans do not eat one without the other.
2. Boil the pork and trotters in the 3 litres of water with the salt for about 90 minutes, until the meat is completely tender and the trotters are sticky. Skim the surface as it comes to the boil.
3. Let the pork cool in its liquid for an hour — this keeps it moist — then lift it out.
4. Slice or pull the cooled pork into bite-sized pieces, discarding the bones, about 10 minutes.
5. For the pickle, combine the diced cucumber, chopped onion, minced scotch bonnet, parsley and the 60 ml of water in a bowl.
6. Add the lime juice, toss the pork through the pickle, and leave it an hour. The pork should be sitting in liquid, not dressed with it. Correct the salt at the end; souse should taste bracingly sour and salty.
7. For the pudding, grate the sweet potato finely, about 20 minutes with a box grater. Barbadian white-fleshed sweet potato is starchier and less sweet than orange American varieties and gives a firmer set.
8. Mix the grated potato with the brown sugar, the chopped onion, Bajan seasoning, allspice, nutmeg and melted butter for about 5 minutes until evenly combined and dark.
9. Traditionally the mixture is packed into cleaned pig's intestine and boiled — that is where the name black pudding comes from. The honest home version is to pack it into a greased loaf tin, cover tightly with foil, and steam it in a covered pan of simmering water for 60 minutes until set firm. Cool, slice thickly, and serve alongside the souse.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Loaded Beef Burrito Bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice — Tex-Mex
• Frango a Zambeziana — Mozambican
• Steak Fajitas with Lime and Cilantro — Tex-Mex
• Masgouf (Split Carp Grilled Upright by an Open Fire) — Iraqi
• Carne Asada — Mexican

Keep reading: what sourness, citrus, richness 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.