By Rosetta Thomas, Gleaner Writer
By Gairy Smith prepares to season pot roast for his Beef Under Spirits, which he created.
- PHOTOS BY RICARDO MAKYN/Staff Photographer
HANGING ON TO his mother and grandmother's apron strings has done Gairy Smith a world of good.
First, he learned to cook rice and peas (starting at about age seven). When the apron strings were cut, he tackled Indian cuisine and mastered the art of making Tandoori chicken (similar to jerk chicken) and chapati (a flat bread made from wholewheat flour). He moved on to Chinese and added a dash of European fare before coming full circle back to Caribbean cuisine.
Along the way Smith, barely out of his teens, has seasoned his culinary journey with an undertaking in economics and learnt to speak Hindi (the most widely spoken language in India); two other Indian languages, Marathi and Konkini; as well as French and Spanish.
"I am really passionate about cooking," confesses the 20-year-old, who did
economics while at St. George's College in Kingston before attending the Mahindra United World College in India on a scholarship. (United World College has 10 campuses around the world for
students at the sixth form level.)
Smith explained that he opted to study at the Mahindra campus because "I've always had an interest in the Indian culture. I also went to India because I wanted to prove a point. I wanted to show my relatives that India was not all that bad."
He did more than prove a point. Before completing his two years Smith had learned the language of the Indian kitchen and had taken a yen to Chinese cooking. After graduating, he went to England where he pursued culinary courses in European and Asian cuisine. He garnished his knowledge when he returned to Jamaica by taking Caribbean cooking classes at Heather Little-White and Associates in New Kingston.
STILL COOKING
Smith now heads his own business, Ja's Promotions, where his daily activities are centred on marketing and promoting companies, planning events and catering for weddings and other functions. He also writes nutritional articles for Grace Food's Website.
In today's edition of In Your Kitchen, we are comfortably dining at Smith's table where he prepared Beef Under Spirits
for us. Beef under Spirits
1 pot roast
8 cloves garlic
1 onion
Pimento
Ginger powder
Ground nutmeg
Cinnamon powder
Salt
White pepper
Powdered jerk seasoning
1 bottle Pepsi
3 tbsp. white rum
2 tbsp. cooking sherry
Sauce
1 tbsp. fish and meat sauce
1 tbs. sherry
2 tsp. sugar
3 tsp. tomato paste.
Cinnamon
METHOD
1. Wash and drain pot roast.
2. Stuff pot roast with onion, garlic and pimiento
3. Marinate overnight in Pepsi, white rum and sherry.
4. Remove from liquid and cover with powdered seasoning, salt and pepper.
5. Brown pot roast in hot Corn or Olive Oil for about two minutes on each side.
6. Remove from frying pan and place in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes until thoroughly cooked.
Serve with sauce and fluffy white rice with steamed
vegetables.
To make sauce, mix all the ingredients together and
simmer.
Screw Driver Pork Chops
4 pork chops (smoked)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk of escallion
2 cups of Vodka (preferably triple distilled)
White pepper
Black pepper
Salt
Nutmeg powder.
1 tbsp. fish and meat sauce
Scotch Bonnet pepper
2 cups of orange juice
1/2 Cup of coconut juice
METHOD
1. Clean pork Chops of excess fat.
2. Chop Onion and garlic and escallion.
3. Cover chops with seasonings and vodka
4. Marinate for 1 hour.
5. Mix White pepper, black pepper, nutmeg and salt together and rub over drained chops.
6. Place chops in 2 tbsp. olive oil.
7. Allow chops to brown for 4 minutes on first side and 3 minutes on the other side.
8. Add 1 cup of water.
9. Add 1 tbsp. fish and meat sauce.
10. Add 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper.
11. Allow to simmer for 25 minutes.
12. Add 1 1/2 cups of orange juice, 1/2 cup coconut milk and the rest of the marinade mixture of Vodka, escallion, onion and garlic.
13. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
14. Serve with potatoes or white rice.
