Jim Harrison’s Caribbean Stew

By Sam Sifton

Jim Harrison’s Caribbean Stew
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson.
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
4(746)
Comments
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Jim Harrison, the poet and epicure, hunter and fisherman, novelist, essayist and enthusiastic cook, published a version of this recipe in the literary magazine Smoke Signals in 1981. I adapted it more than three decades later, after Harrison's death in 2016. The key ingredients: a lot of tomato paste and a good, floral hot sauce, ideally made with Scotch bonnet peppers, which combine in marvelous ways. Parboiling the ribs allows the recipe to come together relatively quickly, and the cooking otherwise is totally serial: one step after another until you slide the pot into the oven and allow the heat to do its work. Substitute different meats, or fewer, if you like, depending on availability.

Featured in: A Larger-Than-Life Caribbean Stew

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1½pounds pork spareribs, cut into single ribs
  • 2tablespoons neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
  • 4chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4Italian sausages, hot or sweet
  • 1large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
  • 4cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • ¼cup tomato paste
  • 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
  • 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 3tablespoons hot-pepper sauce, ideally one made with Scotch bonnet peppers, or to taste
  • 1cup chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium
  • ½teaspoon white sugar
  • 4dashes Worcestershire sauce
  • 1½teaspoons chile powder
  • 1½teaspoons paprika
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

905 calories; 72 grams fat; 21 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 30 grams monounsaturated fat; 14 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 52 grams protein; 961 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place spareribs in a pot, and cover with water. Place pot over high heat, and bring to a boil. Lower heat slightly, and cook, covered, for 15 or 20 minutes, then remove ribs to a large bowl and discard the water.

  2. Step 2

    While the ribs cook, pour the oil into a Dutch oven set over high heat, and swirl it around. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, and when the oil begins to shimmer and is about to smoke, add them to the pan, skin-side down. Brown the chicken aggressively, about 5 to 7 minutes per side, then add the chicken to the bowl with the ribs. Repeat with the sausages, browning them on all sides for approximately 5 to 7 minutes, then add to the bowl with the chicken and the ribs. Cook the onions and garlic in the fat remaining in the Dutch oven, stirring occasionally until they soften and begin to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Heat oven to 300. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, lemon juice, hot-pepper sauce, chicken stock, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chile powder and paprika to the onions and garlic in the Dutch oven, then stir to combine, and allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the meats to the Dutch oven, stirring and tossing them so that they are well covered with the sauce, then cover the pot, and place in the oven to cook, undisturbed, for approximately 90 minutes, or until the meats are tender and, in the case of the chicken and the ribs, pulling from the bone.

Ratings

4 out of 5
746 user ratings
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Comments

David Waterbury

I would be reluctant to parboil the ribs as called for. You through a lot of flavor out with the water. I would try browning the ribs in the canola oil before the chicken and let them get tender in the braising.

Coco Pazzo

On his website amazing ribs.com, which is all about barbecue, Meathead Goldwyn has the tag line: "If you boil ribs, the terrorists win." Just saying.

Edgar

Hodge podge of ingredients that seem immiscible to me. (not having cooked it, of course) I know he spent a great deal of time in the MN woods, maybe, on a particular day, he didn't want to go into town and just used everything in his cupboard and called it a recipe. --Now I have cooked it and am trying to save the rest of the devoted readers of the food section some time. Not good.

Evan

If you want to get gout like Jim Harrison, make this recipe as is. If you would like to get a few vitamins and some fiber with your meal as well as enjoy a more diverse flavor profile, do this: Double the onions, make the rest of the recipe as is. Then, add two sliced bell peppers, a can of crushed tomatoes, and one head of chopped kale along with two cinnamon sticks, ground cumin to taste, a few cloves and enough additional water or broth so that it is not dry. You may need to add more salt because of this. “The way you eat bespeaks your entire attitude toward life.”

Stan M.

I followed Jac’s recommendation and boiled the ribs with juniper berries, bay leaves, and cloves. But then I used that broth to make rice, which was a great taste complement to the stew.

Peter

I look forward to making this every year for an ice fishing trip. My special guys say it's the best thing they've ever eaten. I think Jim would approve.

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