GRIOT: HAITIAN BROILED PORK LOIN

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork shoulder, cut into 2-3 inch cubes
• 1 lime, cut into halves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Marinade

• 2 full-sized oranges, juiced (should make for about ½ cup)
• 2 limes, juiced (should make for about ¼ cup)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch (~5 stalks) spring onions, minced
• 2 shallots, diced finely
• 1 habanero pepper, deseeded and minced
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 handful fresh thyme, stems removed and minced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Sos Ti-Malice

• Leftover marinade once griot is done boiling
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

How to Make

Stage 1 - Clean Pork and Set in Marinade

1. Start by placing your pork in an empty bowl.
2. In the bowl, squeeze the lime and sprinkle sea salt over the pork pieces and work thoroughly into the pork. You can also rub leftover lime pulp into the pork.
3. After cleaning, rinse your pork under cold water and set aside briefly
4. Next, in a large Dutch oven (or any other oven-safe cooking pot), start by adding in your garlic cloves, spring onions, shallots, habanero pepper, parsley and thyme
5. Add both your orange and lime juices and stir well through the ingredients to mix
6. Now, add your pork into your pot of marinade and massage the marinade into the pork. At this point, sprinkle your sea salt and pepper into the pot and onto pieces of pork to help with seasoning
7. With your pork marinated, set in the fridge for a least 1 hour. More time for the pork to marinade is always better, especially if it's overnight

Stage 2 - First Phase of Cooking

1. Take your Dutch oven (or other cooking pot) out of the fridge and set aside until it comes to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Once it's acclimated, put the pot over high heat until the liquid comes to a boil
3. Once the liquid starts to boil, immediately take the pot off the stove and place into the oven with a cover on. Bake covered for 1 hour 30 minutes

Stage 3 - Pre-Broil and Making Sos Ti-Malice

1. After the time in the oven, take your Dutch oven out and back onto your stove
2. With a slotted spoon, fish out your pieces of pork and place onto a baking tray (or an oven-safe cooling rack placed on a baking tray). Be sure to drain and clean off as much of the solid pieces of marinade from the pork as you can
3. Once all pieces are taken out, pour the leftover marinade through a strainer so that you have only liquid and none of the solid ingredients. Discard the solids and pour the liquid back into your pot
4. Put the pot back over medium-low heat and stir in your honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Then let it simmer for 20 minutes as it reduces
5. As the sos Ti-Malice is reducing, preheat your broiler to high (or 525 degree Fahrenheit) heat

Stage 4 - Broiling and Bringing it All Together

1. In the final 10 minutes of reducing your sos Ti-Malice, place your pieces of griot into your oven/broiler. Place as close to the heat source as you can, and broil for 3 minutes on the first side. Your goal here is to get a nice dark brown color, perhaps with a light char coming on
2. Take your pieces of griot out and turn each piece over. Return back to the broiler and broil for another 2 minutes
3. Finally, remove your griot from the broiler and take your reduced sos Ti-Malice from the heat. To serve, start with pieces of griot followed by a drizzle of your sauce. Using some extra parsley as a garnish is always a good idea, and griot goes famously alongside some pikliz. Enjoy!