Cassareep is made from the juice of the yuca (cassava), a tropical tuber. The yuca is grated and its liquid is pressed out then boiled with various spices to create a dark, aromatic syrup. When raw, both the yuca and its juice are toxic, but when cooked they are perfectly fine. In fact, yuca is the basis for tapioca. Cassareep is a specialty of Guyana that has made its way through the Caribbean and is a critical ingredient in the hearty beef stew known as pepperpot. Here we use it to flavor a red wine pan sauce to add a slight bittersweet edge to the plummy red wine, marrying old and new world flavors to the best taste advantage. This pan sauce is excellent for a bone-in steak like a porterhouse or for grilled game meats like venison or elk.
MAKES: ½ cup (120 ml)
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tsp (10 ml) safflower oil
- 2 tbsp (18 g) minced shallot
- ¼ tsp minced fresh thyme
- ½ tsp tomato paste
- ½ cup (120 ml) pinot noir
- 1¼ cups (300 ml) meat stock
- 1½ tbsp (22 ml) cassareep
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp (15 g) cold butter
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the safflower oil. Add the shallot and thyme and sauté until the shallot is softened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
- Pour in the pinot noir and simmer until the liquid is reduced down to 1 tablespoon (15 ml), about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Add the beef stock and cassareep and simmer until bubbles form evenly across the surface of the pan and the sauce can evenly coat the back of a spoon without dripping, about 8 to 9 minutes.
- Season with salt and cayenne pepper and remove the pan from the heat.
Add the butter and swirl or whisk until melted. Serve with grilled beef or game meats or brushed as a finishing sauce onto braised oxtails.
