Guyanese-Inspired Warm-Spiced Beef and Cassava Pepperpot
Beef chuck slow-simmered with cinnamon, clove, and scotch bonnet until deeply tender, finished with soft cassava chunks.
Traditional Guyanese pepperpot gets its dark, distinctive flavor from cassareep, a syrup made from boiled-down cassava juice that can be tough to find outside the Caribbean. This home version borrows the dish's signature warm-spice backbone — cinnamon, clove, and a whole scotch bonnet simmered right in the pot — while leaning on gluten-free soy sauce and a touch of brown sugar to build a similar deep, savory-sweet broth.
Beef chuck needs time to break down, so this is a low-and-slow braise: the meat simmers until fork-tender before the cassava goes in for its own gentler cook. What comes out is a substantial, high-protein stew with a warmth that comes from spice rather than chili alone — pull the whole scotch bonnet out before serving unless you want real heat in every bite.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef chuck, cubed
- 1 lb cassava (yuca), peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole and pierced
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp gluten-free tamari or soy sauce
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Most ingredients here are everyday market staples across West Africa. A handful of specialty items may be easiest to find at a local open-air market or an African grocery store if you're elsewhere.
Instructions
- 1Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches, then set aside.
- 2Add onion and garlic to the pot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
- 3Return the beef to the pot along with broth, cinnamon stick, cloves, scotch bonnet, brown sugar, and tamari.
- 4Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1.5 hours until the beef is very tender.
- 5Add the cassava and simmer 20-25 minutes more until tender.
- 6Remove the cinnamon stick, cloves, and scotch bonnet before seasoning with salt and pepper and serving.