Souse! It’s not just a pork thing anymore

August 5, 2023

By Marissa Armoogam. Well, I find myself once again in familiar waters swimming in an ocean filled with yummy, delectable foods. My interest in food has once again led me to another of Trinbago’s finest dishes. In fact, it is such a tasty treat that when the famous food connoisseur of television Andrew Zimmerman, host of Bizarre Foods, visited Trinidad he showcased this most beloved food treasure. I am talking about souse! You can find a souse man anywhere at almost any time in Trinbago.

I know some people just smiled with pure heavenly delight while others squirmed, but of course to each his own preference. Now when I initially tasted this dish as a teenager I instantaneously fell in love with. Back then I was introduced to the one made using the pig’s feet. I have since then discovered several other types of the yummy spicy soup if I may call it that.

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Recently, I was enjoying a delicious bowl of souse, a friend of mine was a bit sceptical about it, now for those of you who have never had it, please allow me to enlighten you to the marvellous flavours that simmer in this tasty dish. It starts off with a couple pounds of prepared pig’s feet – prepared meaning that your butcher would have burnt off any hairs from the feet, cut it up into about three-inch pieces and sold it to you fairly cleaned.

You can find a souse man anywhere

At home you thoroughly wash the meat and remove any hairs that may have been left behind, scrub, scrub and scrub them until you feel that it’s clean enough and then wash with freshly squeezed lime juice. The cleaned pig’s feet are then boiled in a fair amount of water until tender and the water is drained away.

A blended mixture of shadon beni, chives, garlic, celery and thyme is mixed in with the meat, salt and black pepper to taste and then boiled again. This time however the liquid is kept as it is used as the body of the souse.

Soup man in Arima — *Photo: Joanna Hayde.*

On the side peeled cucumbers and onions are thinly sliced, and some water cress sprouts are washed and chopped. These are kept on the side for serving. Once you are ready to enjoy some of the souse you simply add in the chopped ingredients, a couple drops of fresh lime juice and enjoy.

For those of you who are dribbling at this point but cannot partake in this pork dish, there is hope… yay! This recipe can be repeated and you just replace the pig’s feet with chicken feet.

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It is just as scrumptious and delectable and can be enjoyed guilt free since there is not a pig in sight with this version. But what about my vegetarian friends who by this point are seriously contemplating the meat thing… lol… there’s a recipe for you too! As before the same recipe but the meat is replaced with green bananas and for someone like me who just loves her meat souse, I have to say it is totally delicious.

So the next time you’re in the mood for something light with a little punch to it why not take a drive to the nearest “souse man” or even try making it at home since it is so easy to make. It is a great appetiser as well to the start of a meal for a casual lime with friends and family.

October 2014 – Issue 12 www.sweettntmagazine.com

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