Haitian Pork Griot Recipe (2024)

As a native Haitian who is passionate about Haitian cuisine, allow me to say that griot is fried, not cooked in the oven.

I am Haitian. My grandmother taught me how to make griot using the oven. It is magnificent that way. If you try it, you may discover something you like. Haitians, as beautiful and varied as the land we come from, have regional differences in our cuisine.

I made this griot exactly as directed and the accompanying pikliz - it is a PHENOMENAL dish. I used habanero peppers since scotch bonnets were not available, 4 in the pikliz and 1 in the griot. Seeded and de-ribbed as directed, the dish was not very spicy at all and I believe almost anyone could eat the dish. The pork with the pikliz was sublime and I served it over hot Japanese short-grained rice. This is a keeper for me and it would be fantastic for company,

This is one of the most popular dishes I do for gatherings. I serve it with white rice and peas pilaf smothered in sweet toasted coconut. The cubes of pork shrink quite a bit, I prefer to start with 3 inch cubes to get a more substantial serving and less risk of drying during broiling. I prefer a milder pepper. The sauce is bright and citrus-y, I strain it real clean and serve Hawaiian rolls (despite the pilaf) as diners love to sop it up. Fabulous dish!

Made this last night. I didn't want to waste all of the tasty bits in the sauce so Instead of straining the solids I skimmed the fat off and then used an immersion blender mix it all together. The color wasn't quite to my liking so I added a couple of dashes of Kitchen Bouquet. Served with Black Beans, Rice and a lime vinaigrette cole slaw. Didn't have time for the pikliz. Everyone's plate was clean.

Hi, Sean. Yep, you'd want an enameled cast-iron or stainless variety Dutch oven or pan. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks to the Haitian cooks' comments, I fried the meat in coconut oil and rendered pork fat in a cast iron pan, relatively high heat, and got an almost black crust on two sides, which was key to the deliciousness of the meat. And it was very easy to do. Spatter shield was helpful. I used 3 peppers of the hottest variety I could get, and still the dish was not very hot; I'll use hotter or more peppers next time. But, it was delicious even relatively mild.

I forgot to bring it to a simmer on the stove before putting it in the oven, but it came out great. What's the reason for doing that? I left the veggies in the sauce while I simmered it down, strained them out in the end, and used them as a bruschetta on top of buttered bread which ended up being as big of a hit as the meat! One thing I'll change next time is I'll cut the pork into smaller cubes than the 1.5" ones for a better amount of crust. Paired with roasted red taters.

One more thing:Sadly, a lot of Haitians use Maggi seasoning cubes and claim this is "Haitian". It is not. It is poison. Let there be no doubt in this. MSG is in Maggi. The longer people use Maggi, the more you forget the beautiful traditions of our naturally flavorful food. It is so sad and disappointing how many Haitians no longer know how to cook without Maggi. And equally disappointing how the use of Maggi is becoming 'tradition'. Preserve our real traditions.

We used a jalapeño instead of the scotch bonnet or habanero and we found the dish to be just on the edge of being too hot.
Also we found the juice dried out even though we were using a Le Creuset. In the future I will use Julia Childs' trick of putting a sheet of aluminum foil in between the pot and the lid.

This is not a good recipe of griot this is coming from a Haitian . Griot doesn't need half the recipes you put up there rather you need to épicé to season it .

Can you make this in an electric pressure cooker as well? I’m a big fan of the instant pot and have used it to cook pork many times with great results. Thanks!

Next time, clean the meat with sour orange and when boiling the meat you must over season and you will see a difference.

Question: The Dutch oven or pan used to hold the meat and marinade- should that be a non-reactive vessel?

Nice surprise, this dish. The sauce is thin but fruity/spicy. I also garnished the pork with orange zest (since the recipe calls for "juice of one orange". Recommend something more substantial than normal white rice, like Rice Select's "Royal Blend" of different rices, flax seed etc.

This was pretty tasty. I marinated the meat only for a few hours but cooked it in an Instant Pot on high for 45 mins for 3# of pork. It turned out tender and flavorful despite the short marinating. I agree with the commenter that it is probably better to fry the chunks post cooking than to broil as the some of the pieces dried out in the broiler. I would even dare to say skip the browning altogether and save yourself the time and having to wash a sheet pan--my family isn't fussy about looks.

Also, used 8 cloves of garlic instead of 2 and de-fatted the sauce before reducing.

Griot is supposed to be fried not boiled. This recipe isn’t traditional Griot.

Excellent. I’m so satisfied after eating this. It was fantastic

This was amazing and we’ve made it several times. Unbelievable flavor.

I made this in the instant pot and it was sublime! 40 minutes on high, natural release. The broiling makes it incredible. I took others’ advice and blended in the remaining veggies with an immersion blender. Next time I would use two habaneros because we couldn’t taste the heat. Husband went crazy for it. Thank you, Haiti! I then donated some money to a Haitian charity I know, given how dire things are there right now and here I am, enjoying one of their classic dishes.

Need full 10 min broil. Add more braising liquid

We love Griot! Thanks NYT. We usually serve it with Piklez and Diri ak Pwa (beans and rice). We've finished it in the broiler as written in the recipe and also used the air fryer. Air fryer gets it crisp but hard to do large volume. Tip: Cut the pork in 2-3 inch chunks because it's more forgiving and doesn't dry out. If there's leftovers (very rare), we make a Haitian dip sandwich, like a french dip but baguette with Griot, Piklez with melted cheese dipped in the braising sauce.

This is worth the effort. And because it’s marinated overnight actual dinner time prep is very fast. Family loved it. Will make again with no alterations.

This was every bit as good as I hoped! I braised the meat early in the day leaving it in my oven for 5 hours at 200. It was perfect. Wondering why you need to get all the veggies off the meat before broiling. I left them on and it was delicious. Used habanero and like others, I found it very mild. The pikliz I ordered online arrived just as we finished dinner but I know it will add the heat it was missing. Served with black beans and rice. A great company dish!

Leave veg rough chopped2 bonnet/habanerosMake an herb bundle with parsley and thyme sprigs Add a few allspice berries a few clovesMarinate 24 hours

Added two grapefruit and another lemon to the marinade. It was excellent

I spent two days preparing, marinating, and cooking this dish. It was delicious , but I could have cut up pork country ribs and slow roasted them for 2 hours with any sauce I desired with identical results. Much to do about nothing.

I am sure this is an abomination but I never can bear throwing away all the vegetables/spice/flavor so after cooking with the pork to where everything would have reached a safe meat temperature, I take out the veg and run it through the blender and cook it down to a sauce. It lets you pull the pork apart and serve it kind of like barbecue sliders, I put it on a roll with pikliz (pat the pikliz dry) and it is AMAZING

Delicious. Will cut cayenne in half (and we like spice!) Fed 4-5 for our guests.