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An authentic alcatra dish
is another common product on the island - bacon. Many families, or groups of families owned a pig, which they killed and butchered themselves. This can be smoked or not, and is used for the same purpose as in tornedos, from fillet steak, to add fat to an otherwise dry piece of meat. Thick slices of speck, or a similar fatty type are chopped into small pieces and partially fried before adding to the pot. Several large onions are chopped and added, as well as salt and ground pepper.  Not forgetting our 'secret ingredient' - Jamaican allspice! (whole - not ground). This was historically used as a preservative, which, of course, still applies. You can throw in a bay leaf if you use them, but not essential. Cover the meat with a mixture of water and red wine, the rougher the better. Place in a low oven (or a shoulder height one!), about 100C or 200F or less, and cook for several days. That's right days! No cover is required on the pot, you will need to keep topping up the water level, unless you like that burnt flavor! The beef becomes very tender, and should be ready to try on the second day, but it definitely improves with age. An improvement should also be noticed with the second and subsequent dishes. This is not just another pot roast recipe. Serve with plain boiled potatoes, or whatever you fancy - delicious! IN THIS SECTION -
not your usual pot roast
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