Jamaican stew peas – This cozy Jamaican stew is made using red beans, meat and is cooked in aromatic coconut milk broth with Jamaican spices and spinners. A hearty Island stew!
Despite the name, this stew does not contain peas at all. It actually has kidney beans, which are called red peas in Jamaica. You can start by cooking them from scratch, which would take you some time or just go with canned beans.
One recurring ingredient in Jamaican stew peas is salted pigtail often available in Latin and Caribbean Markets. Yes, I must admit it does adds some fatty goodness and distinct flavor to the stew peas.
However, I switched it out in place of smoked turkey – it’s readily available in most American supermarkets and adds another layer of flavor with it’s smoky beef note — plus it’s healthier.
Okay Folks! If tradition is what you are after and you want that truly authentic flavor – then by all means GO FOR IT!
I’m sticking with smoked turkey.
Oh, another great substitute would be ham hocks, and/or oxtail. Or just use beef. Whatever works for you.
Spinners are a great addition to stew peas – you just can’t make stew peas without them.
What are spinners? Tasty little Jamaican dumplings -helps thicken the stew and makes it more substantial.
This stew begins with browning the beef and turkey to add some flavor, then followed by an aromatic base of onions, thyme, allspice, and garlic. Their natural sugars caramelize and kick start all that shines about the stew.
The red peas follow and are joined by the coconut milk and other additions.
As for the spinners, they are so easy to make. The long, gently tapered dumplings are a combination of flour, salt, and water. This mixture is formed into dough then rolled into dumplings. Once dropped in the simmering broth, they cook and you have dense dumplings that hold up to the bulk of the stew.
Once everything is combined, the stew simmers until all the ingredients meld beautifully together.
To put it simply, Jamaican stew peas with spinners is the epitome of comfort food. The stew is outstanding and the spinners make it all the more tempting.
Enjoy!!!!
NOTES!
- It’s best to use the “fresh” coconut milk for this recipe. If using the canned variety use about 1/2 and 1/2 – 1 cup coconut canned coconut milk and 1 cup water to equate 2 cups coconut milk.
- 2- tablespoon canola oil or more
- 1-1/2 pound meat smoked turkey, beef, oxtails, pig's tail
- ½ onion diced
- 2-3 green onions Scallions
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper
- 2-3 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 large bay leaf
- 4 cups cooked kidney beans or 2-3 15oz. cans rinse and drained
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 3 cups broth or more chicken or vegetarian
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- 1 Cup flour
- 4 Tablespoons coconut milk/water or enough to form a soft dough.
- ¾-1 teaspoons garlic salt or salt
- Season stew beef with salt and pepper to thoroughly cover all sides
- Heat the oil an oven safe Dutch oven pan over medium heat. Add stew beef and turkey sauté, about 2 -3 minutes per side, until beef slightly browns up.
- Add onions, green onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, paprika, and allspice and sauté for about 3-5 minutes.
- Pour in coconut milk, broth, and beans and bring to a boil and let it cook for about 40 minutes or more depending on your choice of protein. If using a tough cut of meat is preferable to cook first before adding the beans.
- While the stew is simmering make the spinners by combining water, flour and garlic salt in a medium bowl-knead dough for about 30 seconds to 1 minute to form soft dough.
- Divide dough into 10-14 equal pieces.
- Shape dough by rolling with your hands, as if you are making a log- somewhat like a sausage. Repeat the process until finish. Set aside
- About 15 minutes or more before stew is ready, gently drop dumplings into the pot – you may have to add more water or coconut milk if needed
- Let it cook until tender- about 15-20 minutes.
- Adjust seasonings salt and pepper
- Serve piping hot
Just made this dish and it was DELICIOUS!
Thank you for sharing your take on a much loved Jamaican dish !
I am glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by!!
It irritates me to no end when people say its not the true Jamaican Way. There is no such thing when you have a vast amount of people. We all do not cook the same. I know people who use canned coconut milk to make rice and peas. Some people swear by the powder coconut milk mixture. People soak their peas or use the canned. Me personally I use coconut cream. And I soak my peas with garlic, thyme and seasoning salt. Boil it first too. My mom doesn’t boil it first.
Rant over now. Back to the recipe. How much ginger would you reccomend? I want to make one with and one without.
Totally agree!
Totally agree!
Do you have to cook the pigtails first?
Yes, you do have to cook until tender , then and drain water first before adding it in.
I made this dish for my Ugandan husband and one of our friends from Burkina Faso and it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love that people from all over the world can come together over a great meal. This will be my “safe” dish to try out on my in-laws!
Very well said, hon. And it’s great how we most of us are gathered for the love of good food. Happy weekend! 🙂
I made this dish for my Ugandan husband and one of our friends from Burkina Faso and it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love that people from all over the world can come together over a great meal. This will be my “safe” dish to try out on my in-laws!
I just found this recipe on Pinterest and I can’t wait to give it a go. My husband smokes a lot of meats and this sounds like a great way to use up the leftovers and make a completely new and tasty dish. Can you tell me how spicy it is with the Scotch Bonnet pepper? I like a little heat but not too much.
I can’t wait to explore your blog even more! Thanks!
Hi, Jodi. It isn’t that spicy, although that would depend on your heat tolerance. But do let me know how it turns out for you.
I love Jamaican food and I will cooking tumorow
Thanks for the recipes
The pleasure is mine, Dorina 🙂 . Do let me know how it turns out for you.
i’ve been making this the wrong way based on another recipe, yours turned out great! I love how you have the box to edit serving amount – very efficient 🙂
Thank you, Arleta! Glad it turned it great for you.
hi,
thank you for your amazing website!!!!
How do you make a vegetarian version of this dish without meat?
Thank you!!!
Hi Kay! Just leave out the meat and adjust cooking time.
I love stew peas. I also tried it with a mixture of salted beef and stewing beef. You can use any meat you fancy. But it tastes best with the salted type.
I add fresh chopped tomatoes aswell this is how we do it in Jamaica.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing !!!
I must say nice work… But your method is not the true jamaican way. We dont saute out meet before. But i guess you are using the American meet that cook easily. We use a number of meat At the same time Exp salt beef, pig tail, chicken foot and Turkey neck together. That how most us Jamaican cook it back home.
Browning the beef adds more flavor to it . Thanks for your input .
I made it yesterday and it was a hit with my finicky eaters, and it was my first time cooking it! I love, love, love my aunt’s version and this one was very close in taste. There were a few variations because I only had one can of kidney beans so substituted the second can with cannellini beans and soaked a hand full of dried beans I had on hand overnight. Question: is that two teaspoons of ground or whole allspice? I used (about 15) whole allspice and it added a burst of flavor to the soup. It was my first time making spinners too and I used coconut milk, garlic powder and Himilayan salt. That was a good combination. The meat of choice was smoked turkey wings and stewed beef; a Yummy combo! I made a big pot and we’ve been eating it as soup (minus the rice) because it’s sooo savory. There’s barely three bowls left. I’ve stretched this into about six or seven servings for around $10. It’s a great value. Thanks for the recipe.
So pleased to hear it was a hit even with your little ones! Thank you so much for taking the time to give such a detailed feedback! So appreciated .
it’s sometimes difficult to get salted pigtails, only fresh ones. I boil my pigtails (or use a pressure cooker) with about 1.5 cups of salt. change the water and add another 1.5 cups of salt for the 2nd boil. not as good as actual salted pigtails but close enough. I then season them with lots of garlic, onions, thyme, green seasoning and a lil more salt and then cook them right away (soup, pelau etc) or freeze them for another day. don’t really like the taste of unsalted pigtails
Really appreciate you taking the time to share this with us Val. Am sure other readers would benefit from this. Thank you so much.
This is excellent. Found smoked pigtail and pork neckbones at the local grocery store. We cant get salted pigtails or salt beef in the states, but we can get smoked pigtails, that is still pretty good and close to authentic i hope. I have made this dish before. One time as an undergraduate I cooked a pot of this along with sweet potato curry, tamarind balls and hard dough bread for a jamaican girl I loved. She didnt love me back hahahahaha. But I still love cooking west indian, south american ,mexican, haitian guadaloupe and martinique, mid eastern and west african food. Hopefully one day I find a lady like you that is a good fit ahem. hahaha. Im an Austrian American. My dad is from vienna and has a thick accent, I will give you some of his recipes if you want, they are good. I first made this stew from the “Complete Caribbean Cookbook” (that my guyanese chum introduced me to) they called for pureeing some of the beans and meat to thicken the stew. Not a bad idea. LAter. also at the local jamaican restaurant they blend up a potato into their chicken and goat curries to thicken it, they make a huge batch, i am not sure how many potatoes they blend up. malanga/taro/eddo/dasheen.cocoyam is also a good thickener. alafia
Hahaha! You will find your perfect match Sebastian – Don’t give up! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
You can find salted pig tail and beef in the stares you have to go to an Asian or Caribbean neighborhood to find. Some meat stores in Italian neighborhoods will also carry it. If you live in NYC it’s easy to find
Thanks for sharing Fula.
Hi Imma, how long should the stew cook for before adding the spinners and then how long after as well?
It should cook for about 30-40 minutes depending on the beef. About 15 – minutes more .
Do you have a curry chicken recipes
Yes I do! Jamaican curry Chicken here https://www.africanbites.com/slow-cooker-jamaican-curry-chicken/
What would be a good natural, free of preservatives, substitute for the unique flavor of pigtails? I shop at Whole Foods Market and they don’t carry pigtails that are organic. Please let me know. Thank you!
Two options that come to mind are pork belly and oxtails. A little goes a long way.
we have a farmers market here, try and find a farmers market and get fresh meet from them. oxtails, pug feet or tail should work. belly would be really good too. i agree. u can mix meats. a bit of stew beef and a few pig feet would be nice.
I will be on the look out!
This is sooo great ! Thank you for this beauty !
I use chicken feet as substitute and it is really tasty
Nice! Thanks for sharing!!!!
I am a 24 year-old Nigerian, and I am a huge fan of your posts.
However, with this particular dish, is it absolutely necessary to use the spinners as a thickening agent? Can I substitute it for another starch such as African Yams?
You sure can! I think the African yams would be a great substitute. Do let me know how it works out for you.
Thank you so much for trying out my recipes.
Happy Cooking!!!!
Comfort food is the best…but island comfort is to die for! Can’t wait to try it!
It sure is Gabriel ! Anytime of the year.
Looks great. Been a long while since last had Island Stewed Peas. Having it with Salted Pigtail (Almost impossible to find), aren’t anything can beat that with its unique flavor. I like it with Beef as well and been a while since last had that too. Have to cook sometime. Yeah this is real Island comfort food.
You forgot to add Ginger from instructions line 3 to recipe list.
Nice catch urban! You really don’t need ginger- unless you want to
How much ginger would you recommend?
About 1-2 teaspoons minced ginger.