Jamaican-style bully beef
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Jamaican-style bully beef
Corned beef won’t ever get an award for the most elegant or visually appealing ingredient, but it has stood the test of time for good reason. The practice of salt-curing beef to preserve it goes back centuries, and during the first and second world wars tinned corned beef or ‘bully beef’ – ‘bully’ being derived from the French word ‘bouilli’, meaning ‘boiled’ – was a staple ration for British soldiers due to its long shelf life. It’s a storecupboard staple that’s affordable and endlessly adaptable, from slices for your sandwiches to cubes for a hearty hash. In Jamaica, it’s transformed into a speedy stew by simmering the crumbled beef with peppers, herbs, ketchup for sweetness and a Scotch bonnet for warmth – finely chop the chilli if you really want the spice.
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Nadine Brown
Nadine Brown
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely crushed
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
- 3 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
- 1 x 340g tin corned beef, broken up
- 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp gravy browning
- cooked rice, to serve
Step by step
-
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or sauté pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6-8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, then add the tomatoes, peppers, Scotch bonnet and thyme, stirring everything together. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have broken down and the peppers have softened.
-
Stir in the corned beef, making sure any larger chunks are broken down. Stir in the ketchup and browning with a splash of water. Reduce the heat to the lowest temperature and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the Scotch bonnet and season with black pepper – you shouldn’t need any additional salt as the corned beef is quite salty. Serve with rice.
