Traditional Jamaican Pumpkin Beef Soup
Traditional Jamaican Pumpkin Beef Soup, this hearty, flavourful, and warming authentic Jamaican soup recipe is a staple in many Caribbean households; whether living abroad or still on the island. Traditionally prepared on a Saturday, this soup is infused with flavours of garlic, thyme and escallion with a pumpkin beef soup base filled with dumplings, carrots, and hearty ground provision, such as yams and potatoes.
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- 1 Large Stock Pot
Ingredients
- 16 cups Water divided
- 2 lb Beef Shank cut into chunks w/ bone or stewing beef
- 1 lb Cured Bone-In Beef salt beef, cut into chunks
- 6 Whole Pimento Seeds or allspice berries
- 2 Cloves Garlic large, crushed
- 1/2 pound Pumpkin cut into small cubes
- 1 Carrot large, peeled and sliced
- 1/4 pound Yellow Yam cut into small cubes
- 1/4 pound Coco Yam cut into small cubes
- 1/4 pound Turnip cut into small cubes (optional)
- 1/2 Chocho (Cayote) medium, peeled and sliced
- 6 Flour Dumplings
- 4 Sprigs Thyme
- 2 Stalks Escallion green onion, crushed
- 1 pck Grace Pumpkin Beef Soup Mix
- 1 - 2 Scotch Bonnet Pepper optional
- 1/4 tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Flour Dumpling
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Other Optional Ingredients or Substitutes for Above Listed Ingredients
- Corn
- Ground Provision Yams, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Dasheen, Eddo and Cassava
Instructions
Prepare Cured/Salted Beef
- Add water to a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Then add cured/salted beef and boil for about 20 minutes to remove salt and discard water and set aside beef. Repeat if necessary until desired amount of salt has been been boiled out.
Cook Beef & Pumpkin
- In the same large stockpot, bring to rapid boil 12 cups of water. Carefully add the beef shank or stewing beef, cured/salted beef if using, garlic and pimento. Allow to boil for about 45 minutes or until the beef is mid-tender. Then add pumpkin. Continue to cook for about 45 minutes or until pumpkin softened and beef is tender. At around the 45 minute mark, add an additional 4 cups of water and continue to boil.
Jamaican Pumpkin Beef Soup
- While beef and pumpkin boiling, prepare your other fresh ingredients; carrot, yellow yam, coco yam, turnip, cayote (chocho), thyme, green onion (escallion), and scotch bonnet pepper; set aside.
Make Flour Dumpling
- In a medium mixing bowl, add flour and salt then gradually add water and use your hand to knead and form the dough for the dumpling. Dough should be soft but not sticky and wet. Pinch or cut off 6 equal sized pieces. In the palm of your hand using a circular motion, form each piece into a ball, flatten slightly, and fold the edges of the dough into the center creating small round wheels. Set each dumpling aside.
- When beef tender and pumpkin dissolved, add the remaining fresh ingredients including the dumpling and reduce heat to medium. Stir in Grace Pumpkin Beef Soup Mix, seasoning salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust if necessary; allow to simmer for an additional 30 mins.
- Remove scotch bonnet pepper and thyme sprigs, serve while hot and enjoy!
Notes
Flour Dumplings - you may not need all the water listed to form the dumplings. I needed 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp of water.
Level of Spice - don't let the scotch bonnet pepper burst, unless you want a spicer soup.
Salted Beef - salted beef altogether should boil for approximately 30 minutes in 10 minute increments adding fresh water everytime to draw out the excess salt from the beef.
Water/Stock Level - always make sure there's enough water in your pot to cover your ingredients at all times. Enough water to cover the beef and pumpkin during the cooking process. Enough water to cover all your vegetables and dumplings to allow the soup to simmer.
See detailed notes above for additional tips.