Asun (peppered goat meat) is a staple at any proper owambe (large Yoruba gathering/party such as weddings or birthdays), it belongs in the Small Chops family and is usually accompanied by puff puff, samosa and mosa. For the best flavor, this is best cooked on an open firewood flame to get that smokiness that cannot be replicated, but when that isn't accessible, we'll just have to make it as finger licking as possible indoors.
I tend to go overboard with at lot of things and "extra" is a word that has been used to describe me *flips weave*, LOL, so in true "extra" fashion, i have added shaki (tripe) and snail to my Asun. I must warn that this appetizer is extremely spicy!
3Kg Smoked Raw Goat Meat Chopped (Skin On Preferably)
1Kg Shaki (Tripe)
Snail
2Tablespoons Palm Oil
1 Spring Onion
2 Onions
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
Garlic & Ginger
Habanero/Scotch Bonnet Pepper (As Much As You Can Tolerate)
Seasoning Cubes
Salt
As always, start with cooking your tougher cuts of meat first, in this case shaki. As soft as raw shaki is to the touch, as soon as it starts cooking, it toughens up! I boiled it in a pressure pot for 10 minutes with just water and 1 seasoning cube. With a regular pot, double that time.
When shaki is tender, add goat meat with 1 whole chopped onion, garlic, ginger, seasoning cubes, a little Cameroon pepper, and some salt. Do not add a lot of water so that you can have well concentrated flavor. Cook for an additional 20 minutes.
While the meat cooks, add pepper and onions into your chopper or food processor and give then a rough chop. If you don't have any of these, you can rough chop it on a cutting board with a sharp knife. If you chop with a board and knife, wash your hands (including under your nails) thoroughly or avoid the bathroom and your eyes for a few hours...
When the meat cooks, drain it out of the stock and lay it out of a roasting tray and pop it into your oven set to broil. You will have to keep a close eye on it because the heat is directly over the food and if you blink a bit too hard, it could burn. We just want the meat to dry up a little bit and firm up to withstand the next stir frying step. This should take no more than 10 minutes.
While the meat is in the oven, add your snail into the stock and cook for just 10 minutes. We do not add the snail into the oven because with that direct heat/if snail gets overcooked it gets tough and chewy. That is also why it wasn't cooked together with the rest of the meat.
Finished product...
Put your wok, pot on high heat and add palm oil. Open up your windows because this is some really smoky business. We don't want the oil to bleach, just lighten up and not have that raw palm oil taste.
Add meat and snail and fry for just a minute to get it coated with the oil.
Add chopped peppers and onions and immediately turn of the heat. Taste for seasoning and add 1 seasoning cube if you need to.
Serve up a plate with roasted plantain or just by itself and enjoy.
