WOMAN: And now, Signature Dish, a WETA original series.

SETH: Today on Signature Dish, we're getting a taste of the Caribbean!

We will cheers to that.

ANDRENE: Unbelievable.

SETH: Outrageous.

After starting with a pair of island classics... That meat is so flavorful, so tender.

ANDRENE: It is seasoned to the bone.

JOANCARLO: Right now I'm going to break down a Signature Mohawk.

SETH: A pork chop with a Mohawk.

JOANCARLO: Right?

It's a little punk, a little edgy.

SETH: We'll try a curry dish stacked with flavor.

PETER: This is stuffed with butter.

Bathed in butter.

It gets ridiculous.

SETH: Wow.

I'm Seth Tillman, WETA producer and D.C. native, and I love good food.

That's why I'm traveling to restaurants across the DMV, at each stop, looking for the one thing you just gotta try, that Signature Dish.

It's hard to describe the food of the Caribbean as anything other than a giant melting pot, a cuisine forged by centuries of colonization, forced migration, and trade, mixing with an abundance of fresh produce and unique ingredients.

And few flavors are more instantly recognizable as Caribbean than jerk chicken.

That's why I'm first off to D.C.'s Brightwood Park neighborhood, to visit Andrene's Caribbean and Soul Food, and get a taste of this Jamaican classic.

ANDRENE: I was born in Kingston, Jamaica, but I came here when I was 10 years old.

Jamaican food, it's a culinary experience.

We had indigenous people, then you had the British, you had the Asian immigrants.

They brought along curry.

And Africans had a way of preparing one-pot meal, and that's where soup comes from.

And the Arab culture, that brought along the flatbread.

So when you mix all of that in, it just makes sense why Jamaican meals are so flavorful.

So now, of course, we use a combination of it to prepare delightful meals.

The decision to open Andrene's, that was just pure love.

Mike, my partner of 33 years, he's from the Montego Bay area.

Mike has always cooked.

He did construction for around 15 years.

I remember, he came to me and he said, "Tina," that's my nickname, he said, "Tina, if I'm going to work this hard, I might as well do it for myself.

I really want to open a restaurant."

SETH: In 2006, Andrene and Mike opened a carryout spot at the corner of Kennedy and 3rd Streets NW, expanding to sit-down service in 2014.

As I head to meet Andrene and Mike, I can't say with certainty I've ever had authentic Jamaican jerk.

Mike.

MIKE: Yeah, nice to see you.

SETH: Nice to see you.

Andrene.

ANDRENE: Yeah, nice to meet you.

SETH: Thank you so much for having me.

And, wow.

Look at these beautiful peppers and this chicken.

I can tell, whatever this is going to be, it's going to be good.

ANDRENE: Yes.

SETH: What are you making today?

ANDRENE: Well, Mike is making our signature dish, jerk chicken wings.

They're extremely popular here.

SETH: Well, you know, I've had the stuff called jerk chicken before, but I'm not sure I've ever had the real deal.

But, you know, I don't even know, what is jerk?

ANDRENE: Jerk is seasoned chicken that's been done for hundreds of years in Jamaica.

It was started by the Arawak Indians.

It was done on charcoal.

So now, jerk is so popular in Jamaica, it's done on side streets, it's done in the markets, it's done at home.

And believe it or not, Scotch bonnet really brings the flavor out.

SETH: Scotch bonnet pepper is not something I know a whole lot about.

This is a key part of jerk seasoning?

ANDRENE: Yes it is.

Scotch bonnet, it's cultivated in Jamaica.

And it has more like a sweet aroma.

When you smell it, you might try to take a bite, but please be careful.

SETH: All right.

I think I know better than to take a bite, but... MIKE: That's hot.

SETH: I can imagine.

ANDRENE: Jamaicans put Scotch bonnet in everything.

It's in beef patties.

It's in peppered shrimp.

It's in goat soup.

And definitely, it's going to be in the jerk wingette.

SETH: Well, that's the version I'm excited to try.

So tell me, how are you going to put this all together?

ANDRENE: Mike is going to start by adding the dry ingredients.

First, he's going to use the paprika, then the garlic powder, the Season-All.

He's getting that seasoning into the meat.

SETH: Mike, you had this recipe just passed down in your family?

MIKE: Yeah.

My parents used to do it all the time.

ANDRENE: When we're sold out of wings, we're in trouble.

I've been called names after saying, "Wings are sold out," and it just tickles me.

SETH: Well, I'll be nice.

ANDRENE: Now we're going to add our browning sauce, one of Jamaica's favorite seasonings.

SETH: I like how you guys work as a team.

ANDRENE: And now he's going to work it in.

So, next we're going to add the wet rub.

It has allspice, a tad bit of brown sugar, scallion, onion, and definitely, it has Scotch bonnet.

SETH: So it's going to have some heat, too.

ANDRENE: Yeah.

Yes, as well as a sweet flavor.

SETH: Hey, Mike, go easy there on that chicken.

You do not mess around.

ANDRENE: Mike is seasoning this chicken to the bone.

SETH: And these poor wings, I mean, they are just drowning in this sauce.

Just the aroma coming out of that bowl... ANDRENE: Oh my God.

SETH: What's the next step?

ANDRENE: The next step, they're going to be placed on a pan and then placed in the oven.

And then, once they're flipped, they should be ready within two hours.

The sauce that's left in the pan, we use it as flavor, our own signature house sauce.

And to complete the sauce, we use pimento, garlic, thyme, scallion, and of course we use Scotch bonnet.

And then that is poured on top of the jerk wings.

ANDRENE: Well, Seth, thank you for stopping by Andrene's today.

We have some classic Jamaican items.

We have black cake, we have coco bread, and of course it's all about the jerk.

SETH: I can't wait to try it.

And I see, oh my God, Mike's coming out with that right now.

ANDRENE: Yes.

SETH: Look at those wings.

ANDRENE: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

SETH: All right.

And I see the sauce in the middle.

Should I dip?

ANDRENE: Yes, you sure can.

SETH: Okay.

All right, I'm going in.

Outrageous.

That is so good.

ANDRENE: If you guys were not here, I'd be chewing on my bone.

SETH: I'm going to devour the rest of this too.

And it's spicy too, spicy but so flavorful.

Wow.

ANDRENE: And still have that sweet flavor to it.

SETH: And I'm glad to see we got a whole plateful of these left to go.

ANDRENE: Now you see why I do all the talking, right?

SETH: You do the talking... ANDRENE: Mike is more hands-on.

SETH: I know there's kind of this debate with jerk wings, about whether it has to be grilled, but in two hours in the oven, this meat is clearly falling off the bone.

Why'd you decide to go that way, Mike?

MIKE: Yeah.

When I cook it in the oven, it's done pretty good, because sometimes you put it in the grill, it cooks so fast it kind of burn.

ANDRENE: I observed that when the jerk is done on the grill, the outside is done, but the inside tends to be sort of rare.

However, once it's oven-baked for two hours, it is seasoned, the flavor goes to the bone, make no mistake.

SETH: No mistakes made, Andrene.

And I also know that, like, up on the sign, it's Andrene's Soul Food as well.

Do you see a lot of crossover between Jamaican food and traditional American soul food?

ANDRENE: Oh, yeah, definitely, definitely.

And of course, that came about because of the African slave trade.

And the seasonings, the preparation, the food items, it's just passed down from one generation to the next.

SETH: Well, I'm glad, Mike, I'm glad you brought your recipes here.

MIKE: Yes.

ANDRENE: Yes, yes, yes.

SETH: I'm glad you're the man of the kitchen, I think my introduction to real jerk cooking...

So, thank you guys so much for having me here today.

ANDRENE: And thank you.

MIKE: Thank you.

SETH: While the Caribbean population in the DMV has steadily grown in recent years, the number of Puerto Ricans living in D.C. alone has more than doubled in the past decade.

That's why I'm next making my way to La Famosa, an all-day eatery in the bustling Navy Yard neighborhood.

JOANCARLO: I've lived in the D.C. area almost 20 years now.

And when I first arrived, I could literally maybe count five Puerto Ricans on a hand, that I would bump into just through daily life.

The population has exploded.

The cuisine of Puerto Rico is something that's obviously near and dear to my heart.

It's a very humble food.

It's a food definitely rooted in poverty.

My memories all come from just hanging out with my family and my grandparents in their kitchen, whether it was just eating just roots, different viandas that we call, rice, beans, simple stews.

You're going to find some similarity between Cuban food, Dominican food, Puerto Rican food, but they're all very unique cuisines in their own right.

But what I want to be very clear about is that our food is Puerto Rican inspired.

A lot of that inspiration, a lot of those Criollo flavors, but I also add my own twist on it.

SETH: I'm heading to La Famosa today, to try a rustic Puerto Rican dish with a modern flair.

Chef.

JOANCARLO: Hey, Seth, how you doing?

SETH: Doing pretty well.

And look at this beautiful pork chop right here.

What's this going to make today?

JOANCARLO: Well, this is going to be the start to our signature dish here at La Famosa.

It's the Chuleta Kan-Kan, or at least our interpretation of a Chuleta Kan-Kan.

So we're going to start off with a beautiful piece of a Berkshire hog, frenched, nice fat cap still on it.

We use a technique called sous vide, using an immersion circulator.

And we actually cook the pork chop in a water bath, at a constant temperature of about 165 degrees, for a little bit under two hours.

What that's going to allow that the chop is going to be cooked evenly throughout, while still retaining a lot of moisture.

And then, right now what I'm going to do, Seth, is I'm going to break down and give you a signature Mohawk, which you find on all Chuleta Kan-Kan, whether it be my version here, or on the island.

And the whole reason the Chuleta Kan-Kan is named Chuleta Kan-Kan is because it's supposed to resemble the flared dress of a can-can dancer.

SETH: Ah, okay, okay.

JOANCARLO: Okay?

SETH: A pork chop with a Mohawk, I think.

JOANCARLO: A pork chop with a Mohawk, right?

It's a little punk, it's a little edgy.

SETH: So punk.

It maybe help, when you cook it, some of the fat also render out.

But, hopefully, hopefully there'll be some left over when you're done.

JOANCARLO: There will be.

There will be.

SETH: And so, what are some of the other things that will go with the Chuleta?

JOANCARLO: This will be plated with arroz and habichuelas, which are rice and beans, and then fried plantains, called tostones.

So this is a green plantain, starchy, sugar hasn't been built up in it yet.

Okay?

So once it's peeled, it looks like this.

We're going to take it, we're going to fry it once, smash it, and this is basically the start of a tostone.

This will be fried once again, and this will also be an accompaniment to the Chuleta Kan-Kan. SETH: So, yeah.

So we got a pork chop, and some tostones, and rice and beans.

This is just some good, kind of, comfort Puerto Rican cooking right here.

JOANCARLO: Correct.

And pork, being an island, for whatever reason, whether it be Puerto Rico or Hawaii, we're very pork-centric.

SETH: Got it.

And so now that this has been cooked sous vide, what's the next step for this pork chop?

JOANCARLO: Next step is we're going to put it into a double fry basket.

Now, we cook it Mohawk side down, so we get the chicharrón nice and crispy.

Actually, it'll be a partial cook there.

Okay.

And we'll drop it fully into the fryer to complete it, and get it all nice and golden brown.

And then we'll drop the tostones to accompany it, and then we'll plate.

SETH: Well, Chef, thank you so much for showing me the kitchen.

I see what looks like maybe some Puerto Rican rum right here?

JOANCARLO: Yeah, you can drink the Puerto Riki-Tiki, made with Don Q. SETH: The Puerto Riki-Tiki, well, cheers to that.

Oh, wow.

You were not kidding about that Mohawk.

JOANCARLO: Yeah.

It's topped off with a little bit of of our mojo Criollo, which is just garlic, slowly simmered in olive oil, salt, pepper, some spices.

SETH: Get a little bit of the chicharron with this bite here.

Mm.

JOANCARLO: Good?

SETH: That's dynamite, Chef.

That mojo on top, and that crispy texture, but the meat inside is still so tender.

It hasn't dried out at all.

That's an excellent, excellent bite right there.

JOANCARLO: That's the great thing about technique, you know.

If you do it right, you'll keep that moist, juicy, flavorful pork chop and it'll just crisp up that skin and that chicharrón.

SETH: I'm guessing this is a little different than how it would be prepared if we were, say, back in Puerto Rico?

JOANCARLO: Yes.

So in Puerto Rico, the traditional Kan-Kan is going to be huge.

It's going to be almost like a foot and a half chop.

And so imagine the Mohawk going from here to here.

I've kind of realized that, for the consumer here in D.C. and slightly more Anglo palate, the lean meat to fat ratio had to be a little bit different.

And so we started working on this version, or this option, for Chuleta Kan-Kan, and we're really proud of it.

SETH: It's weird, because it doesn't have the acidity that maybe you get, like with a vinegar, to cut the fat, but yet, like the garlic, it plays so nicely with that fat.

JOANCARLO: Yeah.

So you've got that allium family action going on there, it's going to help kind of cut the richness.

And that's why garlic plays off of it very well.

SETH: And I got to try one of these tostones, as well.

Got a little more of the garlic mojo on it.

Mojo Criollo?

JOANCARLO: Mojo Criollo.

SETH: Mojo Criollo.

Mm.

JOANCARLO: Puerto Rican french fry.

SETH: And the mojo plays really nicely with the plantains.

I know, for a long time, kind of Caribbean food around here, maybe people just kind of lump all the islands together, but do you feel like maybe people are now kind of seeking out, kind of, authentic Puerto Rican flavors?

JOANCARLO: I think people are definitely open to more authentic, or I guess regional and sub-regional flavors.

I think that, you know, over the last 10, 15 years, D.C. had always, a good representation of what Latin American cuisine is, but it was very frequently kind of mashed up together, El Salvadorian, Guatemalan, Mexican, kind of all in one spot.

I encountered it once in a while, you know.

Someone would come over and say, "Hey, do you have Pico de Gallo?"

And I could take it two ways, right?

I could be super, super upset and offended, or I can just take it as people haven't experienced this type of cuisine yet.

And we're happy to introduce it to them, but we definitely want to bring what the cocina criolla is, and that's what we call the cuisine of Puerto Rico, cocina criolla.

Obviously, it's my own take, so once in a while I get a little pushback that it's not like Abuela used to make.

But, you know what?

At the end of the day, it's like what my abuela used to make, so I feel okay about that as well.

SETH: Like I said, dynamite cut of pork, best I've had in a long time, so thank you so much.

JOANCARLO: My pleasure.

SETH: My last stop leads me back to the Caribbean food I know best.

It's been over two decades now, but in college I studied for a semester in Trinidad and Tobago.

That's me, first arriving in Port of Spain, to study at the University of the West Indies, or UWI for short.

And here, celebrating in the run up to Carnival.

I loved the food in Trinidad, and that's part of the reason I'm so excited to visit Cane on H Street NE, a restaurant and rum shop co-owned by Chef Peter Prime and his sister Jeanine.

JEANINE: We both grew up, were born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, the southernmost island in the Caribbean, and lived in Port of Spain, an area really known for diverse and vibrant cuisine.

And we were really anxious to bring that to D.C. Trinidad is known for its liming culture.

We take socializing with friends over good food really seriously, so we have our own special word for it.

There's a lot of debate about the origins of the term, "liming."

Still not sure where that came from, but that's a really central part of the culture.

And a lot of liming happens in rum shops in Trinidad, and we really, really wanted to recreate that vibe.

PETER: The islands are these melting pots, crucibles where things come together.

They had a unique combination of Indian indentured laborers, African slaves, the Amerindians that were there before, and then there was an Asian population that came in as well.

And we just created our own food with the products that were there.

It's different on all the islands.

I mean you can follow the thread and see the similarities, but it evolved uniquely in Trinidad.

SETH: Trinidad's cuisine is heavily influenced by the island's large East Indian population.

Descended from the indentured laborers who were brought over from India to harvest sugarcane after the African slave trade was abolished in the 1830s.

I'm heading to Cane to meet Peter and learn more about their Indian-influenced signature dish.

Chef.

PETER: Hey, good to see you.

Welcome.

SETH: Good to see you as well.

Oh, man.

Well, I am happy to be here.

And I am super happy about looking at these beautiful colors, some heat coming off this griddle.

What's all this going to make today?

PETER: So, we're going to put together our Curried Beef Paratha Tiffin Box.

This is part of our Indian heritage in Trinidad.

This is one of the prevalent styles of Roti in the country.

We do the paratha, what you're going to see here, and we also do our Dhalpuri style, which is stuffed with ground split peas, and it's healthy and flavorful.

This is stuffed with butter and deliciousness, so bathed in butter.

So it's flaky and delicious, but it's really functional as well.

That's how you eat the curries, you know.

This is the perfect utensil.

You get sauce, you get whatever combination of the curries that you want.

SETH: So I see this beef, and I see what looks like curried potatoes.

And what's this, Peter?

PETER: So, yes.

So we have curry chana, or garbanzos.

SETH: So, we got three different curries.

PETER: Yeah.

The thing about Trinidadian curries, they are mostly based on the madras style of curry.

And we bring out the different nuances and the different ingredients by how much curry we use, the intensity, and how we cook them.

SETH: It all looks and smells so good, but how is this actually going to come together as a dish?

PETER: So, what we do here at Cane is we put it together in our tiffin box.

Tiffins, I've seen those growing up as a kid, you see Indian laborers using it on the continent, just to get lunch.

It's really practical, it keeps food warm and, yeah, and we just thought it was a fun package to deliver our version of curry beef.

SETH: A nice, shiny lunchbox there for your meal.

I like that.

So are you going to cook up a paratha, here?

PETER: I am.

I am.

SETH: I'm going to watch you work your magic.

PETER: We just use, start off with a bunch of ghee.

SETH: Like you said, lots of butter.

PETER: Lots of butter.

For reasons I don't really understand as a chef, but it's just been passed on, you have to butter it before you can flip it.

I guess it seals it.

And you steam, and it starts to separate a little bit.

SETH: This thing just glistens.

PETER: It does.

It's very hot.

SETH: It's reflective, all that butter.

Why not put a little more on, right?

PETER: So the ghee, the butter is cultured.

It's not just straight clarified butter.

SETH: Okay.

PETER: And, yeah.

There's a little tang and, I think, some healthy bacteria.

It helps you digest, but it's not too... SETH: Sure, we'll call... PETER: It's not as bad as... SETH: We'll call it healthy.

Yeah, yeah.

Whatever you have to tell yourself.

PETER: So, in Trinidad we call it "buss up shut" which is busted up shirts.

I'm pushing it together, so that you can get the edges cooked all the way through, then I'm going to chop it up some more.

SETH: Oh, man.

Let it rest.

PETER: Let it rest.

SETH: Well, it's tough that it needs to rest and cool down, because I wanted to sort of try it right now.

PETER: We gotcha, man.

We have some that I just cooked a little bit ahead.

SETH: Oh, man.

Buttery, flaky.

That's so good.

And if that's just the bread alone, I can't wait to see what it's going to taste like when we're sopping up all these curries and using that as our fork.

So, I will let you get to assembling the tiffin box, and I can't wait to try it with you and Jeanine, back at the table.

PETER: Awesome.

See you out there, man.

SETH: Thanks, Chef.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Jeanine, Peter, I've been trying a lot of great dishes all around the D.C. area, but none have come with this type of presentation.

I can't wait to see what's hiding inside those tiffin boxes.

PETER: No more waiting.

Let me, let me break this out.

JEANINE: And of course it would not be a lime without some rum, so this is Trinidadian rum of course.

SETH: Cheers.

JEANINE: Cheers.

PETER: Cheers.

SETH: Cheers.

PETER: All right, you got some beautiful paratha right there, and here, a curry potato, garbanzos, and then our curried beef.

SETH: And no knife and fork necessary?

PETER: No knife or fork necessary, man.

You know what I mean?

JEANINE: Just put these aside.

PETER: Have some bread, please.

Dig in, enjoy.

SETH: So, yeah.

So it's the beef dish, so I got to start with the beef roti here.

Mm.

PETER: That's my favorite.

SETH: Butter after butter after butter, mixed with that beef that's just falling apart.

PETER: And then I'll go for a little... SETH: Super well-seasoned.

PETER: A little composed bite, maybe.

SETH: Oh, a composed bite.

PETER: Now, you try all of them.

I love how the potato plays off of the beef, just a little bit of beef gravy.

That's one of my favorite bites which, you know, you mix it up and... You know, every curry's a little different.

Then you go with the flow and you make your experience every bite.

You know?

SETH: So if you find that one perfect bite, you just keep chasing it?

If you're seeking, you just keep trying until you get one?

PETER: You keep mixing it up.

It's all good.

There aren't any bad bites, is the upside.

SETH: Yeah, I'll try a little combo bite here, a little potato and beef.

Why not?

Mm.

PETER: Don't be shy.

Lick your fingers.

That's, that's how you clean them off.

There you go.

SETH: It's the mark of a non-Trini, if you're using napkins and forks and knives.

PETER: You're wasting curry, man.

SETH: Yeah.

And Jeanine, what's your favorite bite here?

JEANINE: Well, I really like the combo of the beef, the potatoes, and the chana, but I really like to make sure I include some of the condiments.

Trinidadians are really religious about their condiments.

SETH: Well, Jeanine, Peter, this tiffin box, this beef roti, so, so good.

Thanks for letting me lime with you guys for a little while, and I can't wait to come back.

JEANINE: Anytime, Seth.

SETH: Cheers.

PETER: Thank you.

JEANINE: Thank you.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ WOMAN: To find out more about great food in the Washington metro area, visit WETA.org/signaturedish.