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Asun Party Platter

Also known as Asun Party Platter (Yoruba Owambe Premium)

Owambe Asun is the premium, party-scale version of the beloved Ondo State smoked goat meat dish prepared specifically for Lagos Owambe parties. At the grandest Yoruba celebrations, professional Asun caterers — typically from Ondo State — are hired to prepare enormous quantities of Asun as the premium small-chops item.

Asun Party Platter, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 2 big pieces of skin-on goat meat (legs and shoulder work best), cut into large chunks
  • Lemon juice and salt for cleaning
  • 2 teaspoons of curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon of thyme
  • 2 big onions — 1 for boiling, 1 for sauce
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr)
  • Salt to taste FOR THE PREMIUM OWAMBE PEPPER SAUCE:
  • 6 to 8 Atarodo (very hot chilli peppers), blended
  • 3 big Tatashe (red bell peppers), blended
  • 4 cooking spoons of vegetable oil
  • 3 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 1 teaspoon of ground uziza seeds
  • 3 seasoning cubes, crushed
  • Salt to taste FOR GARNISH:
  • Sliced cucumber, tomato rings, raw onion rings
  • Toothpicks

Method

  1. 01

    Cleaning and Parboiling. Clean the skin-on goat pieces very thoroughly. Season with curry, thyme, seasoning cubes and salt. Parboil in water with onion for 35 minutes until half-cooked. Drain.

  2. 02

    Charring the Skin. Place parboiled goat on a very hot charcoal grill. Grill aggressively for 12 to 15 minutes, turning every 3 minutes, until the skin is deeply charred and blistered all over. This charring is more intense than everyday Asun — the party version should have a dramatic, almost black char on the skin for visual impact and smoky flavour.

  3. 03

    Making the Premium Sauce. Heat 4 cooking spoons of oil over very high heat. Add blended Atarodo and Tatashe. Fry very vigorously for 20 to 25 minutes until extremely dark and concentrated. Add ground crayfish, uziza seeds and remaining seasoning cubes.

  4. 04

    Combining for the Party. Cut the charred goat into party-bite sizes. Add to the premium pepper sauce. Add a splash of the reserved parboiling stock. Cook for 10 minutes until every piece is well-coated in the thick, dark, fiery sauce.

  5. 05

    Party Platter Presentation. Arrange on a large, wide serving platter. Insert a toothpick into each piece. Garnish dramatically with cucumber slices, tomato rings and onion rings around the perimeter. The platter should look abundant, dark and smoking slightly.

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