Cameroon – Ajere Meat

by Wirba Brice Divine Ransinyuy

The local cuisine being cooked today is called Ajere meat. The name Ajere meat comes from the Widikum dialect which means in English language the pink meat. This is due to the ingredients that is being used that gives the meat, the pink color. Since the ingredient that is being which is pink in color is being cultivated in the locality of Widikum. The name being given to the ingredient which is no other than a plant is called Ajerebe from which the name of the meat is taken from. The plant is then grind in a powder form. Instead of Arejebe meat, it is simply called Ajere meat. Ajerebe in the widikum dialect means the plant that gives the pink color. Ajere meat comes from the locality of Widikum, under the subdivision of Manchum in the North west side of Cameroon.

Cooking method

The cooking method used in cooking Ajere meat is either steaming or roasting. It depends on each and every one. The process of cooking is the same, it is just the final process that is different, which means, you will choose either steaming or roasting.

Cooking ingredients

The cooking ingredients of Ajere meat are as follow

1. Half kilo of fresh Bush meat, that is antelope meat
2. Ajerebe powder plant
3. Small bamboo wood sticks
4. Small iron sticks to be used for roasting
5. Charcoal for roasting
6. A roasting stand of iron made
7. Salt for mixture and washing the bush meat
8. Maggi to give extra taste to the meat.
9. A handful of leeks

Cooking process

1. Cut the bush into small parts
2. Soak the bush meat in a clean bowl of water.
3. Wash the bush meat with clean water over and over for like six times. On the first and second time, use much salt when washing so as to remove the blood from the meat.
4. When washing from the third time to the sixth time, use clean water so as to rinse the meat thoroughly. Remove both the salt and the remaining blood on it.
5. After this, put back in a clean bowl.
6. After ten minutes of the meat in a clean bowl, go to the next thing.
7. The next thing to do is to boil the meat.
8. The meat shall be half boiled.
9. Put a pot on fire, then pout water into the pot. Depending on the quantity of the meat. Put at least half pot of water, the salt.
10. Throw into the pot the bush meat together with leeks. Make sure to wash the leeks before putting in the pot.
11. Bush meat normally stays longer on fire. On a normal time, it stays for one hour thirty minutes. Since the bush has to be boiled in a half manner, the bush meat shall stay for around thirty minutes on fire, at most forty minutes on fire. It should not stay longer than this period of time.
12. When the bush meat must had stayed for the period of thirty minutes to forty minutes on fire, remove it. It does not have to be fully ready.
13. Dry the meat removing all water from it.
14. Mix the boiled meat with the Ajerebe powder plant together with the salt and the maggi.
15. Mix them together thoroughly for about five minutes.
16. Using the iron sticks, insert into the bush meat, one after the other
17. Light up the charcoal fire
18. Since the bush meat has already been boiled before, it will not take so much time on fire.
19. When done in inserting the iron sticks into the meat, put them on fire, one after the other.
20. When on fire, make sure to turn the side of the meat.
21. Each stick of meat should stay for like three minutes on fire.
22. When done in roasting all, remove them from the iron sticks.
23. Once more, mix them with the Ajerebe powder plant. This time, use a very small quantity of the ajerebe powder plant.
24. After mixing them together, use the small bamboo wood stick to insert the bush meat inside.
25. Do the same for all.

Serve them all on a flat plate.

Enjoy your Ajere meat!