Jamaican Bully Beef
Canned corned beef cooked down with onion, scallion, thyme, sweet pepper and scotch bonnet, then finished with ketchup into a glossy, savory sauce and served over fluffy white rice. A quick, budget-friendly one-skillet dinner built mostly from pantry ingredients.
Ingredients
For the Rice
For the Bully Beef
Instructions
Chill the Corned Beef
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Place the unopened can of corned beef in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before you begin. Chilling firms up the fat so the beef turns out of the can in solid pieces rather than a soft paste, which makes it much easier to break into chunks later. You can do this well in advance, and leaving it in the fridge overnight is fine.
Cook the Rice
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Rinse the rice in a fine sieve under cold running water for about 30 seconds, until the water running through is clear rather than milky. Tip it into a medium saucepan with the water and salt, bring to a boil over high heat, then cover with a tight lid and reduce to the lowest setting. Cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid, then remove from the heat and leave it covered while you make the beef. The grains will finish steaming on their own and turn light and separate.
Soften the Seasonings
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Heat the oil in a large frying pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, scallion whites, garlic, whole thyme sprigs, scotch bonnet and allspice, then cook gently for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onion should turn soft and translucent and the pan should smell warm and fragrant. You are not looking for browning at this stage, so lower the heat if anything begins to color quickly.
Add the Pepper and Tomato
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Stir in the chopped bell pepper and tomatoes and cook for a further 4 to 5 minutes. The tomatoes will collapse into a soft, jammy layer at the base of the pan while the pepper softens but keeps a slight bite. The mixture will look loose and chunky rather than smooth, which is exactly right.
Break Down the Corned Beef
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Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chilled corned beef in chunks. Break it apart with a wooden spoon, pressing it into the seasonings, then leave it undisturbed for a minute at a time so parts of it catch and brown against the pan. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes in total. Stop while some texture remains, as the beef should stay in soft pieces rather than becoming a paste.
Finish the Sauce
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Stir in the ketchup, water and black pepper, then let the mixture bubble gently for 5 to 6 minutes. It will thicken and turn glossy, clinging to the beef rather than sitting in a pool around it. Lift out and discard the thyme stems, then stir in the vinegar and most of the scallion greens. Do not add salt, as canned corned beef is already well seasoned.
Serve
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Fluff the rested rice with a fork and divide it between four bowls. Spoon the hot bully beef over the top so the sauce runs down into the rice, then scatter over the remaining scallion greens and a few fresh thyme leaves. Serve immediately while everything is hot.
Note
Chilling the can is optional but genuinely helpful. Room-temperature corned beef breaks down into a much softer texture in the pan.
Adjust the heat to taste. Use 1/4 scotch bonnet for a mild version, or leave it out entirely and serve hot pepper sauce at the table.
No additional salt is needed anywhere in the beef mixture. Canned corned beef is high in sodium, which is why the rice is seasoned separately.
If the sauce reduces too far and looks dry, add water a tablespoon at a time until it loosens again.
Store the beef mixture and rice in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Both freeze for up to 2 months, though the bell pepper softens after freezing.
To reheat, warm the beef in a skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon or two of water for about 4 minutes, or microwave covered in 30 second bursts. Reheat rice with a splash of water and a lid to trap the steam.
