Oxtail
When stewed, oxtail becomes incredibly tender and develops a rich, deep flavor, often infused with the spices and vegetables it’s cooked with. Pair with rice and peas, pasta or veggies and this is a sure hit.
Ingredients
Oxtail
- 3-4 pounds oxtail
Powder Seasonings
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 2 tsp maggie all purpose seasoning
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
Liquid Seasonings
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp pickapeppa sauce
- 1 tsp hot pepper sauce
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Ground Seasonings
- 10 pimento seeds (all spice) crushed
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 stalk green onion chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper
Other
- 2 carrots sliced in small circles
- 1 can butter beans I use Grace
Instructions
- Wash your oxtail pieces with your choice of lemon/vinegar and water. Rinse and drain until water becomes more clear than it is reddish in color. Drain the excess water and pat the meat dry.
- Cut off the excess fat (white portions) from the meat as much as you can.
- Season the oxtail with all powder and liquid seasonings. Do not use the ground seasonings as yet. Allow to marinate overnight if possible, if not try for at least 1 hour. It will still taste great if you do not do this but I always like for the seasoning to soak as much as possible. It heightens the flavor!
- On medium level, heat vegetable oil in a deep sauce pan. The pan needs to be deep enough so that once you add water, the oxtail has enough room to get a proper stew.
- Wait until the pot is heated. Test by putting a piece of chopped onion n there. If it sizzles then you're good to go. Make sure the heat is on MEDIUM high, no higher! You don't want to burn the pieces. In the meantime, bring a kettle full of water to a boil.
- Place oxtail pieces into pan, one by one. Fry the pieces evenly on both sides until they brown. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Keep checking, you don't want to blacken the pieces. Do not discard of the seasoning bowl or the remnants left in it. Set it aside for later.
- Add in the ground seasonings to the pot except the scotch bonnet. Allow those to sauté with the browned oxtail pieces.
- Once sautéed, pour about 3 cups of hot water from the kettle into the remaining seasoning left in the bowl. Mix the water and the seasonings with a spoon. Pour into the pot with oxtail, then add in the scotch bonnet pepper.
- Cover with lid and allow to stew/cook down and simmer until the oxtail is tender. This will take about 3 hours. Continuously check if more hot water is needed but do not water down the gravy. Continuously check and taste for flavor.
- Add in the carrots when there is about 1 hr left to cook.
- Pour butter beans from can and rinse them off with water. Add them in when there are approximately 15 minutes left of cooking.
- Serve with white rice, rice and peas, rasta pasta or mixed vegetables.