Is there anything more comforting that fork tender oxtails served with a heaping pile of garlic mashed cassava (yams or potato will work also) on a chilly night, when you’re tired from a long day? Yes, there is. Oxtails fork tender stewed in a rich herb and wine sauce! The flavors of this dish will surely impress you, your family and the lucky friends you invite over for dinner. While oxtail is a classic cut of meat to cook in the Caribbean, we rarely ever use wine in our cooking so this may seem a bit strange for my Caribbean people. Nevertheless… a stunning dish.

You’ll Need…

3 lbs oxtails (cut and trimmed)
2 scallions (chopped)
2 tablespoon veg oil
2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon black pepper (divided)
3/4 tablespoon salt (divided)
1 tablespoon tomato puree (concentrate)
2-3 cups beef stock
1 stalk celery (minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 large carrot (sliced)
1 pimento pepper (minced)
1 cayenne pepper
1 cup red wine
4 sprigs thyme
3/4 teaspoon allspice
10-12 pearl onions
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

* lime or lemon for washing the oxtail pieces

Have your butcher cut the oxtails into 1.5 inch pieces as you kitchen knife will struggle to do so. Wash with cool water and the juice of a lime or lemon, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a heavy (oven-proof) pan on a medium heat. Dust the oxtail pieces with the flour, then add a 1/3 of it and brown on all sides. Remove and repeat until all the pieces of oxtails get a little color. The flour will help to develop a nice thick gravy later, along with helping us achieve some color.

Remove all the oxtail pieces from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat down to low (add a bit more oil in the pan if it’s dry) and go in with the celery, scallions, pimento pepper and garlic. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add the tomato puree and stir well. If you can’t find pimento (aka seasoning) pepper, add a bit of diced bell pepper.

Now add the red wine to deglaze the pan and cook out until it’s back to a relatively dry pan. After which you can crank up the heat and add the rest of the ingredients, followed by the beef stock. Bring to a boil.

Cover with foil and place on the middle rack in preheated 375 F oven. Be sure to keep an eye on things, in the event you need to add a bit more beef stock. After 3 hrs and 15 minutes the oxtails should be fork tender and you’ll have a thick and rich gravy. Taste for salt and adjust. Keep in mind that the beef stock you use may have a sodium element to it. Try not to break the cayenne pepper or risk the entire dish becoming peppery.. unless that’s what you want. Do remember to skim off any fat (oxtails are notoriously fatty) and discard (not down your sink).

A classic oxtail stew, rich with flavors of herbs and wine. Watch the video below to see how I made a quick gremolata which not only helps to cut the fattiness of the oxtails, but elevates the dish with a bright fresh finish.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Coconut Curry Oxtails In The Oven (or slow cooker).

December 4, 2015August 7, 201510 Comments

As a new immigrant to Canada, I remember the days when oxtails were just about the cheapest cut of meat you could get at the grocery store / butcher (they were practically giving the stuff away). Along with liver, gizzards, trotters, chicken feet, snouts and other parts of meats which were considered undesirable by the major part of the buying public, we reveled in the prices. In the Caribbean nothing goes to waste, so what most people refused to use, we had already perfected recipes which brought out the natural goodness of these cuts. Today, with oxtails hovering between $8 and $11 a pound, its now become something you buy for a special occasion or when you have a serious craving.. as in this case with me today!

Note: We’ll start this off on the stove top, then finish it slowly in the oven so it’s important that you use an oven-proof pot. You can use the same technique to start it as I did, then finish it in a slow cooker if you wish. You may need to adjust the cooking time (a bit longer)

You”l Need…

2-3 lbs oxtails (trimmed / washed / dry)
2 tablespoon veg oil
4 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped shado beni aka culantro (or cilantro)
3 scallions (chopped)
4 sprigs thyme
3 wiri wiri peppers (1/2 scotch bonnet – no seeds)
1 medium tomato (diced)
3 cups coconut milk
3/4 teaspoon salt

Important: If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs – especially the curry powder which can contain flour as a filler.

Heat the veg oil in an oven-proof pot (with lid) on low heat, then add the crushed garlic and diced onion. Cook on low for about 3-4 minutes. Then go in with your favorite curry powder (I like the Madras blends you get out of the Caribbean). Heat still on low, toast the curry powder to release the aroma of all the spices which make up the curry powder and to cook-off the sort of ‘raw’ curry taste. This will take about 3-5 minutes.

Now add the trimmed (please try to cut off as much of the fat off the oxtail) pieces of oxtails into the pot and stir. The idea is to coat the pieces with the lovely curry base we created.

Basically all you have to do next, is add all the other ingredients, turn the heat up and bring it to a boil If we bring it to a boil, it will start cooking much faster in the oven. Set your oven to 375F.

Place the lid on the pot and on the middle rack in your oven. Now here is where you get to personalize it a few ways. Depending on how old the animal was the tails came from, it will determine how long it will take to cook. On average, to get fall-off-the-bones tender (like I like) it will range between 2 and 3 hours. I lucked out and 2.5 hrs later it was just perfect. Near the end of cooking, taste for salt and adjust accordingly, as your tolerance for salt will be different than mine. And the third way to personalize this depends on how thick you want your gravy. If you find that the meat is tender but your gravy is thin.. remove the lid and crank up the heat a bit or simple place the pot back on the stove top and reduce the liquid that way.

If you want to stretch this dish a bit, you can add some potato and carrots the final hour of cooking.. but I’ll recommend starting off with a bit more curry powder and you’ll need to adjust the salt and cooking liquid (coconut milk) as well.

I finished it off with some fresh chopped herbs (parsley/ cilantro) as I took it out of the oven! Optional, so I didn’t mention it in the list of ingredients.

Tip: Since oxtails can be very fatty and the fact that we started off with veg oil, after about 2 hours of cooking you can skim-off the fat at the surface of the pot and discard (NOT down your sink). The last thing you need is additional grease in your diet. If you find that oxtails are beyond your budget, you can use Turkey necks as I did with this recipe: The Ultimate Curry Turkey Necks Recipe.

Meat & Poultry

Stewed Oxtail With Butter Beans.

March 5, 2012August 11, 2011273 Comments

jamaican oxtail recipe

Oxtail was one of those things which was never cooked in our home while growing up (I don’t ever recall my mom cooking this back then), so it’s not something I learned to cook from the main culinary influences in my life… mom, dad, aunt and grandmothers. But the immigrant life is one in which you tend to associate with people who are similar to you and can relate to your struggles, so my friends were from other Caribbean islands. Partially living in each others homes, saw us not only learn about the food from each island, but we all grew a new appreciation for the diverseness of the Caribbean in general. Though the basic foundation to Caribbean food is the same, the end product and methods of preparation can differ.

This recipe for cooking oxtail with butter beans is one I picked up from a restaurant owner (had to beg d man to share) where I would go get my weekly fill of Caribbean food which I didn’t have to cook. I’m sure he didn’t tell me his secrets, but I did add a few things to give it my personal touch. BTW, did you know that the last Stewed Oxtail recipe I shared a while back is one of the more popular dishes I have on the site? See: Savory oxtail in a rich and thick gravy. Take a look at all the comments below it.

You’ll Need…

2lbs of oxtail (ask your butcher to cut it into 1 inch pieces)
1 tin of butter beans (lima)
5 cups of water
1 onion
2 tomatoes
2 scallion (green onions)
1/2 a scotch bonnet pepper (I used a whole one)
2 carrots
3 cloves of garlic
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 tablespoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

* You’ll need about 3 tablespoons of lime or lemon juice to wash the oxtail pieces with (use vinegar as well).

Place the cut pieces of oxtail in a bowl and pour the lime juice over it, give it a good stir and pour in some water. Wash each piece off, then drain. Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Now in a fairly large pan, heat the vegetable oil on high and brown the pieces of oxtail. Try not to crowd the pan or it will not brown properly and it will release a tons of liquid. I did mine in two batches.

While this was browning (takes about 15 minutes) I prepared the other ingredients (wash, peeled and chopped)

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With the pieces of oxtail all browned, you may need an extra tablespoon of vegetable oil in the pan (not mentioned in the ingredients list above).. add the diced onion and garlic. Let that cook on medium heat for a few minutes. Then add back the pieces of oxtail and top with the herbs and vegetables.

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Give that good stir, then add the salt, black pepper and allspice. Now top with the 5 cups of water (enough water to cover everything) and bring to a boil. When it starts boiling, reduce to as low as you can and have it at a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and let that simmer (braise) for about 2 hrs or until the meat is tender. We’d like to have the meat fall off the bones. Depending on the age of the oxtail it may take a bit longer for you. If you have a pressure cooker, this will save you a ton of cooking time. NOTE: If you’re using dried butter beans, now would be the time to put them in as well, so they too get tender.

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Rinse the can of beans to remove the salty brine-like solution its packed in and add it to the pot. Cover and let cook for another 20 minutes.. until the beans are infused with the flaovours of the stewed oxtails and so that the gravy thickens up a bit. Be gently when handling the beans as they are very tender and can fall apart very easily. NOTE: I cheated a bit and added a 1/4 teaspoon of Caribbean style browning. But this is totally optional.. I wanted a nice caramel colour to my finished dish.

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This is one of those dishes where you must have patience to allow it to slowly cook and do it’s thing.. to get tender. Besides this method or using a pressure cooker, I’m sure you can also add everything to a slow cooker (after you’ve browned the ox tail pieces) and let it cook slowly all day while you relax. This pot was enough to serve about 5 people with a side of rice and peas and a nice fresh green salad.

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— Winner Wanted!—

It’s that time again – we’re giving away the following book (see below) to one lucky person for the month of August. All you have to do is leave me a comment in the comments section below (please say something about this recipe) and your name will be automatically entered to win this fascinating book written by Judi Krogh. If you recall I did a feature on “Easy Cooking In the Caribbean” a few weeks back and with the kindness of Dallison and the Krogh family, we’re able to give out a copy to one lucky winner.

Judi krogh (4)

There are two bonus ways you can have your name entered in the contest, giving you 3 chances at winning. Along with leaving a comment below, go to the Facebook fan page and/or the Youtube cooking channel and leave a comment there. I don’t care what your comment is, but it would be nice if you could tell me what you like about Caribbean food and if the recipes I share are helpful.

Here are the rules pertaining to winning the copy of “Easy Cooking In The Caribbean”…

– contest is open to everyone globally

– there are 3 ways to enter your name (see above)

– 1 winner will be chosen at random (if you left 3 comments, your name will be entered 3 times)

– contest is open from August 11 – to midnight August 31.

– winner will be announced within 1 week of the official close date.

– the winner will have 1 week to contact us with mailing address

– we will cover all shipping expenses (standard mail)

I hope you take a moment to enter your name as I’d really like to mail this book out to you. It’s simple, free and a great way to experiment with some traditional and non-traditional Caribbean dishes in your kitchen. Judi left us a wonderful resource that reflects her lifetime passion for cooking and sharing meals with family and friends.

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Oye! before you go… Remember you can watch the cooking videos on the recipe channel and we’d love to interact with you on our Facebook fan page. There’s a few thousand of us already causing commesse on there… so do check it out.

cooking oxtails

Fork Tender Herb and Wine Braised Oxtails.

Coconut Curry Oxtails In The Oven (or slow cooker).

Stewed Oxtail With Butter Beans.

— Winner Wanted!—

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