Oxtail soup
Meat & Poultry Soups & Stews

The Best Oxtail Soup Recipe You’ll Ever Taste!

As we dig deeper into #SoupSeason it occurred to me that I’ve never shared this version of Oxtail Soup with you. For most people outside the Caribbean, the texture and consistency (loaded with root vegetables) of this soup will be more comparable to a stew. However such is the case for most soups from the Caribbean. And yes, it’s one of those dishes you must reserve about four hours of your time to put together.

3 lbs oxtail
1 lemon (juice)
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 large carrots
2 1/2 lbs pumpkin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cloves garlic (smashed)
6-8 sprigs thyme
3 scallions (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup yellow split peas (washed)
8-10 cups hot water
3/4 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper
2 tablespoon coconut cream (or 1 cup coconut milk)
3 large potato
2 large sweet potato
6-8 medium eddoes
10-15 okra
1 tablespoon tomato paste
5-8 cups water
1/3 lb baby spinach
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup water (adjust)

Notes! May I recommend that you follow along with the video below as I discuss much more about the recipe there. You’ll notice I didn’t combine (total) all of the water and olive oil I used as it’s easier for you to follow along with the way I listed the ingredients. The goal is to cook the oxtails low and slow in the soup to get it fork tender. You’ll need a LARGE soup pot and a few friends to enjoy this soup. Or feel free to freeze leftovers.

Wash the cut oxtail pieces (get your butcher to cut it) with the juice of a lemon (lime or 1/2 cup vinegar will work also) and water, then pat dry with paper towels. Place them onto a baking tray and top with 1/2 tablespoon sea salt (use your fav salt, I just happen to only use sea salt in my home), 1 teaspoon black pepper and two tablespoon olive oil. Mix well to coat, then into the oven for one hour at 350 F.

Since I had the oven on, on another baking tray I placed my carrots and pumpkin (large pieces) and drizzled them with a tablespoon olive oil and roasted them as well. I scraped the carrot and peeled the pumpkin. If you cannot source calabaza pumpkin, just about any squash will work.

Once your oxtails are roasted, it’s time to add one tablespoon of olive oil into a large soup pot (I ended up having to switch over to a larger pot), then add the onion, garlic, thyme, scallions and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper on a medium flame. Stir well, turn the heat to medium/low and cook for 3 minutes.

It’s time to add the roasted oxtail pieces to the pot . As explained in the video, I used 1/2 cup of hot water to loosen the bits on the bottom of the roasting tray, which also went into the soup pot.

Raise the heat to medium high and cook for 2 minutes, before adding the tomato paste, 10 cups of water and Yellow Split Peas (washed). As it comes to a boil, toss in the Scotch Bonnet pepper (in the video I explain why you should or avoid breaking the pepper) and the Caribbean Green Seasoning. Reduce the heat to between a rolling boil and simmer and add 3/4 tablespoon salt. The oxtail will take a long time to get tender… this is just the start.

After 1 hour it’s time to add the roasted carrots and pumpkin (chop into smaller pieces as they cool from being in the oven).

Continue on that rolling boil/simmer for another 30-40 minutes. The pumpkin is meant to fall apart and along with the yellow split peas, thicken the soup.

I used eddoes, potato and sweet potato for the body of this oxtail soup, but you can also add dasheen (taro), green cooking banana, green plantain, cassava, yam.. just about anything you want basically. What I would recommend is that you cut the pieces large (as I did) so they don’t totally fall apart during the long cooking process.

This is when you’ll add okra if you’re a fan of it, as well as the coconut cream.

At this point I was forced to switch over to a larger pot as the soup needed a further 8 cups of water, since it was getting too thick for my liking.

One hour after adding the root vegetables, add the baby spinach and flour dumplings to the pot. The flour dumplings were shaped as what we refer to as being spinners.. from a dough made from 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt,1 teaspoon brown sugar and about 1/2 cup of water. Add more water if needed to form a soft dough. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes before pinching off tablespoon size pieces and shape by rolling between your hands to form a sort of small cigar.

Twenty minutes later and you’ll taste and adjust the salt, ensure the oxtail is tender and make sure you have a good amount of broth. Add more water if needed and adjust the seasoning a bit to compensate. Remember to be very gentle in stirring near the end or you’ll disintegrate the eddoes, potato etc.

Serve HOT!

Recipe Card

Difficulty: Advanced Prep Time 30 mins Cook Time 4 hrs Total Time 4 hrs 30 mins
Diet:

Description

This hearty Caribbean oxtail soup combines tender oxtail, a variety of root vegetables, and traditional island spices to create a soul-warming dish perfect for sharing.

Ingredients

Instructions

Video
  1. Wash oxtail pieces with lemon juice and water, then pat dry. Place on a baking tray, season with sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Mix well to coat. Roast in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.

  2. On a separate tray, place large pieces of carrots and pumpkin. Drizzle with olive oil and roast alongside the oxtail. Once done, peel and cut into smaller pieces.

  3. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion, smashed garlic, thyme, scallions, and black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes until fragrant.

  4. Add roasted oxtail to the pot. Use hot water to deglaze the roasting tray, scraping up any browned bits, and add this liquid to the pot.

  5. Stir in tomato paste, 10 cups of hot water, and washed yellow split peas. Bring to a boil. Add Scotch Bonnet Pepper (whole), Caribbean Green Seasoning, and salt. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.

  6. Add the roasted carrots and pumpkin to the pot. Continue to simmer for another 30–40 minutes, allowing the pumpkin to break down and thicken the soup.

  7. Introduce chopped potatoes, sweet potatoes, and eddoes to the soup. Ensure pieces are large to prevent them from disintegrating.

  8. Add okra and coconut cream (or milk) to the pot. If the soup is too thick, add additional water to reach desired consistency.

  9. After the root vegetables have cooked for about an hour, add baby spinach and the prepared dumplings to the pot. 

  10. Cook for an additional 10–15 minutes until dumplings are cooked through.

  11. Ladle the soup into bowls, ensuring each serving has a mix of oxtail, vegetables, and dumplings. Enjoy hot.

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Meat & Poultry

Stewed Oxtail With Butter Beans.

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.

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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.

Meat & Poultry Soups & Stews

A Heavenly Caribbean Oxtail Soup.

making oxtail soup

Oxtail soup is not something I grew up on. Just as the reaction on my daughters face when she asked what I was cooking yesterday, I’m sure I would give my mom the same look if she said it was oxtail on the menu. That look from Kieana got even worse when I confirmed what oxtail really was and I ended up making them a pizza for dinner. Well… more for me I guess! If you like thick, savory soups and don’t mind waiting as it slowly bubbles away under a gentle heat, you’re in for an absolute treat. This recipe is very similar to a salted pigtail soup my uncle would make on a Monday after a weekend of partying (That man never worked a Monday as far as I know, growing up), but his would have dumplings and/or macaroni and green fig (green banana).

You’ll Need….

1 1/2 – 2 lbs oxtail – ask your butcher to cut it into 1-2 inch pieces.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs yam
2 medium sweet potatoes
4 eddoes (about 1 lb)
3 medium potatoes
2 scallions
3 sprigs thyme
4 leaves of shado beni or about 4 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon salt (may need more according to your taste)
2 tablespoon tomato paste (concentrated)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 large onion diced
1 large carrot sliced
1 cup split peas (optional)
about 8 cups of water (see note in cooking directions)
1 hot pepper (I used a habanero – use your fav pepper)
1 pack cock soup (I used Grace brand)
1 teaspoon Golden Ray salted butter (optional, but adds a nice punch at the end)

* Feel free to add any other ground provisions (green fig, dasheen,cassava etc) you may like or have, just be sure to use a pot big enough and you’ll need to add a bit more water in cooking.

* For people outside the Caribbean where ground provisions (yam, sweet potato and eddoes) may be hard to source, feel free to use winter root vegetables instead. Like turnips,parsnips, rutabaga etc.

If anyone is unsure about ground provisions or need help knowing how to shop for them or how to peel etc, leave me a comment in the comment section below and I’ll try my best to help you out.

Let’s get cooking….

Start by getting a large pot, add the oil and heat on medium/high heat. Rinse off the cut pieces of oxtail (my butcher cut the piece a bit smaller than I wanted) since they may have a bit of grit left from the band-saw used in cutting. Dry off with a paper towel and ad to the pot. Brown all sides and remember to stir or risk having the pieces of meat stick to the pan. In the mean time, dice you carrots and onions. As the meat is evenly browned on all sides, move them to the side of the pot and add the tomato paste to the middle of the pan, then stir the browned pieces of oxtail to pick up on the tomato paste. This process will help release the natural sugar from the tomato paste, as well as give the soup a nice rich reddish colour.

ox tail recipe

stewing oxtails

making oxtail recipe

jamaican oxtail soup

Now you can start adding the thyme, black pepper, diced onions and garlic and allow to cook for a couple minutes so they too can release their flavours. Turn the heat down to minimum as you do this step. After 3-4 minutes you can add the sliced carrots to the pot as well. Remember to keep stirring.

soup recipe

trinidad soup recipe

Quickly go through the dried split peas to ensure there’s nothing foreign in there, wash a couple times with water to remove any grit and add to the pot. You can now add the hot pepper, salt, bay leaf, diced scallion and shado beni (chopped fine) to the pot. Then pour in the 8 cups of water and bring to a boil (high heat). I like leaving the hot pepper whole so I can take it out later. As it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and allow this to slowly simmer for about 1.5 – 2 hrs with the pot covered. Basically until the oxtail is tender and the split peas is cooked to the point where it’s breaking apart. This is what’s going to thicken our soup. Open up your windows and give your neighbors the aroma of the excitement that’s happening on your stove. risk them coming over and asking questions though – nosy ones will try to remain for a bowl or 2.

recipe for making oxtail soup

how to cook oxtail

In the meantime we can peel and cut the provisions (potato,yams, sweet potato and eddoes). If you’re doing this in advance, after peeling and cutting, be sure to put it in a deep bowl and cover with cool water to prevent them from going discolored. I like my ground provisions chunky so you’ll notice that I cut them into fairly large pieces. The eddoes I cut into 2 pieces, so too the sweet potato and potato. The yam I try to cut into the same size as everything else, so they all finish cooking at the same time.

ox tail soup

ground provisions for oxtail soup

After the braising process (my oxtail was tender after 2 hrs) it’s time to add the the cock soup and ground provisions. Rinse off the ground provisions (after peeling and cutting) and gently place into the pot. This is why we need a large pot. Make sure all the pieces of provisions is totally covered by liquid (you may need to add more water) so they can cook evenly. During this final cooking process, the more you stir the pot, the more thick the soup will get.As the ground provisions will start to break down and the combination of these pieces and the starch, will thicken the soup.

jamaican cock soup

making trini soup

recipe for oxtail soup

Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer again and allow to cook for about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. When you can pierce the largest piece of ground provision with a knife without any resistance, you know they’re fully cooked. The final 5 minutes is when you’d add the Golden ray butter if you have some. Remember to fish out the hot pepper (I kept mine in as I love the heat) and the sprig from the thyme before serving. People outside the Caribbean will probably consider this a heavy stew for sure, but on the islands this is exactly how we like our soup.

trinidad oxtail soup

jamaican oxtail soup recipe

caribbean oxtail recipe

Serve piping hot and there’s no need for bread or any fancy topping like the soups you get in the restaurants in North America. Word of warning though… you may find yourself falling asleep minutes after devouring a bowl of this oxtail goodness. My brothers and sisters may know this affliction commonly as “ritis”. I was out for a couple hrs. If you’re looking for another tasty oxtail recipe, be sure to check out my stewed oxtail.

Note: You can precook your ground provisions if you’d like and simply add it to the pot after the oxtails are tender, so your cooking time will be reduced. And you can also use a pressure cooker to braise the (first steps before adding the provisions) and really reduce on cooking time.

Be sure to check out the links to the other soup recipes below and don’t forget to connect with us on facebook by clicking on the image below (there’s already over 1800 of us in the Facebook group). BTW, if you’d like a quick recipe for dumplings to add to this soup, leave me a comment below as I know how much my Caribbean people love off on dumplings.

Happy Cooking

Chris….

caribbean pot on facebook