Jamaican Oxtail Stew
At a Kingston Sunday table, a heavy pot of oxtail settles into the center while thyme, allspice, and Scotch bonnet perfume the room. Jamaican cooks build this stew patiently: the meat is browned…
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef oxtail pieces
- 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper combined kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 large onion, 6 garlic cloves, and 4 scallions combined yellow onion, garlic, and scallions, finely chopped
- 6 thyme sprigs and 1 tsp allspice combined fresh thyme sprigs and ground allspice
- 2 tbsp browning sauce
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 count whole Scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 15 oz can canned butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup water, as needed
Instructions
- Set a large, heavy Dutch oven or 6-quart oven-safe pot beside your work area. Pat the oxtail completely dry with paper towels, trimming away only thick, dangling pieces of exterior fat; leave the marbled fat and connective tissue, which will become the stew's body. Chop the onion, garlic, and scallions, strip the thyme leaves from two sprigs while leaving the remaining sprigs whole, and rinse the butter beans. Dry meat will brown; damp meat will steam.
- Season the oxtail on all sides with the 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper, pressing the seasoning into the meat. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes while the pot heats; this takes the refrigerator chill off the surface and helps the first batch sear evenly.
- Place the Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil shimmers and a piece of meat sizzles immediately on contact, arrange the oxtail in one uncrowded layer. Brown for 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning with tongs, until the surfaces are a deep mahogany brown rather than merely gray. Work in two or three batches, transferring each browned piece to a plate; lower the heat slightly if the fond begins to smell acrid instead of toasted.
- Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot, keeping the browned bits attached to the bottom. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, garlic, and scallions, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring and scraping gently, until the onion softens and turns translucent and the garlic smells sweet rather than raw. If the vegetables catch, add 1 tablespoon of water and loosen the fond instead of letting it scorch.
- Stir in the ground allspice, the picked thyme leaves, and the 2 tablespoons browning sauce. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the spices smell warm and the browning sauce darkens the vegetables to a rich brown. This brief frying step blooms the spice and distributes the sauce before liquid is added.
- Return the browned oxtail and any juices on the plate to the pot. Pour in the 4 cups beef stock, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon until the fond dissolves, then add the three whole thyme sprigs and the whole Scotch bonnet. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the meat; add up to 1 cup water if needed, but do not fully submerge the oxtail.
- Bring the pot to a full simmer over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to low so only a few lazy bubbles rise around the edges. Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, turning the pieces every 45 minutes. Keep the liquid at a gentle burble, not a hard boil; the meat is ready for the next stage when a fork meets little resistance and the tendons look soft and glossy.
- After 2 1/2 hours, inspect the liquid and skim off any fat pooling on the surface with a wide spoon. If the gravy is thin, continue simmering uncovered for 15 to 25 minutes; if the pot looks dry before the meat is tender, add hot water 1/4 cup at a time. Taste the gravy for salt only after it has reduced, since the stock and browning sauce may already be seasoned.
- When the oxtail is tender, stir in the drained butter beans and keep the Scotch bonnet whole for a gentle pepper aroma, or pierce it once with a knife for more heat. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 15 minutes, folding carefully so the beans remain mostly intact. The finished gravy should coat a spoon, the beans should be hot through, and the meat should nearly loosen from the bones.
- Remove the thyme stems and Scotch bonnet, then turn off the heat and let the stew rest uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes. Resting lets the collagen-thickened gravy settle and allows excess surface fat to be lifted more easily if desired. Serve each portion with oxtail, butter beans, and plenty of gravy over steamed rice or rice and peas; warn diners that the bones retain heat, and offer the Scotch bonnet separately for anyone who wants extra fire.
Watch the Jamaican Oxtail Stew cooking video
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