Oxtail Stew – Caribbean Style

When I first discovered that oxtail stew is a great favourite in Caribbean cuisine, I confess to being surprised. But then I stopped to ask myself why? After all the Creole kitchen doesn't abound in prime cuts. Think of any area where there is a need to make much from not a great deal. Rome's working class district of Testaccio, for example, where workers were paid in offal, thus creating the great dish that is coda alla vaccinara (literally, slaughterhouse tail). Or the little cafes outside the bullrings of Spain producing steaming pans of rabo de toro.

For all that, Caribbean natives will often associate this with special occasions. Firstly, cattle aren't all that common in the islands. Secondly, if you've ever made it, you'll know the labour involved. Mama certainly has to be in a good mood to undertake this.

I've searched around for recipes. Many, sensibly, involve a pressure cooker. I rejected these as I neither possess nor know how to use one.  I also found a few which called for gravy browning. That's another no from me. No surprise to find a marinade, nor to discover a Scotch bonnet lurking in there. Traditionally butter beans are added to make this go further, alongside the usual suspects of white rice or rice and peas. In Jamaica they will often cook little sausage shaped dumplings, known as spinners, on the top of the pan.

A word of warning. I've never cooked this version. While marinating is bound to impact on the cooking times, those given in the recipe seem suspiciously short to me*. Make sure you check before serving. You'll never do oxtail any harm by cooking it for longer, provided you don't allow it to dry out.

Ingredients

For the marinade

½ medium onion, roughly chopped; 3 spring onions, root ends removed, cut into 2-inch segments; 4 medium cloves garlic; ½ Scotch bonnet pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped; 1.4 kg oxtail; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 2 teaspoons sea salt; about 10 twists of black pepper; 1 tbsp picked fresh thyme leaves, or ½ tsp dried thyme.

For the stew

2 tbsp vegetable oil  (you may well need more); ½ medium onion, cut into chunks; 1 spring onion, root end removed, roughly chopped; 4 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped; 10 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried; 1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 2 cans butter beans or broad beans, drained; s & p.

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Avoid the little pieces from the end of the tail. These are good only for soup,

Remove all excess fat from the meat and rub all over with salt, pepper, soy sauce and thyme. To make the marinade, blitz the onion, spring onion, garlic and chilli in a blender with 120ml water. Put the meat in a bowl and rub the marinade in well. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. If you can remember, stir once or twice.

Remove the meat and scrape off the marinade, reserving until later. In batches, brown the pieces of meat on all sides in the vegetable oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, and not to let it go black. You'll probably need to top the oil up. Put the meat to one side.

Deglaze the pan with some water, then return the meat to the pan. Add the onion, spring onion, garlic, soy sauce and thyme to the pan with some salt and pepper. Add enough water to cover, and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 40 minutes.

Add the reserved marinade and mix in well. Cook gently, uncovered, until the meat is tender. It should be starting to fall away from the bones. (*The recipe says about 2 hours, but see my note above.)

Stir in the butter beans and simmer until the stew is thickened - about another half hour. If using fresh thyme, remove the stalks before serving.

I'm not sure this will tempt me way from my own tried and tested oxtail recipe. I see that featured in this column nearly ten years ago.