Jamaican Oxtail Stew with Butter Beans (Slow Cooker)

If you are looking for a Jamaican meal that is meaty and flavoursome with a difference, this meaty Jamaican cuisine will hit the spot!

Oxtail has so much depth it, trust me, this gelatin enriched meat was made for being braised for several hours.

What is Jamaican oxtail stew with butter beans?

In short it is a very popular Jamaican stew that's primarily made from oxtail.

The oxtail is seasoned with herbs and aromatics such as browning sauce, thyme, onion, garlic, scallion, beef/all purpose seasoning, pimento etc...

Some people add additional seasoning such as soy(a) sauce, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, green seasoning garlic powder, black pepper and salt but this is down to each individual and then it is left to infuse in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

The next day the oxtail is browned, brown oxtail pieces are important for depth in flavour and colour, oxtail has a signature dark almost black hue which is courtesy of the browning sauce.

The other ingredients such as the carrot, tomato sauce, butter beans, stock/water is added and the oxtail is left to simmer way until it falls off the bone.

A cornstarch slurry (can use another starch) is stirred into the pot which helps to for that infmaous rich gravy.

In case you are not aware, Jamaicans love their oxtail with butter beans (that's lima beans to some).

If you have ever been to a Jamaican restaurant, cook out or takeaway, I guarantee that some oxtail will be on the agenda.

My family literally has a war among each other in respect to who makes the best oxtail. To be honest with you, I don't know who makes it the best because they all make their recipe taste so darn amazing.

Hopefully, I will do my family proud with this braised oxtail recipe.

If you like this recipe then you may like my vegan version of Vegan Oxtail or this Curried Butter Beans, another popular Caribbean recipe.

What is oxtail?

In short, oxtail is the meat from the tail end of cattle, usually cow. In appearance it is relatively bony, however when it is slow cooked its quite gelatinous and packed with lots of flavour.

There was a time when oxtail was considered a poor mans food because of it being so bony with a high-fat content and lengthy cooking time.

Nowadays, things have changed. Due to the public demand, butchers quickly caught onto how sought after oxtail was, which resulted in a price increase.

In my neck of the woods, oxtail is very expensive, so I usually purchase it on special occasions.

You can use a number of different cooking methods to achieve the height of the flavour - stewing, pressure cooking, braising and my favourite slow cooking.

How to clean oxtails

As per Caribbean tradition, meat is washed prior to cooking it. I know not every culture believes in washing meat, but that's how I have learnt to prepare meat.

Clean the oxtails is an effective way to get rid of any debris and other impurities which are commonly associated with this type of meat.

To clean oxtails properly, you will need:

• Large Bowl
• 2 Limes or Lemons
• Vinegar
• Water

 

• First, you need to trim as much of the fat that you can from the oxtail. Keep in mind that it can be tricky to remove the fat from the meat, so do not worry if you cannot remove all of the fatty parts.
• Second, place the oxtail in a large bowl and cut the lime/lemon in halves, then squeeze the juice all over the meat along with the vinegar.
• Use your hands (you can wear gloves) to rub the juice into the meat to get rid of any slime or excess blood.
• Finally, rinse the meat off in water and blot dry with paper towels.

Here are a few tips when going through each step:

Marinating the Meat - After washing the oxtail, I grab the ingredients I need to create my marinade - onion, scallion, garlic, browning, allspice, beef seasoning etc.... and use both my hands to really work the seasoning into the meat.

The meat should be left to marinate overnight for best results or at least a few hours if you are pressed for time.

One of the key ingredients for darkening the meat is browning sauce.

My homemade browning sauce is made from caramelized sugar and water. It's a very important ingredient in Caribbean cooking for darkening meat.

I've used it for many recipes including my Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken and Stew Beef Recipe.

Butter Beans - Since this is a slow cooker recipe, you can use dried or canned butter beans. I rotate between either, depending on what I have to hand at the time.

If you are using canned beans, since this is a slow cooker recipe, you may want to add them 45-30 minutes before the cooking time is over, this is simply to prevent the beans from breaking down too much.

Searing the Meat - The meat needs to be browned prior to the start of the slow cooking process. Simply scrape off the excess vegetables that was used to form the marinade and sear both sides of the meat.

The browning of the meat will take approximately 10-15 minutes then add your vegetables to the same skillet/dutch oven so they soften.

Get your crockpot ready and transfer the contents from the skillet and the butter beans to your crockpot. Then, stir in the tomato paste, thyme and beef stock. If you don't have beef stock to hand that's fine, water will suffice.

Cooking Time - I normally cook my good old fashioned oxtail stew for 4 hours on HIGH mode. If you want to extend the time to 6 hours, then simply set your crockpot to a LOW setting for 6 hours instead.

The slurry is what thickens the stew, it's not crucial but recommended if you want a thicker stew.

Stovetop method

• Wash the oxtail as instructed (see above).
• Place the oxtail in a large bowl.
• Add the beef seasoning, paprika, onion/garlic granules, black pepper, soy(a) sauce, browning, onion, scallion and garlic.
• Use your hands to rub the marinade into the meat.
• Wrap the bowl with cling film/saran wrap, refrigerate overnight or for at least 3 hours.
• Add olive oil to a large skillet/frying pan on medium heat, scrape off the onion, scallion and garlic and brown the oxtail alone. This should take roughly 10-15 minutes.
• Add the onion, scallion and garlic from the bowl to the skillet/dutch oven and saute until soft.
• Now, stir in the tomato paste, carrot, thyme and dried butter beans (if you are using them).
• Pour 4 cups beef stock/water in the dutch oven/skillet. Start with 4 cups and add more water, if needed, during cooking time.
• Reduce the pot to low heat, cover with lid and cook for up to 4 hours. (If you are using canned beans, add them 45-30 minutes before finishing.)
• For a thicker stew, mix the starch/water together and stir in the slurry 45-30 minutes before finishing (this is optional).
• Do a taste test and add black pepper and pink salt, if needed.

The steps (slow cooker method)

• Place the oxtail in a large bowl.
• Add the beef seasoning, paprika, onion/garlic granules, black pepper, soy(a) sauce, browning, onion, scallion and garlic.

• Use your hands to rub the marinade into the meat.
• Wrap the bowl with cling film/saran wrap, refrigerate overnight or for at least 3 hours.

• Add olive oil to a large skillet/frying pan on medium heat, scrape off the onion, scallion and garlic and brown the oxtail alone. This should take roughly 10-15 minutes.
• Add the onion, scallion and garlic from the bowl to the skillet/dutch oven and saute until soft.

• Transfer the oxtail into your slow cooker
• Add the pimento berries, thyme, tomato paste and dried butter beans (if you are using them) and stir.

• Pour 4 cups beef stock/water in the dutch oven/skillet.
• Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours (If using canned beans, add them 45-30 minutes before finishing.)

• For a thicker stew, mix the starch/water together and stir in the slurry 45-30 minutes before finishing (this is optional).
• Do a taste test and add black pepper and pink salt, if needed.

• Use the slow cooker method if this is your first time working with oxtail. It's easier to manage and the oxtail's connective tissue breaks down to a fall-off-the-bone texture.
• Don't forgot to try the sister version of this recipe which is Brown Stew Turkey Neck.
• Pimento berries are allspice. If you only have the ground allspice on hand, you can swap 1 teaspoon of it for the pimento seeds.
• Only use 3 tablespoon of Browning Sauce if using my homemade version. If you are using the store brought kind, use 1 teaspoon as it is far more bitter and concentrated.
• Beef stock yields more flavour, but water can be used.
• Butter beans are as known as lima beans. If you don't have dried, substitute one can of butter beans and add them 45-30 minutes prior to finishing.
• Make sure the beans are soaked if you are using dried ones for several hours or overnight and discard the water before adding them to the slow cooker. You only need to par boil red kidney beans other beans are fine to soak and then use.
• Omit the butter beans if you want the recipe to be keto or paleo-friendly.
• A wonderful freezer-friendly meal! Transfer to a freezer-safe container, label, date and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stovetop when ready to eat!

Serving suggestions

• Jamaican steamed cabbage
• Ochro Rice 
• Roasted Cauliflower Mash
  
• Oven Baked Plantain 
• Haitian Pikliz
• Cassava Dumpling
• Instant Pot Rice and Peas
• Roast breadfruit 
• Brown Rice