Jamaican Oxtail Recipe

Published in

The Lemonade Stand

4 min readAug 2, 2017

In continuation of our celebration of Jamaica’s 55th year of Independence, I am bringing you one of my absolute favorite dishes from my culture.

I was raised Rastafarian with a pretty strict vegetarian (we did eat fish) diet up until I turned 19 and started introducing meat into my diet. Fast forward to almost 10 years later and I’m definitely trying to get back to that pescatarian lifestyle. However, there is one dish that I don’t think could every really give up now that I have been blessed by its deliciousness. Oxtail and rice and peas is definitely a Jamaican staple. I can’t explain to you why it’s so delicious, I just know that it is and I am here to share my recipe so that you too can bless your taste buds.

Makes enough for 4–6 people or just you if you don’t want to share :)

The Shopping List
3–4 pounds of oxtail, fat trimmed

1 bunch of green onions

1 medium sweet/Spanish onion

1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)

Whole allspice berries

Thyme

Fresh ginger

Fresh garlic

All-purpose seasoning

Red chili flakes

Salt

Pepper

Soy sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Ketchup

Flour

Coconut milk rice & peas recipe (below)

Let’s Get Cooking!

I’m sure you’ve noticed that I don’t have measurements for the ingredients. That’s because this dish requires an abundance of flavor and seasoning but you’re more than welcome to tweak it to your tastes.

Make sure that you have as little fat as possible on the oxtail. Rinse, drain and then pat dry. Put aside.

Halve and then chop onions (green ones too!) Peel and chop ginger and garlic.

Heavily season with all-purpose seasoning, chili flakes, salt & pepper. (Don’t overdo the salt if your all-purpose already has tons of sodium) Massage into meat. Add chopped veggies, a few sprigs of thyme, 2 tablespoons each of soy and Worcestershire sauces and massage a little more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (I suggest overnight)

Add 4 tablespoons of brown sugar to a thick bottomed pot, a traditional Jamaican “dutchie” or enameled cast iron casserole pot will work fine. You want the sugar to burn. It shouldn’t become hard though so keep an eye on it. Once the sugar is as dark as possible, begin to add oxtail to the pan in batches. Try not to add the onions. Those come in later.

Brown meat and coat in burned brown sugar. Once all meat is browned, add half the onions to the pot and stir.

Here’s the deal with the next step, reduce to low heat and let it simmer, adding water whenever necessary. The more water you add, the more soupy the meal becomes. If you are looking to have the meat shine through the sauce don’t fully submerge the meat in water. Add in 1/4–1/2 cup increments. Cover with a lid. After 1 hour of simmering, add remainder of onions. Cook for another 1–3 hours depending on how tender you like it. 3 hours normally works for me.

15 minutes before you plan on taking it off, drain and add a can on lima (butter) beans. This step is optional but very traditional and equally delicious.

Serve over rice and peas with salad or avocado.