Plate 03 of 10

Oxtail Stew with Broad Beans

Name: Oxtail Stew with Broad Beans
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Jamaica
Ingredients: 1.8 kg Beef oxtail, cut into 4 cm rounds; 60 ml Fresh lime juice or cane vinegar; 30 ml Jamaican browning sauce; 30 ml Dark soy sauce; 30 ml Worcestershire sauce; 20 g Dark brown sugar; 15 g Coarse sea salt; 5 g Coarsely ground black pepper; 10 g Whole pimento (allspice) berries, coarsely crushed; 6 stalks Scallions, roughly chopped; 6 cloves Garlic, finely minced; 40 g Fresh ginger, grated; 6 sprigs Fresh thyme, tied with twine; 1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper, left whole with the stem on; 45 ml Beef tallow or neutral oil, for searing; 1 large Yellow onion, cut into 1 cm dice; 2 medium Carrots, sliced into 1.5 cm coins; 1 L Beef bone broth or water; 400 g Butter beans (broad or lima beans), drained and rinsed gently; 15 g Cornflour dissolved in 30 ml cold water

Sunday oxtail. Thick rounds marinated in browning, soy, pimento and thyme, seared to a dark crust, then braised for three hours until the meat slips off the bone, with butter beans added at the end to soak up the glossy gravy.

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 3 hr
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Hard

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

Tender oxtail rounds in a deep mahogany gravy with cream-coloured butter beans and carrot coins, served over white rice in a wide bowl.

No Sunday dinner in Jamaica is complete without a heavy pot of oxtail bubbling on the stove. Once a scrap cut, the tail is packed with marrow and connective tissue. It is cut into thick discs, trimmed, and rubbed with scallion, garlic, thyme, Scotch bonnet, allspice, soy and browning, the near-black caramelised cane sugar that colours the whole dish.

After a hard sear to set a dark crust, the meat simmers low for three hours. Butter beans go in for the last half hour to soak up the glossy gravy, and the finished meat slips off the round bone at the touch of a spoon.

Ingredients

Oxtail and marinade
1.8 kgBeef oxtail, cut into 4 cm roundsthick outer fat caps trimmed
60 mlFresh lime juice or cane vinegarfor washing the meat
30 mlJamaican browning sauce
30 mlDark soy sauce
30 mlWorcestershire sauce
20 gDark brown sugar
15 gCoarse sea salt
5 gCoarsely ground black pepper
10 gWhole pimento (allspice) berries, coarsely crushed
6 stalksScallions, roughly chopped
6 clovesGarlic, finely minced
40 gFresh ginger, grated
6 sprigsFresh thyme, tied with twine
Braise
1 wholeScotch bonnet pepper, left whole with the stem on
45 mlBeef tallow or neutral oil, for searing
1 largeYellow onion, cut into 1 cm dice
2 mediumCarrots, sliced into 1.5 cm coins
1 LBeef bone broth or water
400 gButter beans (broad or lima beans), drained and rinsed gently
15 gCornflour dissolved in 30 ml cold wateroptional, to finish the gravy

Why three hours

Oxtail carries more collagen than any other beef cut, dense cross-linked fibres around the tail vertebrae that will not soften quickly. Held between 88 and 93 °C for about three hours, that collagen hydrolyses into gelatin and dissolves into the braise. That is the body of the gravy.

What browning does

Browning is cane sugar cooked past caramel until it is nearly black. Its pyrolysed sucrose gives the stew a bittersweet roasted undertone and its mahogany colour. It is a colour and flavour catalyst, not a sweetener.

The whole pepper

Floated intact, the Scotch bonnet's surface oils perfume the steam without releasing capsaicin into the liquid. Pierce it and the whole pot turns punishingly hot.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt is sea salt, soy and Worcestershire reaching the marrow. Fat is melted marrow and tail tallow in a lip-coating gravy. Acid is the Worcestershire against the beef and caramel. Heat is crushed pimento, ginger, black pepper and the pepper's aroma. Umami is collagen, browned fond, reduced stock and the beans.

Equipment

6 to 7-quart enamelled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight lid
Tongs
Wide spoon, for skimming

A heavy enamelled Dutch oven gives even radiant heat from all sides, which keeps the sugary browning from scorching on the pot floor during a long simmer. The traditional pot is a cast-aluminium Dutchie on a low flame.

Method

Clean and marinate the oxtail4 to 12 hr
Wash the oxtail in cold water with the lime juice. Drain and pat dry. In a large bowl, toss the pieces with browning, soy, Worcestershire, brown sugar, salt, pepper, crushed pimento, scallions, garlic, ginger and the thyme bundle. Massage it in, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Wash oxtail with cold water and lime, drain and dry. Massage with browning, soy, Worcestershire, sugar, salt, pepper, crushed pimento, scallions, garlic, ginger and tied thyme. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Sear to deep mahogany20 min
Scrape the aromatics off the meat and keep them in the bowl; loose garlic burns in hot oil. Heat the tallow in the Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Sear the oxtail in batches without crowding, 4 to 5 minutes a side, until each piece has a dark caramelised crust. Set aside.
Scrape off and reserve aromatics to prevent scorching. Heat tallow over medium-high until shimmering; sear oxtail in uncrowded batches 4–5 minutes per side until dark and caramelised. Set aside.
Sweat the vegetables and deglaze6 min
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots and the reserved marinade aromatics and cook 5 minutes, stirring. Pour in 1 litre hot stock and scrape up every bit of fond from the bottom.
Reduce to medium. Cook onion, carrots and reserved marinade aromatics 5 minutes, stirring. Pour in 1 L hot stock and scrape all browned bits from the bottom.
The long, low braise2 hr 30 min
Return the oxtail and its juices to the pot. Tuck in the thyme. Set the whole Scotch bonnet gently on top of the liquid without piercing it. Bring to a gentle boil, drop to low, and cover tightly.
Simmer at a lazy sub-boil, about 90 °C, for 2 hours 30 minutes, checking every 45 minutes that liquid still covers half the meat. Top up with water if it reduces too fast.
Return oxtail, juices and thyme; float intact Scotch bonnet on top. Bring to a gentle boil, lower heat and cover tightly. Simmer about 90 °C for 2½ hours; check every 45 minutes and add water to keep liquid halfway up the meat.
Add the beans and finish the gravy30 min
Lift out the Scotch bonnet and the thyme bundle without popping the pepper. Stir in the butter beans gently. Simmer uncovered 25 to 30 minutes so the beans take on the gravy and the meat is fork-tender, 93 to 96 °C at the core.
For a thicker gravy, stir in the cornflour slurry and simmer 2 minutes until glossy.
Remove pepper without bursting it and discard thyme. Gently add butter beans; simmer uncovered 25–30 minutes until beef is fork-tender at 93–96 °C. If desired, add 15 g cornflour mixed with 30 ml cold water; simmer 2 minutes until glossy.
Skim and rest15 min
Take the pot off the heat and rest 15 minutes. Skim the clear rendered fat that rises with a wide spoon. Ladle over warm rice.
Remove from heat and rest 15 minutes. Skim the clear rendered fat from the surface with a wide spoon, then ladle over warm rice.
07
Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: a glossy mahogany gravy over oxtail that pulls cleanly from the bone, with the butter beans still whole.
- Auditory: a low, heavy, rhythmic bubble under a tight lid.
- Olfactory: roasted marrow, sweet browning, crushed allspice, thyme and ginger.
Look for glossy mahogany gravy, oxtail releasing cleanly from the bone and beans remaining whole. The covered pot should bubble slowly, with marrow, allspice, thyme and ginger aromas.

Storing it

Oxtail improves overnight. Cool, refrigerate up to 3 days, and lift off the solidified fat before reheating gently. Add the beans on the day of serving if making ahead, so they stay whole.

Troubleshooting

The whole pot is painfully hot.: The Scotch bonnet was pierced. Float it whole and lift it out intact before serving.
Rubbery, tough meat.: It was boiled hard or pulled early. Oxtail needs a slow, gentle simmer for a full three hours for the collagen to give up.
Greasy stew.: The thick outer fat caps were left on. Trim them before marinating, and skim the gravy before serving.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Beef oxtail	Beef shank (osso buco) or bone-in short ribs	One-to-one. Shank has the same marrow bones and heavy collagen
Butter beans	Canned cannellini or large white lima beans	One-to-one. Rinse and drain before adding
Jamaican browning	1 Tbsp dark molasses plus 1 Tbsp dark soy	One-to-one. Supplies the bittersweet caramel note and the colour

Scaling

Half, for 3

Halve everything in a 4 to 5-quart Dutch oven. Braise time stays at 2½ to 3 hours; collagen breakdown depends on temperature and thickness, not quantity.

Double, for 12

Double the ingredients in an 11 to 12-quart stockpot or two Dutch ovens, and sear in more batches so the meat browns rather than steams.

What to serve it with

Rice and peas, the classic bed for the gravy
Fried ripe plantains
Steamed cabbage and carrots with thyme and butter
Sorrel brewed with ginger, or a cold Kola Champagne

Questions

What is browning, and can I make it?

Caramelised sugar syrup cooked past caramel until dark and bittersweet. Melt 50 g dark brown sugar with 1 tsp oil over medium heat until it smokes and bubbles black, then carefully whisk in 30 ml boiling water off the heat.

Can I use a pressure cooker?

Yes. Sear in the pot, add the aromatics and 600 ml stock, and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Quick-release, add the beans, and simmer on sauté 15 minutes to reduce the gravy.

Why do the beans go in at the end?

Butter beans are soft. Three hours would turn them to mush. The last 30 minutes heats them through and lets them absorb gravy while staying whole.