Jamaican Oxtail Stew is out-of-this-world delicious oxtails braised with butter beans in a flavorful deep gravy spiced up with allspice, thyme, curry, Scotch bonnet pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and browning sauce. It’s fall-off-the-bone tender and a must-have on your fall and winter rotation!
If there is one Jamaican dish that is all-out famous and a favorite of many, this Jamaican Oxtail Stew with butter beans surely bags the top spot. Most people, including myself, truly love this exquisite dish. In fact, it has gotten me in trouble plenty of times.
I used to work not too far from a Jamaican restaurant and would order it 3-4 times a week. Let’s just say that ordering it that often wasn’t good for my wallet or my waistline. But I can certainly tell you my belly was purring with pure joy!
Contents…Recipe Ingredients |
What is an Oxtail?
I know in the U.S., oxtails don’t get as much love as other cuts of meat, but they should. So you go ahead and put it on your food bucket list and try it at least once. Furthermore, it’s so finger-licking good you’re going to want to nibble the bone and beat yourself up for not trying it sooner.
Getting to the nitty-gritty—oxtails are skinned cows’ tails.
The butcher usually cuts them into sections for easier handling. And oxtail is good for you because it has lots of marrow and collagen, making it great for soups, stocks, and braises.
At one point, oxtail was a staple for underprivileged families due to its high-fat content, longer cooking time, and low price. But as the years passed, it turned into a gourmet dish, and prices skyrocketed, so I usually stock up on them if they’re on sale.
What Goes in Jamaican Oxtail Stew
Just two words sum up this oxtail recipe – soul-satisfying! It has become an indisputable favorite for many of my readers and me. In fact, it is one of the most raved recipes here on the blog.
If you’re still on the fence, please take the time to read the lovely reviews below, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
For this incredibly delicious and easy Jamaican Oxtail Stew, you’ll need the following below:
- Oxtails – If the star of this show isn’t in your local supermarket (try asking someone in the meat department), check out an ethnic market or your local butcher at a specialty meat shop. Beef neck bones or shank is the next best option. I’ve also tweaked this recipe a bit by seasoning first the oxtail meat with bouillon powder, garlic, green onions, thyme, salt, and pepper before browning them.
- Seasonings – Onion, garlic, thyme, curry, beeef bouillon, ketchup or tomato paste, Scotch bonnet pepper or habanero, allspice (pimento seeds), Worcestershire sauce, and homemade curry powder all contribute to a super delicious flavor explosion. Feel free to adjust these beauties to your taste. You can even leave out the hot ones for a kid-friendly version.
- Butter Beans – Also called lima beans, they’re soft and melt-in-your-mouth for a soul-satisfying crowd-pleaser. You can swap them out with any large white beans, like cannellini or Great Northern beans.
- Browning Sauce – This ingredient is a color-enhancer and totally optional. It’s basically browned sugar, so it balances any tartness leftover from the tomato paste and adds the gorgeous chocolate brown color. Leave it out if you’re avoiding sugar.
How to Make Jamaican Oxtail Stew
- Rub the oxtail with salt, pepper, minced garlic, thyme, bouillon powder, and green onions. Tightly cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, remove from the fridge and shake off any visible onions or herbs from the oxtail meat. Set aside. (See notes 1) (Photos 1-3)
- Brown the meat. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until hot, and then saute the oxtail, frequently stirring while scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot until the oxtail pieces are browned. If desired, drain the oil, leaving 2-3 tablespoons. (Photo 4)
- Seasonings – Add onions, garlic, thyme, pimento seeds, or allspice, then stir for about a minute. Throw in the browned oxtails, followed by Worcestershire sauce, browning sauce, tomato paste, bouillon powder, curry powder, green onions, and stir for another minute. (Photos 5-8)
- Pour in Water – Then add about 4-6 cups of water; it’s best to start with 4 cups, then add as needed. (Photo 9)
- Cook it Low and Slow – Bring to a boil and simmer until tender (depending on the oxtail size) for about 2-3 hours (4-5 hours at high altitude), occasionally stirring, so it doesn’t stick to the pan. (Photo 10)
- Add the Beans – About 20-30 minutes before removing it from the heat, add the broad beans and scotch bonnet pepper. Adjust the thickness of soup with water or stock. (Photo 11)
- Final Touch – Simmer 2-30 minutes, and adjust salt to taste. (Photo 12)
Recipe Variations
More Veggies Please – Want some extra veggies in this braised oxtail? Feel free! Here are what some of our readers here have added:
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Corn
- Mushrooms
- Mustard green (added at the last 20 minutes of cooking)
- Stewed tomatoes (at the end together with broad bean
Jamaican Chicken Stew – If you want to replace the beef with chicken, reduce the cooking time to half an hour, then add the broad beans and cook for another half hour.
Tips and Tricks
- I like these guys with something to bite into and love nibbling the bones – a cultural thing. However, you can ask the butcher to cut them into medium pieces, let the stew cool, and then remove the meat from the bones. Save the bones for bone broth and put the boneless beef back in the pot, reheat, and serve.
- Asking the butcher to cut them into smaller pieces reduces cooking time. Just make sure you pick out the ones with less visible fat.
- Oxtail needs low heat and lots of time to get tender. Cook them on a llloooww simmer, and if they still seem a little tough after three hours, just give them more time. The meat should be practically falling off the bone.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Stews are great for making ahead. After the stew is done, let it cool, then keep it in the fridge for a day or two. Or you can freeze stew for up to three months.
Serving and Storage
Serve – This Jamaican oxtail stew is oh so good, steaming hot in a big bowl over rice or mashed potatoes.
Store leftovers for three or four days in an airtight container in the fridge or three months in the freezer.
Reheat – Thaw the oxtail stew overnight in the fridge if frozen, then reheat in a saucepan on low until heated through.
FAQs
Yes, you can! Simply follow the instructions as described in the recipe box. Then reduce the water to about 2-3 cups and add to the slow cooker. Slow cook for about 5 hours or more, depending on the oxtail size and preference, until tender.
Oxtails are great for braising and require a long cooking time — usually about 2-3 hours (4-5 hours at high altitude). Slow cooking breaks down the connective tissue, rendering it fall-off-the-bone tender and fabulicious.
Although I haven’t personally tried making this recipe in a pressure cooker, our beautiful readers took their time to leave some instructions on cooking oxtail stew in a pressure cooker.
1. Start with the “Saute” setting for the first three steps in the recipe box and carefully brown the oxtail pieces on both sides – about 2-3 minutes per side.
2. Remove the oxtail and saute the onions, green onions, garlic, thyme, allspice, Worcestershire, and smoked paprika, stirring for about a minute.
3. Next, throw in the Scotch bonnet pepper, tomato paste, bouillon, and curry powder, stir for another minute.
4. Return the browned oxtails and deglaze your pressure cooker with water or stock and switch to pressure cook for 40-45 minutes, depending on the size of the oxtails. Lastly, add the beans and continue simmering them for about 5-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the butter beans are warmed.
What to Serve with Jamaican Oxtail Stew
This stew is the perfect entree for the following sides.
- Caribbean Rice and Beans
- Coconut Rice
- Cornmeal Coo Coo
- Grits Recipe
- Jamaican Pigeon Peas and Rice
- Skillet Cornbread
More Jamaican Recipes You’ll Love
Want to try more scrumptious Jamaican recipes? You’re in for a treat with these!
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken
- Cornmeal Porridge
- Slow Cooker Jamaican Beef Stew
- Easy Jamaican Curry Chicken
- Easter Spice Bun
- Jamaican Beef Patty or Meat Pies
Conclusion
Jamaican oxtail stew with butter beans is the ultimate Caribbean comfort food. When you put the first bite in your mouth, you’ll understand why. Let me know how it goes for you in the comments below. Enjoy!
Watch How to Make It
This post was first published in November 2015 and has been updated with a video, additional write-up, new recipe, and fresh photos.
Jamaican Oxtail Stew
Ingredients
Oxtail Seasoning
- 2-4 pounds (907-1814 g) oxtail, cut up medium pieces
- salt as needed
- 1-2 teaspoons (2-4 g) white or black pepper
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons (2 g) fresh thyme
- 1-2 teaspoons (2-4 g) bouillon powder
- 2 green onions, diced
Jamaican Oxtail Stew
- 2-3 tablespoons (28-42 ml) cooking oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons (2 g) fresh thyme, chopped
- 5-6 whole pimento seeds (allspice)
- 1 tablespoon (17 g) Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons (5-10 g) browning sauce (optional)
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) tomato paste (or ketchup)
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) beef bouillon powder or cube (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) curry, or more to taste
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 4-6 cups (960-1440 ml) water
- 1 15-ounce can butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 whole Scotch bonnet peppe or habanero pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Rub the oxtail with salt, pepper, minced garlic, thyme, bouillon powder, and green onions. Tightly cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, remove from the fridge and shake off any visible onions or herbs from the oxtail meat. Set aside. (See notes 1)
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until hot, and then saute the oxtail, frequently stirring while scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot until the oxtail pieces are browned. If desired, drain the oil, leaving 2-3 tablespoons.
- Add onions, garlic, thyme, pimento seeds, or allspice, then stir for about a minute. Throw in the browned oxtails, followed by Worcestershire sauce, browning sauce, tomato paste, bouillon powder, curry powder, green onions, and stir for another minute.
- Then add about 4-6 cups of water; it's best to start with 4 cups, then add as needed.
- Bring to a boil and simmer until tender (depending on the oxtail size) for about 2-3 hours (4-5 hours at high altitude), occasionally stirring, so it doesn't stick to the pan.
- About 20-30 minutes before removing it from the heat, add the broad beans and scotch bonnet pepper. Adjust the thickness of soup with water or stock.
- Simmer 20-30 minutes, and adjust salt to taste.
Tips & Notes:
- If you don’t have that much time, you can skip marinating the oxtail meat or simply just season it with salt and pepper. (as seen in the video). Feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of paprika when making the stew for added smokey peppery taste.)
- If you don’t have browning sauce on hand, just leave it out completely.
- I like these guys with something to bite into and love nibbling the bones – a cultural thing. However, you can ask the butcher to cut them into medium pieces, let the stew cool, and then remove the meat from the bones. Save the bones for bone broth and put the boneless beef back in the pot, reheat, and serve.
- Asking the butcher to cut them into smaller pieces reduces cooking time. Just make sure you pick out the ones with less visible fat.
- Oxtail needs low heat and lots of time to get tender. Cook them on a loooww simmer, and if they still seem a little tough after three hours, just give them more time. The meat should be practically falling off the bone.
- To thicken the gravy, add a few slices of potatoes and let it cook longer. It usually just thickens up if you cook it longer. With that said, one of our readers has used corn starch slurry towards the end with good results.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Jen says
The scotch bonnet pepper made this meal so hot it was inedible. Even our family member who loves spicy food couldn’t eat a single bite. It smelled delicious but we had to throw it away.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Jen,
I’m really sorry to hear that the dish turned out too spicy for you and your family. Scotch bonnet peppers are indeed very potent, and their heat can vary from pepper to pepper, making it a bit of a wild card in recipes.
If you’re willing to give the recipe another try, I’d recommend a few adjustments:
Remove the Seeds and Membrane: The seeds and the white membrane inside the pepper are where most of the heat resides. Removing these can significantly reduce the spiciness.
Only keep the pepper in the pot for about 30 minutes in the pot to infuse it with flavor or leave out the pepper .
Substitute with a Milder Pepper: If you’re concerned about the heat but still want some spiciness, you could use a milder pepper like a jalapeño or even a small amount of cayenne pepper.
If you find that the stew is still too spicy, a dollop of sour cream or a splash of coconut milk can help counteract the heat.
Again, I’m really sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as you hoped, but I appreciate your feedback and hope these tips will help for a more enjoyable experience next time.
Terri says
I love this recipe I will try it
Imma says
Amazing!!!!! That looks absolutely delicious!! Glad you loved it. Looking forward to you trying more of my recipes.
Rebecca says
i love this Jamaican stew. It tastes absolutely delicious and is my favourite way to cook oxtail. I have been making this for a few years now and it is always a treat to eat. Many thanks for sharing this recipe with the world. I cook mine in a slow cooker for 8 hours and it fills the whole house with a lovely aroma – great to come home to.
Imma says
Thank you:) There’s more to come, so stay tuned
TREVOR MERRCHANT says
lady you are the most beautiful and wonderful
Imma says
Thank you so much dear! Much love:)
Mothusi Kemoeng says
Nice one
Imma says
Thank you so much dear! It’s good to have you hear:)
Deen says
I’ve made this twice now, and it is excellent! Very rich and flavorful.
Imma says
Amazing to hear that, Thank you! Stay tuned to have more excellent recipe 🙂
Jamiya says
This is the best recipe! Ever! I literally triple the recipe because my whole family loves it. The flavor is astounding. I usually use only one habenero and some Jamaican curry scotch bonnet hot sauce for some added flavor since scotch bonnets are hard to come by.
Imma says
Thank you for showing your love and sharing your experience. You made my day, Much Love!!!
Luz Parris says
Hi. Thank you for all your recipes. I’ve tried a few & they are all delicious. Just one question, Do you still have the older recipe ? My family absolutely loves that one.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Luz,
So happy to hear this . Here is the older recipe
1- 2 pounds oxtail cut up medium pieces
1 onion chopped
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1- teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 Whole Scotch bonnet pepper
2 green onions chopped
5-6 Whole pimento seeds (allspice),
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1- teaspoon curry or more adjust to preference
15 ounce can butter beans , rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon browning (optional)
1 Tablespoon bouillon powder or cube (optional)
Salt to taste
. Cooking method is pretty much the same. The major difference is seasoning the chicken before browning, using scotch bonnet pepper and more browning sauce .
Happy Cooking
Luz Parris says
Thank you so much!!!!!’nnnnn
Amina says
Great to see your love for the old recipes too. Thanks
Joxy says
Thank you for all you do. Do you happen to still have the old recipe? It was my go to for oxtail for years, unfortunately I never saved it. I prefer it to this one.
Tony S says
Made this in a slow cooker on low for 7 hours, added a diced potato and the beans then cooked for 90mins more on low. Cooled and took meat off the bone. Used 5 cups of water which gave three good portions plus two mugs of soup – stick blended. Reheated meat in a pan. Great taste.
Amina says
Great to hear that you customized it. Try some other recipes you would love them too.
Chelle says
Oxtails haven’t gotten much love in the US historically. They were originally considered a throw-away piece of meat, eaten mostly by slaves and people of color in other countries. Until recently, there was not a lot of talk about their delicious, so Imma is correct.
Anyway, I’ve made this recipe twice and will make it again tomorrow. I came to check that I had all the ingredients necessary. It is by far the best recipe I’ve used.
Lisa Sullivan says
Just made the oxtails recipe going to try it now! I love your website!
imma africanbites says
Thank you, Lisa, for stopping by. Please do let me know how this one turns out for you. Happy cooking!
Terrell says
Hi!,
I’m a huge fan of your website! I was wondering can you prepare beef stew meat the same way? I would think it would give the same flavor with a much cheaper cut of beef. Thanks.
Alice says
Terrell, you read my mind!
Amina says
Alright, we note your request as a suggestion. Once we worked on the recipe you will definitely have it on the blog. Thank you!
Karen Jackson says
I can’t wait to try it. Just reading your instructions makes my mouth water. I would like to make this for Easter. Thank you tips and notes. This is my first time writing to you
imma africanbites says
Hi, Karen. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I’m so excited for you to try this one. Please do let me know how it turns out for you. Enjoy!
Deborah A Nears says
Nice recipe with some good add-ins.
YOU WROTE: “I know oxtail meat doesn’t get that much love here in the U.S”.
I guess you don’t know much about the US. Or, maybe you were referring to your customer base.
Jerry says
Oxtail doesn’t get any love in the states. A lot of my friends and family don’t like the fattiness or the fact that it is oxtail. More for me and my peeps that know good food! I’m looking forward to making this tonight!