Jamaican Oxtail Stew
Jamaican oxtail stew is fork-tender beef and satisfyingly creamy butter beans in a spicy gravy. This humble dish with Jamaican curry spices and pleasant heat will spice up your life and widen your horizons.
The last time I visited Jamaica, I made it a point to try all the recipes I could fit in. We also took as many cooking classes as we could to learn tricks from the locals.
And this dish was at the top of my list because I used to work not too far from a Jamaican restaurant in LA, and ate oxtail stew there regularly. It wasn’t good for my wallet or my waistline, but my belly was purring with pure joy!
Why Oxtails Make Great Stew
Oxtails don’t get as much love in the States as other beef cuts, but they should. Being a well-used muscle means it has plenty of collagen and benefits greatly from simmering low and slow in a braising liquid. The flavor is also more intense, making a wonderful broth perfect for smothering your rice and peas.
Oxtail used to be a cheap cut due to its high fat content and longer cooking time. But now it has become a gourmet dish, and the price has skyrocketed. So we enjoy this recipe on special occasions when our local butcher has them available.
How to Make Jamaican Oxtail Stew
- Season the oxtails, sear them, and add the aromatics and the rest of the seasonings.
- Toss in the green onions, add water, cover, and simmer until tender. Pour in the butter beans, add the hot pepper, heat through, and enjoy.
Recipe Tips and Twists
- I love nibbling the bones – a cultural thing. However, you can let the stew cool, and then remove the meat from the bones. Save the bones for bone broth, put the boneless beef back in the pot, reheat, and serve.
- For extra veggies, some wonderful readers have added carrots, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, mushrooms, mustard greens (during the last 20 minutes of cooking), and stewed tomatoes (added with the broad beans). Keep sharing your tweaks, please.
- Oxtail needs low heat and lots of time to break down the collagen and tough muscle fibers. If they still seem a little tough after 3 hours (5 hours at high altitude), just give them more time, and perhaps more liquid. The meat should be practically falling off the bone.
Using the Instant Pot
Although I haven’t personally made this recipe in my Instant Pot, our beautiful readers took the time to leave some instructions.
- Start with the “Sauté” setting for the first three steps and carefully brown the oxtail pieces on both sides – 2-3 minutes per side.
- Remove the oxtail and sauté the onions, green onions, garlic, thyme, allspice, Worcestershire, and smoked paprika, stirring for about a minute.
- Next, throw in the scotch bonnet pepper, tomato paste, bouillon, and curry powder, and stir for another minute.
- Return the browned oxtails, deglaze your pressure cooker with water or stock, and switch to pressure cook for 40-45 minutes, depending on the size of the oxtails.
- After the pressure releases, add the beans and simmer them for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the butter beans are heated.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Stews are great for making ahead. After the stew has cooked, let it cool and store it in the fridge for a day or two. Or you can freeze it for 3-4 months.
Store leftovers for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge or 3-4 months in the freezer. Thaw the oxtail stew overnight in the refrigerator if frozen, then reheat in a saucepan on low until heated through.
What to Serve With Jamaican Oxtail Stew
This amazing stew is perfect with rice and beans, fried plantains, and fried cabbage as traditional sides. Then wash it down with a sorrel drink and serve a slice of rum cake for the grand finale.
More Fabulous Jamaican Recipes You’ll Love
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken
- Cornmeal Porridge
- Easy Jamaican Curry Chicken
- Easter Spice Bun
- Jamaican Beef Patty or Meat Pies
This post was first published in November 2015 and has been updated with a video, new tips, and fresh photos.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”qRCsS2QU” upload-date=”2018-08-06T19:57:54.000Z” name=”Jamaican Oxtail Stew” description=”Jamaican Oxtail Stew- This braised oxtail with butter beans not only have a complex note from allspice but also that familiar garlic, thyme, scotch bonnet and onion medley. Fall of the bone tender.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
Jamaican Oxtail Stew
Ingredients
Oxtail Marinade
- 2-4 pounds (1-2kg) oxtail, cut up into medium pieces
- salt as desired (¾-1 teaspoon per pound is average)
- 1-2 teaspoons (2-4g) white pepper or black pepper
- ½ teaspoon (3g) minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons (2g) fresh thyme
- 1-2 teaspoons (2-4g) bouillon powder
The Stew
- 2-3 tablespoons (28-42ml) cooking oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon (8g) minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons (2g) minced thyme
- 5-6 whole allspice berries (optional)
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons (5-10g) browning sauce (optional)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) tomato paste or ketchup
- 1 tablespoon (8g) beef bouillon powder or a cube (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (2g) curry powder (more to taste)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 4-6 cups (960-1450ml) water
- 1 15-ounce can butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 whole scotch bonnet or habanero
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Rub the oxtail pieces with salt, pepper, minced garlic, thyme, and bouillon powder. Tightly cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, remove from the fridge (see notes).
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until hot, and then sear the meat, frequently stirring while scraping any browned bits off the bottom until browned.
- Add the onions, garlic, thyme, and allspice, then stir for about a minute. Follow with the Worcestershire sauce, browning sauce, tomato paste, bouillon, curry powder, and green onions, and stir for another minute.
- Then add 4-6 cups of water (start with 4 cups, adding more if needed).
- Bring to a boil and simmer until tender (depending on the oxtail size) for 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 the soup with water or stock.
- Simmer for 20-30 minutes and adjust salt to taste. Garnish with sliced green onions and enjoy.
Tips & Notes:
- A lot of bouillon powders have MSG, so if you prefer to avoid it, replace the water with beef broth and leave the bouillon out.
- If you need this to come together quicker, you can skip the marinating time.
- Feel free to add ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika for more flavor.
- 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. That said, one reader uses a cornstarch 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.
Oh hi Imma..! This certainly is delicious..!! Whenever I’m at sainos and the oxtail is reduced from it’s already cheap price I use your recipe..well mostly..I brown the oxtail..hard out brown.. and then remove it from the pan and then add the onions and garlic. Just because there doesn’t seem to be enough room in the pan to soften them.? I’ll have to look up your curry powder recipe as I use Madhur Jaffreys recipe at the moment but I reckon yours will be more authentic..?? Also I use broad beans that I’ve grown on my awesome allotment rather than butter beans. However it’s a delicious recipe..x
I do the same thing . I stock up on oxtail too! If there is a good sale ! Yes you must make the curry powder. It’s so much better than store-bought.Thanks for taking the the time to share your thoughts with us.
I want to try and make this, but I was just wondering when do you add the browning? I like the dark gravy. Thank you. I can’t wait to try this. I’m alittle nervous haha
Hi Cara! Add the browning after you saute the onions. Don’t be nervous girl. This is really super easy to make and quite forgiving . You are going to nail it !!! Happy Cooking!!!
I have made this recipe several times and it is my families absolute FAVORITE! I think it is better than the Jamaican restaurants. But can I use this recipe and use chicken instead, because I just love the taste of the sauce? Or do you suggest I try something else?
Absolutely! Chicken works just fine here or check out this Jamaican curry chicken version https://www.africanbites.com/jamaican-curry-chicken/. Thanks for the feedback Rheba!
I’d love to try this. I’ve never heard of a scotch bonnet pepper, where can I find one?
Scotch bonnet peppers are not readily available in supermarkets – You can easily find them in Caribbean and African Markets. You can sub with habanero peppers. I do it all the time.
One tip to make it thicken up nicely. Before you add the water, add 1 ounces Gelatin to the water and let it soak for 10 minutes. Then Add the water as the recipe suggests The gelatin makes the whole sauce bind nicely.
DELICIOUS !!!
Awesome! Thank you so much for the tip Malcom. Am sure other readers would benefit from this .
Imma Imma Imma!!!! Girl! I can’t even finish the dish without typing this review. Soooooooooo delicious. God has truly blessed you with a gift. I will probably never understand how it is possible to determine exact measurements for perfection but I don’t even need to know with ppl like you around. :-). I’ve tried multiple recipes from your site which have all been delicious. I will have to add comments at some point to those but this one just couldn’t wait. Thank you sooo much. I swear my family must think I’m an undercover chef and it’s all because of you. I wouldn’t change one thing about this recipe. I doubled everything with ease. Left it in the crockpot on low for about 11 hours while I was at work and running errands. Mm mm mmm.
Now I have to try it.
You should Cindy!
How can I thicken gravy at end of cooking
If you really want to thicken your gravy then add a few more potatoes and let it cook longer. It usually just thickens up if you cook it longer. With that said, one of the other readers have used corn starch slurry towards the end with good results. Hope this helps
Can we add potatos
You sure can.
I can’t find a bonnet pepper… will a habenero pepper work?
It will do just fine.
This was amazing! I did make changes: 1) marinated 2 oxtails in 1/2 c. Worcester Sauce, Tbs. Sesame Oil, Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar with dashes of Garlic and Onion Powders for 2 hrs. 2) added 2 lg. Sweet Potatoes in large cubes. Increased Curry Powder to 1/2 Tbs. Used Red Pepper Flakes instead of Bonnet Pepper. Used leftover Chicken Stock instead of water. Did not add any browning.3) After done, I added a cornstarch slurry to thicken liquid and served with Sticky Rice.
OH WoW! That sounds really tasty Paula! Thanks for sharing your detailed version with us.Glad it worked out well for you.
I can’t find fresh Ox Tails around here, is it alright to use frozen if I thaw them first? This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it.
You sure can. Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks !
Thank you for the recipe. Planning on trying it. You never wrote in how much currry powder tho. Unless I missed it
Hi Lisa! You probably missed it . Listed as 1 teaspoon curry.
I’m apologize if a previous posted asked this already but what changes I make if I want to make this in slow cooker? TIA
Follow instructions as described, Adjust water to about 2 -3 cups , then add to the slow-cooker -Slow cook for about 5 hours or more ,depending on the oxtail size and preference until tender.
You are right on the money with your recipes!! Thanks so much for the insight. Much love and respect to you. My dishes turn out delicious thanks to you.
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to let me know
will make this asap. my chinese trini friend. loves oxtails! he cooks them this way, with butter beans. thank you for sharing. i used to work at a chinese restaurant. they would cook winter melo wonder how the haitian way with sour orange juice is tasty too but i am partial to thin soup with either pork ribs or oxtails. they would season with ginger garlic and green onions. maybe some black pepper it was really good, very comforting food. i am wondering how african people cook their oxtails. i like the haitian version too with epis and sour orange juice… and they are great in a guyanese pepperpot. my dad was poor growing up. he said he ate things like loaves of white bread with lard etc. still i will have to find out how austrians cook oxtails
Africans add oxtails to soups and stews . It replaces beef sometimes or as a complement to other proteins. Love its’ flavor !
Hi Imma. I’m so glad i found this recipe i always go to Jamaican restaurants and buy it already cooked curry goat, ox tail. But then i found a store that sell un-cooked ox tails and i said i was going to try your recipe for this ox-tail stew. The only thing i did different was i used a pressure cooker. I cooked this meal for my family (4 of us) less then 30 mins everything was gone. So i really gotta thank you for this recipe. Do u have any recipes for Curry chicken or Curry goat.
AWESOME! Yes I do. Here is the link https://www.africanbites.com/slow-cooker-jamaican-curry-chicken/ and the Goat here https://www.africanbites.com/jamaican-curry-goat/. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Happy Cooking!!!!
This is by far the most amazing oxtail stew I’ve ever had. The recipe is so straight forward and easy to follow. I didn’t have beans so I used carrots. I used two stock cubes and for the last 15mims I had the stew on high with the lid off to thicken it a little. I didn’t really want to alter the amazing taste it had. Perfection!!!!
YES! Glad it worked out well for you. Thanks for taking the time to let me know
I used this recipe for my first attempt at oxtail and it turned out great!! (forgot to thank you before) now i’m doing it a second time and hope it turns out the same. I used some of the spices above for a rub to put on before hand as well. thanks again!
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Well well well this dish was a hit in my housrhold!! Im making it again today!!! Again thanks for giving us a taste of Jamaica!!!!
My pleasure Debra! So happy to hear you are making it again.
Made this for a friend who missed their weekly oxtail meal from the local Jamaican restaurant. The feedback was that this was “way better than the Jamaicans” and roommate said “the best oxtail I ever had”. Winning recipe! Would love to try slow cooker, because I cooked in a braiser for 3 hrs and it was still not falling off the bone. Maybe the quality of the meat.
Way better than the Jamaicans? WOW! Thank you so much! It means a lot to me. Slow Cooker would definitely do it for you. No, I do’t think it’s the quality of the meat. The best way to cook oxtail is low and slow.