Oxtails
| Submitted by: Stephanie Peoples, Psychology BA, 1997 |
|---|
This is a recipe I learned to make as a college student at UB. I still make this dish on some holidays. I remember searching the internet when the internet was beginning to become popular so there were not many recipes online. I printed this recipe at the library and used the saved crinkled paper every time I cooked because the dish came out perfectly the first time. Now I have the recipe memorized and I have personalized the dish to my own taste. The key to perfecting this recipe is temperature and water control.
| Servings: 3 | Cultural Connection: Jamaica |
|---|
Ingredients
Marinade:
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup soy sauce
1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, halved
¼ cup olive oil
4 tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup minced garlic
2 tbsp thyme, about 10 sprigs
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup soy sauce
1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, halved
¼ cup olive oil
4 tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup minced garlic
2 tbsp thyme, about 10 sprigs
Oxtails:
1 pack of oxtails
2 cups butter beans (Lima beans)
4-6 large cloves of garlic, smashed
1-2 tbsp allspice seeds, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Start with fully cleaned oxtails with extra fat trimmed. Score the tough white membrane from top to bottom between the bones for the larger pieces.
- Create the marinade by mixing the molasses, olive oil, and soy sauce together, then adding chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, the halved pepper and thyme. Marinate the oxtails overnight.
- Soak dry butter beans overnight.
- The next day, remove oxtails from the marinade and coat in flour before browning the meat in a skillet on medium heat.
- Place the meat and drippings from the skillet into a large pot along with the leftover marinade. Add enough water to cover the meat.
- Add the garlic, allspice, salt, and pepper.
- Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on low heat for about 2 hours. Check water levels every half hour and add more water as necessary.
- After 2 – 2 1/2 hours, add the soaked butter beans. Add in the water the beans were soaking in, if water has evaporated significantly. (If using canned beans, do not add beans until the end of the cooking process. Add in beans plus liquid from the can).
- Allow the beans and meat to simmer for another 1-2 hours, or until beans are tender and meat is close to falling off of the bone. Add the bean water as necessary; only add enough of the water from the beans while cooking to create the gravy consistency you will want in the end. Cover pot again.
- Serve over rice. Enjoy your yummy Oxtails!
