After posting a pic of this Guinness braised oxtail on the Facebook fan page a while back, I’ve been overwhelmed with requests for the recipe. Just when you thought I forgot or ignoring those requests, here it is. Absolutely one of the best oxtail recipes I’ve shared to date and though it’s not something you think when you think about Caribbean cuisine, with our love for both Guinness and oxtails… yea, I assure you this will be a hit and fits well with our culinary culture.

It does take some time to cook, but if you have a slow cooker you can create the base on the stove and let the slow cooker do the rest. If using a slow cooker, you may find that oil may accumulate at the top – spoon off. And those of you who own a pressure cooker.. do your thing. It will cut back on the cooking time.

One more thing before we get to the actual recipe… directly below the recipe you’ll have the chance to win a wonderful box of candy as part of Valentine’s Day celebration. Enter your name as I’d love to send this out to one lucky winner.

You’ll Need…

2 lbs oxtail (cut/trimmed of excess fat)
1 can tomato paste (156 ml / 5.5oz)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion
1 1/2 cups diced celery
2 large carrots
2 cans Guinness (see note below)
1 cup water
4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 habanero pepper (any hot pepper you like – optional)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Notes. The hot pepper is optional, but I love the heat and additional flavor. I used Guinness draft but I know we get the extra stout in the Caribbean, which is a bit stronger… rest assured that the alcohol will burn off so you don’t have to worry about that. If you want to start off with a good flavor base, replace the vegetable oil with coconut oil.

Wash the pieces of oxtail in some lime or lemon juice and cool water. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan on med/high heat and start browning the pieces of oxtail. Try not to crowd the pan (BTW if you want you can use 3 lbs of oxtail to feed more people if you wish – simply adjust the salt) or it will release a ton of moisture and you’ll notice it will start to boil and not brown. It should take about 10-15 minutes, remember to keep turning the pieces of oxtail.

Remove the oxtail pieces and set aside for a bit. Turn the heat down to low and add the onion, celery, black pepper, oregano and thyme (leave on the stem if you wish as you can remove it later on). Allow this to cook on a very low heat for about 3-5 minutes.

Now add the tomato paste and give it a good stir. We’re trying to release the natural sugars in the tomato and create a rich base. You’ll notice that it will go darker and there will be a lovely scent in your kitchen. Cook for about 2-3 minutes – keep stirring.

Return the pieces of oxtail to the pot as well as the carrots (cut the carrots in huge chunks), bay leaves and salt. Give that a good stir, turn up the heat to high and add the 2 cans of Guinness. Stir well and bring to a boil with the lid covered. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat to a rolling boil (low) and let cook for about 20 minutes. This is when you’ll add the whole habanero pepper to the pot. Remember to keep it whole for flavor and not the heat. Burst open near the end if you want the excitement of the heat.

After 20 minutes it’s time to add the water and bring it back up to a boil (this would be when I would add everything to a slow cooker or pressure cooker if that’s your plan). When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for about 3 hours or until the meat starts falling off the bones. Continue stirring every 15 minutes or so and if you notice you’re running low on liquid.. add a bit more water. After 3 hours it should be tender… take out the sprigs from thyme, the hot pepper (if you don’t want the heat) and turn up the heat with the pot uncovered to thicken up the rich gravy.

If you want to add a bit more Caribbean influence you can always add a few pimento berries to the pot and a 1/2 teaspoon of green seasoning paste. This is great on rice, mashed potato, roasted breadfruit, ground provisions… even roti or bread. I did a cassava mash, which I’ll share with you in the next couple days. Here’s the video I did to help you follow along the cooking process:

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—0–>Winner Wanted!<–0–

It’s that time again! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’re giving one lucky winner a box of Marshmallow Hearts (milk chocolate coated) from Cémoi Chocolatier. The box of chocolate covered hearts will be shipped to the lucky winner after we receive their shipping address (we even pay the shipping cost). All you have to do is tell me what’s your favorite valentines day dish in the comment section below and your name will be automatically entered to win. Yea.. it’s that simple.

There are two bonus ways you can have your name entered in the contest, giving you 3 chances at winning. Along with leaving a comment below, go to the Facebook fan page and/or the Youtube cooking channel and leave a comment  there. I don’t care what your comment is, but it would be nice if you could tell me what’s your fav Valentine’s Day dish.

Here are the rules pertaining to winning the box of “Marshmallow Hearts -  Cémoi Chocolatier”…

- contest is open to everyone globally (even if you won something here before)

- there are 3 ways to enter your name (see above)

- 1 winner will be chosen at random (if you left 3 comments, your name will be entered 3 times)

- contest is open from February 14 – to midnight Feb 26.

- the winner will be announced within 1 week of the official close date.

- the winners will have 1 week to contact us with their  mailing address

- we will cover all shipping expenses (standard mail)

I hope you take a moment to enter your name as I’d really like to mail this box of chocolates to you. It’s simple, free and fellas you could give to the special lady in your life if you forgot to have something on Valentine’s day.

Good Luck!

My very first experience with oxtail was not a pleasant one and it was years until I tried it again. This is going back about 19 years ago when my good friend Richard was just starting off his Dj and music production escapades. Richard, Allyene and myself were  on one of our weekly runs to the Toronto to pick up the latest releases from Jamaica (I believe it was on Eglinton Ave), back in those days it was 33′s and 45′s  and not cds as we have today. We stopped off at one of the many Caribbean fast-food restaurants that populate the area to grab some food to eat on the trip back to Hamilton. I don’t recall what the other fellas got, but I do remember hungrily eating away at the oxtail with rice and peas. Then it hit me. A sharp-cut bone stabbed me in the roof of my mouth. I can still remember the pain that sucker put on me. I stopped eating (well couldn’t) immediately and between cussing and grimacing from the pain, I promised to never touch the stuff again. Took me a few years to get over that fear of being attacked by sharp-cut oxtail bones.

Here’s a simple recipe for stewed oxtail which I tested perfected  yesterday… no sharp edges to hurt you

You’ll need…

2 lbs oxtail cut and trimmed into 1-2 inch pieces
1 tomato diced
1 onion sliced thin
1 stalk celery diced
black pepper (fresh ground is best) 1/4 teaspoon
hot pepper (I used 1/2 habanero) this is optional
1 tablespoon green seasoning
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard (nothing fancy)
1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger 9I used the bottled stuff)
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
2-3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 lime / lemon or vinegar (4 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon ketchup

* If you don’t have the green seasoning prepared. Use a combination of green onions (scallions), cilantro or shado beni and thyme. About 1 tablespoon each…chopped very fine.

Start by placing the cut pieces of oxtail in a large bowl (remember to remove as much fat as you can – keep it a bit healthy)  and squeeze the lime or lemon juice on it. Use vinegar if you don’t have limes or lemons. Pour some water (not the water mentioned in the recipe)  in the bowl and wash each piece of oxtail. If your butcher used a band-saw to cut the pieces for you, there’s the chance that there may be some gritty stuff from the cut bones left on the meat. Rinse with cold water as need. Drain and get ready for seasoning.

The seasoning consist of all the ingredients mentioned above, except the oil, sugar and 4 cups of water. Mix well and allow this to marinate for at least 2 hrs in the fridge.

As we’ve done in other “stew” dishes, we have to bring the oil to a high temp in a heavy pot and add the brown sugar. Stir so the entire lot changes colour evenly and get to the perfect point to add the seasoned meat. The key is allowing the sugar get to a caramel colour, so each piece of oxtail will get browned evenly. The pics below will show you what to look for.

When the sugar gets like the pic directly above, start adding the seasoned pieces of oxtail. Stir, reduce to medium heat and cover. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Then bring the heat back to high and burn off all the liquid (remove the lid). Stir during this process so the pieces of meat gets coated evenly. Add the 4 cups of water to the bowl that had the seasoned meat to pick up any remaining seasoning that was left behind. When the liquid dries up in the pot, add the 4 cups of water.

Bring to a boil (covered), then reduce the heat so it’s a gentle simmer. PATIENCE.. allow this to cook, stirring occasionally for about 1 3/4 hours. Then remove the lid and turn up the heat so you can achieve a nice thick gravy. Remember to turn off the heat and remove from the burner when you have a thick gravy or risk not having any of that nice rich sauce.

In the coming months I’ll share a couple other ways to cook this popular Caribbean meat. One in the oven (didn’t want to turn on the oven since it’s summer time here and we don’t need all that heat in the house. And the other way is a more traditional Jamaican way. Stay tuned, and don’t forget to leave me your comments or questions in the area provided below.