Oxtail soup is not something I grew up on. Just as the reaction on my daughters face when she asked what I was cooking yesterday, I’m sure I would give my mom the same look if she said it was oxtail on the menu. That look from Kieana got even worse when I confirmed what oxtail really was and I ended up making them a pizza for dinner. Well… more for me I guess! If you like thick, savory soups and don’t mind waiting as it slowly bubbles away under a gentle heat, you’re in for an absolute treat. This recipe is very similar to a salted pigtail soup my uncle would make on a Monday after a weekend of partying (That man never worked a Monday as far as I know, growing up), but his would have dumplings and/or macaroni and green fig (green banana).
You’ll Need….
1 1/2 – 2 lbs oxtail – ask your butcher to cut it into 1-2 inch pieces.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs yam
2 medium sweet potatoes
4 eddoes (about 1 lb)
3 medium potatoes
2 scallions
3 sprigs thyme
4 leaves of shado beni or about 4 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon salt (may need more according to your taste)
2 tablespoon tomato paste (concentrated)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 large onion diced
1 large carrot sliced
1 cup split peas (optional)
about 8 cups of water (see note in cooking directions)
1 hot pepper (I used a habanero – use your fav pepper)
1 pack cock soup (I used Grace brand)
1 teaspoon Golden Ray salted butter (optional, but adds a nice punch at the end)
* Feel free to add any other ground provisions (green fig, dasheen,cassava etc) you may like or have, just be sure to use a pot big enough and you’ll need to add a bit more water in cooking.
* For people outside the Caribbean where ground provisions (yam, sweet potato and eddoes) may be hard to source, feel free to use winter root vegetables instead. Like turnips,parsnips, rutabaga etc.
If anyone is unsure about ground provisions or need help knowing how to shop for them or how to peel etc, leave me a comment in the comment section below and I’ll try my best to help you out.
Let’s get cooking….
Start by getting a large pot, add the oil and heat on medium/high heat. Rinse off the cut pieces of oxtail (my butcher cut the piece a bit smaller than I wanted) since they may have a bit of grit left from the band-saw used in cutting. Dry off with a paper towel and ad to the pot. Brown all sides and remember to stir or risk having the pieces of meat stick to the pan. In the mean time, dice you carrots and onions. As the meat is evenly browned on all sides, move them to the side of the pot and add the tomato paste to the middle of the pan, then stir the browned pieces of oxtail to pick up on the tomato paste. This process will help release the natural sugar from the tomato paste, as well as give the soup a nice rich reddish colour.
Now you can start adding the thyme, black pepper, diced onions and garlic and allow to cook for a couple minutes so they too can release their flavours. Turn the heat down to minimum as you do this step. After 3-4 minutes you can add the sliced carrots to the pot as well. Remember to keep stirring.
Quickly go through the dried split peas to ensure there’s nothing foreign in there, wash a couple times with water to remove any grit and add to the pot. You can now add the hot pepper, salt, bay leaf, diced scallion and shado beni (chopped fine) to the pot. Then pour in the 8 cups of water and bring to a boil (high heat). I like leaving the hot pepper whole so I can take it out later. As it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and allow this to slowly simmer for about 1.5 – 2 hrs with the pot covered. Basically until the oxtail is tender and the split peas is cooked to the point where it’s breaking apart. This is what’s going to thicken our soup. Open up your windows and give your neighbors the aroma of the excitement that’s happening on your stove. risk them coming over and asking questions though – nosy ones will try to remain for a bowl or 2.
In the meantime we can peel and cut the provisions (potato,yams, sweet potato and eddoes). If you’re doing this in advance, after peeling and cutting, be sure to put it in a deep bowl and cover with cool water to prevent them from going discolored. I like my ground provisions chunky so you’ll notice that I cut them into fairly large pieces. The eddoes I cut into 2 pieces, so too the sweet potato and potato. The yam I try to cut into the same size as everything else, so they all finish cooking at the same time.
After the braising process (my oxtail was tender after 2 hrs) it’s time to add the the cock soup and ground provisions. Rinse off the ground provisions (after peeling and cutting) and gently place into the pot. This is why we need a large pot. Make sure all the pieces of provisions is totally covered by liquid (you may need to add more water) so they can cook evenly. During this final cooking process, the more you stir the pot, the more thick the soup will get.As the ground provisions will start to break down and the combination of these pieces and the starch, will thicken the soup.
Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer again and allow to cook for about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. When you can pierce the largest piece of ground provision with a knife without any resistance, you know they’re fully cooked. The final 5 minutes is when you’d add the Golden ray butter if you have some. Remember to fish out the hot pepper (I kept mine in as I love the heat) and the sprig from the thyme before serving. People outside the Caribbean will probably consider this a heavy stew for sure, but on the islands this is exactly how we like our soup.
Serve piping hot and there’s no need for bread or any fancy topping like the soups you get in the restaurants in North America. Word of warning though… you may find yourself falling asleep minutes after devouring a bowl of this oxtail goodness. My brothers and sisters may know this affliction commonly as “ritis”. I was out for a couple hrs. If you’re looking for another tasty oxtail recipe, be sure to check out my stewed oxtail.
Note: You can precook your ground provisions if you’d like and simply add it to the pot after the oxtails are tender, so your cooking time will be reduced. And you can also use a pressure cooker to braise the (first steps before adding the provisions) and really reduce on cooking time.
Be sure to check out the links to the other soup recipes below and don’t forget to connect with us on facebook by clicking on the image below (there’s already over 1800 of us in the Facebook group). BTW, if you’d like a quick recipe for dumplings to add to this soup, leave me a comment below as I know how much my Caribbean people love off on dumplings.
Happy Cooking
Chris….
Love this recipe. Thank you!
This look so good.
I intend to try this. Im not sure why coconut milk was not used however instead of water and maybe a dash of curry and garam masala.
if anyone has tried this let me know.
Cheers
What!
No cute juicy little dumplings to come across in that bowl of yumminess?
Made this today on a cold January day. Wonderful. Had to modify a bit but yummy nonetheless. Added more provision including a little pumpkin. So great wan filling.
Can u send recipe for the dumplings
Hello Chris. Thanks for this recipe for oxtail soup. I have another one and have made it many times. It’s slightly different than this one and that’s why I will try this one. I love your recipes , please keep them coming.
Your friend always
Linda Ferguson
Lentils is also a good idea.
Chris! I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks; but not everyone ( it's poison to humans) can consume MSG which is contained in some of your products!
I made these Braised Oxtails for my husband. He said was bragging to his mamma about them. My baby won't be eatting any other oxtails but mine. Chris thank you. They are a hit. And I never cookt them when he is home, I don't want him to know the secret. When he comes home they are cooked and the house smells like the food and he gets a big smile on his face. : )
Chris, I love site and your recipes – can I make a suggestion, please? Can you please make the recipes printable without the pictures? While I love the instructional element, when you print, the pictures are cumbersome. I will sometimes cut and paste the text only but would love it if you could add a "print recipe" option without pictures
I made Ox tail soup recently but instead of the split pea i used green pigeon peas!!!!! Delish!!!!
Chris, this was awesome! I made it but made a small mistake by cutting the pepper (actually two) in half and allowing it to cook all together. All that was left of the peppers was the skin. It was almost TOO hot, but we managed. The meat was very tender and the overall dish was amazing. Loved it, and was glad to find this recipe.
I never even had (heard of) this soup, but got curious after a friend mentioned it. Decided to make it the following day and am so glad I did! It's delicious and very welcome during cold winters (which we are having right now in the Netherlands). I think next time I'll add some papaya. Thanks for this, am going to browse your site some more now!
Thanks Chris, I agree with Don, you are a god sent person by being so generous of your time and your cooking skills to share with us. Truly appreciate it. Merry Christmas to you and the family and God's blessings for 2012 !
You are a god sent person chris , keep up the good work
Looking wonderful as usual.
at what step would you add the dumplings?
and I would like to try your dumpling recipe if you could send it to me!
Thanks!
i seem to never have enough for leftovers.
One of the best Caribbean soups!
wow Chgris you've excelled yourself with this recipe, itlooks soo good, it is definatly on our must have menu, thx so much and keep up the good work :))))
Delicious! I've never had oxtail before and am pretty unfamiliar with Carribean type food so this was exciting to try. Your directions made it very easy and I'm looking forward to trying some of your other recipes. Thanks!
Hey Chris, no dumplings in your soup recipe? I would have thought that this would be among the main ingredients and not as an afterthought.. For me a soup without dumplings ain't no soup.
Yes, my family needs the dumpling recipe! We have been doing ok after watching a jamaican u tube video, but that one had too many steps. If you have a quick and easy one that would be great!
Mmm I love a creamy oxtail soup. Here in London the asian butchers sell HUGE oxtails. To help cut the fat especially for those of us who have to watch the colesterol; I bake the oxtails with all the seasonings and a few pieces of rhubarb from my garden.
Speakig of gardens I grow lots of herbs for cooking like thyme, marjoram, sage, bay leaf etc. What I sooo miss is cilantro. Any suggestions on how to grow it from seed or where to find the plant in London, England?
A favourite for a desert after the oxtail dish is sour sop ice cream.
Regards
Maxine Rhodes London England
A favourite for a desert after the oxtail dish is sour sop ice cream.
Hi, It;s very easy to find in London in any garden center or supermarket – but is called Coriander there.
Can you get the seeds in a gardening center?
This looks sooooo delicious! Thanks for these magnificent recipes and pictures! I'm of Trini/Jamaican descent, grown up in Canada, so I need all the help I can get learning to make authentic Caribbean food! 🙂 When you have a moment, would you mind posting a recipe for boiled dumpling and fried dumpling?
Thanks!
Check his recipe list on his site.I want to learn to make festivals ( I am from SVG)
Can't imagine cooking and eating this wonderful soup when it's 100 degrees outside like it is today. But I am saving this recipe for those winter days when it's snowy and cold outside. Love it Chris!