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Oxtail soup

Hearty Caribbean Oxtail Soup with Root Vegetables and Dumplings

This hearty Caribbean oxtail soup combines tender oxtail, a variety of root vegetables, and traditional island spices to create a soul-warming dish perfect for sharing.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Course: Soups & Stews
Cuisine: Jamaican, Trinidadian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs oxtail
  • 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large carrots
  • 2 1/2 lbs pumpkin
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 cloves garlic smashed
  • 6-8 sprigs thyme
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1 cup yellow split peas washed
  • 8-10 cups hot water
  • 3/4 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
  • 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper
  • 2 tablespoons coconut cream or 1 cup coconut milk
  • 3 large potatoes
  • 2 large sweet potatoes
  • 6-8 medium eddoes
  • 10-15 okra
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 5-8 cups water
  • 1/3 lb baby spinach
  • 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup water adjust as needed

Method
 

  1. Wash oxtail pieces with lemon juice and water, then pat dry. Place on a baking tray, season with sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Mix well to coat. Roast in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
    Oxtail drizzled with olive oil, black pepper and sea salt
  2. On a separate tray, place large pieces of carrots and pumpkin. Drizzle with olive oil and roast alongside the oxtail. Once done, peel and cut into smaller pieces.
    Prepped vegetables for oxtail soup
  3. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion, smashed garlic, thyme, scallions, and black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes until fragrant.
    onion, garlic, thyme, scallions and black pepper in a deep blue pot on the stove
  4. Add roasted oxtail to the pot. Use hot water to deglaze the roasting tray, scraping up any browned bits, and add this liquid to the pot.
    Add roasted oxtail pieces to pot on the stove
  5. Stir in tomato paste, 10 cups of hot water, and washed yellow split peas. Bring to a boil. Add Scotch Bonnet Pepper (whole), Caribbean Green Seasoning, and salt. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
    Mixture boiling with pepper in pot
  6. Add the roasted carrots and pumpkin to the pot. Continue to simmer for another 30–40 minutes, allowing the pumpkin to break down and thicken the soup.
    Add in roasted carrots and pumpkin
  7. Introduce chopped potatoes, sweet potatoes, and eddoes to the soup. Ensure pieces are large to prevent them from disintegrating.
    eddoes, potato and sweet potato in a bowl with water
  8. Add okra and coconut cream (or milk) to the pot. If the soup is too thick, add additional water to reach desired consistency.
    Soup thickening on the stove
  9. After the root vegetables have cooked for about an hour, add baby spinach and the prepared dumplings to the pot. 
    Add in baby spinich
  10. Cook for an additional 10–15 minutes until dumplings are cooked through.
    All ingredients cooking in the pot
  11. Ladle the soup into bowls, ensuring each serving has a mix of oxtail, vegetables, and dumplings. Enjoy hot.
    Close up of oxtail soup in a blue and white serving dish

Notes

May I recommend that you follow along with the video below as I discuss much more about the recipe there. You’ll notice I didn’t combine (total) all of the water and olive oil I used as it’s easier for you to follow along with the way I listed the ingredients. The goal is to cook the oxtails low and slow in the soup to get it fork tender. You’ll need a LARGE soup pot and a few friends to enjoy this soup. Or feel free to freeze leftovers.

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