Oxtail, a cheaper cut of beef, can be transformed into a delicious stew with the right ingredients and slow cooking. Jamaican oxtail stew is seasoned with garlic, onions, peppers, beans, and a blend of spices. Other cultures have their own versions, such as China’s soybean and mushroom broth and Brazil’s cachaca and lemon juice marinade.
The meat that surrounds the top of a cow’s tailbone, the oxtail, isn’t the finest cut of beef. Most primary beef rankings don’t even include it. Several cultures, however, have discovered, perhaps out of necessity, that this cut of meat can taste delicious after a long, slow braise with the right key ingredients. A Jamaican oxtail is likely to be presented in a stew that is seasoned with garlic, onions, peppers, beans, and a traditional medley of seasonings to create a broth that can be sweet, spicy, savory, and spicy at the same time.
Finding oxtail cutlets isn’t a problem for most butchers who prepare beef. Since they may be mostly bone, with a thick padding of meat and fat on the outside, the weight will be several pounds to fuel a family-sized meal. While this cut of meat can be expensive where beef is most in demand, it is typically among the cheapest cuts of any livestock. The cuts from the strongest cows probably make the most sumptuous Jamaican oxtail stew.
After trimming off the excess fat and rubbing the cutlets with salt and pepper only, the meat is usually browned on all sides in a hot, oiled pan. Many chefs also prepare the meat for Jamaican oxtail stew, while searing melted brown sugar, paprika and a little water. This intensifies the browning effect and gives the meat a subtle sweetness. After browning, it is set aside while the beef stock is combined.
A rather complicated recipe for Jamaican oxtail stew, in the New York Times online magazine, makes the broth by caramelizing chopped onion, shallots, bell peppers and garlic in a pot with ginger, allspice and thyme sprigs. The golden oxen then go to the top, followed by enough water to soak all the ingredients. The simmering pot is covered for an hour, then more fresh onions, garlic, shallots, and ginger are added, along with a little soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. After another hour of covered cooking, other ingredients such as butter beans, flour, and ketchup are added. The final product is typically served with rice.
Jamaican Oxtail Stew is just one of a handful of oxtail preparations that are legendary around the world. In China, ingredients like soybeans, rice wine, lemongrass, cloves, and mushrooms are more likely to be the most prevalent parts of the broth. A Brazilian dish called rabada serves oxtail braised in a marinade of local cachaca sugar cane rum and lemon juice swimming with garlic, onions, carrots and watercress.
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