Oxtail stew | Beef recipes | Jamie magazine (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to brown oxtails before cooking? ›

Put the meat in the oil and sear each side for a couple of minutes. Browning your oxtails will not cook the meat. Instead, it will enhance its color and aroma by caramelizing its exterior. Browning beef oxtails in a hot skillet before braising will also add rich depth and flavor to the meat.

As the meat braises, the collagen inside the cut cooks down and becomes gelatin; as it dissolves, the meat's fibers relax and tenderize. However, if the cooking temperature is too high, these muscle fibers will shrink and seize up, toughening.

Oxtail contains a lot of connective tissue, but also bones and fat. All of these benefit from a long cooking time in a moist environment. Bones contain a lot of flavor (it's why you often use bones from fish and meat to make stock) as well as gelatin, that slowly gets out while cooking in enough moisture.

By soaking and blanching the oxtail before cooking any impurities are removed. To cook: Oxtail requires long, slow cooking to produce tender, succulent meat.

Fill with enough water to cover oxtails and place over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook oxtails until tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

While it's not absolutely necessary to brown the oxtails before stewing them, it is highly recommended. Browning meat results in caramelization which greatly enhances the flavor of the finished stew.

So let me school you on how I clean oxtails. Salt, white vinegar, a few limited limes cut in half, and water. I soak them for about 15 minutes, then I scrub each one of them, pour the water out, then repeat. The 3rd time you soak them, the water should be crystal clear.

In the Caribbean, it's customary to clean most meats before cooking. To clean your oxtails, simply add 1-2 capfuls of vinegar to a bowl of water, and then add your oxtails.

There are many ways to tenderize oxtail before you actually start the cooking process. Low sodium soy sauce is my secret! Soy sauce helps the meat retain its moisture, tenderizes the meat, and enhances the savory flavor we all love.

It is very hard to digest and can cause stomach pains and cramps! On top of that, if you eat too much oxtail that had to travel (especially to cold regions) over time, you might experience throat pain and intestinal swelling.

Why do Jamaicans eat oxtail? ›

The origin of stews like oxtail can be traced back to our colonial heritage. Enslaved Africans on plantations were given very meager amounts of protein and often had to make do with cheaper cuts of meat or ends of slaughtered animals to add protein to their diets.

Oxtails are seen primarily in Caribbean and Soul Food restaurants. Inspectors who do not have a number of these facilities in their jurisdiction might not recognize what they are and how they should be handled. Oxtails are beef and should be cooked to 145°F.

Remember though, when serving oxtail at home for a main course, you don't need a ton of meat! It is very rich, so you can expect one large, one medium, and one small piece per person—which means one tail will serve 3-4 people as a main course.

“If you leave any parts not browned, you are leaving flavor behind." Wondering about seasoning? Stockton suggests seasoning your meat one day (or at least 10 hours) ahead of time, then letting it sit uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator.

Browning meat for stews or braises adds a great deal of flavor especially given the Maillard reaction which is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor.