Stewed Oxtails Recipe
I was born and raised in Trinidad and now that I’ve been living in the US for most of my life I have days where I long for the days of my childhood and growing up in the Caribbean. One of the biggest things I miss after my family and friends of course is the food. Everything is just so different as far as food goes. The fruits are different, we use different vegetables and some of the meat we would eat is considered weird for lots of people here. My husband is American but dating and marrying a woman from the islands means he has tried some of our foods either from my mother cooking it, Caribbean restaurants or when we go to festivals. One of his favorites is Stewed Oxtails and since he liked it so much I had to learn how to make it once I saw the Oxtails at one of our local supermarkets.
Everyone makes their oxtails different and I didn’t know for my first try if I wanted to try a Trinidad or Jamaican version, I searched the web and found one on TriniGourmet that I loved and decided that’s the one I was going to use. The key to any good island stew is browning. You can buy this stuff in a bottle or you can do it the old fashioned way with oil and brown sugar.
Heat the oil in a large stew pot. Make sure it gets nice and hot. I recommend if you have a fan over your oven to put it on and open a window if you are using this method.
Season your oxtails at least an hour before cooking. Put it in the refrigerator to marinate. Pull it out while your oil is heating up.
Pour the sugar in the oil and keep stirring it in the pot. Don’t leave your pot unattended. This stuff can burn easily so continue to stir until it’s a chocolate brown color. It will smokey so make sure you have a window open or a fan running.
Pour the oxtails in the pan and mix it up so they all get coated with brown sauce. Stir for about a minute or two and add your water or beef stock to the pot. Reduce the heat, cover and let it simmer.
I added potatoes and carrots to mines but you don’t have to add them to yours. You want to cook the oxtails until they are soft and tender. You can tell because they will start to fall off the bone.
Serve over white rice while warm and enjoy.
I hope you give this recipe a try and be sure to pin it for later.
[gmc_recipe 7963]
Nickida
Nickida is a first-generation Trinidadian American wife and mother of four. She enjoys sharing recipes from her childhood growing up in Trinidad with her readers. Nickida has a son with Autism and shares posts around traveling with a child with special needs to help other families like her own. She loves television, movies and is a true 80's baby.
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