Jamaican Oxtails

Oxtails were once considered poor people food, but certainly that has not been the case in more modern times. "Generally," an oxtail is cut into about 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces (that is, segments) by the butcher, and the pieces include the bone. Naturally some segments are larger in diameter than others, as the oxtails taper from the larger part where it connects to the animal, to thinner pieces near the end of the tail. You may well see oxtails packaged and sold in boxes, or perhaps packaged in plastic bags, which is how I tend to buy them. Oxtails are commonly prepared in Jamaica, where there are numerous individual and family recipes. Oxtails are best when cooked slowly; so, that makes a slow cooker a great choice, or just cook them for a few hours over low heat on the stove top in a heavy-bottom pan/pot.   

 

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

3 1/2 to 4 pounds oxtail pieces (that's like 1 medium to large oxtail; soaked in vinegar and water, see instructions below)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2/3 cup chopped onion

5 green onions (scallions), chopped (including green)

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups sliced or chopped carrots

1 scotch bonnet or habanero chili, seeded and finely chopped (heat lovers: use 2 or 3 scotch bonnets)

1 1/2 cups beef stock

1 teaspoon Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme (crushed in the palm of your hand)

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

2 teaspoons seasoned salt

3 tablespoons water mixed into 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

 

In a non-reactive pan or bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and enough water to cover the oxtails. Let soak 5 to 7 minutes, then pour off the water and rinse the oxtails in cool water and pat them dry with some paper towels. Add the oil to a skillet over medium heat; brown both sides of the larger oxtail pieces (I don't brown the small end pieces). Put all of the ingredients, except the cornstarch and water, into a slow cooker (or pan, if cooking on the stove top). I have an older slow cooker, so I set it at "high" for 75 minutes, then turn it to "low" for the duration until the oxtails are very tender (generally about 4 to 6 hours); for stove top, you can do similarly by setting the heat on "high" for about 30 minutes, then turn the heat to "low" for the duration (about 3 to 4 hours). Oxtails have a fair amount of fat, so you may choose to skim off some of the fat. Remove the oxtails carefully to a plate from the pan/cooker. I empty the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a sauce pan and heat it and add the cornstarch/water mix to thicken it (of course, if you cook the oxtails on the stove top, you can just thicken the cooking liquid in that pan). Add the oxtail pieces back into the thickened gravy before serving. I'm a mashed potatoes kind of guy, especially with the rich gravy of the oxtails, but rice is another great choice.

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Detail-This word is related to "tailor," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from French; more specifically, from the French spoken by descendants of the Normans in England. "Detail" is a prefixed word with the "de" from Latin "dis," in this case acting as an intensifier and meaning, "completely, totally." The main part of the word is of unknown origin, but Latin had the noun "talea," meaning "a narrow or slender piece of wood;" thus, "a stick, a twig, a rod." This gave Latin the verb "taliare" meaning "to cut," and this passed into Latin-based Old French as "taillier," meaning "to cut into pieces," and this then gave French the noun "detaillier," meaning "something or an item cut into pieces," which then became "detail" meaning "(the act of) cutting into pieces;" thus also, "a small piece (of something)," and this then became "détail," meaning "small parts of something, the particulars of something." English borrowed the word around 1600 as "detail," and the verb either came from the same French source or simply developed from the borrowed noun in the mid 1600s, or perhaps more likely something of both. The verb means "to tell something with many or all specifics;" thus also later, "to do work with attention to the smallest particulars."