Jamaican Oxtail with Butter Beans

The story

Jamaican Oxtail with Butter Beans is a Jamaican main with a clear sense of place. Oxtail became a treasured Jamaican braise through resourceful use of a once-inexpensive cut, transformed by long cooking, dark seasoning and aromatics. Butter beans are now a familiar addition. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 1800 g oxtailcut at the joints
• 480 g butter beansdrained cooked weight
• 220 g onionchopped
• 100 g Spring onionschopped
• 20 g Garliccrushed
• 5 piece fresh thymesprigs
• 1.5 tsp ground allspice
• 35 ml soy sauce
• 25 ml Worcestershire sauce
• 20 ml Jamaican browning sauce
• 35 g tomato paste
• 1 piece Scotch bonnet chilliwhole
• 1200 ml beef stock
• 250 g carrotchunked
• 25 ml neutral oil

Method

1. Season oxtail with allspice, soy, Worcestershire, browning

   Season oxtail with allspice, soy, Worcestershire, browning sauce, half the spring onion and half the garlic. Marinate at least 1 hour.

   Tip: Cool briefly and skim excess fat, but keep enough richness for the gravy to feel luxurious rather than lean. Avoid: Short cooking leaves oxtail chewy, poor browning gives a pale gravy and adding beans early makes them disintegrate.

2. Brown oxtail in batches in a heavy

   Brown oxtail in batches in a heavy casserole until the exterior is dark and caramelised. Do not crowd the pan; strong browning is essential to the final gravy.

   Look for: the exterior is dark and caramelised

3. Cook onion, remaining garlic and tomato paste

   Cook onion, remaining garlic and tomato paste in the same pot for 5 minutes. Return oxtail, add thyme, Scotch bonnet and stock, and bring to a simmer.

4. Cover and cook very gently for 2½

   Cover and cook very gently for 2½ hours, turning pieces occasionally. Add carrot after 2 hours.

5. When the meat is nearly falling from

   When the meat is nearly falling from the bone, stir in butter beans and simmer uncovered 20–25 minutes so the beans absorb gravy and the sauce reduces.

6. Remove Scotch bonnet and skim excess surface

   Remove Scotch bonnet and skim excess surface fat. Taste, then rest 10 minutes before serving so the gelatin-rich gravy settles and thickens.

   Look for: Meat pulls from the bone with a fork and the reduced gravy coats the back of a spoon.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.