Jamaican-style oxtail stew 

Jamaican-style oxtail stew 

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I’ve made oxtail 1 000 times, but never like this! Abigail shared her secret to making it go further – add lamb knuckles. Then, give it a Caribbean twist with butter beans and Scotch bonnet chillies. This may require a bigger budget than the rest, but it’ll go a long way.

Ingredients

  • 1 T canola oil
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 T flour
  • 1 kg oxtail
  • 500 g lamb knuckles
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 T baby ginger, grated
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 10 spring onions, sliced
  • 1 stick celery, roughly chopped
  • 2 T allspice
  • 1 T smoked paprika
  • 1 T ground nutmeg
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • 1 T medium curry powder
  • 1⁄3 cup tomato paste
  • 3 T low-sodium soya sauce
  • 3 T muscovado or brown sugar
  • 2 Scotch bonnet or habanero chillies
  • 4 cups water
  • To finish:
  • 100 g spring onions, sliced
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 x 400 g can butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • For the rice:
  • 2 cups jasmine rice
  • 1 litre chicken stock
  • 1 t sea salt
  • 100 g black beans
  • 100 g kidney beans
  • A few celery leaves

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Season and flour the oxtail and lamb knuckles all over. Working in batches, sear the meat until golden and caramelised. Remove from the pan and set aside in a large bowl.

2. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, spring onion and celery to the pan, and cook until soft and slightly caramelised, about 5 minutes. Add the allspice, smoked paprika, nutmeg, thyme, curry powder and tomato paste, and cook for 2–3 minutes, or until fragrant and the tomato paste has thickened.

3. Remove from the heat and return the meat to the pan. Stir in the soya sauce to deglaze, then add the sugar and stir through. Add the chillies and 4 cups water, and return the pan to a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

4. To finish, add the remaining onion and spring onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Remove the chillies, stir in the beans, and garnish with spring onion.

5. To make the rice, rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear. Bring the stock and salt to a boil, and add the rice. Cook for 8– 10 minutes or until fully cooked, stirring occasionally. Allow the rice to steam on a low heat for 5 minutes before stirring in the beans and celery. Check seasoning and serve with the stew.

Find more stew recipes here. 

Khanya Mzongwana Recipe by: Khanya Mzongwana
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If you're anything like our deputy food editor Khanya Mzongwana, you're obsessed with uniqueness and food with feeling. Cook her family-tested favourites, midweek winners and her mouth-wateringly fresh takes on plant-based eating.

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Comments

  • default
    Nigel Lees
    May 15, 2022

    This really sounds delicious and I am certainly going to try it out. One question: Why is sugar added to the stew?