Jamaican Style Cast Iron Oxtail Stew

Last Updated on February 13, 2024 by Carne Diem

Protein:

Origin: Jamaican, Taste of the Islands, Nose To Tail Cooking

Method: Grill, Stovetop, Open Fire/Firepit

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This hearty oxtail stew recipe is loaded with tender beef oxtail, butter beans, Scotch Bonnet peppers, and a flavorful seasoned beef broth. The Jamaican style oxtails are the perfect cast iron recipe and are great when cooked over a grill or firepit.

So my wife recently kindly informed me that how can I claim to have a blog specializing in nose to tail cooking when I have no recipes featuring nose or tail. I couldn't agree with her more. I was excited to get to try to cook up a great oxtail recipe, reminiscent of the great oxtail dishes that I have enjoyed in Jamaica and across the Caribbean. Our final result was a fairly simple Caribbean oxtail stew that is perfect for making over a campfire, or on a grill or smoker, but can just as easily be made on your stovetop.

Making the Jamaican Style Cast Iron Oxtail Stew

The first step in making a great ox tail stew is sourcing some great oxtails. I have frequently seen oxtail at stores like WalMart, but have found the quality to be a lot better by going through your local butcher. For our Jamaican Style Oxtail Stew we chose to cook some Wagyu oxtail from Kansas City Cattle Company.

You will need about 1.5 pounds of oxtails for the recipe, though the recipe can be easily doubled, or you can include more oxtail for a heartier stew recipe.

In addition to the oxtail you will need an onion, 2 garlic cloves, fresh thyme, Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, paprika, all-spice berries, Worcestershire sauce, 1 can butter beans, Caribbean style curry powder, black pepper, ketchup, beef stock, and green onion for the recipe.

If you can find it, we highly recommend adding a little Browning to the dish. Browning is common in Caribbean cooking and is a blend of caramel color and seasonings used to add a deeper flavor and color with Caribbean dishes.

Brown the oxtail

In a cast iron pan, skillet, or Dutch oven brown both sides of the pieces of oxtail over medium high heat with a couple tablespoons of cooking oil. Be sure to get a nice crust on the outside. Once browned remove the oxtail from the pan and set aside.

Sauté the veggies

Sauté the sliced onion in the cast iron pan until just turning soft.

Add in the green onion, minced garlic, diced Scotch Bonnet pepper, and thyme. Cook for about 2 minutes.

Next add in the ketchup and spices including the all-spice berries. Stir the mixture to combine well and coat the veggies in the spice mixture. Reduce the heat to low.

Simmer the Jamaican Style Oxtail Stew

Next it is time to add your broth to the stew. Use a high quality beef broth for this. We love products from Kettle and Fire, and is is fun to mix up flavor profiles using some of their interesting broth blends. For this recipe we used a mixture of a basic beef bone broth and a Lemongrass Ginger Bone Broth.

Add the broth and Worcestershire sauce to the pan. Adjust the heat to bring to a gentle simmer. If you are using browning, add it at this point as well.

Once the liquid is at a nice simmer, add the oxtail back to the pan or Dutch oven.

Simmer the Jamaican Style Cast Iron Oxtail Stew for 1.5-2 hours, or until the oxtail is tender. When tender, you should be able to start to pull the meat away from the bone easily. If the liquid level becomes to low during this phase, add a little more beef broth or water.

Flip the oxtails about every 30 minutes. Remember, if you are cooking over a campfire or using a fire pit like a Breeo, you will need to adjust the grate temp occasionally by raising or lowering the grate, to maintain a nice simmer and prevent over or under cooking.

Finally, once the meat is tender add in your butter beans. Continue to cook for about 30 minutes.

Serving the Jamaican Style Oxtail Stew

Remove the pan from the heat and salt to taste. Serve your oxtail stew warm along with other Caribbean favorites like Caribbean Rice and Beans, Caribbean Fire Shrimp, Jerk Chicken, and Jamaican Beef Patties. Or serve it as a hearty stew before enjoying a Grilled Cubano or Caribbean Roast Pork Sandwich. Wash it all down with some Girl Scout Key Lime-onade Pie and a Coconut Mai Tai.

We proudly use Lodge Cast iron pans on many of our outdoor cooks. We love their durability and the fact that they come pre-seasoned.

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