HHeritage Kitchen

Main Dishes

Oxtails

Deeply seasoned oxtails browned hard, then braised low and slow with onion, garlic and aromatics until the meat falls off the bone and the gravy turns dark and glossy. This one takes time — that's the whole recipe.

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Slow-braised oxtails in dark gravy in a Dutch oven beside a bowl of white rice

Prep time

20 min

Cook time

3 hr 30 min

Total time

3 hr 50 min

Servings

6 · 6 servings with gravy

Origin Story

Oxtail dishes turn up across many culinary traditions, and the versions most familiar to Black Americans today owe a great deal to Caribbean cooking, particularly Jamaican oxtails with their browning, allspice and butter beans. Over the last few decades oxtails have taken a firm place in Black American food culture — on restaurant menus, at Sunday dinners and at the celebrations where somebody is willing to stand over a pot all afternoon.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds oxtails, trimmed of excess fat
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 large yellow onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 carrots, cut into chunks
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 5 cups beef broth, plus more as needed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water, optional

Instructions

  1. 1

    Pat the oxtails dry and season all over with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and thyme. Let them sit at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.

  2. 2

    Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Brown the oxtails in batches, 4–5 minutes per side, until dark crusted. Move them to a plate.

  3. 3

    Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook 8 minutes until softened.

  4. 4

    Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot.

  5. 5

    Add the Worcestershire, broth and bay leaves, then return the oxtails and their juices. The liquid should nearly cover the meat; add broth if needed.

  6. 6

    Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook 3 to 3 1/2 hours, checking occasionally, until the meat is falling off the bone.

  7. 7

    Skim the fat from the surface. If you want a thicker gravy, stir in the flour-and-water slurry and simmer uncovered 5–10 minutes.

  8. 8

    Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve over rice with plenty of gravy.

Heritage Kitchen Tips

  • Season the oxtails the night before if you can — the salt has time to work all the way in.
  • Braise them a day ahead and refrigerate. The fat lifts right off the top and the gravy tastes better the next day.

Kitchen Note

Patience is the ingredient. Brown the oxtails in batches so they sear instead of steam, then keep the braise at a bare simmer for hours. The meat is ready when the connective tissue has broken down and a fork slides in with no resistance — not a minute before.

Variations

  • Add butter beans or lima beans in the last 30 minutes, the way many Caribbean cooks do.

Storage and reheating

Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently with a splash of broth.

Round out the meal

Complete the meal

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