Southern Slow Cooker Oxtails Recipe - From The Queen of Soul Food Cooking (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to brown oxtails before cooking? ›

Put the meat in the oil and sear each side for a couple of minutes. Browning your oxtails will not cook the meat. Instead, it will enhance its color and aroma by caramelizing its exterior. Browning beef oxtails in a hot skillet before braising will also add rich depth and flavor to the meat.

Fill with enough water to cover oxtails and place over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook oxtails until tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

For Jamaican oxtails, you use scotch bonnets, green onions, browning, and spices like nutmeg and allspice. For southern-style, it's a lot tamer. I make mine with a hearty onion brown gravy. That is heavy on the sauteed onions and simply spiced with thyme, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

By soaking and blanching the oxtail before cooking any impurities are removed. To cook: Oxtail requires long, slow cooking to produce tender, succulent meat. It should be cooked for a minimum of 3 hours for the best results.

“If you leave any parts not browned, you are leaving flavor behind." Wondering about seasoning? Stockton suggests seasoning your meat one day (or at least 10 hours) ahead of time, then letting it sit uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator.

There is a good amount of fat and collagen that melt into your dishes as oxtail cooks, which will give a wonderful round texture to sauces and that slightly sticky feel to the meat. And the bonus flavor from the bone marrow that will cook into your dishes make this cut one to really get to know and not be afraid of!

If you cook meat at too high of a temperature in your slow cooker, you're likely to overcook it. When you cook your food slowly at a lower temperature, you unlock the magic of slow cooking. Some of the best cuts of meat for slow cookers are tougher cuts like chuck roast or oxtail.

Much like the other cooking methods, you want to trim off any excess fat, brown the outside, and deglaze any leftover bits from the browning process. This time, use wine to deglaze the pan and sauté onions, celery, carrots, and garlic.

As the meat braises, the collagen inside the cut cooks down and becomes gelatin; as it dissolves, the meat's fibers relax and tenderize. However, if the cooking temperature is too high, these muscle fibers will shrink and seize up, toughening.

Jamaican oxtail in particular is reminiscent of the African one-pot cooking traditions used by the African slaves and maroons on the island as early as the mid-1500s. Island Spice Grill is bringing the classic to New York City's streets.

Why do Jamaicans love oxtail? ›

The origin of stews like oxtail can be traced back to our colonial heritage. Enslaved Africans on plantations were given very meager amounts of protein and often had to make do with cheaper cuts of meat or ends of slaughtered animals to add protein to their diets.

In a large bowl, combine the paprika, black pepper, salt, oxtail seasoning, onion, garlic, scallions, 4 of the thyme sprigs, and the hot sauce. Add the oxtails and toss them with the spices until evenly coated. Cover the bowl and allow the oxtails to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

The only way to cook oxtail – long and slow. The meat, fat and tendons need a long time to cook and soften, resulting in a rich and velvety beef stew. Slow cookers and pressure cookers are ideal for cooking oxtail. Alternatively, you can braise oxtail in a casserole dish in a warm oven overnight for best results.

While it's not absolutely necessary to brown the oxtails before stewing them, it is highly recommended. Browning meat results in caramelization which greatly enhances the flavor of the finished stew.

The idea is that browning builds flavor through the Maillard reaction, which will then get spread around through the whole pot as the meat and vegetables slowly braise in liquid.

Browning meat adds flavor. There is very rarely a recipe where you wouldn't want it. However, it is an extra step that adds time and complexity so it's up to you if you do it. At the end of the day, there are no hard and fast rules about cooking.

The cheaper cuts of meat are ideal for braising and stewing. It's always best to brown the meat before braising as this makes the meat look more attractive and adds extra flavor, although some say that the meat tastes sweeter not being browned.