This Jamaican Oxtails Recipe is fall off the bone tender and full of amazing flavor. It can be made in about an hour with your pressure cooker or cook it low and slow in a slow cooker.
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The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.
If you ever ask me what my favorite Jamaican dish is, I’ll probably say oxtail. It’s a recipe that my mom would make for special occasions. I wish we could have eaten it weekly, but oxtail can be so darn expensive. So it became one of those special Sunday dinners or “let’s celebrate something” dinners.
Oxtails usually take hours to cook. But wow, the flavor and the tenderness the oxtail brings are worth it. Lucky for me, I’m a pressure cooking fanatic and found that using a pressure cooker cuts the time of cooking oxtail by a ton. For this recipe, you can use a pressure cooker or even a slow cooker.
Ingredients Needed
Ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions are on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Oxtail - Choose beef oxtail that is medium in size and of similar size. Try and choose oxtail pieces that do not have too much fat on them.
- Marinade Ingredients - Brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, allspice.
- Other Ingredients - vegetable oil, yellow onion, green onion, garlic, carrots, scotch bonnet pepper (or habanero), beef broth, thyme, cornstarch, water, butterbeans
How to Make Jamaican Oxtails and Gravy
First, I mise en place my ingredients by chopping my onions, garlic, and scotch bonnet or habanero pepper. Make sure to remove the seeds and membrane from the hot pepper, or your oxtail will be too spicy.
Then prepare your oxtails by cleaning them with a little bit of water and vinegar, and then dry them off with some paper towels. I know I know, they say not to wash your meat but my mom would literally cuss me out if I didn’t. So I do.
Next, season your oxtails with brown sugar, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, allspice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and browning. Use your hands and mix, ensuring that your oxtail pieces are fully covered.
Now you can decide at this point if you feel like marinating or not. If I’m pressure cooking or slow cooking, I usually skip this step, and the flavor is still pretty amazing. If you choose to marinate, marinate in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
Pressure Cooking Instructions
Turn the pressure cooker on the “high sauté” setting. If using an Instant Pot, select “Sauté and press the “+” button until it is the “more” setting. Once your Pressure Cooker is “Hot”, add your vegetable oil to the pot.
Next, add your larger oxtail pieces to the pot, flat side down about ¼ inch apart, and brown on each side for about 2 minutes. Make sure you’re watching the oxtails at this browning stage, as you don’t want to burn the oxtail. If you do, your oxtail gravy will taste bitter later on.
You can choose to brown all your pieces of oxtails but I usually only brown the larger pieces of the oxtail. The smaller pieces usually don’t need browning.
Once you’ve browned your oxtail, deglaze your pressure cooker by adding about 2 Tablespoons of beef broth to the insert. Take a wooden spoon and deglaze your pot by removing the brown bits at the bottom. Then add your yellow onions, green onions, carrots, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. Stir and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions have softened.
Add dried thyme, oxtails (and the liquid from the marinade), remaining beef broth, and ketchup to the pressure cooker insert. All the broth will not cover the oxtail. You don’t need it to.
Press “Cancel” on your pressure cooker. Cover with lid, making sure the valve is set to “Seal.” Set your pressure cooker to cook on High Pressure for 45 minutes.
Once your timer goes off, allow the pressure cooker to naturally release. All this means is that you don’t touch it. If you’re like me, you may anxiously stare at the pressure cooker waiting for your oxtail goodness. After about 25 minutes, all of your pressure should have been released. Double-check by making sure that the pin button has dropped or switch the valve to “Venting” to ensure all the pressure has been released. Press “Cancel” on the pressure cooker and then open the lid.
Remove the oxtail pieces and vegetables from the Pressure Cooker and place in a bowl and set aside. I use a spider strainer for this step.
Then press the “Sauté button on your pressure cooker.
Once your liquid starts to boil, make a cornstarch slurry by whisking the cornstarch with water in a separate bowl. Slowly stir in the slurry into the pressure cooker. Add drained butter beans to the pressure cooker as well and stir them in. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened a little and the butter beans are warmed.
Return oxtails and vegetables to the pressure cooker. Serve and enjoy.
Notes on Pressure Cooker Oxtails
- It’s best if all your oxtails are medium sized oxtails that are similar in size. If you can’t get them the same size, no worries. It’ll still work.
- Oxtail that is too fatty will lead to fatty gravy. You want some fat, just not too much fat. If your oxtail is extremely fatty, use a paring knife to remove some of the excess fat.
- Scotch Bonnet is typically used for this recipe. If you can’t find a scotch bonnet, a habanero can be substituted. You could also use about 1-2 teaspoons of this scotch bonnet pepper sauce.
Looking for recipes to serve this Jamaican Oxtails with? Try these out:
- Jamaican Rice and Peas (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
- Jamaican Rum Punch
- Sauteéd Jamaican Cabbage
Other popular Jamaican recipes:
Find the full video tutorial on Youtube. Don't forget to click the thumbs-up button and subscribe for more recipe videos.
If you've made this oxtail recipe or any other recipe on the blog, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave a comment below. Your feedback is always appreciated!
The BEST Jamaican Oxtail Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs oxtails
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon browning
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 4 green onions chopped
- 1 Tablespoon garlic chopped
- 2 whole carrots chopped
- 1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper seeds and membrane removed and chopped
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 Tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 16 oz can Butter Beans drained
Instructions
- Rinse oxtails with water and vinegar and pat dry. Cover oxtails with brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, all-spice, and browning and rub into oxtails.
- Set Pressure Cooker on High Sauté and once hot, add vegetable oil. Next, add your larger oxtail pieces to the pot, flat side down about ¼ inch apart, and brown on each side.
- Remove oxtail after browning and place in bowl.
- Deglaze your pressure cooker by adding about 2 tablespoon of beef broth to the insert. Take a wooden spoon and deglaze your pot by removing the brown bits at the bottom. Then add your yellow onions, green onions, carrots, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. Stir and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions have softened.
- Add dried thyme, oxtails (and the liquid from the marinade), remaining beef broth, and ketchup to the pressure cooker insert.
- Press “Cancel” on your Instant Pot. Cover and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Once timer is done, allow pressure cooker to naturally release.
- Once all pressure has released, open lid and remove oxtails and vegetables, leaving liquid behind. Turn Pressure Cooker on sauté. Once liquid begins to simmer, create a corn starch slurry by combining corn starch and water to a separate bowl. Stir into simmering liquid. Add drained butter beans into pressure cooker and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, until liquid is slightly thickened and butterbeans are warmed.
- Add oxtails and vegetables back to the pressure cooker. Serve and enjoy 🙂
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Prepare the recipe as instructed up until the oxtails need to be browned. Brown oxtail over medium-high heat on the stovetop in a skillet. Once oxtail are browned, deglaze skillet by adding 2 tablespoon of beef broth. Add onions and carrots to skillet and stir until onions have softened. Add these ingredients to the slow cooker as well as all remaining ingredients, except the butter beans. Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or until oxtail is tender. 30 minutes before serving, create a cornstarch slurry by combining corn starch and water to a separate bowl. Stir into slow cooker along with the drained butter beans.
Stove Top Instructions
- Follow the instructions above and then rather than placing in a slow cooker or pressure cooker, cook it on the stove on medium low heat for about 3 hours, stirring occasionaly or until oxtails are tender. Add the butter beans when there is about 30 minutes left on the cook time.
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Notes
- It’s best if all your oxtails are medium sized oxtails that are similar in size. If you can’t get them the same size, no worries. It’ll still work.
- Oxtail that is too fatty will lead to fatty gravy. You want some fat, just not too much fat. If your oxtail is extremely fatty, use a paring knife to remove some of the excess fat.
- Scotch Bonnet is typically used for this recipe. If you can’t find a scotch bonnet, a habanero can be substituted. You could also use about 1-2 teaspoon of this scotch bonnet pepper sauce.
Maritza says
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe I impress my family which they love Jamaican oxtail they prefer more than the Cuban recipe my six year old granddaughter enjoy every bite .
Tanya says
Thanks so much 🙂 So glad you liked it.
Jo Ann Gantt says
OMG, this is so good. I left off the hot stuff and catsup. But man nothing but good eating.
Tanya says
Thanks so much Jo Ann 🙂
Timothy Rumbinas says
nce Love this recipe. My mother has a Jamaican family looking out for her during the outbreak. Our Jamaican brothers and sisters truly care for my mom.
Some of the distinctive dishes of Jamaica are saltfish and ackee, patties, and oxtail. My vote goes to oxtail. It is a very rich dish, so you don't need much to feel full. Because of the bone and the marrow, the gravy is full of nutrients. This is a classic example of a dish that that was once supposed to be unhealthy, but it turns out to be nourishing. Give thanks.
Tanya says
Yes Timothy, I agree. Oxtail doesn't get the respect it deserves sometimes lol.
Denise says
Absolutely delicious .... The best!!
Oxtail rules ....
Do you have a recipe for Instant Pot Lamb Shanks?
As someone has already said, the recipe is well set out .... Well done, the pics look mouthwatering!
We gonna make again later his week.
Stay safe xx
Frank Anthony Fiora says
Yo. Bangin. These are as good if not better than the ones I get on the island. Making them tonight with Sunday rice for the neighbors and us. Thx my man
Tanya says
You're so welcome 🙂
Francie says
Oh mah gawwwwd this is perfection. I’m super white and can’t take much heat haha so I subbed bell peppers for scotch bonnet. Cooked it stovetop and it came out just amazing. Thank you for this just perfection!!
Tanya says
lol, thank you Francie 🙂 Happy you liked the recipe.
Mr C says
Great recipe thanks love for sharing
I went for the over night marinade as I run out of time
I have the old school pressure cookers on stove top not em new fancy ones with sauté buttons and all
This thing looks yummy I should have trimmed the fat off a bit
But thanks for making my day
Do you have any lamb recipes
Tanya says
Hi Mr C, so glad you liked the recipe. I have a Moroccan Spiced Soup that uses lamb. https://www.myforkinglife.com/pressure-cooker-moroccan-spiced-soup/
Lady Dee says
I used my new Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker to make these oxtails. They can out perfect and my husband loves the recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Tanya says
Thank you 🙂 So glad you liked them.
Philip says
Hi Tanya,
I am a fellow West Indian living in the USA. I have never cooked oxtails before, but my family and I love them, so I thought I would give your recipe a try. I must commend you on how well laid out your cooking instructions and recipe is, but I have just one question (forgive me as I am not an experienced cook)...
I am using the slow cooker method. Do I add the cornstarch and water after I have added the beans and then saute the lot, or do I remove the meat and vegetables from the slow cooker, add the cornstarch and water then saute for a bit before adding the beans and slow cooking for another 30 minutes? Thank you in advance for your help and for posting such a wonderful, easy to follow recipe.
Tanya says
Hi Philip, great question! My slow cooker doesn't have a sauté function, so I don't generally thicken the liquid in it. For the slow cooker, you can remove 1 cup of the liquid and add the cornstarch to that, then return it to the slow cooker along with the beans to cook for the last 30 minutes.
Jen says
I made this in my slow cooker. Of course that meant browning the tails in my cast iron skillet and deglazing that, but it works.
I had to make a few substitutions because I didn't have a couple of the ingredients that I thought I did. I was suddenly out of soy sauce, so I used this noodle soup base used in Asian cooking. I thought I had allspice but I didn't so I used garam masala. I didn't have Browning and had never even heard of that so I used hoisin sauce. I used both some aging jalapenos, mushrooms and bell pepper (it was use them or throw them and the Louisiana girl in me can't not use them!). My Kroger had habanero so I used a couple of those.
It came out great! A bit spicier than your recipe but that's ALSO the NOLA girl in me... Delicious, thanks for sharing!
(Oh, in the slow cooker it cooked for about 3.5 hours. The last 30 minutes I threw in the butter beans. I used frozen instead of canned.)
Tanya says
Thanks so much Jen! I love spicy too, I may bump it up a level the next time.
heiroasis.com says
I cooked these by your recipe to perfection on the stovetop. My family and friends enjoyed. I also shared your recipe with a few friends and co workers. Thank you for sharing this perfection?
Ebony James says
Thank you so much!! I'm really happy you all enjoyed it!
Marie C. says
Just tried oxtail Stew a couple of weeks ago. My Mom cooked ox tails sometimes when I was growing up and I loved them, but not with these ingredients. A Jamaican Woman has a, unfortunately take out only food hut about 45 mins from where we live in Germany. I say unfortunately because it would be such a nice fantasy to at least be able to sit outside listening to some Reggae music and pretending we were in Jamaica while eating her wonderful food. But in any case we finally gave it a try and I was immediately in heaven, so much so we had to go back just a week later to get more 🙂 From reading your ingredients I am sure they are the same as the woman uses in her ox tail stew. Can't wait to make it myself. So thank you so much for posting your recipe. Keep on rockin it 🙂 Marie C.
Tanya says
Thank you so much Marie C. I hope you enjoy the recipe. Maybe I can save you a 45 minute drive lol 🙂
Tameka says
This will forever and always be my go-to oxtail recipe! It's perfect! You make me look good lol--thanks!!!
Doug Evers says
I made this on Saturday and it was delicious. So good. Just had some leftovers for lunch and remembered I needed to come back in here to thank you. Thank you for the recipe.
Tanya says
Thank you so much Doug! Yes, the leftovers are amazing since that oxtail gets to sit in all that delicious gravy. So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Benita Moody says
I've always wanted to try making authentic Jamaican oxtails and your recipe was on point. Made these for Sunday dinner in the crockpot and they were absolutely amazingly delicious!!