Jamaican Oxtail Stew

Photo: flickr user stu_spivack

Ingredients

cup Dried small white beans

1 tablespoon Vegetable oil

3 pounds Beef oxtails

3 Garlic cloves peeled and crushed

1 medium Yellow onion peeled and diced

1 medium Tomato diced

2 cups Canned beef stock

2 cups Water (approximately)

2 tablespoons Freshly ground allspice or to taste

Salt to taste

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Tabasco sauce to taste

Preparation

Place beans in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup of the water, bring to a boil, covered, then turn off the heat. Allow to sit for 1 hour, covered, then drain.

Brown the oxtails well in the oil. Place the oxtails in a 6-quart stove-top casserole. Add the garlic, onion and tomato. Add the beef stock and enough water so it just covers the contents of the pot. Add the allspice, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 3 1/2 hours, adding the drained beans after 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Remove the lid during the last hour of cooking if you want a thicker sauce. Be careful the pot does not dry out. Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce.

This recipe serves 4 to 5.

Comments: I first tasted this dish in Kingston, Jamaica, at a colorful local restaurant called The Pepperpot. I was really surprised by the brightness of flavor and for a moment both Craig, my assistant, and I were stumped. The assertive flavor of allspice was so obvious that we missed it.

This recipe is close to what is served at this wonderful restaurant.