Curry Oxtail 🐂

Ingredients:

3 lbs. oxtails, trimmed of excess fat and rinsed

1 lemon, halved, seeds removed

1 Tbsp. Jamaican curry powder

1 tsp. chicken bouillon powder, such as Knorr

1 tsp. sea salt

1 small onion, chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh ginger

5 scallions, chopped

5 peeled garlic cloves

2 -1/2 oz. culantro

1 Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, optional

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

5 pimento seeds

Curry:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. Jamaican curry power

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. cumin seeds

6 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste

1-1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-by-1-inch pieces

2 tsp. beef base, such as Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base

1 small red bell pepper, sliced

1 small yellow bell pepper, sliced

White rice, roti and/or plantains, for serving

Detailed Steps:

For the marinade and oxtails:

Place the oxtails in a medium bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice over the oxtails and rub it in. Drain off the lemon juice and rinse the oxtails twice in cool water. Drain well. Sprinkle the oxtails with the curry powder, bouillon powder and salt.

Combine the onion, ginger, scallions, garlic, culantro and Scotch bonnet pepper, if using, in a blender. Add 1/3 cup of water and blend until pureéd. Pour the green purée onto the oxtails. Work the marinade into the meat with your hands. Add the oil and mix thoroughly. Add the pimento seeds. Transfer the marinade and oxtails to a gallon resealable bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

For the curry:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring constantly so the powder doesn’t burn, until the yellow powder turns brown and foams lightly with tiny bubbles, about 2 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to become translucent, about 1 minute.

Add the marinated oxtails to the pot and stir to combine with the curry mixture. Stir in 3 cups water; you should have a soupy, greenish-brown mixture. Stir in the thyme and salt and cover the pot with a lid. Lower the heat to medium-low or until you have a low simmer. Simmer, checking and stirring the curry about every 30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly, the oxtail is tender but not falling off the bone and a layer of oil forms on the surface, about 2 hours.

Stir the potatoes into the pot. Mix the beef base into 1/2 cup water and stir it into the pot. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are slightly soft, about 20 minutes. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and cook until the oxtails are very tender and almost falling off the bone and the potatoes are soft, 15 to 30 minutes more.

For a thicker curry sauce, mash about 4 potato pieces into the sauce and stir to combine. Taste the curry and add salt if needed. Serve with white rice, roti and/or plantains.

Total Time: 3 hrs. 45 mins.