Jerk Oxtail (Instant Pot)

Jerk Oxtail– fall-off-the-bone tender oxtail stew braised with butter beans.

This dish is a play on the classic Jamaican Oxtail and Butter Beans, but more flavorful and more heat.

Jamaican Curry Oxtail is becoming more popular, which is mighty tasty. However, I also wanted to share this Jerk Oxtail recipe with you.

I love anything “jerked,” especially oxtails. The warmth and spiciness are what I love most about it. While Jerk spices give this recipe a distinct flavor, oxtails give it a distinctly rich taste.

The Jamaican Jerk Oxtail with butter beans has got to be one of the most popular Jamaica dishes. It has been enjoyed by many, myself included. 

What are Oxtails?

Compared to other cuts of meat, I know that oxtails don’t receive that much love in the U.S., but they should. And I encourage you to add it to your food bucket list and at least give it a try at least once. And it’s so good, and you’ll want to nibble on the bones and kick yourself for not trying it sooner.

Oxtail come from oxen, but today it is simply the tail of beef cattle or veal of both genders. 

What is Jerk Paste? 

The most important step to jerk chicken is the jerk seasoning or jerk paste. Jerk seasoning is normally a powdered version of what the paste would be but with less flavor. Jamaican Jerk Paste is naturally light in color because of the natural spices but darkened with browning. Browning is a caramelized brown sugar additive and Jamaicans usually use it for cooking and baking.

How to Marinate Jerk Oxtail? 

Jerk marinade is crucial for any jerk recipe, whether for jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk lobster or jerk oxtail.

After cleaning and washing the oxtail, rub the cleaned oxtail with homemade or store bought jerk paste, along with other spices of your choosing. Allow the oxtail to marinate overnight for maximum flavor, or at least 8 hours. Don’t forget to pierce each piece of oxtail to allow the jerk marinade to seep through the meat and into the bones.

 A lot of people nibble on their oxtail bones.

Have you ever heard the term, seasoned to the bone? I think someone came up with that after they tasted jerk oxtail ha ha 

Tip and Trick for Cleaning and Cooking the Best Jerk Oxtail

Cooking Jerk Oxtail in an instant pot is pretty straightforward, but here are a few tips you should keep in mind:

• Make sure the oxtail cuts you buy are similar in size and are smaller. This way, they will cook evenly.
• Oxtail is naturally fatty, but you wouldn’t want too much fat in the stew. If so, make sure to trim excess fat before cooking.
• Washing the meat is essential. Use cool water and a citrus or vinegar to soak the meat then rinse with cool water before seasoning.
• You can adjust the spice lee according to your liking. If you love spicy food, you can add scotch bonnet pepper or more Jerk Paste as well. HAVE YOU TRIED BROWN STEW GOAT?

Why is Jamaican Jerk so Popular?

Today, Jamaica is known for its contributions to music (reggae and dancehall) and literature, for being the place where the Rastafarian movement was founded, and for its unique cuisine.

Many Jamaican dishes make extensive use of spices.

In particular, Jamaican allspice (which is also known as “Jamaican pepper”, “pimenta” оr “pimento”), and annatto are used for flavoring many recipes.

Annattoo is quite an unusual spice, it comes from the pulp that surrounds the seeds of achiote trees, and has a flavor that tastes like pepper with some nutmeg added.

The most famous Jamaican dishes are “jerk” dishes.

Is Jerk Oxtail Really Jamaican?

In these dishes, meat is marinated with a mix of spices known as “Jamaican jerk spice”; and then cooked on a charcoal grill. Jerk spice is actually a mix of several spices and is very fiery as a result of the allspice and scotch bonnet peppers in the mix.

Jamaican food like many other African foods was influenced by the traveler from a different country that visits the country.

People from countries such as China and India brought the Asian tropical crops with the mixed of exotic flavors. These flavors have become the traditional food of most of them can be found in most of the country.

Some Jamaican dishes such as callaloo, plantain, rice and peas, curry goat, and spice jerk were introduced to the country by foreigners.

Ingredients for Jamaican Jerk Oxtail

Above is the seasoned oxtail for the Jerk Oxtail recipe. Below is the browned oxtail for the Jerk Oxtail Recipe. Browning the oxtail is key in any really delicious and authentic Jamaican Oxtail or any stew for that matter. This method helps to retain all the juice inside the meat and helps it cook faster. I have proven this myself with trial and error.

Usually it would take at least 4 hours to braise oxtail on the stove top. However, with browning the meat, you can cut that time down by an hour. But, with the instant pot, after browning the oxtail, you will not even need an hour before you are ready to serve.

Adding fresh vegetables to the jerk oxtail stew or any other stew will in fact create a hearty stew. On top of all the vegetables above is the Jerk Paste. Never brown the meat with Jerk Paste on, it will burn and change the flavor of the dish.

This Jerk Oxtail Recipe only calls for a quarter cup of water. While pressure cooking, the juices from the oxtail that was locked in during the browning process, will be released. This will created more liquid or oxtail gravy as we know it.

Jerk Oxtail Made in the Instant Pot