Instant Pot Jamaican Oxtail Recipe
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Instant Pot Jamaican oxtail recipe – When we consider Jamaican foods, the first dish that often comes to mind is the yummy, spicy flavor of our all-time favorite Jamaican beef patties.
However, that is not the only exciting and most craved food that Jamaica is famous for…
Oxtail is another Jamaican classic and famous food. Oxtail has become pretty synonymous with Jamaica. No one really says “oxtail recipe” without starting with the word “Jamaican” first!
If you’ve never tried this protein-rich dish of Jamaica, you are missing something extraordinary.
(*In my Tamar Braxton voice, “Get your life!”)
Jamaican oxtail recipe in the pressure cooker
How do you cook oxtail in an Instant Pot?
Whenever you plan a trip to Jamaica, never forget to order this signature dish. You can easily find this cuisine at any restaurant or hotel where you’re staying.
But what if you’re at home and want to make this recipe?
I gotchu – with an easy Instant Pot Jamaican oxtail recipe that cuts down your cooking time (by 4 hours) without compromising the authenticity and mouth-watering flavors!
But before I show you the most effortless Jamaican oxtail recipe that’ll have your family and friends thinking you stewed in the kitchen for at least 8 hours – if not all day! First, I’ll share a bit more about this Jamaican delicacy.
What is Jamaican oxtail made of?
Why are oxtails called oxtails?
Traditionally, oxtail originated from oxen. However, today, oxtail is the meat of an ox, steer, or beef cattle. Both genders’ tails.
People often ask, is oxtail pork? Oxtail is beef, never pork.
This beef tail is rich in gelatin, which is why you’ll often find oxtail in recipes that require long, slow cooking. Likewise, that’s why oxtail is delicious when cooked in stews and soups!
Jamaican oxtail stew
The oxtail makes a wonderfully hearty soup that stretches a small quantity of meat with fresh green vegetables. Oxtail stew is also a Jamaica country favorite.
Before skinned or cut into pieces for market, an oxtail typically weighs 8 to 9 pounds. This tail is high in gelatin meat because of the maximum quantity of collagen. When cut, the pieces of oxtail have various sizes because the tail narrows toward the end. The marrow is in the center, surrounded by fats and meat.
Why do Jamaicans eat oxtail?
True to almost every culture of Brown and Black people, we now honor culinary delicacies considered initially as poor man’s food.
Jamaican oxtail is no different. An entree derived from leftovers and unwanted cuts of meat.
Is oxtail a delicacy?
Jamaicans began enjoying oxtail out of necessity and perfected the taste of this now culturally iconic dish.
Today, oxtail is regarded as Caribbean cuisine. A delicacy slow-cooked ’til the meat is so tender that it’s falling off the bones!
What does oxtail taste like?
Though oxtail may not be suitable to look at, its taste is worth trying.
The oxtail tastes like beef, and when cooked, produces an intense high flavor.
Comparing oxtail to a short rib, the oxtails are juicier and more tender with a silkier texture.
How do you cook oxtail?
There are lots of ways of cooking oxtails with the addition of a variety of vegetables. Nowadays, well-reputed cooks and chefs are using it in innovative styles and techniques – with the Instant Pot being the best way.
As the oxtails have a rich amount of bone and cartilage with a small quantity of meat, they must be simmered and slow-cooked for outstanding results.
Though tails are being utilized for much more than stew or soup today, long, slow braising in a liquid is the ideal technique to present an impressive result while giving lots of flavor to the oxtails dish that is very little meat.
How long does it take to cook oxtail?
Slow-cooking may turn the cartilage and bones into gelatin high in taste and make a tasty sauce. When preparing the tail, cook it for at least eight hours on the stovetop.
Can you cook oxtail in a pressure cooker?
Oxtails work significantly excellent in slow cookers and pressure cookers like the Instant Pot.
Hands down, pressure cooking is the fastest way to cook oxtail without compromising any of the beautiful flavors!
In fact, the flavors intensify when pressurized, and the cooking time reduces by half. From eight hours to four hours – Wowza!
Instant Pot pressure cooking is also a healthier way to prepare traditional dishes that usually require all-day cooking on the stove.
The shorter cooking times through electric pressure cooking lend to better preservation of vitamins and minerals while intensifying each recipe’s soulful flavors and enhancing the texture and taste.
How it started: How long does it take to cook oxtails on the stove?
Stovetop Jamaican oxtail recipe – 8 hours of you stewing over a hot pot + overnight simmering.
How it’s going: Do you think this recipe would transfer well to an Instant Pot?
Instant Pot Jamaican oxtail recipe – 4 hours of everything in the pressure cooker – and you simply walk away!
(*In my tacky-tourist voice, “Instant Pot Jamaica me happy!”)
Are you able to put oxtail in the crockpot? Or a slow cooker, too?
You can also make stewed oxtail on the Instant Pot slow-cooker setting (same as a crockpot).
However, this will double the time it would take to pressure cook.
But you can still simply throw all ingredients in the one-pot, close the lid, and walk away!
Easy oxtail recipes
There are several varieties of how oxtail is prepared, from Jamaica to Spain. No matter where in the world or what ingredients it’s served with – pressure cooking is still the best and easiest way to prepare this worldwide delicacy!
Oxtails can be found in many cuisines like Russian, Italian, British, African, Asian, Jamaican, and Spanish.
It’s most often simmered or stewed and served as an oxtail soup, stew, or braised in a liquid, like red wine.
As oxtail is very boney and cartilaginous with little meat, oxtails are perfect for making stock and can make the tastiest beef stock.
For the majority part, the intense beef flavor may come from the bones or marrow; however, the meat is also delicious for meat lovers.
This stock is the main ingredient of oxtail soup, including the meat, leafy greens, herbs, and, often, sherry wine.
The stock is thick and gelatinous because of the released collagen, which turns this dish into rich, hearty stews.
What else can you add to this Jamaican oxtail recipe?
If you visit Jamaica, the locals have plenty of oxtail recipes to share!
An authentic Jamaican oxtails recipe from scratch may include these ingredients, similar to the Jamaican brown stew recipe.
- salt
- black pepper
- Worcestershire sauce
- garlic
- soy sauce
- brown sugar
- yellow onion
- green onion
- pimento berries
- allspice berries
- bay leaf
- thyme
- beef broth
- vegetable oil
- garlic powder
- oxtail seasoning
- and sometimes curry powder
This authentic Jamaican oxtail recipe here includes the classic main ingredients of onion, thyme, and beef bouillon for the broth.
What is oxtail seasoning?
Oxtail seasoning is specific to cooking oxtail, although I like to use it on everything!
You can find my favorite oxtail seasoning HERE.
Jamaican oxtail is so flavorful, so as long as your other main ingredients include time (no pun intended with the recipe spice ‘thyme’) and a pressure cooker, you’ll have a recipe for success!
Shop my kitchenware!
Instant Pot Duo Nova | Grace Caribbean Traditions oxtail seasoning | Spur Tree Jamaican oxtail sauce | Courtly Check serving spoon | Courtly Check spoon rest | Pioneer Woman Instant Pot | Amazon heart measuring spoons | Amazon basting brush | Amazon small spatula | Pyrex measuring glass |
Instant Pot Jamaican oxtail recipe ingredients
- 2 pounds of oxtail
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon (approx) of oxtail seasoning (or your favorite all-purpose or beef seasoning)
- 2 cups of beef broth (or 2 cups of water & 1 beef bouillon)
- 1 (8 oz.) bottle of Jamaican oxtail sauce
- 10-15 sprigs of fresh thyme
Instant Pot Jamaican oxtail recipe in the pressure cooker
- Season the oxtail generously with Jamaican oxtail seasoning (or your favorite all-purpose seasoning).
- Add 2 cups of beef broth (or 2 cups of water and 1 beef bouillon) to the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot.
- Place the oxtail in the inner pot, trying not to place any tails on top of the other.
- Pour the bottle of Jamaican oxtail sauce over the oxtail in the inner pot.
- Use a rubber spatula or a basting brush to smother the oxtail in the sauce marinade.
- Add the chopped onions to the inner pot onto the sauced oxtails.
- Top with the fresh sprigs of thyme.
- Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is in the sealing position – up) and pressure cook on high for 4 hours.
- When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural release of pressure for at least 1 hour.
- To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
- Use a large spoon to baste the oxtails with the broth in the inner pot.
- Your easy Instant Pot Jamaican oxtail recipe is now ready to serve!
Pro tip: I’ve only ever cooked oxtail in an Instant Pot pressure cooker (both models Duo and Duo Nova.)
If you’re using a different pressure cooker make, and your oxtail is not tender after 4 hours (and an hour of natural steam release), pressure cook again for 1.5-2 hours.
Can you cook Jamaican oxtail on the stovetop?
Again, Instant Pot is the best and fastest way to cook oxtail.
However, for traditional stovetop cooking of oxtail, use the ingredients above and allow at least 8 hours to cook and stew thoroughly in a large pot.
What do you eat with this Jamaican oxtail recipe?
What side dish goes with oxtails?
Oxtail is best served with favorite Jamaican sides like rice and peas, plantains, Jamaican cabbage, butter beans/lima beans, soul food black eyed peas, and Jamaican coco bread.
Soul food dishes like Black folks baked mac and cheese, fried cabbage, and Instant Pot Southern green beans are also great compliments to this dish.
Why are oxtails so expensive?
You may need to put in an order ahead of time as the availability of oxtail will rely on supply and demand in your area, contributing to its price increase.
After all, there is only one tail per cow!
The expensive price tag for oxtail is also because this signature Jamaican meal is regarded as Caribbean cuisine – a gourmet delicacy for other cultures wanting to make it.
In addition, oxtails are sold in sections, and since oxtail is a tail, it’s thick at one end and thin at the other. Thus, you will receive some smaller oxtail pieces and some meatier parts.
Remember that since the oxtail contains bones, cartilage, and connective tissues, it has a small amount of meat.
As my husband often describes my favorite gourmet restaurant picks – oxtail has become “A little bit of food for a whole lot of price!”
Where do you buy oxtail?
I’ve had success purchasing oxtail at my local Caribbean store and at military commissary stores.
How do you store oxtail?
If you’re not cooking the oxtail right after you buy it from the market, you can store it in the fridge for two to four days, or if wrapped airtight, you can keep it in the freezer for up to a month.
Is oxtail healthy to eat?
You typically won’t eat oxtail on its own. Almost always, it’s one part of an overall dish, including various other ingredients. As a result, the number of calories and fat will change.
However, you get a hefty dose of protein with each serving. Plus collagen, which has been shown to improve muscular strength.
Overall, oxtail is an ideal source of protein and iron, making it very keto-friendly!
To receive the most advantages of eating oxtail, add various healthy vegetables to this recipe.
What are other famous Jamaican foods?
The beautiful country of Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Caribbean. And one of the largest when it comes to food and recipes!
Indeed Jamaica is one of those countries with the tastiest food in the world!
Ackee and saltfish
Ackee and salt codfish is the national dish of Jamaica. It is an exciting and tasty recipe.
Ackee is typically eaten for breakfast, and it is very yummy!
It’s stewed with garlic, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, spices, and the salted fish, usually cod, but sometimes tuna and mackerel.
Whenever you visit this country, don’t forget to try the national dish of Jamaica. You will never forget the delicious taste!
Rice and peas
Rice and peas is the side dish to most Jamaican meals, from jerk chicken to brown stew and even oxtails!
Very accessible and simple make, Jamaican rice is cooked with coconut milk.
Most of the wide range of beans in the West Indies and Jamaica are alluded to as ‘peas.’
You’ll find rice prepared with red kidney beans or pigeon peas, also adored by Jamaicans.
Callaloo
This is another food that is served with most dinners as a side dish.
Callaloo is a green leafy vegetable, and its flavor is similar to kale, spinach, or the always present soul food collard greens of the American South.
Callaloo is commonly slashed and sautéed with onions, garlic, and frequently scotch bonnet caps. It’s nutritious, delicate, and eaten with any supper, even breakfast!
Coco bread
Coco bread is flour, yeast bread with a bit of coconut milk and a little sugar added, found throughout Jamaica.
Cut into circles or squares and folded over once, the bread is commonly utilized for sandwiches.
Jamaican beef patties
Pocket sandwiches, turnovers, empanadas, and Greek pitas are, for the most part, excellent. However, in Jamaica, the fold-over stuffed sammie is known as a patty!
The circle of the flaky mixture is ordinarily loaded down with sauteed ground meat, onions, and flavors at that point collapsed over on itself to frame a half-circle.
Authentic jerk chicken
Authentic Jamaican jerk chicken is like no other poultry flavoring – smokey, aromatic, and sometimes spicy hot!
The chicken is first marinated or dry-rubbed with the chef’s concoction of jerk spices, including garlic, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon.
Jerk seasoning always includes heat! From pimento, a locally grown spice, to hot peppers like a scotch bonnet.
Run down (pronounced “run-dun”)
Run-dun is a typical Jamaican fish stew usually prepared with hot peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, spices, and large chunks of fish. Primarily salmon, tuna, and mackerel but sometimes cod slow-cooked in coconut milk.
The recipe is typically served with dumplings or plantains and is consumed as any meal of the day – breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Why are oxtails so good?
Oxtails are a simple-to-make dish, requiring more time than ingredients.
It’s just a tail obtained from a cut of beef and nothing else.
But the curiosity to try this recipe is something that crosses boundaries.
It’s so good, consisting of lots of protein – bones, cartilage, and meat!
People love to eat oxtail, whether in stew, soups or served with rice and vegetables.
This recipe shows you how to prepare oxtail in half the time when using an Instant Pot pressure cooker!
Whenever you visit Jamaica, don’t forget to try this iconic Caribbean dish to compare to the version you make at home!
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Make it a meal – cook Jamaican oxtail with these quick & easy Instant Pot side dishes!
Equipment
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds oxtail
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon seasoning salt oxtail seasoning
- 2 cups beef broth or 2 cups of water & 1 beef bouillon
- 8 oz sauce 1 bottle of oxtail sauce
- ¼ teaspoon thyme 10-15 sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Season the oxtail generously with Jamaican oxtail seasoning (or your favorite all-purpose seasoning).
- Add 2 cups of beef broth (or 2 cups of water and 1 beef bouillon) to the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot.
- Place the oxtail in the inner pot, trying not to place any tails on top of the other.
- Pour the bottle of Jamaican oxtail sauce over the oxtail in the inner pot.
- Use a rubber spatula or a basting brush to smother the oxtail in the sauce marinade.
- Add the chopped onions to the inner pot onto the sauced oxtails.
- Top with the fresh sprigs of thyme.
- Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is in the sealing position – up) and pressure cook on high for 4 hours.
- When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural release of pressure for at least 1 hour.
- To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
- Use a large spoon to baste the oxtails with the broth in the inner pot.
- Your easy Jamaican oxtail recipe is now ready to serve!
Video
Notes
- I've had success purchasing oxtail at my local Caribbean store and at military commissary stores.
- I've only ever cooked oxtail in an Instant Pot pressure cooker (both models Duo and Duo Nova).
- If you're using a different pressure cooker make, and your oxtail is not tender after 4 hours (and an hour of natural steam release), pressure cook again for 1.5-2 hours.
