Slow Cooker Caribbean Oxtail

This week we’ve been doing some traveling to warm places through our culinary adventures.  On Monday we enjoyed Vegetarian Pho, and our tastebuds took a trip to Vietnam where the weather is holding steadily in the 80s.  On Wednesday, we visited sunny Florida for our citrus fun.  Today, we’ll be taking a trip to the warm Caribbean with our latest Springdell meat cut, the beef ox-tail.

For those of us that aren’t familiar, the ox-tail is exactly what it sounds like- the tail of the cow. Though it may at one time have been an off-putting section of beef, it has been gaining popularity in recent times, particularly with the Paleo movement.  The amount of flavor and nutrition hiding in this cut is substantial, making it the perfect cut for soups, stocks and  dishes with a long and low cooking time.  

I must admit that I am not a big fan of working with meats, especially the items that are pretty clear as to what piece of an animal I am working with, such as offal, or in this case, the tail.  My way to combat my aversion to meat long enough to get a tasty meal on the table is often to slow cook it. This process can minimize the “face to face” time with the meat. When you lift the lid after many hours of cook time, the piece that was once identifiable as a heart, for example, has transformed into a tasty, tender, and not so easily identifiable morsel. When I got the ox-tail from the farm, I knew that it would likely be spending some time in the pot.

On Monday, I had mentioned a traditional use of the ox-tail in pho, but given it was Meatless Monday, we went with a scrumptious veggie version.  This left me on a quest to try something new and exciting with my ox-tail.  The quest was a resounding success!  I’d like to thank Stephanie Gaudreau from Stupid Easy Paleo fame for the inspirational ingredients for today’s dish.  Thanks, Stephanie!

This was a hit in the Anderson household!  The bones were repurposed for a beef bone broth.  The ox-tail is a gift that keeps on giving!  

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  Slow Cooker Caribbean Ox-tails

  A flavorful, easy and creative use for the ox-tail.

   

   

  Prep Time

  15 min 

  Cook Time

  6 hr 

   

  Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef ox-tails
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (optional)
  • 2 cups beef stock, homemade or organic is best
  • 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 Tablespoon allspice berries (or 1 teaspoon ground allspice)
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
  • Coconut oil or fat of choice
  • Sea salt and pepper

  Instructions

  1. Heat a spoonful of coconut oil in a pan or slow cooker (if you have a slow cooker with a “brown” setting).
  2. Sprinkle the ox-tail pieces with salt and pepper and add to the pan/pot, along with the onion, garlic, carrot, ginger and jalapeño (if using).
  3. Brown the ox-tail on all sides.  Once the meat is browned, transfer the pan contents to the slow cooker if it is not there already.  Add the remaining ingredients and slow cook on high for 6 hours.
  4. Serve over rice, or to keep it Paleo-friendly, cauliflower rice.

  Notes

  1. I shredded the meat off the oxtail and into the dish and repurposed the bones for a beef bone broth.  Another Springdell gift that keeps on giving!

  Adapted from  Stephanie Gaudreau’s Stupid Easy Paleo