Today was my grocery shopping day.   And like any other day, I left to go to Walmart but ended up at 5011 other places.

I’ve come to accept the fact that I’m a drifter, I’m what they call a “walk-a-pickney” in Guyana.   On any typical day I will leave to go to Point A and end up at Points A-Z…its a disease.   Yeah..I’ve diagnosed myself because I’ve been trying to understand why I can’t just go to the store and come back home.

So after my tour of the East Side of Atlanta, I returned home to start  making curry chicken patties.   I had just put the chicken on the fire when my mother in law called to say she was stopping by and she was bringing oxtail.

I thought to myself “that woman knows how to make me happy”…she always brings food whenever she visits and spares me from having to cook.  I was elated.  I started calculating in my head when would be the next day that I would have to cook.  I concluded that it would be 2 days from now.

I did my happy dance and went back to business.

 

The doorbell rings and in she walks with RAW oxtails in hand.    Apparently either her or her husband were going to cook it here…that’s what they had planned.    Let’s just say I ended up cooking the oxtails.

And why you ask?  Because I love my readers, and because I’ve wanted to post oxtails for quite some time.  And despite me being bone tired and wanting to do nothing but grab a cold beer and throw my feet up on the table while I catch up on my cooking shows, I decided to cook.    I hope you enjoy the effort I’ve put in…don’t say I’ve never done anything for you.

Oxtails Stew

4 lbs oxtails

1/2 tsp crushed ginger

4 cloves garlic

10 sprigs thyme

3 scallion, chopped finely

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 scotch bonnet pepper*

3 tbsp ketchup

2 beef bouillon

1/2 tsp pimento

3 tbsp canola oil

 4 tbsp sugar

water

16 oz can butter beans

Wash oxtails thoroughly.   Place in a large bowl.   Add ginger, garlic, thyme, scallion, onion, scotch bonnet pepper, crushed bouillon,  pimento and ketchup; mix well.  Let sit for at least 4 hours.

Heat 3 tbsp of canola oil over a medium fire, add sugar and allow to caramelize.  The sugar will melt and turn  dark brown(not black), add oxtail and stir.  Cook oxtails for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.*   Add enough water to cover oxtails, bring the water to a boil then lower the heat and allow to simmer.  Cook oxtails for 1 hour or until tender.**

Add butter beans.  If the liquid has reduced add enough water to cover the oxtail.  Cook for an additional 25-30 minutes.   The beans will become very soft and thicken the gravy.   Remove from heat and garnish with additional chopped scallion.

Notes:

*To reduce cooking time, after stewing the oxtails for 15 minutes, add enough water to cover and pressure for 10 minutes.   Cook for an additional 15 minutes, then add the butter beans.

**Cooking time will vary when cooking oxtails because it comes in a variety of sizes.  Just make sure to cook until meat is almost falling off the bone.