Ragu of Jamaican Oxtail

I love Oxtail, you have to give it a lot of love (and by that, I mean time) but it's a cheap cut and it's gloriously unctuous and rich in flavour. I get the slowcooker out for this one, which is of some comfort in this mighty chilly weather..blip blip. That's the sounds of the stew blipping away whilst you go out and leave it to work its magic for 6 hours.
I made this recipe as a gift and wasn't sure how hot to make it so I used regular chillies, if you want a proper Jamaican kick, grab yourself a scotch bonnet!

Serves 4-6 as a ragu with pasta. I would imagine Pappardelle would be beautiful with this. 

Toss 6 pieces of oxtail in -

1tbsp flour

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ground all spice

½ tsp ground ginger

Salt and pepper

Fry in a hot pan, sealing all sides of the meat.

Next, fry 2 onions, get some colour on them, this will give the depth to the sauce

Add 4 cloves of garlic

1 lrg thumb of fresh ginger

1/3 can coconut milk (not imperative, I just had some to use)

1 can chopped tomatoes

1/2 can of water swirled in the empty tomato tin

3 bay leaves

small bunch of thyme leaves

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tspcayenne,

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp dark vinegar

1 heaped tbsp dark muscovado sugar

Chopped chilli of your choice

Squeeze of 1 Lime 

Add the meat to the sauce and Let it cook on high for 5-6 hours in a slow cooker or in the oven and let rest before sliding the meat of the bone and serving. 

If you have any good oxtail recipes, I would love to hear them...