Jamaican Style Stewed Oxtail

My favorite Jamaican dish has to be Oxtail. Rich beefy taste and the savory gravy that every rice dish begs for.

Start with 4lbs of Oxtail, you can trim some fat if you desire. I leave mine on for added taste.

Wash your meat in cold water with 2 tbsp of white vinegar and 2tbsp of all purpose flour. Let sit for few minutes and then rinse thoroughly.

Gather your ingredients for seasoning your Oxtail. You will need a tomato, an onion, a carrot, some garlic, all spice and tyme (scallions work well with this dish, my grocer was fresh out this day).

 Chop the onion, carrot, garlic, seed and chop the tomato and place in the bowl with the oxtail.  Add salt, pepper, thyme and allspice.

Let this sit overnight in the fridge and remove from the fridge 45mins prior to cooking to allow the meat to come to room temp.

Fry the Oxtail in olive oil (do not fry the other ingredients, reserve them in the bowl) on high for 10 minutes.

The meat should be brown and starts to sear.

Add 4 cups of water to the bowl with reserved marinade stirring the mixture to collect all the flavor.

Add the contents of the bowl to the browned meat and bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

 After 3 hrs the meat should be tender and you can test this with a fork. If meat is still tough then replace lid and cook for longer. If it is your desired tenderness then remove the lid and let the pot simmer for a 5 minutes until gravy becomes a little thicker.

 Serve with steamed rice or rice and peas and enjoy!!

















Jamaican Style Stewed Oxtail

4 lbs of Oxtail
4 cups of water
1 onion
1 tomato
1 carrot
6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash of Browning
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil 
Vinegar and flour for washing the meat.


Start with 4lbs of Oxtail, you can trim some fat if you desire. I leave mine on for added taste.
Wash your meat in cold water with 2 tbsp of white vinegar and 2tbsp of all purpose flour. Let sit for few minutes and then rinse thoroughly.
Gather your ingredients for seasoning your Oxtail. You will need a tomato, an onion, a carrot, some garlic, all spice and tyme (scallions work well with this dish, my grocer was fresh out this day).
Chop the onion, carrot, garlic, seed and chop the tomato and place in the bowl with the oxtail.  Add salt, pepper, thyme and allspice.
Let this sit overnight in the fridge and remove from the fridge 45mins prior to cooking to allow the meat to come to room temp.
Fry the Oxtail in olive oil (do not fry the other ingredients, reserve them in the bowl) on high for 10 minutes.
The meat should be brown and starts to sear.
Add 4 cups of water to the bowl with reserved marinade stirring the mixture to collect all the flavor.
Add the contents of the bowl to the browned meat and bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 3 hrs the meat should be tender and you can test this with a fork. If meat is still tough then replace lid and cook for longer. If it is your desired tenderness then remove the lid and let the pot simmer for a 5 minutes until gravy becomes a little thicker.
Serve with steamed rice or rice and peas and enjoy!!

Pan Seared Fish (Used in Fish Tacos)

This dish was used to accompany the fresh tortillas and sides for a fish tacos entree but can be used anytime with just about any side dish.

Was the fish in cold water and place in a bowl, cover with water and add vinegar and salt.
Let sit for 5 minutes then rinse thoroughly.

Lightly season the fish with seasoned salt, black pepper and lemon juice.

Heat oil in a large non stick pan on med-high heat and add fish.

Continue to cook until fish is golden brown and flaky. Squeeze lemon over fish and plate.

There you have it , homemade fish with Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, Mexican black beans and Homemade Flour Tortillas.

Recipes in bold can be found on Spice of Life blog.













Pan Seared Fish

6 fillets of fish (Tilapia, Snapper, Mahi Mahi or any firm white fish can be used)
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lemon (1/2 for seasoning and 1/2 squeezed on fish when finished cooking)
2 tbsp Olive oil

Was the fish in cold water and place in a bowl, cover with water and add vinegar and salt.
Let sit for 5 minutes then rinse thoroughly.
Lightly season the fish with seasoned salt, black pepper and lemon juice.
Heat oil in a large non stick pan on med-high heat and add fish.
Continue to cook until fish is golden brown and flaky. Squeeze fresh lemon over fish and plate.

Mexican Black Beans

 A great side dish to any Mexican entree.

Gather ingredients.

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped garlic, jalapeno, cumin and saute for 30 seconds.

Add beans and broth and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Coarsely mash beans with potato masher and continue to boil for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the juice of 1 lime and the chopped cilantro.

Transfer to a bowl and top with a mild cheese (Montery Jack or Marble work best).

















Mexican Black Beans

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 cans of black beans , rinsed and drained
1 can of chicken broth
1 fresh lime
Chopped cilantro
1/2 cup cheese


Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped garlic, jalapeno, cumin and saute for 30 seconds.

Add beans and broth and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Coarsely mash beans with potato masher and continue to boil for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the juice of 1 lime and the chopped cilantro.
Transfer to a bowl and top with a mild cheese (Montery Jack or Marble work best).

Guacamole

This side can be used to top tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, etc or a bowl of tortilla chips accompanied by a cold beer.

Gather your ingredients, a cutting board, a sharp knife, spoon and a fork.

Cut avocados in half, remove pit and spoon avocado into a mixing bowl.

Finely chop one half of a small Spanish onion or 1/4 of a large one.

Finely chop one small or 1/2 of a large tomato.

Mince garlic.

Finely chop ribbed and seeded jalapeno pepper.

Chop cilantro.

Using the fork mash all ingredients to desired consistency adding the juice of one fresh lime and salt to taste.














Guacamole

3 avocados
2 cloves of garlic
1 lime
1 small or 1/2 of a large tomato
Chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper
salt

Gather your ingredients, a cutting board, a sharp knife, spoon and a fork.
Cut avocados in half, remove pit and spoon avocado into a mixing bowl.

Finely chop one small or 1/2 of a large tomato.
Finely chop one half of a small Spanish onion or 1/4 of a large one.
Mince garlic.
Finely chop ribbed and seeded jalapeno pepper.
Chop cilantro.
Using the fork mash all ingredients to desired consistency adding the juice of one fresh lime and salt to taste.

Pico de Gallo

Tangy and refreshing condiment for any Mexican inspired dish.

Finely chop sweet Spanish onion.

 Finely chop plum tomatoes.

Finely chop Jalapeno pepper (remove the ribs and seeds).

Add chopped cilantro and add along with juice from fresh lime and salt to taste.

Mix well and let sit for a couple hours in the fridge.

Serve as a side with your favorite dishes. (Fish tacos shown in picture, all recipes can be found in this Spice of life blog!).















Pico de Gallo

4 ripe plum tomatoes
1 Spanish onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves (or more to taste)
2-3 jalapeno peppers , seeded and finely chopped
1 lime
Salt to taste

Finely chop sweet Spanish onion.
Finely chop plum tomatoes.
Finely chop Jalapeno pepper (remove the ribs and seeds).
Add chopped cilantro and add along with juice from fresh lime and salt to taste.
Mix well and let sit for a couple hours in the fridge.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

These homemade tortillas are much better then store bought and very easy to make at home.

Start by gathering a few simple ingredients:

All-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, cold butter and hot water.

Sift then whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix in with your fingers until it all breaks down and is evenly distributed through the flour. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together.

Like this.

Place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into equal pieces and using a well floured rolling pin roll into a think tortilla round. To do this, roll the dough flat and with each roll turn the dough 90 degrees and roll again. Repeat this until the dough is very thin.

You are looking for thickness of a dime.

Heat a non stick pan on high, turn on your range fans cause this may smoke a little bit. Cook tortilla until it bubbles and turns golden brown, about 30-60 seconds a side. Use a spatula to check underside. Flip and repeat.

Place the tortillas on a plate and cover with a wet towel.

Serve with your favorite sides. I prefer Pan Seared Chick Fish with Mexican black beans, Guacamole and Pico de Gallo.

(recipes for items in bold can be found on this blog).















Homemade Flour Tortillas

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cold butter
1 1/2 cups hot water

Start by gathering a few simple ingredients:

All-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, butter and hot water.

 Sift then whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix in with your fingers until it all breaks down and is evenly distributed through the flour. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together.

 Place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into equal pieces and using a well floured rolling pin roll into a think tortilla round. To do this, roll the dough flat and with each roll turn the dough 90 degrees and roll again. Repeat this until the dough is very thin. You are looking for thickness of a dime.

 Heat a non stick pan on high, turn on your range fans cause this may smoke a little bit. Cook tortilla until it bubbles and turns golden brown, about 30-60 seconds a side. Use a spatula to check underside. Flip and repeat.

 Place the tortillas on a plate and cover with a wet towel.

Chicken Parmigiana

This classic dish is a lot easier then people think and can be made any night of the week with a very simple ingredients.

Wash your meat thoroughly and using a rolling pin or mallet flatten your chicken breast uniformly until the thickness is 1/4 inch, this can be done in between pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap.

Season your chicken with 1 tbsp Oregano , 1 tsp Garlic powder salt and pepper to taste and 1 tsp olive oil. Let sit in refrigerator for 4 hrs.

Form as assembly line starting with the seasoned chicken , then flour , eggs , bread crumbs and finally a plate to stage the breaded chicken. Dredge the chicken into the flour and then submerge in eggs , place the chicken into the breadcrumbs and ensure they are completely coated.

Repeat until all your chicken is breaded.

Fry the chicken in 1/2 inch frying oil until golden brown and place in paper towel lined dish.

Place the chicken on a baking tray and cover with Marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese and place in oven on broil until cheese turns brown. Keep a very close eye during this process!!! 

Garnish with parsley and Voila !

Chicken Parmigiana

4 chicken breasts
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 Tsp Garlic powder
1 Tsp Olive oil
Salt
Pepper 
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Container Bread crumbs
3 Eggs (beaten)
Crisco oil
Marinara sauce
Parmesan cheese
Parsley to garnish
 

Wash your meat thoroughly and using a rolling pin or mallet flatten your chicken breast uniformly until the thickness is 1/4 inch, this can be done in between pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap.

Season your chicken with 1 tbsp Oregano , 1 tsp Garlic powder salt and pepper to taste and 1 tsp olive oil. Let sit in refrigerator for 4 hrs.

Form as assembly line starting with the seasoned chicken , then flour , eggs , bread crumbs and finally a plate to stage the breaded chicken. Dredge the chicken into the flour and then submerge in eggs , place the chicken into the breadcrumbs and ensure they are completely coated. Repeat until all your chicken is breaded.

Fry the chicken in 1/2 inch frying oil until golden brown and place in paper towel lined dish 

Place the chicken on a baking tray and cover with Marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese and place in oven on broil until cheese turns brown. Keep a very close eye during this process!!!