Oxtail Stew
Jamaica (Jamaican Chinese and African culinary synthesis)
Jamaican oxtail stew is one of the Caribbean's most satisfying cold-weather (and year-round) preparations: oxtail pieces marinated in browning sauce, allspice, thyme, scotch bonnet, and green onions, browned in a Dutch pot, then braised for 3–4 hours until the gelatinous cartilage has fully dissolved into the sauce and the meat falls from the bone. Butter beans are added in the final 30 minutes, absorbing the rich, unctuous sauce. The defining characteristic is the sauce's body: the collagen from the oxtail converts to gelatin during the long braise, creating a sauce that sets to a wobbly jelly when cooled — the test of a properly cooked oxtail. Jamaican browning sauce (a caramelised sugar-based colouring) gives the distinctive dark colour.