I am going to come right out and be sacrilegious, even though I live in Eastern North Carolina, this area has the worlds worst bbq, bar none. From corn pone, which is nothing but tasteless corn meal hard tack, to bbq shacks that seem to always serve side dishes out of can, to cooking whole hog and then chopping all the different individual flavored meats up into one pile and pouring some vinegar and pepper flakes over it and calling it done. But, that’s me and we are all different. Feel free to protest, I’m just saying what my taste buds like and don’t like.
We are all influenced by the foods we grew up with and where we have lived. Being from CA, which has no traditional bbq style, I grew up influenced by our huge immigrant population and the styles that can be found in immigrant enclaves around Los Angeles, Korean, Hawaiian, Caribbean, African, Vietnamese, Texas, Mexico, the deep south. Once I moved to Hawaii, I was influenced by Filipino, Asian, and Hawaiian flavors.
I like to take traditional recipes from countries I have spent time in and convert them to bbq with smoke, after all, a smoker is just an oven fueled by fire and anything that can be cooked in an oven or on a stove can be cooked in a smoker or on a grill.
In Jamaica and Barbados, and other Caribbean Islands cooking the tails of cows into stews is popular. Here is how I do it with a smoker. It is a process, which I find fun, but not what you want to bother with if you need dinner in the next 30 minutes.
Ingredients for the Marinade
2 Scotch bonnet peppers, chopped
2 Tablespoons of Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon of course black pepper
5 chopped up scallions
1 Tablespoon of chopped thyme, fresh if you have it
½ cup orange juice
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Allspice
1 Tablespoon Nutmeg
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Put everything in a food processor or, I use a Vitamix Blender, and process until smooth. Takes a minute or two.
This will make enough Jerk sauce for this recipe and plenty left over to do chicken at some other time.
Dry Rub
Take your cow tails, Oxtails they call them in the market
Season with:
Seasoning salt
Onion powder
Granulated Garlic
Dried Thyme
Just sprinkle all these ingredients on the tails like you would salt and pepper.
Put them in your smoker at 225°-250° using a strong wood for smoke. I use hickory chunks with a handful of Allspice berries on top in my Stumps. You are only giving them smoke, not completely cooking them. When their internal temp is 160° take them out of the smoker.
Take an aluminum pan or a roasting pan and throw in some cut up onions, garlic, carrots, red pepper, mushrooms, potatoes, thyme, and tomato. Any amount you want, like a pot roast. Add some red wine, 4-5 bay leaves, beef stock and a little orange juice. I have never measured the amount of liquid, I just use what looks to me will be the right amount for the amount of veggies and meat.
Put the smoked tail pieces on top and seal with aluminum foil. Save yourself some charcoal and put it in an oven at 325° or back into a hot smoker or over charcoal in a grill. Let it simmer away for 3-4 hours. Done.
Goes well with Cajun red beans and rice, fried bananas, salad, some bread to mop up the gravy with. To me every thing bbq goes great with beer, Tiki drinks, or in this case, a Bourbon Sidecar.
Sorry I don’t have pictures. I am still waiting on my new smoker and right now am only grilling. I will make this with pictures once winter sets in.
We are all influenced by the foods we grew up with and where we have lived. Being from CA, which has no traditional bbq style, I grew up influenced by our huge immigrant population and the styles that can be found in immigrant enclaves around Los Angeles, Korean, Hawaiian, Caribbean, African, Vietnamese, Texas, Mexico, the deep south. Once I moved to Hawaii, I was influenced by Filipino, Asian, and Hawaiian flavors.
I like to take traditional recipes from countries I have spent time in and convert them to bbq with smoke, after all, a smoker is just an oven fueled by fire and anything that can be cooked in an oven or on a stove can be cooked in a smoker or on a grill.
In Jamaica and Barbados, and other Caribbean Islands cooking the tails of cows into stews is popular. Here is how I do it with a smoker. It is a process, which I find fun, but not what you want to bother with if you need dinner in the next 30 minutes.
Ingredients for the Marinade
2 Scotch bonnet peppers, chopped
2 Tablespoons of Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon of course black pepper
5 chopped up scallions
1 Tablespoon of chopped thyme, fresh if you have it
½ cup orange juice
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Allspice
1 Tablespoon Nutmeg
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Put everything in a food processor or, I use a Vitamix Blender, and process until smooth. Takes a minute or two.
This will make enough Jerk sauce for this recipe and plenty left over to do chicken at some other time.
Dry Rub
Take your cow tails, Oxtails they call them in the market
Season with:
Seasoning salt
Onion powder
Granulated Garlic
Dried Thyme
Just sprinkle all these ingredients on the tails like you would salt and pepper.
Put them in your smoker at 225°-250° using a strong wood for smoke. I use hickory chunks with a handful of Allspice berries on top in my Stumps. You are only giving them smoke, not completely cooking them. When their internal temp is 160° take them out of the smoker.
Take an aluminum pan or a roasting pan and throw in some cut up onions, garlic, carrots, red pepper, mushrooms, potatoes, thyme, and tomato. Any amount you want, like a pot roast. Add some red wine, 4-5 bay leaves, beef stock and a little orange juice. I have never measured the amount of liquid, I just use what looks to me will be the right amount for the amount of veggies and meat.
Put the smoked tail pieces on top and seal with aluminum foil. Save yourself some charcoal and put it in an oven at 325° or back into a hot smoker or over charcoal in a grill. Let it simmer away for 3-4 hours. Done.
Goes well with Cajun red beans and rice, fried bananas, salad, some bread to mop up the gravy with. To me every thing bbq goes great with beer, Tiki drinks, or in this case, a Bourbon Sidecar.
Sorry I don’t have pictures. I am still waiting on my new smoker and right now am only grilling. I will make this with pictures once winter sets in.
