Cook's Country

♪♪ -"Cook's Country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table.

We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.

We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook, and we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.

We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.

This is "Cook's Country."

♪♪ Today on "Cook's Country," Morgan makes Jamaican oxtail for Julia.

I talk all about the popularity of oxtails throughout the world.

Adam reviews countertop compost bins, and Christie cooks a Caribbean classic -- Jamaican rice and peas.

That's all right here on "Cook's Country."

♪♪ -Braised oxtail is a dish cooked all over the world.

And today, Morgan's gonna show us the Jamaican way to do it.

-Yeah, so this recipe is actually brought to us by Jillian Atkinson, who's a friend of the test kitchen.

She's also a food photographer and recipe developer in Brooklyn.

And she learned it from her grandmother.

-This is a traditional recipe.

-Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

It's grandmother cooking, aka the best kind of cooking.

I have 5 pounds of oxtail.

So I'm just gonna try to get some trimming off of them.

I really just don't want any of these large pockets of fat on here.

-Okay.

-You don't have to be precious about it, but you do want to get off anything that's way too much there.

-Gotcha.

Now, the one thing I'm noticing about these oxtails is, they're quite thick.

-Yeah.

So here I'm using ones that are 2 to 2 1/2 inches thick.

That's pretty important for how these actually cook through.

And you also want something that feels like a fun, substantial serving.

You can get them a couple different sizes.

It's worth asking your butcher specifically for something 2 to 2 1/2 inches.

So now I'm actually gonna rinse these.

So this is something Jillian learned from her grandmother.

-Well, that's interesting because usually we don't recommend rinsing meat, especially chicken, because it spreads more bacteria.

But this is different.

-Yeah.

So here it's because of how these are butchered.

You can get little bone fragments.

-Ah.

-So I'm just covering it with cold water and agitating it a little bit to make sure I'm getting any of those bone fragments that would be in there.

Now I'm just gonna drain these and then repeat.

-So how many times do you rinse them?

-Just twice.

Okay.

And now time to make the marinade.

So I'm gonna start with two scallions that I'm gonna smash.

So it's the same idea as smashing garlic.

"A," very fun.

-Yeah.

-And, "B," you actually break up the oils and the liquid, and you actually get this -- Like, you get it to release more of its flavor.

So I'm gonna chop this.

Just a rough chop.

It does not have to be perfect here.

Into my Cambro.

Okay.

So I also have 10 sprigs of thyme.

-Just a little bit.

-I know.

Nice and herbaceous.

And then I have two thinly sliced onions.

-Mmm.

-So I just have these and slice them nice and thin.

And 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

So this is just white vinegar.

I also have a tablespoon of Worcestershire.

-Mm-hmm.

-I also have a tablespoon of dark soy sauce.

So this is a little thicker and a little sweeter than most soy sauce you buy at the grocery store in the U.S. -Mm-hmm.

-But it adds a really nice depth here.

And then I have a tablespoon of pepper.

-Whoa!

-Oh, yeah.

It's got a little heat.

We're packing some heat.

A tablespoon of salt, which is gonna do some work on these oxtails.

I've got three garlic cloves that are just chopped.

They're not minced.

I also have a teaspoon of granulated garlic, a teaspoon of onion powder, and then I have eight allspice berries.

-Ah.

There's the classic Jamaican flavor.

-Yes.

I'm just gonna get in here and toss with my hands.

So you can see it's definitely a little chunky.

As it sits, the oxtails are gonna release a little liquid.

The onion's gonna release a little liquid.

So you can let this go anywhere 4 to 24 hours.

-Mm-hmm.

-I'm gonna let it go 24 hours tonight so it gets a lot of good flavor, but would you mind covering it and throwing it in the fridge while I wash my hands?

-You bet.

-Thank you.

So our oxtails have marinated 24 hours.

-They smell potent.

-Yeah, they do.

I'm just taking them and brushing off any marinade.

So we're gonna hang on to this.

-Mm-hmm.

-We can wash our hands.

-Okay.

-Okay.

So now I'm gonna make the browning.

So it's a lot like making a caramel.

-Mm-hmm.

-So I'm gonna start by adding 1/4 cup sugar to the center of this pot.

Even that out a little bit.

And I'm gonna heat it over medium low until it starts to liquefy around the edges.

So we're just looking for the edges to turn golden and liquefy.

It'll take about four minutes.

-Okay.

-Okay.

You can see it's starting to transform over here.

-Yeah.

-This is very, very hot.

So I'm just gonna take my spoon and just fold this in.

So I'm folding the melted sugar into the unmelted sugar and just trying to even it out.

So I'm just gonna keep stirring it.

And you can see it's starting to smoke.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now, that is supposed to happen.

You're making caramel.

This is really hot.

So you do want to be careful.

I'm using a long spoon here.

I'm actually gonna wait for it to get dark chocolate brown.

-Mm-hmm.

-So that's gonna take 4 to 6 minutes.

But the smoking is gonna keep happening.

So if you have a hood vent, you want to turn it on.

If you don't, open the window.

So we're at a lovely place.

We're getting to caramelly.

Like I said, dark chocolate brown.

So almost there.

-Mmm.

I can smell it.

-And it goes fast.

So you want to have water on standby.

So here I have 1/4 cup of hot water.

-All right.

-I'm gonna just hold it while I wait for this to go.

[ Sizzling ] -That is fun.

-So this is 1/4 cup of hot water, and you want it on standby.

You also want it hot so that it actually doesn't totally cause the sugar to seize.

So now I'm just gonna cook it until I get these nice, large bubbles on top.

I have this really great color.

I'm gonna crank this up to medium high and add these oxtails in.

[ Sizzling ] Get a nice little sear.

Love that sound.

-You gonna brown them all at the same time?

-Brown them all in the same time.

So the pot is nice and full, but that is okay.

The browning does a lot of work here.

It's actually gonna pick up a lot of that delicious caramelly flavor.

And you're not actually worried as much about overcrowding the pot here.

So I'm gonna actually keep turning these as they cook and I'm gonna want them to actually pick up some really nice flavor.

And then it'll take about 10 to 12 minutes till they're nice and browned all over.

-All right.

-So... And see?

Look at that.

-Goodness!

-Yeah.

You've got this great caramelization.

The meat's starting to brown a little bit.

The sugar's browning.

-Wow.

That's incredible.

-Yeah.

So I'm gonna flip these guys around.

-This is a really cool technique.

-Yeah.

-Makes me want to kind of try this with a whole bunch of braised meats.

-Mm-hmm.

Okay, so I'm gonna let this go probably another six minutes or so.

We'll try to get it nice and brown all over.

-All right.

[ Sizzling ] -See?

It's so nice and caramelized.

Everything's looking nice and brown.

There's a nice fond on the bottom of the pot.

You can hear that sizzling.

I think that's when you know it's ready.

We've got some good browning all over.

So I have 6 cups of hot water.

[ Sizzling ] All right.

So I'm gonna bring this to a boil.

Then I'm gonna cover it, reduce it to medium low, and let it simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

-All right.

-It's gonna start the work of breaking these guys down.

♪♪ -Throughout history and across cultures, cooks have relied upon lesser cuts of meat to feed their families.

But today, nose-to-tail cooking is trendy.

So let's talk about that tail.

The cut we now call oxtail once came from an actual ox, but now it refers to beef or veal tail.

Pretty much anywhere people have eaten beef, they have found ways to use the animal's tail.

And because the tail is a muscle that gets a lot of use, many recipes involve tenderizing via slow cooking or stewing.

And that's why almost every culture has a version of oxtail soup.

Pepperpot, the national dish of Guyana, also includes cow's or pig's feet, beef, peppers, spices, and cassareep -- a sauce made of bitter cassava.

Classic English recipes include vegetables, barley, and sherry, or Madeira.

In the Philippines, kare-kare is served with bagoong -- a fermented seafood paste.

And in Hungary, their oxtail stew is spiked with paprika and lots of red wine.

Spanish chef José Andres cooks his version with tomatoes, vegetables, sherry, and red wine.

And Korean cookbook author Maangchi prefers her oxtails with radishes and serves the stew with scallions, kimchi, and rice.

At "Cook's Country" our Jamaican oxtail stew draws inspiration from our friend Jillian Atkinson, who grew up eating the dish in her grandmother's kitchen.

♪♪ -Okay.

2 1/2 hours.

Let's go check it out.

-Oh!

-I know.

They've changed.

They're definitely, like, getting more tender, but they still have some time to go.

They're not quite as tender as I want them.

So that marinade we saved from earlier.

-Yeah.

-Time to add it back in.

Okay.

And one more ingredient here.

This is Scotch bonnet.

Scotch bonnets, as you know, are very, very spicy peppers.

But they're delightful.

-Mmm.

-They add a nice fruitiness, too.

So I'm gonna do something that Jillian's grandmother taught her and poke a little hole in it.

So this is not just... -For good luck?

-Not just for good luck, though we probably want some luck here, but when this gets in the hot liquid, it'll steam and it can explode.

-Ah.

-If you put this little hole in it, the steam escapes there.

So I'm just gonna nestle it in over here.

Now, when I stir this, I'm gonna pay attention to where that is.

I'm gonna cover this and let it go another hour.

By then, the oxtail will actually begin to be fork tender and they'll start to fall off the bone.

But they're still not quite done.

Another hour down, and we're getting closer.

-Oh, wow.

-And look at that.

I know, right?

So I'm gonna check the meat and just make sure it's at a good stage.

I want to check one of the thicker ones, one of the bigger ones, because that's gonna take the longest to get there.

So you can see it's actually so tender, it's a little hard to hold.

-Yeah.

-But that's good.

And then, yeah.

See how nice and fork tender that is?

-Ohh, look at that.

-Oh, yeah.

-Mmm.

-We're gonna have a good time eating this.

Here, I have a can of butter beans.

This is a 15.5-ounce can that I drained and rinsed, and if you can't find these, you can use frozen.

But I'm just gonna stir these in.

Keep an eye on that Scotch bonnet pepper.

Working around it.

So now this just has another 30 minutes of covered cook time.

We are almost there.

So those butter beans have soaked up all that good gravy.

-Ooh!

-One final ingredient -- I have 1/4 cup of ketchup.

-Ketchup?

-Yeah.

So Jillian learned this from her grandmother.

This adds a nice sweetness and acidity, and it actually gives a nice little body to the stew.

So I'm gonna stir this in, bring it up to a simmer over medium high.

I'm gonna cook it until the liquid level falls below most of these oxtails.

So you can see some of these tall ones, it's already below a little bit.

-Mm-hmm.

-But I want it to actually fall a little more below all of them.

I want all of them poking out.

-Okay.

-That's when I know it's ready.

So that'll take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

It kind of depends based on your stove and how much liquid your oxtails' released.

It's a pretty big range, but you just want to keep an eye on it.

You can see the meat is poking out above the gravy.

-Mm-hmm.

The gravy is nice and thick.

-The gravy is nice and thick.

The ketchup did its work.

I have some rice.

-Uh-huh.

-It's good for soaking up all this gravy.

So I'm gonna give you -- I'm gonna give you two.

-[ Laughing ] Ooh.

-Let's see.

Put one there.

The gravy is called oxtail gravy.

-Ooh.

-So you actually refer to the meat as oxtails... -Mm-hmm.

-...but the dish is Jamaican oxtail.

-Aha.

I'm gonna go right in for some of this gravy.

-Oh, nice.

-I'm really excited to taste it with that caramel start.

-Mm-hmm.

-The browning.

-Yeah.

-Whoa.

If I hadn't seen you start with caramel, I would never know that that sugar was in there.

-No, it doesn't taste sweet.

-Not at all.

No, it's dark and rich.

And then there are the layers of the flavor I kind of work through.

-I know.

-They're all from the marinade, I think.

-Well, you get the savoriness, but you also get a little bit of that allspice.

Has this nice hit of heat from the black pepper and that Scotch bonnet.

-Mm-hmm.

-But it's not punch-you-in-the-face spicy.

-Not at all.

-It's just got a nice little hit of heat.

Okay, let's shred up some of this meat.

See?

I'm just, like, so excited looking at how tender this is.

It's like... -[ Laughing ] Yes.

-You're like, "This is what meat should be like."

-I'm gonna try some of this meat.

Mmm.

-I love it.

It's so tender.

-Mmm.

-It's, like, falling apart.

-It is so much flavor.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's got this deep, hearty, beefy flavor.

-Yeah, well, and you get that.

Like, between the marinade and that braise, this is, like -- We put some love into this.

-Yeah.

Morgan, this is incredible.

Thank you for showing me how to make it.

-Well, thank you for cooking with me.

And thank you, Jillian's grandmother.

-Very true.

If you want to make this classic and wonderful Jamaican dish, start by using oxtails that are at least 2 inches tall.

Make browning with sugar and braise the oxtails for a total of four hours.

From "Cook's Country," with special thanks to Jillian Atkinson and her grandma, an incredible recipe for Jamaican oxtail.

-Did you cook with your grandma much?

-Oh, yeah.

My oma.

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-Mine's Moo-Moo.

-[ Laughs ] ♪♪ -If you're wondering what to do with all those leftover kitchen scraps, well, maybe a kitchen composter is in your future.

And here to break it all down for us is Adam.

-You know, compost bins.

Very exciting, Bridget.

The real composting takes place outside in the big compost bucket.

-Sure.

-These bins are countertop to hold your scraps to accumulate them before you take them outside.

We had a lineup of eight different bins.

Price range was $22 to $49.

First thing you do with any of these is, you line them with a compostable bag, just like this.

-Okay.

-And then you are ready to put your food scraps into them.

And that's where the size of the opening really makes a difference.

And I would like you to please put those peels into this compost bin.

-This one?

-Yeah, that'd be great.

-All right.

Let me give it a try.

Oh.

-Yeah.

See?

You're... [ Laughs ] I was gonna say you're fairly neat.

-Yes, I was trying to be neat.

-You're kind of neat.

-And then, yeah, not so much at the end.

So... -This is where the size of the mouth makes a difference.

-I can see a problem.

-This one was only 5 inches -- second smallest of the whole lineup.

Testers much preferred when the mouth was 6 1/4 to 7 inches long.

Those were the larger ones.

Just because it's easier to get the stuff in that way.

-Right.

-You can tell.

-I can tell.

-Capacity was important.

In our lineup, it ranged from 0.85 gallons to 2.4 gallons... -Mm.

-...for that green one right in front of you.

You know, larger capacity makes it a little easier.

Fewer trips outside to the composting bin.

However, you don't want them to be too heavy.

-Okay.

-That one in front of you, the 2.4-gallon one, was plastic.

It's sturdy, but it was only 2 pounds when it was empty, as opposed to the ceramic one, which was more than twice that.

It's 4 pounds.

-And that's empty.

Okay.

-That's empty.

Handles -- very important.

The last thing you want is a handle failure when you're picking up a compost bin full of scraps.

-Yes.

-You want them to be kind of beefy and sturdy and securely attached, like this gray model here.

-Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

-Some of them -- I don't know if you can see that -- but they were attached kind of like hooks.

And these felt less secure to testers.

And, in fact, they even came undone sometimes and that could result in a real mess.

Some of these models had filters in the lid, like that.

-Oh, yeah.

-Charcoal filter.

That's meant to contain the odors.

-Mm-hmm.

-In our tests, it really didn't make a difference.

All of them contain the odors, whether filters were in them or not.

-Gotcha.

-The last thing is the design of the lid.

Testers were looking for three things.

Why don't you try opening that one and use the back of your hand?

Your hands are sort of wet and gunky, so you open it with the back.

-Yeah.

-So they wanted it to be easy to open in the back.

They wanted the lid to be able to stay open, propped open, just like that one.

-Right.

-And they wanted it to be easy to close...like that one.

-Just like that.

-Even better if the lid was detachable so you could clean it easily.

-Nice.

-And on the topic of cleaning, wider, open surfaces without little ridges... -Mm.

-...or little grooves that collect liquid or gunk or even get moldy over time... -Right.

-...they definitely didn't want that.

And some of these, the plastic ones are dishwasher-safe.

So the overall winner is this gray one in front of you.

That's the OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin in the 1.75-gallon size.

It's $33.

-Mm.

-And it's everything we look for in a compost bin.

It's got a light weight at 1.6 pounds, a generous capacity.

It looks decent, the handle is beefy and solidly attached.

The lid was perfect and nice and wide.

-Very cleanable.

-Very cleanable.

Easy-Clean.

-Mm-hmm.

-But, you know, if capacity is your driving force when it comes to compost bins, that green tall one in front of you, that's the Exaco ECO 2000 compost pail.

That was our capacity winner at 2.4 gallons, and it's just $22.

-Mm.

So a couple of options, no matter how much you compost.

Well, if you're looking for something to do, again, with those kitchen scraps before you haul them outside, why don't you try one of our winners?

You can pick up the OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin, and that will run you back about $33, or for larger capacity, go with the Exaco ECO 2000 kitchen compost pail, and this will set you back only 22 bucks.

♪♪ -Rice and beans -- They're a classic combination.

And together they're found in recipes all over the globe... except for Antarctica.

We're looking at you.

But today we're going somewhere warmer -- the Caribbean, for a particularly special dish called rice and peas.

And it's a Jamaican favorite.

And Christie's here to show us how it's made.

-Many cultures do have their own versions of rice and peas.

It's hearty, it's economical.

The ingredients are easy to find and store.

And Jamaica's no different.

Their version of rice and peas, as they call it... -Right.

-...has a richness and a flavor profile that just takes this relatively humble dish to a completely different level.

To start it right, we have to start with dried beans.

-Okay.

-So I have a cup of dried red kidney beans that I've already soaked in a quart of cold water for at least eight hours, although you can go up to 24 if you like.

It's important to not skip that step because soaking the beans softens the skins and that's gonna let the beans cook more evenly... -Mm.

-...and keep the skins intact as they cook.

So we'll add these.

I've already drained them.

We'll add them to a large saucepan.

The whole backbone of this recipe is this really intensely flavored cooking liquid.

-Mm.

And we'll start with 3 cups of chicken broth.

-Okay.

-And then I have one 14-ounce can of coconut milk.

-Mmm.

-And that's obviously going to give us some richness, but it's also gonna give us that really distinctive flavor.

-Nice.

-I have two scallions here and I'll just trim those and then give them a nice slice.

I'm gonna slice these thinly.

And then I'm also going to add four cloves of garlic.

-Okay.

-I'm just gonna give these a rough chop.

This is gonna have some really potent flavor, but it's not gonna be overly garlicky.

-Okay.

-I've got 10 sprigs of thyme.

I have a Scotch bonnet chili here.

-[ Whistles ] A little spice.

-It's got a little spice.

-Yeah.

-But it's a fruity heat.

-Sure is.

-And you could sub a habanero for this if you don't have one.

-Mm-hmm.

-But we're gonna put it in whole.

So just kind of like... -Yes.

-...adding whole garlic cloves to something, it's going to give us a more subtle hit... -Right.

Right.

-...of that heat than if we chopped it.

And then I have 1/4 teaspoon of allspice berries.

I'm also adding 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

-Okay.

-Now I'm just going to bring this up to a boil over high heat.

Well, I see some bubbling action right now.

So now it's important to have a tight-fitting lid because we're gonna cover this, reduce the heat to medium low.

-Okay.

-And we'll let this cook gently for anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour until the beans are tender.

-Nice and soft.

-Yes.

-Okay.

-Bridget, it's been a little over 45 minutes and the beans have been simmering gently.

-It smells like heaven in here.

-[ Laughs ] -[ Sniffs ] Mmm.

-I think we're ready to check these.

-That's a good test.

-Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

They're good.

-Yeah?

-Already.

So now I'm going to strain the beans into this fine mesh strainer that I have set over an 8-cup measuring cup.

-Uh-huh.

-Or you could use a large bowl.

So this step is gonna do two things.

-Okay.

-First, it's gonna give me a chance to pick through all of this and get rid of the aromatics that we don't need anymore.

-Okay.

-So those thyme sprigs that added all that flavor... -Mm-hmm.

-...and also that Scotch bonnet chili.

I can also put the beans back into the pot now... -Okay.

-...and measure out the cooking liquid.

So we want 3 1/2 cups of cooking liquid.

-Okay.

Look at that.

-Oh, that's perfect.

If you don't have the exact amount, you can just top it off with some water.

-Okay.

-So we'll add this to the pot.

Now we can add the rice.

I have 2 cups of long grain white rice that I've already rinsed really thoroughly.

So we'll add the rice to the pot.

I've got 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and we'll add that to the pot.

And that's just gonna give us some more flavor and some more richness.

-Yes.

-Now I'm gonna bring this back up to a rolling boil.

-Okay.

-Looks like we're boiling, Bridget.

-Yeah, we are.

-We want to make sure we have a really tight seal so that that rice cooks because we got that perfect ratio, like you said.

-Right.

-So a little added insurance -- I'm gonna put a piece of foil over the top of the pot before I put my lid on.

I'm gonna turn the heat down to low and we're gonna let this cook for 20 minutes.

After that, I'm gonna remove the whole operation from the heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes to rest.

-Okay, gotcha.

-The rice is cooked and it's been resting off the heat for 10 minutes.

-Okay.

-I think we're ready.

-I hope we're ready.

-Okay.

You can see that everything's kind of settled and there's still a little bit... -Mm-hmm.

-...of stuff on the top.

So now we've got to go in and fluff.

-Okay.

-Grab a fork.

-Oh, wow.

-See?

-Yeah.

-All of that rice is cooked.

-Oh!

Mmm-mmm-mmm.

Mmm.

Oh, that smells so good.

Mm-hmm.

-Right?

-It's so aromatic.

Beautifully separated grains of rice there.

Mmm.

-Right?

-The rice and the beans are perfectly cooked.

That's the first thing I notice, because, oftentimes, the beans will still be hard... -Mm-hmm.

-...or the rice will be too mushy.

This is gorgeous.

They're both nice and creamy.

-I mean, it's... -Oh, that's good.

-...it's just peppery, and -- and you kind of get that building heat... -Mm-hmm.

-...but it doesn't slap you in the face.

-Right.

Rice and beans, or rice and peas, right?

-Right.

-Classic combination, like you and me.

-Oh, Bridget.

-Are you rice or are you peas?

-I think I'm rice.

-I'm definitely peas.

And if you want to make rice and peas at home Jamaican-style, simmer soaked red kidney beans with coconut milk, allspice, and a Scotch bonnet chili.

Use the bean cooking liquid to cook the rice and be sure to seal that saucepan with foil to trap in all that goodness and moisture.

So from "Cook's Country," the outstanding recipe for Jamaican rice and peas.

You can get this great recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes.

Those are all on our website -- CooksCountry.com/tv.

Why don't you head there and check it out?

♪♪ Mmm.

Mmm.

While they're checking it out, I'm gonna eat the rest of this.

-[ Laughs ] -Visit our website, where you can sign up for the free "Cook's Country" e-mail newsletter.

For even more of the recipes and stories you love from the magazine and the TV show, CooksCountry.com/cooks.

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