Jamaican Beef Stew

This recipe makes Jamaican beef stew that is slow cooked and the perfect winter recipe. It’s spicy, hearty and filling and will help to keep you warm in those cold months.

This winter why not tuck into this delicious slow cooked Jamaican beef stew with carrots. The beef is cooked until it is soft and tender and can be served with some rice for a hearty dinner.

This beef stew is full of flavour with some spice which comes from the scotch bonnet. Not many beef stew recipes use scotch bonnet but growing up with Jamaican grandparents meant that many dishes I ate contained some spice. Adding scotch bonnet to my stews is something I’ve always done and it never disappoints.

This recipe is straightforward, though to get the beef soft involves a long cooking time. What’s good about this is you can be getting on with things around the house while it is cooking.

Ingredients for Jamaican Beef Stew

For the full list of ingredients and measurements, scroll to the recipe card below.

• Beef – for this beef stew recipe, use stewing beef, casserole beef or beef for braising.
• Seasonings - salt, black pepper, paprika, allspice, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder.
• Onion – use a brown onion.
• Garlic – use fresh garlic cloves.
• Chilli - use scotch bonnet. Omit if you don't want your stew spicy.
• Soy sauce – I use soy sauce to give the stew a good colour.
• Olive oil – extra virgin for cooking.
• Tomato puree - or use tomato paste.
• Beef stock – you can use a stock cube and dissolve in hot water or use ready prepared stock.
• Carrots – use fresh carrots.

How to Make Jamaican Beef Stew

Season the beef

To a bowl, add the beef and season with salt, black pepper, paprika, thyme, onion granules and garlic granules then mix the seasonings into the meat. Add and mix in the chopped onions, chopped garlic, scotch bonnet and soy sauce.

Refrigerate

Cover the bowl with some clingfilm and refrigerate to allow the beef to marinate for a minimum of 2 hour but preferably overnight.

Brown the beef

To a medium sized casserole pot, add the oil and heat on a medium heat. Add in the meat including the chopped onions, chopped garlic and scotch bonnet and brown the meat while occasionally turning until no pink is left. 

Add in the tomato puree and beef stock

Mix in the tomato puree then add and mix in the beef stock.

Allow to slow cook until tender

Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with its lid. Allow the beef to cook for around 4 hours. You may need to top up the water occasionally if it dries out too fast. 

Add the carrots to the stew

Once 4 hours has past, add in the carrots and cook for a further 25 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving with some rice or potatoes.

Recipe Tips

• The gravy should thicken overtime. Towards the end of the cooking time, you want most of the water to have dried out and all left is the thickened gravy. 
• Remember to occasionally top up the water if it dries out before the beef is cooked.
• The meat stew is slow cooked so the longer you cook the beef the softer the beef will become. The cook time I give is a guide time. Depending on what beef you buy the time may be more or less so just cook it until you obtain your desired texture.
• Feel free to add other vegetables or potatoes to the stew. If you want to add potatoes, then add them 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Storage

The cooked beef can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.

Nutrition

Nutrition based on 1 serving - Calories: 227kcal | Fat: 10.1g | Saturates: 2.7g | Carbs: 5.2g | Sugar: 3.8g | Fibre: 1.0g | Protein: 29.0g | Salt 0.76g

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