Cow foot

Ingredients

Meat

• 1.5 kgcow’s feet, cut into pieces by the butcher
• 2limes
• 2 tbspvinegar

Seasoning

• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 4spring onions, chopped
• 4 sprigsthyme
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tspground allspice
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbspbrowning

Stew

• 2 tbspoil
• 1onion, sliced
• 1carrot, sliced
• 1sweet pepper, sliced
• 400 gbutter beans
• 1whole scotch bonnet
• 2 litreswater

Spinners

• 200 gplain flour
• ½ tspsalt
• water

Directions

1. Ask the butcher to cut the feet into pieces. They are extremely hard to cut at home and a bandsaw does in a minute what will otherwise take you an hour and a ruined knife.
2. Scrub them well, wash them with lime and vinegar, then rinse thoroughly.
3. Season with the salt, pepper, spring onion, thyme, garlic, allspice and soy sauce, and leave for at least 2 hours.
4. Brown the pieces in oil in a heavy pot, then add the water and the browning.
5. Cover and simmer for 3 to 4 hours, topping up with hot water whenever it drops too low.
6. Give it the full time. Cow foot is almost entirely collagen and skin, and it passes through rubbery and then frankly unpleasant before it turns genuinely tender and the gravy goes sticky enough to coat a spoon.
7. Add the onion, carrot, sweet pepper and the whole scotch bonnet for the last 45 minutes.
8. Make the spinners by mixing the flour and salt with just enough water for a firm dough, then rolling small pieces between your palms into short twisted spindles.
9. Drop the spinners and the butter beans in for the final 20 minutes.
10. Lift out the scotch bonnet whole, then taste and season.
11. Serve with rice and peas or plain rice, and expect to use your fingers as much as a fork.

Technique

• The stickiness on your lips is the sign it is done. That is the gelatine, and it is the whole reason for cooking the cut.
• It is a dish built from what was left after estate butchery, and the long stewing is what turns an unpromising cut into something people ask for.
• It is better the next day, when the gravy has set and needs loosening with a little water.

Substitutions

• Pig’s trotters, cooked the same way and in rather less time.
• Bottled browning or a tablespoon of dark soy if you would rather not caramelise sugar.

Variations

• With broad beans instead of butter beans.
• Without spinners, for a thinner stew.
• Cooked in a pressure cooker for 1 hour 15 minutes, then finished in the pot.

History

A dish built from cuts left over from estate butchery; slow stewing turns tough feet into the rich gravy prized in Jamaican home cooking.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cow foot?

Cow foot is a main from Jamaica: stewed cow’s feet, sticky with gelatine, with broad beans and spinners. A dish built from cuts left over from estate butchery; slow stewing turns tough feet into the rich gravy prized in Jamaican home cooking.

How long does Cow foot take to make?

Cow foot takes 30 min plus 2 hr marinating of preparation and 4 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Cow foot?

Yes, within limits. Pig’s trotters, cooked the same way and in rather less time. Bottled browning or a tablespoon of dark soy if you would rather not caramelise sugar.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cow foot?

Ask the butcher to cut the feet into pieces. They are extremely hard to cut at home and a bandsaw does in a minute what will otherwise take you an hour and a ruined knife.