Karina’s Jamaican Grill: Where Oxtail Dreams Come True in Chesterfield, Virginia
“You can’t come to a Jamaican restaurant without trying the oxtail. It is the bomb.” That’s the verdict from one of the regulars at Karina’s Jamaican Grill, a joint in Chesterfield just outside Richmond, Virginia that had Guy Fieri making the trip to experience what everyone’s been talking about.
And when Guy asks if it’s proper to pick up oxtail and eat it with your hands? The answer is simple: “Best way to do it.”
The 24-Hour Marinade That Makes the Magic
Karina’s oxtail stew isn’t something that happens quickly. The process starts with a marinade built on Scotch bonnet peppers, yellow onions, adobo, garlic, and a touch of Worcestershire sauce. But here’s the key—that oxtail sits in this flavor bath for 24 hours before it ever sees heat.
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After the overnight soak, the oxtail gets seared in vegetable oil, then brazed in clean water. As Karina explains, the water creates the foundation of the dish. From there, it’s a two-hour braise until the meat reaches that perfect tenderness.
But the cooking doesn’t stop there. More onions, peppers, scallions, and additional Scotch bonnets go in. Guy offers to add more heat—”I’ll go all the way”—because when it comes to Scotch bonnets, he’s not holding back. Stewed tomatoes, more adobo, and a 20-minute simmer follow, finished with a slurry of flour and water to thicken the gravy. Butter beans round out the stew.
Rice and Peas: The Real MVP
If you’ve explored other bold Caribbean-influenced dishes like Chiles en Nogada in Phoenix, AZ, you know that the sides can steal the show. At Karina’s, the rice and peas might do exactly that.
Small red beans cook in water with bay leaf, onion, thyme, and garlic. Then comes the coconut milk—”this is what’s going to give it nice creamy richness”—along with more thyme, scallions, and whole Scotch bonnets broken open for flavor. When Guy asks about measurements, Karina’s answer is pure instinct: “You kind of feel it.” That’s how she always does it.
Guy’s reaction to the complete plate? “The killer is rice and peas on there. I want more of that all day. Tremendous.”
Guy’s Verdict: Luscious, Tangy, and Worth Every Bite
Watching Guy dig into that oxtail, picking it up with his hands and working the meat off the bone, tells you everything. “This is so delicious. You get the tenderness but the chew of the oxtail. It’s luscious. It’s tangy. It’s meaty. Just soaking up all that gravy, all that sauce.”
A local customer summed up the experience perfectly: “The flavor and the tenderness be right on the money. I suck the meat off the bone. Is that good? Fantastic. I can’t give it a better word.”
Another diner, originally from Jamaica (“born and bred”), confirmed this is an authentic representation of Jamaican cooking: “In Jamaica we like the hot, the curry that we have, the jerk—those are like bold flavors. We are bold people.”
Much like the comfort food mastery shown in Canadian-Style Roast Beef & Gravy Dinner, Karina’s oxtail stew is all about patience, tradition, and layers of flavor built over time. Every technique Karina uses came from her mother—a detail Guy loved hearing.
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