Honey Habanero Oven Baked Pig Tails

This is similar to a dish I first had in Kitchener, Ontario at a German style restaurant. I believe it was called the Charcoal Steak House. I was introduced to that restaurant by a friend who lived there for many years. Whenever I visited, it would be a little ritual to go to the steakhouse and order pig tails, and top it off with their Nesselrode Pie for desert. I do not visit as often as I used to so I needed to find a way to do pig tails in a similar way, but with a Jamaican twist.

My recipe uses very few ingredients, Jamaican meat seasoning, light soy sauce and Braswells Honey Habanero BBQ. The sauce is made in Georgia, my adopted home, and is widely available. If it's not available in your supermarket, information as to where you can locate it can be found at www.braswells.com.

While the ingredients are few, the preparation does take a while but is very worth it in the long run. The tails get coated in the yummy sauce and the meat is "fall off the bones" tender. If you can get uncut, fresh pig tails, that really works fine. At my supermarket, I get them only cut into pieces. To shorten the overall cooking times, pressure the pigtails, unseasoned for 20-25 minutes. Flash cool, drain the tails, season them, then go straight to step 2 in the directions. Those times can be shortened to 1-2 hours.
2 1/2 lbs fresh pig tails
2 tablespoons Jamaican meat seasoning
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1-2 bottles Braswells Honey Habanero sauce (depending on how much sauce you want to end up with. I like a lot to put over my rice)
Directions
1. Season the pigtails with the soy sauce and seasoning, rubbing the seasoning into the meat. Make small cuts into the layer of fat on the tails. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and arrange the pigtails on a roasting pan with a rack. I line the pan with heavy duty foil as it makes cleanup that much easier. Bake for 30 minutes.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, and let the tails slowly bake for about 2-3 hours at that temperature. This helps render the fat and tenderize the meat.
4. Remove from oven and put the tails in a baking dish. Discard the oil that has drained. Pour the Honey Habanero Sauce over it, cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for another 45-60 minutes. Serve with rice or Jamaican rice and peas and baked plantains.