Oxtail Stew
A patient winter braise. Chunks of oxtail cook for three hours in red wine, stock and a little sticky tomato purée until the meat slides off the bone and the sauce turns thick and glossy. Serve over creamy mash and it will feed a small family for two happy nights.
Ingredients
1.5 kg oxtail, cut into 5 cm pieces
3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 sticks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato purée
500 ml full-bodied red wine
750 ml beef stock
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
- 1
Pat the oxtail dry and toss in the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and brown the pieces in batches until deeply coloured all over. Set aside.
- 2
Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan and cook slowly for 12–15 minutes until softening and beginning to caramelise. Stir in the garlic and tomato purée and cook for another 2 minutes.
- 3
Pour in the red wine and let it bubble hard for 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol, scraping the sticky bits from the bottom. Return the oxtail with any juices, add the stock and the herbs and bring to a bare simmer.
- 4
Cover tightly and cook in a 150°C oven for 3 hours, until the meat is meltingly tender and slipping from the bone. Lift the meat out, discard the herb stalks, then boil the sauce hard for 10 minutes to concentrate it.
- 5
Return the meat to the reduced sauce, taste and season. Rest for 10 minutes, scatter with parsley and spoon over mashed potato or a slab of buttered polenta.
Cook's notes
Oxtail is even better made a day ahead. Cool overnight, lift off the layer of set fat that rises to the top, and reheat gently — the sauce will be cleaner and the flavour deeper.