Kitchen Exile

Oxtail stew

This was an absolute favourite of mine when I grew up and still is. As you may recall from previous posts, we ate a lot of offal in my household growing up. Oxtail isn't one of the most popular of cuts, so you will need to request it from your butcher. Make sure to ask them to cut the pieces up so that they fit nicely into a casserole pan. For me, it is the tastiest part of the animal, it offers so much flavour and has the added bonus of being a cheap cut of meat to buy.

This recipe requires time and effort on the part of the cook. I tend to cook it in two parts first; slow cook the oxtail. Second; remove the oxtail from it's cooking stock and pick the meat off. It's also a pretty fatty cut therefore I first strain the juices that it is cooked in, then place the juices in the freezer. After an hour or so the fat which is sitting on the top will have solidified, thus making it easier to remove.


1 oxtail
1 onion finely chopped
1 celery stick finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme
10g tomato puree
200ml red wine
200ml beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown off the oxtail in a heavy bottom casserole pot (or Dutch oven) on a medium heat and render down the fat
Remove to one side and keep the fat that has rendered down in the pan
Lowering the heat, fry the onion, celery and carrot in the beef fat until soft, strain off the excess fat
Add the tomato puree and cook out for 1-2 mins
Add the wine and beef stock and stir through
Place in the oxtail and the herbs in the pan and put a lid on
Cook on a very low heat on the hob or in a low oven at 120c (fan), 130c (normal) for 3 hours
For those of you cooking on the BBQ, set the BBQ for indirect heat, 130c and cook for 3 hours
Allow the stew to cool slightly before removing the oxtail and pick the meat off the bones, it should come off relatively easily
Strain the casserole juices into a bowl and put the vegetables to one side, do not throw away
Place the bowl with the juices in a freezer and after a couple of hours you will be able to remove the fat that has risen to the top as it will have solidified
Place the juices back into the casserole pot with the vegetables and meat from the oxtail and heat through
Season with salt and pepper
I like to serve this with a nice creamy mash