Slow Braised Oxtail
Slow braised oxtail cooked in a delicious, rich sauce is pull-apart tender, unctuous and perfect served on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. Love slow cooked beef recipes? Try our delicious easy beef stew!
What is oxtail?
Oxtail is the meat from the tail of a cow. It is cut into sections and perfect for slow cooking. The unctuous meat falls off the bone and is similar to slow cooked short ribs but so much more delicious and full of flavor.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This oxtail recipe is the way South Africans often cook this delicious cut of beef. Jamaican oxtail (which is the more famous way of preparing oxtail) is cooked with Scotch Bonnet pepper, butter beans and allspice.
- Oxtails.
- Extra-virgin olive oil.
- Onion.
- Celery.
- Carrots.
- Fresh garlic cloves. Garlic powder can also be used but I would still use fresh garlic.
- Herbs. Aromatic herbs like bay leaves, rosemary and fresh thyme all work well in braises and stews.
- Red wine. I used a Cabernet Sauvignon but any full-bodied red wine will work.
- Tomatoes. I used canned chopped tomatoes but tomato Passata or fresh chopped tomatoes will also be delicious.
- Beef broth/beef stock.
- Salt and black pepper.
How to cook oxtails
Oxtail is a tough cut of meat full of connective tissue that needs to be cooked low and slow in liquid to break down properly. You can do this on the stove, in the oven or in an Instant Pot.
- Brown the oxtail: Brown oxtail in a large pot set over medium-high heat, then set aside.
- Start the sauce: In the same pot, sauté onion, carrots and celery. Add garlic and herbs.
- Deglaze: Deglaze the pan with red wine then add tomatoes.
- Slow cook: Return oxtail to pot, pour in stock, cover and simmer over low heat (or in the oven) for 3-4 hours until the oxtail is fork tender and falling apart.
- Serve: Serve with mashed potatoes or your favorite sides.
Serving Suggestions
Oxtail (as most stew recipes) is great served with mashed potatoes, polenta or rice to soak up all the delicious gravy. Feel free to add a side dish of vegetables like broccolini, green beans or Brussels sprouts.
Ingredients
- 4 lb (2kg) Oxtail
- 4 large carrots peeled and finely chopped
- `1 onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 cup red wine
- 14 ox (400g) chopped tomatoes
- 4 cups beef stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season the oxtail generously with salt. In a large pot set over high heat, brown the oxtail in batches.
- Remove and set aside. Add the onions, celery and carrots to the same pot and cook until golden and just starting to soften. Add the garlic and herbs and sauté for another minute.
- Add the red wine and allow to reduce slightly then pour in the tomatoes and beef stock.
- Add the oxtail back to the pot then pour in the stock – enough to cover the meat. Season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Bring up to a boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 3-4 hours until the oxtails are pull-apart tender. Alternatively, place in the oven at 160ºC/320ºF. Check every 45 minutes if the oxtail needs more stock and top up as needed.Optional: To thicken the sauce, remove the lid and allow to simmer uncovered for the sauce to reduce for 30-45 minutes.
- Serve the soft oxtail with mashed potatoes, polenta or rice.
Notes
Tips for cooking oxtail:
- Brown the oxtail: As with any stew, start by browning the meat well in a large, deep Dutch oven or pot set over medium-high heat. This allows the meat to caramelize (Maillard Reaction), adding incredible depth to the stew. Once the meat is browned, remove from the pan and set aside. You can also brown the meat in a large skillet but be sure to deglaze the pan and pour the reduced liquid into the stew to add all that rich flavor.
- Add flavor: Using classic aromatics like onion, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary and bay leaf along with the wine, you’re guaranteed an oxtail stew that is packed with flavor. Feel free to play around with herbs like parsley and thyme or add vegetables like mushrooms, zucchini, pumpkin or potato towards the end of the cooking time.
- Thicken the sauce: The sauce should reduce and thicken naturally as the oxtails cook but if the meat is tender and you want a thicker sauce, simply mix a few teaspoons of cornstarch with water and stir into the stew. Allow to simmer until thickened.
Nutrition
FAQ
Oxtail will take approximately 3 hours to cook slowly in liquid set over medium-low heat, depending on the size of the oxtails. You can also cook oxtail in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker for approximately 45 minutes. In a slow cooker, oxtail can take up to 10 hours to cook.
When cooked correctly, oxtail is one of the most delicious cuts of beef you can eat. The fat and connective tissue cooks adds a ton of flavor and the meat becomes soft and unctuous.
Oxtail will be tough if you don’t cook it for long enough. As mentioned above, you need to cook the meat low and slow for a few hours for the meat to soften sufficiently.
Using a pressure cooker is the best way to cook oxtail quickly. It will still take around 45-60 minutes for the meat to soften cooked at high pressure.
Simple and clear, easy to follow recipe. I have cooked this dish before but just wanted to check on the method in case I was forgetting something. One very minor point is that I would use white pepper as it’s the ‘traditional’ pepper for English hotpots! Also I put in small amount of finely chopped streaky bacon.
And just a comment on tinned vs. fresh tomatoes: nowadays our ‘fresh’ tomatoes are pretty near tasteless, and can have thick skins, so go for tinned, or passata – so much easier and tastier!
Something is not quite right..
“Add the red WINE and allow to reduce slightly then pour in the tomatoes and WINE.”
… you already added wine and reduced… then again pour wine…
there is two wines?
My apologies, I’ve fixed the instructions. It was meant to be stock.
What modifications would be needed if I were to cook this in an instant pot? Also, what would the cooking and natural release time?
You might need less liquid but keep an eye on it. I would cook for 45-60 minutes and then do natural release of around 10-15 minutes.