Oxtail and red wine

I have never made oxtail before - the funny little bones have always freaked me out. By special request, I pulled out my gran's old recipe, made a few tweaks, and it turned out beautifully!


You will need the following:
1 oxtail, cut into pieces (mine was approx. 1kg)
2 large brown onions, chopped
2 large carrots
200ml beef stock
150ml good red wine
1 tin of Italian tomatoes
Olive oil or coconut oil for frying
Salt and pepper
A few fresh sprigs of thyme
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

I have cooked my oxtail in a pressure cooker. This works beautifully. You can use a casserole dish in the oven too, if you don't have a pressure cooker. It will just take a bit longer. 

In your pot, fry together the onions, oxtail and oil until the onions and meat are browned. 


Then, add your chopped carrots, red wine, beef stock, garlic, herbs, tomatoes and seasoning (not the lemon juice). Put the pressure cooker lid on and seal it. Jump to the alternative instructions below if you prefer cooking your stew in the oven.

On a high heat, bring the pressure cooker to a medium pressure (2 out of 3 pressure rings is what I used). Adjust the heat downwards to maintain the pressure at 2 rings and keep it there for 80 minutes. Allow the pressure to reduce slowly at room temperature before opening the lid.  


Your meat should now be very tender, falling easily away from the bone. If it's not tender enough, lock the lid back in place and return to high pressure for an additional 10 minutes. 

Allow it to cool, and then skim off the excess fat on the top before continuing. This is not an essential step, but probably best. 

Before reheating the dish to serve, remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. You can thin the sauce with a bit of water if it has gone too thick. 

Check the seasoning and add the lemon juice. 

Serve with cauliflower rice or quinoa.


Alternative cooking instructions if you don't have a pressure cooker:
Instead of using the pressure cooker, you can cook the oxtail in the oven. You will need to follow these instructions from the part where the pressure cooker lid goes on.

Preheat the oven to 170'C and add the oxtail and all of the vegetables and juices to a casserole dish with a lid (a Tagine would work too) and allow it to cook gently for 4 to 5 hours. You will need to stir the contents approximately once every hour and throw in a splash of water if need be.