Oxtail Stew

While I was at the wet market, I saw some really nice oxtail.  It is hard to come by such nice ones these days.  I remembered I bought some long ago and it was not meaty at all.   Nevertheless, I went ahead to buy it without a recipe on hand.

Came home and started preparing Oxtail Stew.  Even my fussy son did not complain about the amount of oil before I had a chance to remove them.

Try it if you have the time.  You won't regret it.

What you need:

2 kg oxtail , chopped into 4cm chunks (ask your butcher to do this)

olive oil
2 stalk of leek

4 medium carrots

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

a few sprigs of fresh rosemary

4 fresh bay leaves

4 cloves

2 heaped tablespoons plain flour

275 ml porter or red wine

1 litre chicken stock

season with salt and pepper

Method

Heat up a dutch pan and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil.

Coat oxtail with the olive oil and let it cook for 15 mins on one side and another 15 mins on the other side.  Until it is golden.  

Trim and halve the leeks and cut into chunks and add into the oxtail.

Add in the cloves.

Coarsely chop up the thyme and rosemary leaves and add the bay leave in.

Pour in broth and let it slowly simmer for 3 hours.  Add water if the liquid is low and the meat is still not soft.  

Peel and cut carrots into chunks. 

Add carrot and wine into the oxtail and continue to cook until oxtail is tenderly soft.  Remove.

Skim off the excess oil.

Mix flour with a little water and stir into the gravy and bring to boil,stirring constantly until it thickens.  If you want more gravy, you can dilute with water or less flour.

Add the oxtail back and stir well.  Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy with creamy mash and salad.


Enjoy!