Oxtail stew in Guinness

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Ready for 5.5 hours stewing

Brown the oxtails

Add seasoned flour & meat, close lid and shake

The ingredients (900g carrots & swedes)

Although this slow-cooked oxtail stew takes 5 and a half hours to cook, it only takes 15 minutes to prepare, is economical and results in flavoursome meat that melts in your mouth. This dish can be a little greasy, so be sure to trim off all of the excess fat.

This makes two different meals if you save the left-overs and make oxtail soup with them.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 kg oxtail, trimmed of any excess fat
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 800g soffritto
• 4 Cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 X 440 ml cans of Guinness original
• 250 ml beef stock
• 4 tablespoons tomato purée

Mise en place

• Preheat the oven to 150° C (300° F - gas 2)

Method

1. Season the flour well with salt and pepper
2. In batches (by using a plastic bag or a Lock & Lock-type box) add the seasoned flour and the trimmed oxtail and shake well to coat
3. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a flame-proof casserole and fry the oxtail in batches for 2 minutes a side or until nicely browned. Set aside and repeat until all of the meat is done, using more olive oil if needed.
4. Add a little more olive oil and sauté the garlic and soffritto for 4 minutes, stirring regularly.
5. Add the oxtail back into the casserole dish together with the Guinness, stock and tomato purée.
6. Stir well, bring to the boil and then carefully transfer to the oven.
7. Cook for 5 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Serving suggestions

Either; Jacket potatoes, spaghetti or pasta, mashed potatoes or simply, nice crusty bread.

Chef's notes

My soffritto: I used 2 x 450g packets of chopped carrots and swedes, 4 sticks of celery plus finely chopped cutting celery leaves (I like celery) and 4 medium onions, all trimmed, peeled and chopped. What, and which vegetables is not madly critical, use what you most prefer. Use the leaves from the celery if they are available, if not, some parsley would be fine. I also stirred in the unused seasoned flour at the beginning.

Oxtail soup from the left-overs

Easy oxtail soup from the left-overs. Refrigerate the left-overs and the next day, skim the fat from the surface. Remove the bones and add the left-overs to a food processor. With clean hands, pull all of the meat from the bones and add that the the blender. Pulse it a few times to blend the mixture and add extra water if needed to thin (I used 250 ml). Cook 100g of broken spaghetti, add that to the soup and reheat for perfect oxtail soup. Serve with crusty bread.

See also

• Slow roast recipes