Traditional Oxtail stew

Ingredients

• 1kg oxtail, cut into chunky pieces
• 5 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp tabasco sauce
• 3–4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 4–5 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
• 2 bay leaves
• 300ml red wine
• 500ml beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 150C
Wash the oxtail pieces and pat dry with kitchen paper. Trim off as much excess fat as possible. And season with Worcestershire sauce and tabasco sauce



Season flour well with salt,pepper,paprika and seasoning cube and coat the ox tails in flour.






Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Brown the oxtail over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning every now and then, until dark brown all over. You may need to add extra oil if the pan looks dry at any point during the browning step. Put the browned oxtail into a flameproof casserole dish. (You may need to do this in batches.)



Return the frying pan to a low heat and add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Add a little extra oil if necessary. Cook gently for 10 minutes, or until softened and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the wine, beef stock and tomato purée, then tip in the ox tail. put the casserole on the heat and bring to a gentle simmer. 



Cover the casserole dish with a lid or foilpaper and cook in the centre of the oven for 3 hours. Stir after 1½ hours, turning the oxtail in the sauce

.
After 3 hours, the meat should be falling off the bones and the sauce should be thick. Remove the casserole dish from the oven and transfer the oxtail pieces to a plate, set aside and keep warm.
Skim any fat that has pooled on the surface of the sauce.Serve with mashed potato and fresh vegetables.