Oxtail Stew

Serves: 4

Preparation: 1 hour

Cook: 7 hours or until falling off the bone

Total: 8 hours

Ingredients

• 2.5kg oxtail, chopped into chunks by your butcher
• 1 _^1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp salt and pepper
• 2 medium leeks
• 2 stalks of celery
• 4 medium carrots
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 100g chorizo
• 2 tbsp of plain flour
• 1 can of skinless plum tomatoes
• 50ml passata
• 200ml red wine
• 300ml beef stock
• Splash of Worcestershire sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220^oC. Place a large roasting tray into it.
2. When it is hot remove and carefully add in the oxtail. Put olive oil, salt and pepper over it and mix.
3. Put it back into the middle shelf for 20/30 minutes, or until it is golden in colour.
4. Clean, peel and cut the leeks, celery and carrots into small 2cm chunks. Place them into a large casserole pan over a medium low heat with 1 tbsp of oil.
5. Remove the skin from the chorizo and finely chop. Add in to the pan.
6. Add paprika and stir for 1 minute.
7. Pick and roughly chop the thyme and rosemary leaves, add in and cook for around 20 minutes or until the veg is soft and sweet.
8. Remove the oxtail from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 170^oC.
9. Add the flour to the veg, mix, then pour in the tomatoes, passata and wine.
10. Add the oxtail and any roasting juices, cover with the beef stock and stir well.
11. Bring to a boil, then put on a lid and put it in the hot oven for as long as possible. I cooked mine for 7 hours. You want to cook it until the meat falls away from the bone.
12. Check it every few hours to stir, turn it or add water if it looks like it is drying out.
13. When it is finished cooking, remove it from the oven and leave to cool a little.
14. The bones will be very hot so use gloves or just a knife and fork to strip the meat from the bones and put the meat back in the pan. No need to keep the bones.
15. Add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and add salt and pepper if you think it needs it.
16. I served mine with mashed potato and a glass of red wine. Enjoy!