NEIL'S RECIPES: BRAISED OXTAIL

“I remember cooking oxtail years ago at Kinnaird House. We braised them for hours, flaked the meat off and filled a cabbage leaf with a rich mixture of the meat, perfectly diced vegetables and bacon. It was a beautiful dish, but took days to make. With this recipe you can have it on the table in time for supper. The joy of oxtail is the sticky fingers you get from picking up the pieces and chewing them to get all the flavour off the bone.”

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 oxtails, get your butcher to cut them into segments, this will easily feed 4

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large carrot, washed and roughly chopped

1 stick celery, washed and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 sprig of thyme

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil for frying

1 large glass of good, red wine

1 litre very good beef or chicken stock

Good salt and pepper

Chopped parsley to garnish

4 large tablespoons of diced carrot, turnip, celery

4 scoops buttery mash, to serve

METHOD

Heat the oven to 130°C.

Fry the oxtail pieces, a little at a time, in a tablespoon of oil in a heavy frying pan until golden all over, seasoning with a little salt and pepper as you do so. Take your time doing this as the browner the meat, the more flavour. Then add the meat to a deep stewing pot or oven-proof casserole dish.

In the same pan, add the remaining oil and fry the roughly chopped vegetables and garlic until golden. Then add to the stew pot, along with the thyme, bay leaves and red wine.

Place on the hob and bring to the boil, reducing the wine by half, before adding the stock. Season and bring to just below the boil. Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. You will know it is ready when the meat is falling off the bone.

Remove the oxtail pieces from the pot and keep in a warm place. Pass the cooking liquor through a fine sieve into a clean pan and reduce, removing any impurities that rise to the top. If you need to thicken the sauce a little, add some cornflour. One the sauce is at the desired consistency, add the diced carrot, turnip and celery to cook. Once the veg is cooked, add the oxtail to the pan to warm through.

To serve, place a scoop of buttery mash in the centre of a warmed plate, adding the oxtail stew on top. Then garnish with a little chopped parsley. Serve piping hot.