Braised oxtail in red wine | Rabo de toro estofado

I love the less loved cuts of any animal – you need to treat them skilfully to get the best out of them. I often find that the result is so satisfying that I keep coming back to it and this oxtail stew is no exception. It’s not a recipe that was handed down by my Mum, but is actually something I have worked out and developed myself through investigation and real passion. 

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 oxtail, about 1.3 kg

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 100 ml olive oil

• 1 onion, roughly chopped

• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

• Half a leek, roughly chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• ¼ cinnamon stick

• 1 clove

• 5 black peppercorns

• 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 50 ml brandy

• 250 ml red wine

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 sprigs of rosemary

• Salt 

• 1 litre water

Preparation

1. Trim away any excess fat from the oxtail and cut it into regular pieces through the bone. Season with salt and sprinkle with the flour, turning the pieces over so that they are evenly coated. Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3. 

2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole dish over a high heat. Brown the oxtail pieces on all sides, remove from the pan and set aside. 

3. Add the onion, carrots, leek and garlic to the same pan and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until they are fairly dark in colour. Then add the dried spices, bay leaf and chopped tomatoes and cook down for about 5 minutes. 

4. Return the oxtail back to the pan and give it a good stir. Pour the brandy and red wine into the pan and flambé quickly: use a lighter or long matches to set light to the alcohol. Cook until the liquid has reduced by half and then add the rosemary and about a litre of water. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and leave to simmer on the hob for about 4 hours, half covered with a piece of baking parchment. Alternatively, cook in an oven preheated to 160°C/gas mark 3 for the same amount of time. 

   
   Note

   At the end of the cooking time the meat should be meltingly tender and the gravy will have acquired a certain density and mellowness from the fat and marrow from the oxtail and the long, slow cooking. 

   
   Variation

   For a change (it does change it quite a lot, actually) you can blend the sauce to make a great version of this toreros dish. Remove the oxtail, cinnamon stick and bay leaves before blending. 

Chorizo ibérico (avg 450g)

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