2.5 – 3kg oxtail
vegetable oil
3 onions, chopped
4 clove of garlic, minced
60ml flour
5 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
2 bay leaves
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato
250ml red wine
1,5l beef stock
Worcestershire sauce
Dumplings:
250ml flour
7,5ml baking powder
2ml salt
60g butter, cut into small cubes
10ml dried mixed herbs
60-80ml milk
For the stew:
Preheat your oven to 220℃.
Add the oxtail to 2 large roasting tins and drizzle with the vegetable oil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the oxtail for 20-25 minutes, until beautifully caramelised and golden. Set aside.
Place a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add some vegetable oil and then add the onions. Cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Sprinkle over the flour and stir while cooking for another minute.
Now add the carrots, bay leaves, tomatoes, red wine, beef stock and about 6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
Add the oxtail and whatever pan juices you have and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to a low simmer and partly cover with a lid.
Simmer the oxtail for 3 hours, stirring every now and then.
Remove the lid and check the consistency of the sauce – if it is too watery, simmer without the lid for 20-30 minutes longer. The sauce should be thick and rich and the meat should be fork tender.
For the dumplings:
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl and stir through.
Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the herbs and enough milk to form a soft dough.
Spoon teaspoonful of the dough onto the oxtail stew and cover with a lid.
Simmer for 15 minutes without opening the lid.
Serve the oxtail on fragrant rice.
My Whisk and I 