Here’s a rich, hearty recipe for Braised Oxtail 🥩🍲—tender, flavorful, and perfect for a comforting meal.
Braised Oxtail
Ingredients (Serves 4–6)
- 2–3 lbs oxtail pieces
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 2–3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2–3 carrots, chopped
- 2–3 celery stalks, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups beef broth (or enough to almost cover the oxtail)
- 1 cup red wine (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
- 1 tsp paprika (optional)
- Optional: 1–2 potatoes, cubed
Instructions
1. Brown the oxtail
- Season oxtail pieces with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Brown oxtail on all sides (5–7 minutes). Remove and set aside.
2. Sauté vegetables
- In the same pot, sauté onions, carrots, and celery until softened (3–4 minutes).
- Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Build the sauce
- Stir in tomato paste and cook 1–2 minutes.
- Deglaze with red wine if using, scraping up browned bits.
- Add beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, paprika, and browned oxtail.
4. Braise
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Cover and simmer 3–4 hours, stirring occasionally, until oxtail is tender and falling off the bone.
- Optional: Add potatoes in the last 30–40 minutes of cooking.
5. Serve
- Remove bay leaves.
- Serve oxtail with sauce over mashed potatoes, rice, or creamy polenta.
Tips
- For extra flavor, sear the oxtail and vegetables in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavors deepen.
- You can also cook this in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours.
If you want, I can also give a Caribbean-style braised oxtail version with butter beans and jerk seasoning—it’s super flavorful and traditional.
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