Like most braises, I find that this tastes even better when made a day in advance and given time to settle – it also makes it easier to scrape the fat off the top when it’s chilled overnight.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pounds oxtail
- Salt
- 10 cippolini onions, peeled
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into obliques
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 (750ml) bottle red wine
- 5 cups beef stock
- 1 head garlic, sliced lengthwise, green germ removed
- 1 bunch thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and quartered
- Chopped parsley, optional, for garnish
Method
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium high until shimmering. Heavily season the oxtail on all sides with salt. Working in batches if necessary, to avoid crowding, sear the oxtail on all sides until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
- In the same pot, add the carrots and onions until they are softened and begin to color, 8 to 10 minutes. Return to the pot with the oxtails.
- Sprinkle flour on the oxtails and vegetables and shake and stir to coat; return the pot to medium-high heat and cook until the flour has browned slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and allow to simmer for at least 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol, then deglaze by scraping up any brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Add enough beef stock to cover the meat and bring to a simmer.
- Wrap the garlic, thyme, and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie the ends to make a sachet; add to the pot. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently. Place a cartouche (parchment paper lid) over the stew followed by aluminum foil, to slow the rate of evaporation, then cover with the lid. Simmer on top of the stove or place in the center of the oven until the oxtail is totally tender and slipping off the bone, about 4 hours. Check halfway through cooking to ensure the liquid isn’t drying out.
- While the oxtails cook, heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil and sauté the mushrooms until cooked through, then season with salt. Set aside.
- Skim as much fat off the top of the stew as possible; if you make this a day in advance, refrigerate the cooked oxtail overnight. The next day, remove the fat that solidifies on top.
- To serve: Remove the lid and bring the oxtail to a simmer over medium heat. Add the reserved mushrooms and their juices; cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove the sachet. Tastes for seasoning, and spoon into warm bowls making sure that there is plenty of sauce. Sprinkle with optional parsley.
One of the first classic French stews I mastered was Julia Child’s beef bourguignon, which I find tremendously soul satisfying—both to make and to eat. In this recipe I’ve taken the idea of classic beef bourguignon and changed what would traditionally be beef shoulder to oxtail. It’s a lovely and warming dish you can leave simmering on the stovetop all day for a Sunday dinner.