One pot, slow-cooking, marinated oxtail in red wine

This is one hell of a good meal! And a bonus is the entire cooking process takes place in one pot, which means quicker production and much less washing up.
Issue date; 27 February 2009

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This is one hell of a good meal! And a bonus is the entire cooking process takes place in one pot, which means quicker production and much less washing up.

This is one hell of a good meal! And a bonus is the entire cooking process takes place in one pot, which means quicker production and much less washing up. Oxtail casseroles come in almost as many variants as oxen do and because it’s a tough meat full of muscles and connective tissue, it needs a long immersion in fragrant hot juices to become so tender it falls off the bone. Part of the enjoyment of this basic and delicious meal is the ease with which all the elements combine in one pot that goes so easily from stove to table top.

2 onions
4 tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
2 leeks
2 carrots
1 can white beans
1 can peas
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh parsley
Salt & coarsely ground black pepper to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil
750ml red wine
1 cup flour

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Well before cooking time, immerse the oxtail sections in a large bowl of red wine. Cover the bowl and let the meat soak for three hours in the fridge. When the marinating time is up, remove the oxtail from the bowl with a slotted spoon and let it drain briefly in a colander.

Now take a Ziploc bag – the so-called gallon size – and pour in the cup of flour, tablespoon of coarsely ground black pepper and teaspoon of salt, zip and shake. Take a few sections of the oxtail and drop them into the bag of seasoned flour. Shake to coat the meat, remove and repeat until all the marinated oxtail has received the same treatment. Put the flour-coated oxtail to one side.

Crush, peel and finely chop the garlic and peel and thinly slice the onions. Blanch the tomatoes briefly in boiling water to help slide off the skins. Cut the cleaned carrots and leeks into 25mm sections. Take a heavy-bottomed, large saucepan with fitted lid and pour in a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and fry for 12 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove and reserve.
Rev up the heat, add a little more oil and when it’s hot, brown the flour-coated oxtail sections a few at a time. Return the cooked onions to the pot and pour in sufficient red wine to cover the contents. And yes, you can use the wine marinade for this purpose, so as not to waste perfectly good drinking wine.

When the contents boil, lower the temperature to a low simmer. Add the carrots, tomatoes and leeks plus the two herbs. Fit the lid and let the hob do the work for two hours after which the meat should be truly tender.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and if the mood takes you, add 50ml brandy. Drain the cans of white beans and peas, then add to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes or so to bring everything up to the same temperature. And that’s it.
If you feel a need for carbs, mashed potatoes or plain boiled rice should do the trick. – David Basckin     |fw