Name: Oxtail in Red Wine
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 150 min
Total time: 165 min
Ingredients: 4 lbs oxtail, cut up; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large onion, chopped; 6 garlic cloves, minced; 1/4 cup tomato paste; 4 large carrots, peeled & chopped (or 10 to 12 small carrots); 2 cups red wine (such as shiraz, cabernet or old zin); 1 cup beef broth; 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 2 sprigs fresh rosemary; generous pinch of salt; 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper; pinch of sugar; 2 tablepoons lemon juice; 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1.7kviews

Simple & rustic with a handful of ingredients & a cinch to make, Oxtail in Red Wine slowly cooks in the oven, filling the house with beautiful aromas as the meat becomes fall-off-the-bone tender, carrots sweeten & the sauce thickens.

There’s something so profoundly cozy & magical about winter in a snowy country. Growing up in a warm country in a city where winter equates to grey & damp, waking up to a blanket of cottonball snow still heralds a sense of wonderment. It snowed all day yesterday, at times I couldn’t see across the fields. This is a time for nesting, baking, roasting & simmering pots of soups or a good oxtail in red wine stew.

Most of us eat only the parts of the animals familiar to us – boneless, skinless breasts from chickens; sirloin steak from beef; fish fillets & such. But it was considered the norm for our forefathers to eat almost the entire animal. With availability playing a major factor in our modern day choice for meats, we’ve moved away from what the generations who went before us ate. Growing up, I remember my nana & mum both cooking liver, tripe, kidneys &… oxtail. In America, an ‘ox’ refers to an older, castrated male belonging to the cattle family. In Australia, where I was born & raised, an ox refers to a ‘bullock’. Of course the ox that is familiar to us, refers to an animal that pulls a plough & is taller & leaner than average cattle with a hump on the back of their neck. The oxtail I used, shown above, came from what we refer to as “beef cattle”. I found oxtail in Walmart.

As with most stews, braises & curries, oxtail in red wine is even better if made a day or two ahead & slowly reheated in the oven just before serving. Winter entertaining for me is all about rustic, wholesome food: long, slow cooking, nostalgic aromas filling the house & cozying up for a comfy night in; this recipe ticks all those boxes.

PIN IT!

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Oxtail in Red Wine

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time2 hrs 30 mins

Total Time2 hrs 45 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Ingredients

4 lbs oxtail, cut up
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 large carrots, peeled & chopped or 10 to 12 small carrots
2 cups red wine such as shiraz, cabernet or old zin
1 cup beef broth
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
generous pinch of salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sugar
2 tablepoons lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
Using a sharp knife, remove & discard some of the excess fat from each piece of meat. Heat the oil on medium-high heat in a 7-quart Dutch oven or flameproof & ovenproof pot. Cook the oxtail until golden brown all over; remove from pan.
Discard all but about 1 tablespoon of the oil. Heat the oil on medium heat. Add onion & cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic & cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add tomato paste & cook, stirring for 1 minute.
Add carrot, wine, broth, vinegar, rosemary, salt, pepper & sugar. Stir until well combined. Return oxtail to pot. Cover & bring to a boil. Cook in oven for 2 hours, stirring once during cooking. Remove cover & cook a further 30 minutes or until sauce is thickened & meat is falling off the bones.
Remove from oven; stir in lemon juice & parsley.

A couple of other winter-warmers: one of my all-time faves – Rustic Country Chicken with Olives, Potatoes & Leek & Roasted Squash & Cannellini Chili.

Toodles,