Slow cooked beef stew

INGREDIENTS
Oxtails (as Many as you think you need)
Guinness or Cheap Red Wine (Shiraz is best)
Small Pickling Onions (As many as you need for the amount of Oxtails) OR 1 lge Onion
1 Stalk of Celery
½ Red Capsicum
8 – 10 Mushrooms
Fresh Ginger
Salt and, if you want, Pepper
(The following are optional – Use as much or as little as you think you want)
Garlic
Chilli
Dried Mixed Herbs or fresh Oregano and Thyme
Note: - The meat is the focus of this dish. Do not put a whole lot of vegetables in it. They are best cooked separately and served as accompaniments
METHOD
Note: Cook this the day before you want to eat it.
Note: There are several methods of cooking this stew. Take your pick.
1. Carefully brown your oxtails in the pot you will eventually cook the stew in (if cooking on the stove) over a medium heat in batches, making sure you do the sides. This part takes a while. Don’t rush it. (I usually do other things at the same time like knead bread or wash, peel and thickly slice up your chosen vegetables)
2. Remove each browned oxtail as it is finished till all are done. When you are down to your last few and room is freed up in the pot start browning the mushrooms and onions as well. Once all the meat is removed add in the rest of the vegetables which you will have cut into chunks
3. Once they look nicely sautéed take them out of the pot and deglaze with either 1 cup of the Red Wine or a tin of Guinness
4. Put the oxtails back into the pot (if cooking on the stove) or into the crock or casserole dish, in layers, salting each layer as you go. Sprinkle with the herbs. Add the deglazed liquid if not cooking in the pot otherwise leave liquid in the pot.
5. Put the vegetables on top.
6. Check that you have enough liquid (if I was using my Dinerite then that would be enough liquid). It will also be enough liquid if using a crock pot. If you are using a regular pot then add a bit more water to just about cover the meat. If you decide to casserole it then I think that will be enough liquid but do check halfway through the cooking process.
7. Crock Pot – 8-10 hours at low setting. Casserole – 4-5 hours at 160oC, Dinerite – 2-2½ hrs on lowest heat after lid whistles and you close it off (electric element) or with gas use a simmer mat. Regular Pot – 3-4 hours after bringing it to the boil then turning down to lowest setting (once again use a simmer mat on the lowest setting if cooking with gas and check liquid level every hour). Pressure Cooker – Haven’t a clue.
8. Once the meat has reached the desired state of tenderness remove from the heat and drain all the liquid into another bowl or jug. Cool meat and stock then refrigerate separately.
9. Next day or so prepare your meal.
a. Remove the, by now, solidified fat from the top of the stock and put the stock into a pot and reheat. Put the solidified fat into a clean yoghurt container and save in the fridge till rubbish day and throw it away or, you can use it to cook other things.
b. Prepare the vegetables you will have with your stew and cook so that the stew and vegetables will be ready at the same time
c. Put some extra wine/Guinness/water into the pot the stew is to be cooked in. Add the meat and vegetable and reheat till hot then turn down to low
10. Once it has reheated return it to the bowl/jug it was in and turn the element down to low.
11. Add a knob of butter to the reheating pot and when it has melted add a tablespoon of flour and mix together. Be careful not to let this mixture get too hot or the gluten will be destroyed and your sauce won’t thicken.
12. Add the reheated stock back in, 1/3rd at a time, whisking with a whisk till thick with each addition. You should end up with a gravy type consistency. Taste and season as necessary.
13. Tip sauce into the meat, mix and put the lid back on. Turn the heat up a bit so that your stew is at optimum temperature when you serve it up.
14. Serve it up and enjoy. Try not to eat it all at one meal and you will have yummy stew f

A few drops of angostura bitters does wonders for any stew or soup

Thank you both, they sound yummy have saved both recipes and as only 2 of us now will halve my tail and make both.

My stew has to have Ox Kidney in it, also, red wine and tomato paste and soya sauce.
Shin on the bone makes an excelllent stew also.

I don't go along with taking the meat off the ox tail, sucking those delicious bones is a big part of the enjoyment of eating them

I too love sucking those bones as well as those bacon bones but that is done separately, bit greedy I suppose but others do join in if they are around.

Cheers

Definitely this.

After (through marriage) our family gained a Cambodian section I was so surprised to see that Oxtail turned up so regularly in their cuisine and so effectively mmmmmmmmm Oxtail in a noodle broth. Wish I had more time to go early and see how they cook it.

And Heston your recipe sucks gotta leave the meat on the bones :p