Saucy oxtail

Preheat the oven to 220ºC.  Place a large roasting tray in the oven to preheat.

Remove the heated tray from the oven and place the oxtail into the pan. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the oxtail. Toss to coat and place in the hot oven for 30 minutes until brown and caramelised.

Prepare the onions, celery and carrots and place into a large ovenproof casserole dish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place over medium heat to sweat.

Strip the thyme and rosemary off the stems and chop roughly. Add to the vegetables, add the bay leaves and cook for about 20 minutes until tender. Stir frequently.

Remove the oxtail from the oven, set aside and turn the oven heat down to 160ºC.

Add the tomato paste to the vegetables, mix with the vegetables and cook until the tomato paste starts to caramelise.  Add the cloves and flour and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes, the oxtail and the roasting juices.

Mix the wine, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar apricot jam and chutney and pour over the oxtail. Cover with the beef stock and stir to blend all the ingredients together. Bring the oxtail mixture to the boil, place the lid on the casserole dish and place in the hot oven for 3 ½ hours, or until the meat falls off the bone. Stir the oxtail every hour and add water if liquid is required. The oxtail can also be cooked over low heat on top of the stove.

Remove from the oven and set aside for about 10 minutes. Using 2 forks strip the meat from the bones, return to the casserole dish. Use the bones to make a stock.

Serve the oxtail with couscous, slow roasted sweet potatoes and steamed green vegetables.

Beef and Lamb SA is the consumer education project of the Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS).

Recipe inspired by Marina Fourie, Beef and Lamb SA project and brand manager. The story behind the dish “Saucy, stove-top slow cooked, hearty ox tail with lots of chunks of whole tomatoes, carrots and onions reminds me of very cold Johannesburg Sundays at home. Served with slow roasted sweet potatoes and couscous. Made with my moms “1 cup” sauce – 1 cup Worchestershire sauce, 1 cup apricot jam, 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup red wine.”

Recipe standardised by Prof Gerrie Du Rand. Styling by Caro Albers. Photography by Michelle Parkin.