This braised oxtail recipe uses an inexpensive but flavorful cut of beef in a one pot meal. Braising cooks the meat thoroughly, making it tender enough to fall off of the bone. Plenty of fresh vegetables balance the richness of the oxtail. The long cooking leaves plenty of time to get other things done around the house or to just relax on a weekend afternoon.
Start this recipe by placing 3 tablespoons of grass fed butter into a large casserole dish with a lid. Place on the stove over very low heat.
Finely dice 1 cup each of carrot, celery and yellow onion. This is the basic mire poix for many braised dishes and provides the background flavor of the finished dish.
Place the mire poix into the melted butter and stir often to avoid browning. Cook on very low heat for about 45 minutes, until all vegetables are very soft, to extract all of the flavor.
While the vegetables cook, salt the oxtails thoroughly on all sides. Place 4-5 tablespoons of butter or bacon grease into a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
Brown all sides of the oxtails in the skillet and remove to a plate while the vegetables finish cooking.
After the oxtails are browned, prepare the vegetables for the braise. Remove the ends and skin from two small yellow onions. Remove the ends and thoroughly wash two small beets. Cut one parsnip, one carrot and three stalks of celery into 2 inch pieces. Wash four small crookneck squash or cut two larger squash into large pieces.
The mire poix is done when the vegetables are very soft and just beginning to caramelize.
Add the vegetables plus mushrooms and tomatoes of your choice to the casserole.
Snuggle the browned oxtails into the vegetables.
Use 2 cups of red wine to de-glaze the skillet used to brown the oxtails. Add the wine to the casserole. Add enough stock of your choice or water to come to the bottom of the oxtails. Cover the casserole and place into a 225 degree oven.
Check the oxtails every 20 minutes and gently push down into the vegetables and liquid until they are not quite submerged. Continue to cook, covered, until the beef is tender and ready to fall off the bone, about 3-4 hours.
Remove from the oven and remove the lid. Allow to rest for 10 minutes and then serve.