Braised Oxtail

Oxtail is one of those ingredients that a lot if not most people avoid simply because of its name and the image that it conjures up…… a tough stringy piece of meat with no flavour to it but in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Oxtail can add such a rich depth of flavour to a dish (ever had oxtail gravy with Jamaican rice and peas?) or it can equally stand on it’s own as a main….. it just has to be treated right. It also happens to be a quite inexpensive cut and quite frankly I love it.

This recipe comes to us via my 56 year old Canadian Cook Book and so that is why it is being listed under Retro Recipes and as the book has no pictures in it the one I am using I borrowed from thinkeatbehealthy.com.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

• One oxtail cut into short lengths
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons fat
• 1 cup tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery salt or 1/2 cup diced celery
• 4 cloves
• 1/4 lemon juice
• 3 cups diced carrots
• 4 small onions
• 1/2 clove of garlic

Putting it all together:

1. Dredge the oxtail in flour; brown in hot fat
2. Add the tomatoes, water and seasonings; simmer, covered until tender, about 2 hours
3. Add the vegetables; uncover and simmer again until the bones are free of meat and may be removed.
4. Add the lemon juice and if necessary thicken the stock with flour and water.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond”

Until next time……..

                       Bon Appetit