Oxtail Stew — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Slow-braised oxtail in a rich tomato and onion gravy, falling off the bone. A celebratory Basotho favorite.

Ingredients

1kg oxtail, cut into thick pieces through the joints
3 large onions, roughly sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 large carrots, cut into thick chunks
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Water to cover, about 1 litre

Instructions

1 Season the oxtail pieces generously with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over high heat until it shimmers. Brown the oxtail in batches, searing each piece on all sides until deeply caramelised.
2 Remove the browned oxtail to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, add the sliced onions to the pot, and cook for eight to ten minutes until softened and golden, scraping up all the caramelised meat juices from the bottom.
3 Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir continuously for two minutes to cook out the raw taste. The flour will combine with the fat and meat juices to form the base of a rich, thick gravy.
4 Return the oxtail to the pot. Add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, and enough water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting for a very gentle, barely bubbling simmer.
5 Cover the pot tightly and cook for two and a half hours, checking occasionally to ensure the liquid has not reduced too much. The oxtail needs long, slow cooking until the meat is falling off the bone and the collagen has melted into the gravy.
6 Add the potato quarters and carrot chunks to the pot. Replace the lid and continue simmering for another thirty minutes until the vegetables are tender and the gravy has thickened to a rich, glossy consistency.
7 Taste the gravy and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaves. Serve the oxtail stew in deep bowls, ladled over a mound of papa (stiff maize porridge), with plenty of the thick, meaty gravy spooned over the top.