Braised oxtail with mustard and mash

[Beardo]

This is a fabulous recipe by Nigel Slater, i can highly recommend...

 

Braised oxtail with mustard and mash

 

This is not a liquid stew, but one where the lumps of meat and bone are coated in a sticky, glossy gravy. Piles of creamy mashed potato are an essential part of this. If you are making this in an Aga, put it in the roasting oven for about 40 minutes, then in the simmering oven for a good 2 hours. Serves 2-3.

 

a large oxtail, cut into joints

a little flour for dusting

1 tsp ground chilli

1 heaped tsp dry mustard powder

a thick slice butter

a little oil, fat or dripping

2 large onions

2 large winter carrots

2 ribs celery

4 large cloves garlic

5 large mushrooms

2 tsp tomato puree

4 bay leaves

a few bushy sprigs thyme

1 bottle of ballsy red wine, such as a Rioja

1 tbsp grain mustard

1 tbsp smooth Dijon mustard

a little parsley

 

Set the oven at 150C/gas mark 2. Put the oxtail in a plastic or zip-lock bag with the flour, the ground chilli, dry mustard powder and a good grinding of black pepper. Seal it and shake it gently until the oxtail is covered.Warm the butter and a little fat, oil or dripping in a heavy-based casserole. Lower in the pieces of oxtail and let them colour on each side, turning them as they take on a nice, tasty bronze colour.

 

While the meat is browning, peel the onions and carrots and roughly chop them, then cut the celery into similar-sized pieces. Lift out the meat and set aside, then put the vegetables in the pot and let them colour lightly. Peel the garlic, slice it thinly, then add it to the vegetables, along with the mushrooms, each cut into six or eight pieces. Squeeze in the tomato puree.

 

Continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened and lost some of their bulk. Return the oxtail and any escaped juices to the pan, tuck in the bay and thyme, then pour in the red wine. Bring briefly to the boil, season lightly with salt and cover with a tight lid. Transfer the dish to the oven. Now leave the whole thing alone for a good two hours. I'm not even sure you need to give it a stir. After an hour, check the meat for tenderness. I don't think it should be actually falling off the bones, but it certainly should come away from the bone easily when tugged.

 

Depending on the oxtail, it could take as long as two or three hours in total. Set the oxtail aside to cool, then refrigerate, preferably overnight. Scrape off the fat that has set on the surface, then reheat slowly on the hot plate, stirring form time to time, then stir in the mustards. Once the mustard is in, you should cook the stew for no longer than 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve with the mash.

[JonnyR]

Nice one Nick. That's a cracker!