Braised oxtail in red wine

This recipe, traditional from the south of Spain, used to be cooked with the tail of fighting bulls. It was one of the least noble and cheapest cuts... but it produced a dish to shout “¡Olé, olé y olé!” about.

Nowadays, it's impossible to obtain meat from fighting bulls, so we can substitute bull for cow and the result will be just as spectacular. I recommend that you use ox tail and not veal tail, because the latter is less flavorful. I had to order it from my butcher because it is not a product they usually carry.

It's a dish that requires time and care. In total, the tail will need to simmer about 3 hours to achieve a silky texture and to melt in your mouth. But you don't need to watch it constantly! Also, the meat has to marinate for 12 hours in red wine to make it more tender and flavorful... as you can see it's a dish that requires a bit of planning.

To cook it, I recommend doing it in a cast iron casserole. The one you see in the photo is the Low Le Creuset casserole, Shallow Casserole type, and it works very well for these stews (it's also perfect for stewing cheeks). And once it's cooked, you can bring it to the table in the same casserole. It's so beautiful that all your guests will love it as much as the oxtail stewed in red wine recipe I'm about to explain to you.

Low cocotte Shallow Casserole Le Creuset

Ingredients

• 2 ox tails
• 1 leek
• 2 onions
• 3 carrots
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 L of quality red wine
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 square of dark chocolate
• Flour
• Olive oil
• Salt

Preparation

1. Put the ox tail cut into a casserole. Also add the vegetables cut into large pieces and the head of garlic halved. Cover with the red wine. If necessary, add water until completely covered. Let marinate overnight in the fridge.
2. The next day, remove the ox tail pieces from the marinade, lightly salt them and flour them. Dice the vegetables and set them aside for later. Reserve the marinade liquid; you'll need it for the stew's cooking.
3. Add a splash of olive oil in the casserole and brown the pieces of oxtail on all sides. Once browned, add the vegetables, the rosemary and the thyme, and cover with the marinade liquid. Cover and let simmer over low heat for 3 hours.
4. After the time has passed, remove the tail pieces and strain the liquid through a chinois (fine-mesh strainer). Squeeze well to extract all the juices from the vegetables. Return the sauce to the casserole and let it reduce until it thickens. Add the ounce of chocolate and stir well.
5. Return the oxtail pieces to the casserole and let everything cook together for 10 more minutes. Keep spooning the sauce over the oxtail pieces so they end up nice and glossy.

You can serve the ox tail accompanied by some French fries, boiled basmati rice, or boiled quinoa.

Low cocotte Shallow Casserole Le Creuset