Don’t be put off with handling oxtail. The flavour you get from the fat and bone marrow which seeps into the dish results in a heavenly luxurious ragu. I suggest making this one or two days before you want to serve it, allowing time for cooling and fat removal if you want a healthier version.
I always use a 7ltr pressure cooker for this dish, it reduces cooking time from 3 hours to 1, as well as locking in more flavour. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, simply put in a casserole dish and simmer with a lid on for 2-3 hours on a low heat.
I buy my oxtail from Farmison.
100g bacon bits or diced pancetta
1 kg oxtail, cut into approx 4-5cm slices through the bone (your butcher will do this)
60g unsalted butter
60ml olive oil
1 stick celery, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
500ml red wine
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
250ml beef stock (low salt)
400g pappardelle
Season the the oxtail all over with a sprinkling of salt.
Using a 5-7 ltr pressure cooker. Remove the lid, place the pan on a medium heat and cook the bacon or pancetta until golden and the fat has rendered a little. Remove to a bowl
Next, turn the heat to high and brown the oxtail pieces on all sides. Remove to a bowl. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped carrot, celery and onion and sauté for 10 minutes until soft.
Return the bacon and oxtail to the pan along with any collected juices. Turn the heat to high and pour in the red wine. Let it bubble and reduce by half, scraping all the bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Drop in the bay leaf, thyme sprigs and star anise.
Stir in the tomatoes and chicken stock. Secure the lid of the pressure cooker keeping the heat high. Bring to full pressure. Once at full pressure, reduce the heat to low and cook for 55 minutes. When time is up, remove from the heat and allow the pressure to release naturally.
When you are able to release the lid, remove the oxtail to a bowl and leave to cool. Return the pressure cooker without the lid and bubble over a high heat for a further 10 minutes to reduce the sauce a little.
When the oxtail is cool enough to handle, remove the oxtail pieces, shred all the meat discarding the gristle and bones. Add the meat back to the sauce and store in the fridge until ready to eat.
After you’ve stored in the fridge the beef fat will have set on the top, if you want to make this a less fatty dish, remove the fat solids before reheating. I save these solids to use the same way as beef dripping such as coating the pan in which I cook Yorkshire puddings.
Cook the pappardelle to the pack instructions. This is best served stirred into the sauce.
Oxtail Ragu with Pappardelle
Ingredients
- 100g bacon bits or diced pancetta
- 1 kg oxtail (but into roughly 4cm chunks)
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 60 ml olive oil
- 1 stick celery finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 500 ml red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 star anise
- 2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
- 250 ml beef stock (low salt)
- 400 g pappardelle
Instructions
- Season the the oxtail all over with a sprinkling of salt.
- Using a 5-7 ltr pressure cooker. Remove the lid, place the pan on a medium heat and cook the bacon or pancetta until golden and the fat has rendered a little. Remove to a bowl
- Next, turn the heat to high and brown the oxtail pieces on all sides. Remove to a bowl. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped carrot, celery and onion and sauté for 10 minutes until soft.
- Return the bacon and oxtail to the pan along with any collected juices. Turn the heat to high and pour in the red wine. Let it bubble and reduce by half, scraping all the bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Drop in the bay leaf, thyme sprigs and star anise.
- Stir in the tomatoes and chicken stock. Secure the lid of the pressure cooker keeping the heat high. Bring to full pressure. Once at full pressure, reduce the heat to low and cook for 55 minutes. When time is up, remove from the heat and allow the pressure to release naturally.
- When you are able to release the lid, remove the oxtail to a bowl and leave to cool. Return the pressure cooker without the lid and bubble over a high heat for a further 10 minutes to reduce the sauce a little.
- When the oxtail is cool enough to handle, remove the oxtail pieces, shred all the meat discarding the gristle and bones. Add the meat back to the sauce and store in the fridge until ready to eat.
- After you've stored in the fridge the beef fat will have set on the top, if you want to make this a less fatty dish, remove the fat solids before reheating. I save these solids to stir into sauces or add to dishes for flavour.
- Cook the pappardelle to the pack instructions. This is best served stirred into the sauce.
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