Oxtail stew recipe | Jamie Oliver soup and stew recipes (2024)

FAQs

What makes stew taste better? ›

Sear the meat well.

Searing meat takes a long time, and it's tempting to skip it. Don't. Searing the meat until it develops a dark brown crust and a sticky “fond” starts to glaze over the bottom of the pan are both key to creating the kind of rich, caramelized flavors that make stews irresistibly good.

Why do people love oxtail so much? Its popularity stems from the unique combination of rich flavor and succulent texture of oxtail. The meat's high collagen content transforms into gelatin during cooking, creating a mouthfeel and depth of flavor that's hard to match.

If you still want to enjoy a Jamaican brown stew or Spanish rabo de toro without spending all your budget on oxtails, look no further than the humble turkey neck as an affordable and tasty alternative. Turkey necks give you the same tender, fall-off-the-bone results as oxtail for a fraction of the price.

"Soups and stews really need to simmer for long periods to allow the ingredients to meld together. Taking that a step further, most soups and stews are better if you prepare them the day before serving. Allowing them to cool and then reheating them really helps bring out the flavors and textures."

Coating the meat in flour and searing adds incredible color and flavor to the beef, which is then infused throughout the stew. It also creates browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and when we deglaze those with red wine, it takes the flavor to new heights.

By soaking and blanching the oxtail before cooking any impurities are removed. To cook: Oxtail requires long, slow cooking to produce tender, succulent meat.

There is a good amount of fat and collagen that melt into your dishes as oxtail cooks, which will give a wonderful round texture to sauces and that slightly sticky feel to the meat. And the bonus flavor from the bone marrow that will cook into your dishes make this cut one to really get to know and not be afraid of!

Different versions of oxtail soup exist: an ethnic dish of the American South which traces its lineage back to the pre-revolutionary war era; Korean; Chinese; a fried/barbecued oxtail combined with soup variation which is a popular dish in Indonesia where it is called as sop buntut; and a thick, rich, gravy-like soup ...

Fortunately, you can tenderize the meat by boiling or braising it for several hours. Braising oxtail is strongly recommended because it adds flavor to the stock and the low and slow cook will tenderize the meat and cartilage and bring out flavor from the bones and marrow.

What is the closest meat to oxtails? ›

Alternatives to oxtails include beef shanks, beef short ribs on the bone, veal neck and veal shank. For most of these cuts, the ratio of meat to bone is higher than in oxtails so you can use 3 to 3 1/2 pounds to serve eight.

1> Mashed Potatoes: Creamy mashed potatoes are a classic accompaniment to stew. They provide a comforting contrast to the richness of the oxtail. 2> Rice: Steamed rice, especially jasmine or basmati, can soak up the flavorful sauce of the stew nicely.

Personally I would add as many aromatics and flavor enhancing substances that I like. If the stew is already finished, then you can sauté onions, garlic peppers, celery and carrots then add them to the stew. I would also add some herbs and finally salt and pepper to taste.

Beef tastes great when seasoned with oregano, rosemary, sage, garlic or a combination of these seasonings. Poultry gets an added burst of flavor with spices like paprika, lemongrass and saffron. Fish can be made more flavorful with dry mustard powder, thyme and turmeric.

In addition, you can try to counteract the bitterness of the garlic by adding a small amount of 'sweet', like honey or sugar, but just a little bit, as you don't want your stew to have a major sweet flavor.