Ingredients

Method

• 2 T olive oil
• 500 g oxtail pieces
• 70 g cake flour
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 x 100 g packet mixed dried fruit
• 10 prunes
• 3 sticks cinnamon
• 500 ml port
• 500 ml beef stock

Method

Ingredients

In a large, heavy-based saucepan, heat the olive oil until very hot. Toss the oxtail pieces in the cake flour, then season to taste and brown off in the hot saucepan.

Remove from the saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, then return the browned oxtail to the saucepan.

Add the dried fruit, prunes and cinnamon together with the port and stock. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1½ hours, or until the meat is very tender and the juices turn sticky. Season to taste and serve warm.

Cook’s note: It may be necessary to add more liquid during cooking depending on how long it takes for the oxtail to soften. You can also cook the oxtail for half the time with the saucepan’s lid on, removing it later to reduce the liquid.

TASTE’s take:

No longer frowned upon as an inferior meal option, affordable cuts of meat – from liver and kidneys to silverside and oxtail – are back on the menu and ready to reign supreme.