Hearty Oxtail Stew - fall off the bone tender oxtails cooked in a delicious vegetable packed broth that is just pure comfort in a bowl.
Oxtail Stew is a dish that instantly makes me think of my mum. It was a regular on the stove top, usually simmered for hours to really develop all those lovely flavours and make the oxtails so delicious tender.
One of the best memories, was grabbing a mug, dunking it into the huge pot on the stove, just to scoop up some of the amazing broth to sip on. It was perfect on a freezing cold winters day, when you needed something warming and comforting.
The past week has been quite an emotional one. Wednesday marked one year exactly since my mum passed away. When we miss loved ones, we often crave familiar food that makes us feel close to them and of course for me it just had to be a pot of Oxtail Stew.
Hubby took me out for a drive to the county near where I live in Ontario, Canada where we went to a lovely little coffee shop.
Nearby is my favourite butcher ever that sells all locally reared meat which is grass fed and pastured. I knew if anyone would have some oxtails available it would be there.
The butcher selected me the most beautiful cut of oxtails I have seen, which I knew would be perfect for a big pot of hearty Oxtail Stew.
Along with the oxtails, I grabbed some local fresh free run brown eggs, and some of their sausages of the week - honey and garlic and spicy Greek Style.
In the summer when barbecues are more regular they have an even better selection of sausages and burgers.
Making the oxtail stew, I decided to cook it in my Instant Pot. I wanted to replicate all those flavours that mum would get by simmering it on the stove all day, but in a minimal amount of time, so I could have it on the table for dinner.
The Instant Pot is perfect for that - deliciously tender oxtails in 45 minutes. Perfect!!
Wondering what an Instant Pot is? Instant Pot is a brand of multi-function pressure cooker. It's one of my favourite cooking appliances. I love this thing so much, that I almost use it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, saute's, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt.
Don't worry if you don't own any pressure cookers, this can also be cooked perfectly in a slow cooker. Perfect for adding into the slow cooker at the beginning of the day to have on the table come dinner time.
More Stew Recipes
Love a stew or casserole? Check out these other recipes:
- Beef and Sweet Potato Stew
- Vegetable and Bean Stew
- Beef Celery and Orzo Stew
- Irish Beef Stew
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Campfire Stew
- Beef and Barley Stew
or if you would like more recipe ideas or sides to make with this recipe - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more.
Sides for Oxtail Stew
This oxtail stew comes packed with vegetables like leeks, celery, carrots, swede, onion. I also use sweet potato as the kids love the subtle sweetness it adds.
I love to serve this with my lighter mashed potatoes, but for an even lower calorie options this yummy Cauliflower Mash is delicious also.
If you want some additional vegetables, any greens will pair well. I really love this Irish Buttered Cabbage as a side.
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Recipe Card
Oxtail Stew (Instant Pot and Slow Cooker)
Hearty Oxtail Stew – fall off the bone tender oxtails cooked in a delicious vegetable packed broth that is just pure comfort in a bowl.
Ingredients
- 1kg (35.2oz) of oxtails - choose ones with little fat on where possible
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 1 trimmed leek. sliced
- 1 large parsnip, chopped
- 300g (10.5oz )swede, chopped
- 250g (8.8oz) of sweet potato (or swap for butternut squash)
- 3 cups (720ml) of beef stock
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (puree)
- ½ tablespoon of fish sauce (for umami)
- 1.5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
- fresh parsley, chopped to garnish
- olive oil spray
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Place the oxtails on a baking tray, season well with salt and black pepper and place under the broil/grill for approx 4 mins on each side, rotating to get an even browning. (you can brown in the Instant Pot on sauté mode if you prefer in batches, but I prefer this method as you get a better browning to the meal which improves the flavour).
- Set instant pot to saute mode, spray with cooking oil spray and once it displays hot, add the onion, garlic, celery and leeks and saute for a couple of minutes to soften.
- Add in all other veg, stock, tomato paste, fish sauce, vinegar and dried herbs, along with the oxtails (and any juices off the meat) and stir to combine.
- Add lid, close valve (if not self sealing), set Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 40 minutes.
- Once instant pot finishes cooking, let the pressure naturally release, then remove lid.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley.
- Serve and Enjoy
Slow Cooker:
- Place the oxtails on a baking tray, season well with salt and black pepper and place under the broil/grill to brown well, rotating to get an even browning.
- Fry the onion, garlic, celery and leek in a frying pan with some cooking oil spray until softened.
- Add to the slow cooker along with all other ingredients including the oxtails (and any juices off the meat)
- Cook on low for 8 hours until the meat is tender and falls off the bones.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley
- Serve and enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs: due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values
- Gluten Free Friendly - use gluten free stock
- Side suggestions: Delicious served just as it is or with some mashed potatoes and addition green vegetables
- Suitable for Freezing ❄️
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 547Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 55mgSodium 610mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 7gSugar 13gProtein 51g
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information.
Sarah says
Bit of a daft question but what happens to the bones. Do you have to remove them before serving
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
You can remove if you prefer, but normally you just serve as is.