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Oxtail

27 May 2020 / Posted in Dinner
Oxtail recipe

Oxtail is a wonderful dish but it takes time to prepare as the meat needs to cook until it is soft and tender.  The AMC Speedcooker® II, our superb pressure cooker, is ideal for this comforting stew as it cooks the meat within an hour.

Oxtail

Oxtail

Serves 6 - 8

150 ml cake flour, well seasoned with salt and pepper
2 oxtails, cut through at the joints (about 1,5 kg in total).
2 medium onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 celery stalks, cut into thick pieces
3 carrots, cut into thick pieces
15 ml dried mixed herbs
25 ml dried thyme
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
200 - 250 ml red wine or red grape juice
180 - 250 ml beef stock
3 - 4 pieces of naartjie peel
1 tin (400 g) whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
10 ml sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Heat an AMC 8 litre Speedcooker® II with a normal AMC 24 cm lid on, over a medium heat until the Visiotherm® reaches the first red area.
  2. Place flour in a bowl with lid and put in half of the meat. Cover bowl and shake to cover meat with flour and shake off any excess.  Brown half of meat on both sides and remove. Repeat procedure with rest of meat and set aside. Reserve flour in bowl.  
  3. Add onions, garlic, celery and carrots to Seedcooker and sauté for a few minutes. Add herbs, bay leaves and cloves, and sauté for 3 - 5 minutes. 
  4. Seal unit with the Speedcooker® ll lid according to the instructions. Set pressure to high. Once steam starts to push through the pressure setting valve, lower the temperature to maintain this pressure.
  5. Remove the unit from the heat. Allow the red pressure valve to drop completely before opening Speedcooker® ll. To do so, press the red pressure release button to release any remaining pressure then slide the lid open.
  6. Remove Speedcooker from heat. Allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes and release all excess steam by pressing the Red Pressure Release Button. Open the Speedcooker®ll lid by pressing down on this red button. Once the pin has dropped, open the lid by moving the long handles apart.
  7. Thicken further with cornflour if preferred. Season to taste and sprinkle with extra thyme. Serve with rice, pap or samp.

Tips:

  • Oxtail can also be prepared in an AMC 24 cm Gourmet High. Simmer over a low temperature for 3-3½ hours, or until tender.
  • Substitute oxtail with ostrich neck for a healthier alternative. Use 15 - 30 ml oil to brown meat as ostrich has very little fat of its own. Add 250 g bacon, fried and chopped, for extra flavour.
  • When naartjies are not in season orange peel may be used, but first remove the white pith so that it does not give the dish a bitter taste.