Rabo de Toro - Traditional Oxtail Stew

So we had our friend Nichola over to stay with is here at Canada Verde in Competa and I wanted to cook her something traditional and tasty so I went to my local butcher and bought some Oxtail. I had never cooked with oxtail so this was going to be fun but also challenging as there was no room for errors. Below is the video of how to make it and also below is the recipe I followed. The result was absolutely delicious.

Recipe - Rabo de Toro courtesy of https://www.greedygourmet.com/rabo-de-toro/

• 30ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil

• 2kg (4lbs) oxtail, segmented and excess fat trimmed

• 2 onions, peeled and chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped

• 2 celery sticks, washed and chopped

• 1kg (2lbs) tomatoes, washed and chopped

• 750ml (3 cups) red wine

• 250ml (1 cup) dry sherry

• 2 bay leaves

• 60g (2oz) parsley, washed and chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / fan 160°C / 356°F / gas mark 4.

2. Heat the oil over a high heat in a large oven proof pot.

3. Brown the oxtail all over. It’s best to do it in batches. Set the oxtail aside.

4. Continuing using the same pot, lower the heat and add the onions, stirring vigorously to soak up all the fats. Fry for about 3 minutes, or until softened and translucent.

5. Add the garlic, carrots and celery to the onions. Stir fry for about another 5 minutes, sweating the vegetables.

6. Add the tomatoes, and cook for another 5 minutes until a very chunky sauce forms.

7. Tip the oxtail in with the vegetables and stir.

8. Turn the heat up to high then pour in the red wine. Let it bubble for 3 minutes.

9. Add the sherry and bay leaves, cook for another 2 minutes.

10. At this point you have to check the level of liquid in the pot because you don’t want it to dry out while cooking. Add enough water that all ingredients are barely covered. Continue cooking until a bubbling point is reached.

11. Place the lid on the pot and transfer to the oven.

12. Cook for 1½ hours.

13. Check the liquid level every hour or so and add a splash of water if required.

14. Lower the temperature to 160°C / fan 140°C / 320°F / gas mark 3, add the parsley and stir, then cook for another 1½ hours.

15. Fish out the oxtail and pieces of meat that fell off because it’s so tender. Set aside.

16. Get a large bowl or pot and sieve the remaining contents. The goal is to separate the vegetables and bay leaves from the sauce.

17. Give the vegetables a squeeze to get as much of the juices out as possible, then discard them. What you’ll be left with is a rich, dark and glossy gravy.

18. Tip the oxtail back into the sauce, stir and gently reheat before serving.

19. Serve immediately, with chunky potato wedges - tapas-style. Enjoy!