Anyone who knows me knows that I like my food. I also like the good old hail and hearty recipes of my childhood. So here’s one that is as good as it is simple.
Take one oxtail, separated at all the joints, so you have chunks of meat on bones. Bung ‘em into a big old pan and brown ‘em with a good portion of fat. I use margarine. While the meat is browning, chop a couple of large onions up into small bits. When the meat is browned, take it out of the pan, replace it with the onions and give it more fat if necessary. Let the onions brown to golden and then remove them from the pan and put ‘em with the meat. Throw a good handful of flour into the pan and stir it round until it soaks up all the fat. Throw the meat and onions back into the pan and pour a good portion of beef stock over the whole lot until everything is covered. Stir well and bring to the boil. Then turn down the heat. Grab some carrots, scrape ‘em and cut ‘em into thick slices. Chuck that in with the meat and stuff. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes if you like. It can’t do any harm. Or, give it a big old squirt of tomato puré. Salt and pepper to taste and put a lid on the pan. Let it simmer until the meat is cooked off the bones. (Which ought to take a couple of hours at least. Stir the whole thing once in a while.)
While you are waiting for that to happen, you make a pile of mashed potatoes. And I mean real potatoes people, not that bloody awful powdered stuff that the supermarkets like to sell you. Don’t forget, you have loads of time waiting for the meat to cook, so delay the potato bashing until about a half hour before the meat is ready.
Serve on a big plate and don’t be afraid to suck the meat off the bones. Red wine or dark beer to drink. Bon apetit.
Hell, if that don’t get you through the winter, nothing will.
The Exile Files 