Cast Iron

Braised Oxtail Ragu

January 31, 2017
5
9 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 6 to 8
Author Notes

This is ragu depends on cooking the meat first, low and slow, with the same aromatic vegetables that will go into the base. The meat is then shredded, folded in, and cooked just long enough to amalgamate. —Sara Jenkins

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Ingredients
  • 3 to 4 pounds oxtail, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
  • 2 small onions, divided
  • 6 carrots, divided
  • 6 celery stalks, divided
  • 2 tablespoons Italian double concentrate tomato paste, divided
  • 1 head garlic, sliced in half horizontally
  • 1 bottle red wine
  • one 35-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
  • 2 sprigs thyme, rosemary, or savory
  • 1/2 bunch parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 250° F. Get out a heavy enameled cast-iron pan and warm it over high heat. Pat the oxtail dry and season liberally with salt and pepper.
  2. Add the olive oil to the pan and add the oxtail one at a time in a single layer, working in batches if necessary. Brown each oxtail on either side, about 6 to 8 minutes a side. When all the oxtail is browned, drain the fat from the pan and set the meat aside.
  3. Add 1 chopped onion, 4 chopped carrots, and 4 chopped stalks of celery to the pan and lower the heat to medium. Let them brown and wilt for a few minutes in the oil, then add one tablespoon of tomato paste and let cook 5 to 6 more minutes.
  4. Add the oxtail, garlic halves, and the red wine and bring to a boil. If the wine doesn't cover the meat, add water until the meat is covered. When the wine is boiling, scrape the browned bits up off the bottom of the pan.
  5. Reduce heat and braise in the 250° F oven for 3 to 4 hours, until falling apart tender.
  6. Meanwhile, take the remaining carrots (2), celery (2), and onion (1), and the herbs and parsley and chop finely in a food processor.
  7. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat in a large Dutch oven-type pan. Sauté the chopped vegetables and herbs in the oil. After 7 to 8 minutes, when the onions start to get translucent, add 3/4 cup of water to the pan and dissolve the remaining tablespoon of tomato paste in it. Let cook until all the liquid is reduced and the vegetables are practically dissolved.
  8. Add the can of San Marzano tomatoes and break up with a fork, wooden spoon, or potato masher. Let this simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, then reserve for the oxtail.
  9. When the oxtail is done, filter off all the cooking liquid and let it separate. Then remove the fat that rises to the top layer as completely as you can. Add the filtered liquid to the cooking vegetables and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. When the oxtail is cool enough to handle, pick the meat off and add it to the pot of vegetables, tomatoes, and cooking liquid.
  10. Simmer everything together until all the elements are amalgamated and the juices have reduced to a slightly syrupy consistency just rich enough to coat a pasta noodle, 20 to 35 minutes. At this point, the ragu can be eaten immediately or refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

9 Reviews

Goose January 26, 2023
I think that my mom would love this, but she's dead.
sare_pear January 2, 2020
Great recipe. The instructions don't say what to do with the bay leaf so I added it in step 8 and picked it out of the sauce at the end. For each serving I scooped some ragu into a small pan, added a bit of butter, fresh parsley, and orange zest, then tossed with pappardelle noodles. Freshly grated cheese on top. Yum! Great weekend meal.
nora December 27, 2019
Fabulous.
Jeanine G. September 7, 2018
Cut the Oxtails into 3 or 4 pieces? What about the bone?
Sara J. September 7, 2018
the oxtails should be purchased cut into 1-2 inch pieces
Jeanine G. September 7, 2018
Thanks.
Liv July 26, 2017
Hi do you use bake or roast ? Thank you
Boat February 6, 2017
I cook similarly the same recipe, but in a slow cooker and by adding everything into it at once. After browning the vegetables and oxtail of course. This way after 4 hours of braising you can just pull out the oxtail bone and you have to wash 1 pot.
ChefJune February 2, 2017
Oh my! this surely sounds like what I want to make this weekend.