Ingredients
Serves 4 with leftovers, a freezer meal or 8ppl
-1 Oxtail (mostly bone but contains some meat)
-1kg of paleron (beef shoulder or chuck) cut up into large chunks
-85ml / ½ cup of Apple cider vinegar
-2 onions, medium or large chop
-4 celery branches, cut into medium pieces
-6 medium / 400 kg carrots, chopped
-5 medium / 700 kg potatoes, peeled & cut into medium chunks
-1 can of whole tomatoes
-8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
-3 bay leaves
-300g / 1.5 cups of lentils
-300g / 3.5 cups brussel sprouts (about 20), cleaned and cut in half
Preparation
1- Salt your meat and oxtail and then, in your pot, brown each piece on all sides in some olive oil, on medium-high heat. This can take 20-30mins. Deglaze with your vinegar when you see that your pan is browning. Continue deglazing with water if you need. Deglazing will give your dish excellent flavor.
2- Prepare your onions, celery and garlic while your meat is browning (make sure you keep an eye on your meat!)
3- Once your meat is all browned set aside on a plate and add your onions and celery to the pot. Sautée for 10-15 mins on medium until they are translucent, avoid browning. Add in your garlic and sautée for about 5 mins.
4- Meanwhile, prepare your carrots and brussels sprouts, lentils and add them into the pot.
5- Prepare your potatoes and add them to the pot along with the beef, tomatoes and bay leaves.
6- Cover with water until all your ingredients are just submerged and simmer on low with the lid on for about 2 hours.
7- Your paleron (beef shoulder) meat should fall apart easily. Take the meat off of your oxtail which should come off easily but sometimes does not and needs some of your assistance.
Enjoy!
Step 1
Gather all your ingredients
Start by browning your meat with some oil over medium-high heat
Peel and cut up your onions to the size of your liking. I cut mine this size to accommodate my 3 year old's palette
I cut the celery in half lengthwise first so that my daughter can't complain about the half moon shape
Cut up your celery to the size of your liking. Big, medium and small all work well
Reserve your veggie scraps to save in your freezer for a homemade broth
I have several bags in the freezer. As soon as I have a chicken carcass, I make a broth
Make sure to regulate the temperature of your stove by adjusting it periodically up or down in order not to burn the meat like I did!
The meat tends to brown better when it's not so crowded in the pot
Deglaze first with your vinegar. Once you're out and the bottom of the pot is brown, deglaze with some water
Once all your meat is browned, take it out and set aside in a plate
All of this browned bit from your meat is excellent flavor
Deglaze with some water and use a flathead spatula to scrape (clean) the bottom of the pot before adding in your onions and celery
Add in your onions and celery and give them a stir before letting them sit for sautéing
Peel and cut your carrots into the shape and size of your liking
Peel and cut your potatoes into the shape and size of your liking
Smash, peel and roughly chop up your garlic. If you want to add more, go for it!
When emptying your tomatoes from the can or jar, make sure to keep the juice and add it into the pot
Roughly cut up your tomatoes into medium pieces
Keep an eye on your onions & celery. Ideally, you'll get a browned pan again ready for another deglaze with some water
Add your water to deglaze and simultaneously scrape the bottom of your pan with your wooden spatula
Add in your potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, garlic and lentils
Add back in your browned meat and bay leaves
Cover all your ingredients with water and bring to a boil. Reduce down to a simmer that you'll leave for several hours
Scrape off any scum that rises in the beginning of the cooking process
After about an hour and half, add in your brussel sprouts, give them a stir and allow to cook further for 45mins to 1hr until they are cooked through
We had this for dinner the night prior and I served everyone the paleron (beef shoulder.) The following day I pulled off the meat from the oxtail bones
Pull off all the meat best you can. Sometimes it's tough and sometimes it just slips off the bone. Your hands are a great tool for this!
All the meat goes back into the pot
So hearty and delicious!
This 1.5 liter glass jar that I fill and pop in the freezer. To defrost, you do need to plan ahead. you can pull it out in the morning and leave it in your sink to rewarm for dinner that evening
I try and have my freezer stocked with homemade broths and soups for days when I can't or don't want to make dinner
This has become one of our family’s go-tos during the winter season. Hearty, cozy and nutritious. My three year old loves this stew and gobbles down even the brussel sprouts. I try to have some on hand in the freezer for those really cold days or when someone isn’t feeling good. It certainly doesn’t need it but sometimes I serve it over rice, barley or quinoa.
No need to pre-prepare (mise en place) your ingredients with this recipe, you can just prep as you go while other ingredients cook. The first step, deglazing the onions can take a while but will be your foundation for flavor.
Since this recipe is a bit time consuming, I always make a big pot of this and freeze half for a later date. We are a family of 2 adults and 1 kiddo and this gives us 2 dinners and a freezer jar for one more dinner.
Enjoy!
*this recipe was inspired by the recipe “Oxtail Stew” in one of my favorite recipe books The First Forty Days by Heng Ou
