Oven is on and the casserole dish should be in there getting nice and hot – we’ll roast of the oxtails for 20 minutes before adding the stew ingredients and then you can go to the pub for a couple of hours.
Ok, before we start chopping everything up, let’s sort the oxtail out. The casserole dish should be in the oven and either getting very hot or already is. In this order, oil the oxtail and then season generously with Maldon Sea Salt and dust with the flour.
Pull the hot casserole dish out of the oven and put on the hob, add a couple of tablespoons of oil and then add all the oxtail (or in batches). Put the lid on and place back into the oven for 20 minutes – no more though, lets not burn the oxtail. During this time you can prep the other ingredients – do the beef stock first. You can seal it on the hob too, but I found this way gives the Oxtail a better finish.
Pull the casserole pot out of the oven and turn the heat down to 140 degrees. Remove the oxtail and put aside and place the casserole dish on hob, medium heat. The Oxtail should be gnarly leaving behind some tasty fat for the next step.
Add all the onions and fry for 5 minutes and then add the garlic, chillies, green pepper, thyme, curry powder and tomato puree. Stir and fry for another few minutes, gently until soft. Then add all the beef stock and bayleaves.
Give it a good stir and add the oxtail back in, push below the surface of the sauce (top up with water if you need to) and replace the lid. Place into the oven for 3 hours at 140 degrees. Check it hourly and prevent it drying out by adding more water.
You’ll then have a deep bath for the Oxtail, ready to go in the oven – you can then chill. Won’t hurt to check it half way through, to make sure you haven’t lost too much liquid.
After three hours the meat should have been falling off the bones and you should have plenty of sauce – it serves wonderfully with white rice, but that’s up to you – why not just grab a bowl and crusty bread?