Easy Oxtail Stew With Vegetables Recipe

The season to stay cozy in your home is finally here, and the best way to make the most of it is by delving into the world of Spanish stew recipes.

Within this type of Spanish recipes that always have its peaks of popularity during the cold winter, you can find the oxtail stew with vegetables, which is a traditional recipe but with a high level of adaptability to contemporary tastes.

Continue reading this article where we will show you how to make oxtail stew, the different ways in which you can cook and serve this stew, as well as some tips for storing it and changes you can make to the listed ingredients.

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Pssst…!!?? You can’t get enough of Spanish oxtail recipes? Have a look at my other posts: 

• Mexican oxtail soup

• Southern Oxtail Recipe

• Spanish oxtail soup

Background of the Dish

The classic Spanish beef stew was developed in the 1800s, but with the economic crisis of the 20th century, people started adapting the recipe to their budgets, coming up with the oxtail stew with vegetables.

Although it was created to be a cheaper alternative to the traditional Spanish beef stew recipe, it quickly gained fame of its own and established itself as a great way to introduce your family and friends to Andalusian cuisine.

Nowadays you can find this delicious and mesmerizing stew at almost any restaurant in Southern Spain, but we can assure you that there is nothing like preparing this dish from scratch and enjoying it in the warmth of your home.

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Things You’ll Need for Oxtail Stew With Vegetables

To prepare the best recipe for oxtail stew you will need oxtail, onion, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, broth, celery stalks, and olive oil as the main ingredients, and a Dutch oven or large pot to cook it.

Some alternatives for the cooking process of the oxtail stew with vegetables are to do it in a pressure cooker, where it would take about 45 minutes, or in a slow cooker where it would take from 6 or 8 hours (depending on the settings of your appliance).

Ingredients

• 2kg oxtail
• 1 cup (240ml) red wine
• 4 cups (1l) beef or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper to taste

How to Make Oxtail Stew With Vegetables – Step by Step Guide

1. To start making the stew, wash and chop the tomatoes into small squares. Peel and chop the bell peppers into small pieces and discard the seeds. Peel and mince the garlic cloves. Peel and chop the onion, carrots, and celery stalks into small pieces.

2. For the next step in this easy oxtail stew recipe, cut the oxtail into cubes and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Season the pieces with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside.

3. Now grab a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven and heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook until the oxtail pieces get a golden color on all sides, remove and set aside.

4. Using the same pot, add chopped onions and garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent. Also, add the carrots, celery, and bell peppers. Cook for 5 minutes until vegetables for the Spanish stew get a soft texture.

5. Then, stir in diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook the stew for 5 more minutes and sprinkle sweet paprika, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and bay leaf over the vegetables. Mix everything well.

6. After that, pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Return the browned oxtail pieces to the pot and pour in the beef or vegetable broth until the oxtail is mostly submerged. 

7. Now bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the oxtail is tender and falling off the bone. You can speed up this process by cooking it in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes.

8. For the next step in this oxtails stew recipe, taste it and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper if necessary. Then, discard the bay leaf. 

9. To finish this recipe you just have to serve the oxtail stew with vegetables warm and enjoy.

Substitution of Ingredients

What makes this the best oxtail stew recipe is that as long as you have oxtail you can prepare and enjoy it, so that means that you can play a lot with the rest of the ingredients.

For example, you can prepare this oxtail stew with vegetables using water with bouillon instead of broth, and you can replace the red wine with the same amount of broth or a different type of wine.

When it comes to the vegetables, you can do something more similar to the oxtail stew with potatoes and add that veggie, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin to make it a more filling stew.

If you don’t like oxtail, then you can turn it into a Spanish chorizo stew, or just use regular beef for the stew, but be sure to adjust the cooking time properly.

Do you want to give this Red wine oxtail stew a different flavor profile?

Then you can make it “fresher” by adding herbs such as cilantro or dill, or make it spicier with one teaspoon of chili flakes, a couple of tablespoons of hot sauce, and jalapeño pepper.

Tips on Serving Oxtail Stew With Vegetables

This oxtail stew with vegetables is the perfect main dish for lunch or dinner, and here we will give you some of the most helpful pieces of advice to keep in mind while serving.

To keep the essence of this old-fashioned oxtail stew recipe while serving it you can plate it in separate bowls and add a slice of olive oil toasted artisan bread to each serving.

To take this simple oxtail stew recipe to the next level you can top it with grated parmesan or manchego cheese so that it adds a cheesy flavor and it melts with the heat of the stew adding a new layer of texture.

You can take inspiration from the oxtail noodle soup and serve this Spanish beef stew on top of your favorite cooked pasta, such as spaghetti, rigatoni, or penne.

How to Store Oxtail Stew With Vegetables

This oxtail stew with vegetables is perfect to serve right away or you can choose to store it and enjoy it later, in both cases it will maintain the same delicious flavor and texture.

If you are planning on storing the oxtail stew you have to let it cool to room temperature and then place it in a covered freezer-safe airtight container.

After that, store the oxtails stew in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 45 days, and the best way to reheat it is to do it in a pot over medium heat (you may have to add 1/2 cup of water or broth if the sauce is too thick).

Other oxtail stew recipes or regular Andalusian meat recipes that you can prepare and store in the fridge and freezer are the braised oxtail and the Spanish oxtail stew.

Recipe Card: Oxtail Stew With Vegetables

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