Best Portuguese Oxtail Stew Recipe

Thanks to the proximity between both countries, there is a wide variety of Spanish recipes that have Portuguese influences and vice versa.

The Portuguese oxtail stew is the best oxtail stew recipe ever for showcasing this combination, as it has traditional ingredients from both countries and is loved by Spaniards and Portuguese alike.

You have no excuse not to make this perfect oxtail recipe; we assure you that it is so simple that anyone can make it at home from scratch, just keep reading this article and learn all about it.

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

• Tender oxtail recipe

• Oxtail stew with potatoes

• Mexican oxtail soup

Background of the Dish

The best oxtail recipes have their origins in sad contexts for the region, as oxtail is a type of cheap (and used to be not very desired) meat that was only consumed during times of food scarcity.

The Portuguese oxtail stew originated between the First and Second World Wars when the southern regions of Portugal and Spain were among the most affected areas in the world by the economic and social crisis.

Being such close countries, the Portuguese adopted the Spanish oxtail stew and added their own touch by incorporating local ingredients such as ground allspice and piri piri sauce.

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Things You’ll Need for Portuguese Oxtail Stew

The main ingredients for this Portuguese oxtail stew include oxtail, piri piri sauce, ground allspice, beef broth, onion, carrots, and garlic cloves.

You will need a Dutch oven or a heavy pot to prepare this recipe. 

Alternatively, you can explore some of our other Spanish oxtail recipes with different cooking methods, such as the fried oxtail recipe and the oven-baked oxtail recipe.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg oxtail
• 1 cup (240ml) red wine
• 2 cups (480ml) beef broth
• 1 can (450gr) diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons piri piri sauce (adjust to taste)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• Chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

How to Make Portuguese Oxtail Stew – Step by Step Guide

1. For the first step in this old-fashioned oxtail recipe, peel and chop the onion into small pieces and the carrots into bite-sized slices. Slice the celery stalks, chop the red bell pepper, and discard the seeds. Peel and mince the garlic cloves.

2. After that, pat the oxtail dry with paper towels and cut it into bite-sized chunks. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

3. Now grab a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven and heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the oxtail pieces in batches, on all sides until they develop a rich, golden-brown color. Remove and set them aside.

4. Using the same pot, add more olive oil if needed. Also, add chopped onions, minced garlic, carrots, celery, and red bell pepper. Cook the veggies for about 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent. They’ll finish cooking later on this Spanish oxtail recipe, so don’t cook them for longer.

5. For the next step in this Spanish-style oxtail recipe, pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any flavorful bits from the bottom. You could skip this if you prefer avoiding wine, but it adds a lot of flavor and the alcohol evaporates.

6. After that, add the browned oxtail back to the pot. Pour in the beef broth and add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, dried thyme, ground allspice, tomato paste, and piri piri sauce. Stir well to combine.

7. Now, bring the stew to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours or until the oxtail is tender and falls off the bone. Stir occasionally and add more broth if needed.

8. Then, do a taste test on the Portuguese-Spanish style oxtail stew and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or piri piri sauce as desired.

9. To finish this Spanish oxtails recipe and once the oxtail is tender, you can remove the bay leaves.

10. Finally, serve the Portuguese oxtail stew hot, optionally garnished with chopped fresh parsley or grated cheese. 

Substitution of Ingredients

This oxtail recipe is one of the most simple oxtail recipes you can find out there, not only because it is super easy to make but also because you can make as many replacements as you want (as long as you have the oxtail).

For example, you can prepare this Portuguese oxtail stew with vegetable broth, or combine the same amount of water with bouillons to achieve the same flavor.

Just like any red wine oxtail stew, using good-quality red wine is a must, but there is some room to play with that: in case it is necessary, you can use Sherry or white wine.

You can take inspiration from other Spanish-style oxtail stew recipes, such as the oxtail stew with vegetables or the basque oxtail stew and use any kind of veggie for this one, such as cabbage, green bell peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.

For those of you who love blending different cuisines of the world, you can add an Asian touch to this dish by incorporating some ingredients from the oxtail dumplings, such as grated ginger, soy, fish sauce, five spices, etc.

Give a try to our old-fashioned oxtail soup recipe or the tomato oxtail soup, 2 delicious Spanish oxtail soup recipes to die for.

Tips on Serving Portuguese Oxtail Stew

The Portuguese oxtail stew is probably the easiest oxtail recipe, and the serving process also fits into that category.

Once you finish preparing the Portuguese-Spanish oxtail stew, you can serve it as a main dish by itself or with a side dish such as oxtail and rice, mashed potatoes, ensaladilla rusa, etc.

You can follow other oxtail recipes and serve this meat in a sandwich between slices of your favorite bread or serve it as tapas, similarly (just add a smaller amount of oxtail stew).

In addition, you can use the meat from this recipe as the topping for the pasta with oxtail recipe or the noodle soup with oxtail.

Give a go to our delicious oxtail casserole and oxtail and butter beans.

Lastly, you can follow the approach of other healthy oxtail recipes and serve this Spanish-style stew with a mixed green salad, a carrots and tomatoes salad, or by itself.

How to Store Portuguese Oxtail Stew

As soon as you finish making the old-fashioned oxtail stew recipe, let it cool to room temperature (for about 45 minutes), and then place it in an airtight freezer-safe container, covered with a lid.

Then, you can store the Portuguese oxtail stew for up to 3 days in the fridge or 50 days in the freezer (add a label so you don’t go over that date).

To thaw, place the traditional oxtail recipe in the fridge overnight or for 12 hours, and then you can reheat it on the stove or oven for 15 to 20 minutes (you might need to add more water or broth if the liquid content evaporated).

If the taste or texture of this Spanish oxtail seems off then it is better to avoid consuming it (we don’t recommend reheating it in the microwave as the meat will harden).

Fortunately for you, there are other Spanish oxtail recipes that you can prepare and store for later, such as the braised oxtail and the oxtail ragu recipe.

Recipe Card: Portuguese Oxtail Stew

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