Wholesome Red Wine Braised Oxtail Recipe

Are you ready to embark on a culinary adventure this year? Then buckle up and get ready to learn everything about the best Spanish recipes with oxtail.

Among them, you will find the delicious red wine braised oxtail, a dish where the tender oxtail gets to shine, blended with aromatic herbs, flavorful spices, and a fantastic red wine sauce.

Stay tuned for this article and learn more about this stewed oxtail recipe, with tips for storing, serving, and customizing the ingredients of this dish.

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

• Southern oxtail recipe

• Old fashioned oxtail soup recipe

• Oxtail casserole

Background of the Dish

The red wine braised oxtail is a traditional Andalusian recipe created around the 1800s, offering a new take on the classic oxtail stew by altering the cooking method and main ingredients.

In this recipe, red wine plays a major role as the principal liquid content, and the oxtail is braised in the oven until tender and soft.

Similar to other fantastic recipes from Southern Spain, like the smothered oxtail recipe or the roasted oxtail, this dish also features a delightful mix of veggies, including onions, carrots, and garlic cloves.

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Things You’ll Need for Red Wine Braised Oxtail

To prepare the best oxtail recipe you will need red wine, oxtail, carrots, garlic cloves, onion, beef broth, tomato paste, and other herbs and spices.

We also have a quick oxtail recipe in case you are in a rush and you want to make and enjoy a Spanish oxtail stew recipe.

Ingredients

• 2kg oxtail
• 2 cups (480ml) oxtail bone broth recipe
• 1 bottle (750ml) red wine (Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

How to Make Red Wine Braised Oxtail – Step by Step Guide

1. For the first step in this Spanish oxtail recipe, you have to preheat your oven to 356°F (180°C).

2. After that, it is time to prepare the vegetables. For that, peel and dice the carrots and celery stalks. Then, peel and chop the onion into small squares, also mince the garlic cloves.

3. Now, pat the oxtail pieces dry with the help of paper towels and cut them into bite-sized pieces. After that, season them on each side with salt and black pepper.

4. Then, grab a large, oven-safe Dutch oven, and heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the oxtail pieces on all sides, for about 5 to 7 minutes or until golden. Remove the oxtail pieces and set them aside.

5. Using the same pot, add the chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until the vegetables get more color and a softer texture, for about 5 minutes. Also, add minced garlic and cook for one more minute.

6. For the next step in this red wine oxtail recipe, stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to enhance its flavor. Pour in the red wine and deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.

7. After that, return the Spanish oxtail to the pot. Also, add beef broth, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer.

8. Then, for the cooking step on this Spanish-style oxtail recipe, cover the Dutch oven with a lid and transfer it to the preheated oven. Braise the red wine oxtail for 2 to 2.5 hours or until the meat is tender and almost falling off the bone. Stir the braised oxtail in red wine occasionally.

9. Once the braised oxtails are cooked, remove the pot from the oven. Skim off any excess fat from the surface. Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Discard the bay leaves.

10. To finish this recipe for oxtails you simply have to serve the red wine braised oxtail warm and enjoy.

Substitution of Ingredients

There are a lot of changes that you can make to this beef oxtail recipe, and you will still have a delicious plate of oven-braised oxtails ready to be served.

First, you can prepare this red wine braised oxtail with your favorite veggies, adding others like potatoes, leek, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cucumber, or squash.

In theory, you can make this wine braised oxtails with different types of wine, but you would have to change other ingredients too to balance the flavors.

For example, the white or Sherry wines are lighter -in flavor and color- than the red, so you would have to use vegetable broth, and other herbs such as thyme and rosemary, since they pair better with that flavor profile.

Do you want it to have a texture more similar to the stewed oxtail? Then you could add two more cups of broth, or simply check out our red wine oxtail stew.

Tips on Serving Red Wine Braised Oxtail

Among the oxtails recipes, the red wine braised oxtail is one of the easiest to serve, as you can plate it right away and enjoy it on its own.

However, to make this oxtail stew more filling you can serve it with mashed potatoes, a mixed green salad, ensaladilla rusa, or the Spanish tortilla de patatas.

If you want to get even more creative with this recipe for oxtail stew, grab two halves of your favorite bread -ciabatta, artisan, sourdough, etc- and use the braised oxtail as the filling, optionally paired with mayonnaise or aioli.

The oxtail marinade is another great Spanish oxtail recipe that is easy to make and it’s very delicious.

Besides that, you can draw inspiration from other oxtail stew recipes and top this red wine braised oxtail with grated parmesan or manchego cheese and fresh chopped herbs like parsley and cilantro.

How to Store Red Wine Braised Oxtail

Once you finish making this Spanish oxtails recipe, you will be able to enjoy the red wine braised oxtail right away or store it for later.

First, let the oxtail braised in red wine cool to room temperature, which should take from 30 to 60 minutes, and then you’ll be able to place it in a covered freezer-safe container.

Now you can take your braised oxtails with red wine and store them for 3 days in the fridge or 45 days in the freezer, without them losing their original flavor and texture.

To thaw the braised oxtail with red wine, place them overnight or for 12 hours in the fridge, then reheat in the oven over low heat for 30 to 60 minutes (adding 1/2 cup of water to add moisture if the liquid evaporated).

Other easy oxtail stew recipes that you can prepare and store are the fantastic estofado de rabo de buey and marvelous stewed oxtail recipe with red wine.

Recipe Card: Red Wine Braised Oxtail

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