No one can deny that Spanish recipes are filled with flavor, and on a cold day, nothing beats a hearty oxtail dish.
If you are craving a flavorful and filling dish, then we have the perfect remedy for you: the smothered oxtail recipe.
Keep reading this article, and you will learn how to make the smothered oxtails recipe step by step, with some helpful tips for storing, serving, and customizing the ingredients.
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Background of the Dish
The smothered oxtail recipe is a type of baked oxtails with gravy that originated centuries ago, and it includes all the ingredients typically found in a southern-style oxtail recipe.
This Andalusian oxtails recipe combines meat with a blend of vegetables and spices, all cooked to perfection in a rich broth with a red wine glaze.
It earns the name “smothered” because the ingredients are cooked on low heat, achieving the ideal tenderness and absorbing the flavors of the surrounding liquid.
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Things You’ll Need for Smothered Oxtail Recipe
To make the best recipe for oxtails you will need onion, garlic cloves, red wine, beef broth, bell peppers, flour, oxtails, and a mix of herbs and spices.
For the equipment, you just need a Dutch oven or a heavy oven-safe pot/tray to prepare this stewed oxtail recipe.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg oxtails
- 1 cup (240ml) dry red wine
- 2 cups (480ml) beef broth
- 1/2 cup (60gr) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
How to Make Smothered Oxtail Recipe – Step by Step Guide
- For the first time on this red wine braised oxtail recipe, preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F).
- After that, it is time to prepare the vegetables. For that, peel and chop the onion. Also, dice the tomatoes and bell peppers, discarding the seeds. Lastly, peel and mince the garlic cloves.
- Now, with the help of kitchen paper, pat the Spanish oxtails dry, then cut them into bite-sized chunks. Season on each side and dredge them in flour (shaking off the excess).
- Grab a large Dutch oven or oven-safe pot, and heat the olive oil over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Sear the oxtails on all sides until they develop a golden crust (do it in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot). Remove the browned oxtails and set aside.
- Using the same pot, add more oil if needed, and sauté the chopped onion, garlic, and bell peppers for 5 minutes. Then, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes until they start to break down.
- To continue with this southern oxtail recipe, pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
- After that, return the browned Spanish style oxtails to the pot. Add the beef broth, smoked paprika, ground cumin, dried thyme, and bay leaves. Stir well to combine.
- For the next step on this Spanish oxtail recipe, bring the mixture to a simmer, cover the pot, and transfer it to the preheated oven.
- For the final step on this smothered oxtail recipe, bake the Spanish-style oxtail for about 2 hours or until the oxtails are tender and the flavors have melded. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Serve the smothered oxtail warm, pouring the gravy on top. You can serve it with your favorite side like salad, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Substitution of Ingredients
To prepare this smothered oxtail recipe you only need a few basic ingredients that everyone has at home or are super easy to find, yet there are some substitutions that you can make.
For example, you can turn this into a keto oxtail recipe by using almond or coconut flour instead of all-purpose, and make sure that the broth and wine are low-carb or you can balance their carb level over the day.
Some oxtail recipes, such as the Portuguese oxtail stew or the Basque oxtail stew, have influences from different cuisines, and you can use that in your favor for this southern smothered oxtail recipe.
That means that you can give it an Asian touch by flavoring it with soy sauce, fish sauce, and grated ginger, or a Mexican one with hot sauce and crushed jalapeños.
If you want this smothered oxtail to have a similar consistency to the classic beef oxtail stew, then add two more cups of broth, letting them simmer and thicken.
Give a go to our delicious oxtails on the stove recipe that you can prepare just as easily or the oxtail marinade.
Tips on Serving Smothered Oxtail Recipe
With this Spanish oxtails recipe, you will have a mesmerizing dish ready to be served as the protagonist of a meal or as the appetizer.
First, you could serve it like any oxtail stew, pouring the gravy on top of the oxtail pieces, and garnishing it with fresh parsley and grated cheese.
Just like any smothered oxtails and gravy recipe, having slices or pieces of your favorite bread is a must while serving this dish, so that you can soak it in the flavorful sauce and enjoy.
To be more creative, you can serve the meat from this smothered oxtail recipe as a sandwich filling, serve it as small sliders for a delicious appetizer, or a main dish if you make it a bigger sub.
Lastly, you can take inspiration from the oxtail casserole and the beef oxtail recipe and serve this one with a mix of your favorite roasted vegetables, or other sides like a mixed green salad, mashed potatoes, or cooked rice.
How to Store Smothered Oxtail Recipe
Once you finish cooking oxtails in the oven, let them cool to room temperature, and then place them in a covered freezer-safe container, making sure to scrape and add all of the delicious sauce.
Then, you can store the oxtail stew for up to 3 days in the fridge or 45 days in the freezer, thawing it overnight or for 12 hours in the fridge.
Reheating the meat from this smothered oxtail recipe is super simple, you just have to put it in an oven tray, add a bit of water or broth (about 1/2 cup), and reheat it on low heat for about 30 minutes.
If you are a meal-prep fan then we have more Spanish oxtail recipes that you can prepare and store for later, such as the traditional oxtail recipe and the tender oxtail recipe.
Recipe Card: Smothered Oxtail Recipe
Easy Smothered Oxtail Recipe
No one can deny that Spanish recipes are filled with flavor, and on a cold day, nothing beats a hearty oxtail dish.
If you are craving a flavorful and filling dish, then we have the perfect remedy for you: the smothered oxtail recipe.
Keep reading this article, and you will learn how to make the smothered oxtails recipe step by step, with some helpful tips for storing, serving, and customizing the ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg oxtails
- 1 cup (240ml) dry red wine
- 2 cups (480ml) beef broth
- 1/2 cup (60gr) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- To start making the best oxtail recipe, preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F).
- Peel and chop the onion. Dice the tomatoes and bell peppers, discarding the seeds. Peel and mince the garlic cloves.
- With kitchen paper pat the oxtail dry, then cut into bite-sized chunks. Season on each side and dredge them in flour (shaking off the excess).
- In a large Dutch oven or oven-safe pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Sear the oxtails on all sides until they develop a golden crust. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. Remove the browned oxtails and set aside.
- In the same pot, add more oil if needed, and sauté the chopped onion, garlic, and bell peppers for 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes until they start to break down.
- To continue with this easy oxtail recipe, pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
- Return the browned oxtails to the pot. Add the beef broth, smoked paprika, ground cumin, dried thyme, and bay leaves. Stir well to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover the pot with the Spanish oxtail and transfer it to the preheated oven.
- To finish this Spanish-style oxtail recipe, let it bake for about 2 hours or until the oxtails are tender and the flavors have melded. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Serve the smothered oxtail warm, optionally with your favorite side like salad, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Notes
Do you want to spice things up on this smothered oxtail recipe? Then feel free to add chili flakes, crushed peppers, and a few tablespoons of hot sauce or piri piri sauce.
You can turn this into a slow cooker oxtail, simply follow until step number 8, and then place the hearty oxtail stew in the slow cooker where it would take from 4 to 6 hours to finish cooking (on the lowest setting).
This simple oxtail recipe has a richer flavor with beef broth, but you could use vegetable broth instead, or water with bouillon.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 727Total Fat 53.5gSaturated Fat 8.6gCholesterol 28mgSodium 183mgCarbohydrates 54.9gFiber 13.6gSugar 6.3gProtein 18.7g
Hola, I’m Paulina! Together with my team, we are passionate about Southern Spain. Here we share all you need to know for great times in Southern Spain with the best places to visit, stay and, of course, the best food to eat.
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