I always keep an eye out for the sturdier cuts of meat which are perfect for some one-pot action. On this occasion I saw a small pile of oxtail, shin of beef and an ox cheek sat there. Clearing the butcher out of these three delights I was good to go for some long and slow.

With oxtail, you are guaranteed a standout flavour from the meat and bones. The cheek and shin add an additional layer of taste and texture to the dish which delivers a solid beef stew full of richness and warmth.

Now usually when cooking a stew, I cook for about 12 people and have plenty of leftovers.  On this occasion, however, I was limited by what the butcher had left so only cooked enough for 4-6 people.  You can definitely double up the recipe, apart from the bay leaves.

Step 1 - The Meat

• Roughly dice the meat up
  Tip: Count how many pieces of Oxtail your have

• Score the large pieces of oxtail to the bone

• Cover them in flour

• Fry them off in batches in a good knob of lard until brown

• When finished, deglaze the pot with beer, ale or a stout, getting as much of the sticky brown flavour off the bottom (Red wine would work equally well for a different but equally good result)

• Pour out and keep the liquor to one side

Step 2 - The Veg

• Roughly dice up all the veg

• Turn the heat down to low under the pot

• Add a good knob of butter

• Put all the veg in, add some salt and give it a good stir

• Put the lid on so the veg sweats off

• Giving it the occasional stir, leave covered for 20-30 minutes

Step 3 - The Wait

• Set the oven to 160C

• Add the meat and the liquor to the veg

• Add the following:

  • 4 bay leaves

  • Heaped tsp of English Mustard

  • Two heaped tsp of tomato puree

  • Splash of soy sauce

  • Splash of sherry vinegar

  • Crushed garlic clove

  • Splash of Worcestershire sauce
    

• Give everything a good stir so it's well mixed

• Finally, add the stock. I added about 800ml which covered the contents by about an inch

• Put on the lid and pop into the preheated oven

Step 4 - Wait some more

• After about 4 hours, the mixture should have reduced and darkened

• Find a piece of Oxtail, the meat should fall off the bone.
  If it doesn't put back in and wait a bit longer until it does

• If the stew is looking a little dry, top it up with more stock

• Pull out all the pieces of Oxtail. This is where the counting comes in from Stage 1

• Shred all the meat from the bones and put them back into the pot. The bones can be binned now as they have done their job

• Cover with a cartouche to minimise further reduction of the liquid

• Cook for another couple of hours with the lid on

Serve up with some delicious mash and greens.

OxBeef Stew

Serves 4-6 people

• Oxtail - 500g

• Ox cheek - 200g

• Beef shin - 350g

• 3 carrots

• 1 Leek

• 2 onions

• 2 celery sticks

• Beef Stock

• Beer, ale or stout

• English mustard

• Tomato puree

• Bay leaves

• Soy sauce

• Worcestershire sauce

• Sherry vinegar

• Garlic clove

• Thyme

• Butter

• Lard

• Flour