Oxtail Ragout with Celery

Richly caramelized oxtails are simmered low and slow with vegetables in a wine sauce until the meat comes off the bones. It can be eaten on its own or served mashed potatoes (cauliflower puree if you are on keto), bread dumplings and pasta.
A ragoût is essentially the same as a stew, except that most recipes for ragout are originally French, and often chunks of meat and vegetables cooked together at a low heat for a few hours until tender. But it also can be made with fish or just vegetables. A ragù is an Italian pasta sauce that is usually made with minced meat and/or vegetables.

2 kg Oxtail sections
Sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 tbsp Tallow (or ghee)
1 Onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, roughly chopped
5-6 Celery stalks, chopped
1-2 Red chilli pepper, sliced
3-4 Rosemary or thyme sprigs, chopped
2 tbsp Tomato paste
500 ml Red wine (I used Cabernet Franc)
2 Bay leaves
1 Cinnamon stalk
2 tsp Pure cocoa powder
2 tbsp Pine nuts, toasted

Season oxtails with salt and pepper. Heat tallow in an oven-safe heavy-bottomed pot. Working in batches, brown oxtails on all sides. Remove oxtails from the pot and set aside.
In the same pot, cook onion, garlic, celery, chilli pepper and herbs until vegetables are softened and aromatic, then stir in the tomato paste. Return the browned oxtails to the pot, pour in a third of the wine and reduce until almost evaporated. Pour in another third and cook until almost evaporated again. (If you didn’t use an oven-safe pot, you can now transfer all the vegetable mixture and meat to a large casserole.)
Add the remaining wine with bay leaves, cinnamon, and season with salt. Place the pot in the middle of the oven. Set the oven to 120C/240F and cook the ragoût, covered, to simmer for about 5 hours. Stir occasionally and add a little beef stock (or more red wine) if necessary. Season the oxtail ragoût with cocoa and salt to taste.
Roast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat until golden brown and sprinkle on top.

2 comments:

Tom 10/12/25 14:18: ...Angie, I have never had this, but I'd love to try it.
Lola Martínez 10/12/25 14:24: A esta carne le va bien el cacao, al principio eso me resultaba chocante pero después de probarla entendí que le daba su punto. Buena receta.