The title of this recipe, Porter Pancetta Porcini Oxtail Stew sounds a bit like a law firm. Or maybe this is just on my mind as I work with a lot of law firms. Or maybe I’m thinking about work because the Clifford Porter I use is from Clifford Brewing and I happen to work with the very talented Brewmaster Brad Clifford. I’m super proud of Brad, not only is he on the forefront of nano-brewing, he has won numerous gold medals on international stages. Lucky for us in Ontario, the Clifford Porter (winner of 3 Gold medals and 1 Silver medal) is available at the LCBO!
Oxtails are one of those things that people see and, I think, are slightly scared of because they don’t know what to do with them and, let’s be honest, they look kind of weird. However, when slow cooked, they produce this wonderfully flavourful fall-apart meat. My mother used to make oxtails when we were kids. Probably because they were cheap and hearty. A kind of stick-to-your-ribs meal on a dime.
When you make this recipe, there is a lot of liquid. Like a lot! You are going to be thinking, “Ummm, Elin, why?”. The leftover liquid is going to get a reboot and be used in a later post. Trust me, you want the leftovers! (Note, you can also cook this in your oven at 275ºF for 6+ hours – there will be a lot less liquid.)
The prep does take a little bit longer than most of my other recipes. You can dice up and brown your veggies, pancetta and meat the night before and throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning, or save this for a weekend – running errands/kids hockey games etc. – type of day.
Prep time: 25 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes + 6+ hours in the slow cooker; Serves: 6 – 8 people
What you need:
- 2 kg oxtail
- 2 tbsp flour (for dredging oxtails)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 package (250 g) of diced pancetta
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 4 ribs celery, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 can (473 ml) Clifford Brewing Porter – this is approximately 1 1/4 cups of beer
- 720 ml can of strained (passata) tomatoes (or use a little less than one 796 ml can of crushed tomatoes)
- 1 cups porcini (or beef) stock
- 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 branch rosemary
- 1 branch thyme
- 1/2 cup porcini mushrooms, rinsed but not soaked
- 2 bay leaves
- salt & pepper to taste
What you do:
- coat oxtails in flour (I mixed mine with a little salt and pepper)
- over medium-high heat, add olive oil and brown oxtails about 3-5 minutes each side
- remove from pan and place in slow cooker
- in the same pan, add pancetta and cook approximately 5 minutes, place on top of the oxtail, reserving leftover oil in pan.
- Add pancetta to oxtails
- in the same pan, add onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Stir to soften and to scrape up the bit on the bottom of the pan. Cook about 2 minutes
- add white mushrooms, stir, cook approximately 5 minutes
- add the mixture to the slow cooker
- Add to the slow cooker, add the Clifford Porter
- Add porcini stock, dried porcini mushrooms
- Add the diced tomatoes, and bay leaves (my slow cooker was super full at this point – if you want you can reduce the amount of liquids)
- Carefully stir as it is pretty full!
- Add the branch of rosemary and thyme on top
- Cover and cook on low about 6+ hours
- Remove bay leaves
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste
- Serve
- Shred leftover meat and reserve with all the leftover stock
