Braised Oxtail (Potjiekos)

kolibri's Note:

Potjiekos has been part of the South African culture for centuries, since the first settlements at the Cape when food was cooked in a black cast-iron pot hanging from a chain over the kitchen fire. This could work as a crockpot recipe, or as a set-it and forget-it stew. Original recipe is from Conrad Gallagher's "In 3 easy Steps" cookbook.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 kg oxtails
• 750 ml white wine (cabarnet or similar)
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs
• 8 small sweet potatoes , peeled and cubed
• 25 white pearl onions or 25 shallots
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. Fry the oxtail in a hot casserole dish in olive oil to seal it. Add wine and thyme.
2. Cook in 150 C/300 F oven for 2 hours.
3. Add sweet potatoes and onions, and cook another 30 minutes.
4. Season and serve hot.

Reviews

[MrsDoty]

Based upon Chabear's comment, I too used the Moroccan Seasoning Mix Moroccan Seasoning Mix. If you are unable to find small sweet potatoes, three large ones work very well. The texture and flavor were quite rich, without providing a lot of fat (I refrigerated the left overs, and there was an exceedingly thin veneer of fat on top of the bowl). This is a good, hearty, warming dish for crisp fall days. My DH and I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend it to anyone who has yet to attempt cooking or eating oxtail. Thanks for posting!

[Chabear01]

Was a bit leary of this recipe, but what a wonderful dish this made into. Instead of just using salt and pepper I put several tablespoon fulls of Moroccan Seasoning Mix Moroccan Seasoning Mix into a plastic bag and seasoned the oxtails in it prior to braising, then continued the recipe as you gave it. This was so darned good, the meat tender, and the sweet potatoes and pearl onions really made the meal complete. Thank You so much for sharing this with us.