Anne Morgan On a cold winter night, Delia Smith’s oxtail stew is her Oxtail Braised in Guinness with Cannellini Beans, for 6 people. You brown the oxtail and onions, then bake them slowly with beans, mushrooms, Guinness and beef stock. Allow about 4½ hours, plus at least 2 hours to soak the beans first.
Delia put it in her Winter Collection in 1995. She says meat cooked near the bone has a special sweetness, and that is why oxtail turned up on smart restaurant menus. At home, though, it is still cheap, and the beans soak up all the flavour.
Her Complete Cookery Course has an older Oxtail with Haricot Beans in red wine. Her Frugal Food adds two more, braised in cider or as a hotpot. All four bake at the same low heat, gas mark 2. One whole oxtail feeds 3 to 4 people, she says, so choose one with plenty of meat on the bone.
For beef braised in stout without the bone, try her beef in Guinness with pickled walnuts. For lamb on the bone with the same cannellini beans, try her lamb shanks.
Delia Smith’s Oxtail Braised in Guinness with Cannellini Beans
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
minutes4
hours10
minutes600
kcalOxtail browned in seasoned flour, then baked slowly with cannellini beans, whole garlic, two kinds of mushroom, Guinness and beef stock.
Ingredients
- For the stew:
225g (8oz) dried cannellini beans
1.35-1.6kg (3-3½lb) oxtail
2 large onions, halved and thickly sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 rounded tablespoon plain flour, seasoned
350g (12oz) open cap mushrooms
350g (12oz) chestnut mushrooms
1 x 440ml can Guinness
570ml (1 pint) beef stock
4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 good sprigs of thyme
salt and freshly milled black pepper
Directions
- Soak: Put the beans in a large pan with 2.25 litres (4 pints) of cold water and boil them for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave them to soak for at least 2 hours, or soak them in cold water overnight.
- Oven: Heat the oven to 150°C, fan 130°C, gas mark 2.
- Brown: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Wipe the oxtail dry, coat it lightly in the seasoned flour and fry it on all sides until nutty brown.
- Casserole: Lift the oxtail into a 4.5 litre (8 pint) flameproof casserole with a slotted spoon.
- Onions: Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the onions for about 5 minutes, until brown at the edges. Add them to the casserole.
- Beans: Take the pan off the heat. Drain the beans and add them to the casserole with the garlic, thyme, bay leaves and plenty of black pepper.
- Mushrooms: Wipe the open cap mushrooms, halve them (quarter any big ones) and tuck them in among the beans and oxtail.
- Sauce: Put the pan back on the heat and stir in any leftover flour. Whisk in the stock and Guinness a little at a time until it simmers, then pour it over everything.
- Braise: Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 2½ hours. Then add the chestnut mushrooms, halved and wiped, and give it 1 hour more.
- Serve: Skim off the fat that has risen to the top with a tablespoon. Season well with salt and serve with a lightly cooked green vegetable.
Notes
- The two kinds of mushroom go in at different times: open cap at the start, chestnut for the last hour.
- Add the salt only at the end, as she does. Her older haricot version warns that early salt makes beans tough.
- The calories are a guide for one serving, after the fat has been skimmed off.
FAQs
How do I get rid of the fat from oxtail?
Oxtail always gives off fat, and Delia draws a tablespoon across the surface to skim it. Tilt the casserole a little and the fat separates clearly from the juice.
Any that is left can be soaked up with folded wads of kitchen paper laid on top. Easier still, cook it a day ahead, because the fat sets overnight and lifts straight off.
Can I make oxtail stew the day before?
Yes, and Delia says most slow-cooked dishes taste better when you reheat them the next day. Cool it, chill it overnight, then lift off the set fat.
Reheat it at 180°C, fan 160°C, gas mark 4, for 35-45 minutes in all, until it reaches a gentle simmer. It also freezes well, she says, but defrost it completely first.
What is her oxtail with haricot beans?
It is in her Complete Cookery Course, for 4, and the 1983 and 1992 editions use the same amounts. She calls it one of the best ways to cook oxtail, because the floury beans soak up the flavour.
Brown 1 large jointed oxtail in hot beef dripping, then 2 carrots, 2 onions, a turnip and 2 celery stalks. Add 225g soaked haricot beans and thyme, then make a sauce with 425ml hot stock and 425ml red wine.
Season it with pepper only, since salt can toughen the beans. Cover it and cook it for 3 hours in the same low oven. Skim it, then add salt and serve it with braised red cabbage.
What is her oxtail braised in cider?
This one is in Frugal Food, for 4 to 6, with 1.1-1.35kg oxtail. She notes that oxtail is plentiful in the autumn, and the vegetables make it go further.
Brown the oxtail 2 or 3 pieces at a time in hot dripping, then 110g cubed streaky bacon, 3 carrots and 2 sliced onions. Stir in 25g flour, then 425ml hot beef stock and 425ml dry cider.
Add thyme, a teaspoon of crushed juniper berries, garlic and a bay leaf, then put the lid on and leave it in the oven for 3 hours. Skim off the fat and scatter over chopped parsley.
What is her oxtail hotpot?
Frugal Food has this hotpot for 3, made with one jointed oxtail browned in dripping. Turnip, swede, carrots, celery and 3 small whole onions are browned a little and packed around it.
Next, a heaped tablespoon of flour browns in the pan juices with 570ml hot water and 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce. Thick slices of potato, 450g in all, go on top.
Bake it covered for 3 hours, taking the lid off for the last half hour. Brush the potatoes with melted dripping and crisp them under a hot grill.
Delia Smith’s four oxtail recipes
All four come from her own books and bake at gas mark 2. The oven times are hers, and the browning and soaking come first.
| Recipe | Book | Oven time |
|---|---|---|
| Oxtail Braised in Guinness with Cannellini Beans, serves 6 | Winter Collection (1995) | 3½ hours |
| Oxtail with Haricot Beans, serves 4 | Complete Cookery Course (1983, 1992) | 3 hours |
| Oxtail Braised in Cider, serves 4-6 | Frugal Food (1976) | 3 hours |
| Oxtail Hotpot, serves 3 | Frugal Food (1976) | 3 hours |
The Guinness one is the richest, with two kinds of mushroom. The hotpot is the only one with its own potatoes, so it needs nothing on the side.
