Have you ever tried oxtail? Our slow-cooked oxtail with marrow bones is incredibly delicious and loaded with gut-healing gelatin.
Ideally, I’d recommend starting to make this recipe in the morning, as it needs to be cooked for quite some time.
Simply pop it in the slow cooker and just let it cook all day until you’re just about ready for dinner. The reason I say this is because you want the meat to be beautifully tender and just about falling off the bone and that takes time.
What’s the deal with Oxtail?
When it comes to meat, the joint parts – like oxtail in this recipe, chicken feet (yes, you read right), grass-fed marrow bones and knuckles – are loaded to the brim with gut-healing goodness.
The sort of goodness that comes from minerals such as magnesium, silicon, sulphur, calcium, and phosphorus just to name a few and the great thing about these minerals is that they are easily absorbed by our bodies making them perfect for healing and sealing.
When we turn these foods into what is known as a bone broth – something you will notice we add to a lot of our recipes – they contain broken down materials that come from cartilage and tendons. Materials like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine which will also do wonders for joint problems.
How to Cook Oxtail
So, the secret to a good oxtail dish is to cook it low and slow for a generous number of hours until the meat is juicy and tender – to the point of falling off the bone, succulent and a little gelatinous.
To start with this recipe, prepare your ingredients by roughly chopping up the onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Set them aside in a bowl for sautéing later.
Then you can heat a heavy bottom pan to high heat, add coconut or olive oil and seal the oxtail pieces by browning them on each side.
Once they are sufficiently golden remove them from the pot and pop them straight into the slow cooker if that is what you are using. Don’t stress if you don’t have a slow cooker – just transfer the meat into an oven proof dish instead.
Now you can use the same pot you cooked the meat in to sauté the onion mix, just be sure to turn the heat down to medium, add a little more oil if needed and begin to sauté the vegetables until the onions turn glassy.
Once your onions look right, begin to pour in the broth and the tin of tomatoes. This step will deglaze the pot. Meaning it loosens all the good stuff (flavour!) sitting at the bottom of the pot and gets it into the sauce – this is a good thing 😉
Add in the thyme and bring the liquid to a simmer. When the liquid is heated through and simmering remove it from the heat and gently pour it over the meat.
Add in the marrow bones and give the mixture a good stir until everything is coated with the sauce.
Switch on that slow cooker or pop the dish in the oven and let it gently cook for at least 5 – 6 hours.
Yes, now you know why we say put it on in the morning…
Sprinkle over those fresh herbs and get ready to enjoy a hearty gut-healing meal!
When you are ready for dinner, serve it with a helping of cauliflower rice, sweet potato mash or some steamed organic jasmine rice. A side of greens too, if you like.
We hope you enjoy this scrumptious slow cooked oxtail!
Don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments 🙂
Slow-Cooked Oxtail with Marrow Bones (Gut Healing)
Ingredients
550g oxtail pieces
500g marrow bones
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 can of organic chopped tomatoes
2 cups bone broth
2 bay leaves
A bunch of fresh parsley
A bunch of fresh basil
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- The first season and fry the oxtails in a hot pan with a little coconut oil, so that you seal the outside until golden brown. We repeated this process with the marrow bones as well.
- Put the oxtail and marrow bones into a slow cooker or an ovenproof casserole dish if you are not using a slow cooker.
- Now back to your pan that had the meat in it, keep it on the heat and add the chopped celery, garlic, onions, carrots and herbs. Saute until the onion is translucent.
- Now pour in the bone broth and chopped tomatoes, this will deglaze the pan nicely and bring it to a simmer.
- Once the liquid begins to simmer pour it into the slow cooker or casserole pot and slowly cook for 5-6 hours until the meat is super tender and falls off the bone. If using the oven, cook on low heat of around 100 – 150ºC.
- Serve on a bed of sweet potato mash or cauliflower rice and sprinkle with any remaining fresh herbs.
- Enjoy!
