Red Wine Braised Oxtails With Butternut Squash And Pearl Onions

Red Wine Braised Oxtails With Butternut Squash And Pearl Onions
4.5 from 2 ratings
Serve this oxtail braise over long, wide egg noodles with tossed salad featuring escarole and endive. If you have leftovers, trim the meat off the bones and toss with cooked penne, their braising liquid and Parmesan. This recipe by JeanMarie Brownson appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Prep Time
30
minutes
Cook Time
8.4
hours
Servings
8
servings
Red wine braised oxtails with butternut squash and pearl onions
Total time: 8.9 hours
Ingredients
  • 4 1/2 pound oxtails, cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 3 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground allspice
  • 3 tablespoon canola oil or peanut oil
  • 3 large carrots, halved, thickly sliced
  • 2 ribs celery, sliced
  • 1 large sweet onion, halved, cut into wedges
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 3 to 4 sprigs each: fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon each dried)
  • 2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 large butternut squash, halved, seeded, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 (14-ounce) bag frozen pearl onions
  • 8 ounce pitted prunes, about 1 1/2 cups, halved
  • cooked wide egg noodles for serving
  • chopped parsley
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Pat oxtail pieces dry.
  3. Mix flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and allspice in a zippered food bag.
  4. Add a few pieces of oxtail at a time; shake to coat well.
  5. Transfer to a plate while you coat the remaining pieces.
  6. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven set over medium heat.
  7. Add oxtails, in batches, in single uncrowded layer.
  8. Cook, turning occasionally, until nicely browned on all sides, about 15 minutes; transfer to a plate.
  9. Repeat to brown all the meat.
  10. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat; stir carrots, celery and onion into pan drippings.
  11. Cook and stir, 3 minutes.
  12. Stir in garlic and red wine, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
  13. Boil gently to reduce the wine slightly, about five minutes.
  14. Put browned meat, herbs and chicken broth into a slow cooker.
  15. Set it to low and cook until meat is nearly tender, six to eight hours.
  16. Add butternut, onions, prunes and salt.
  17. Continue to slow-cook until butternut is fork tender, usually one to two hours more.