OXTAIL STEW RECIPE: Cooking Like Your Grandma Ep.2 Oxtail used to be considered a throwaway cut, the tail was tough, cheap, and often overlooked in favour of prime cuts. But that’s exactly why generations before us relied on it. Slow-cooking it for hours was the only way to make it tender, and in doing so, they were making the most of every part of the animal instead of letting anything go to waste. What they didn’t necessarily know is that the same connective tissue that makes oxtail tough is what makes it so rich in collagen and gelatin once it’s slow cooked, the same compounds a lot of modern skincare products try to replicate. Along with minerals like calcium and magnesium, it’s part of why nose-to-tail cooking gave people such a nutrient-dense meal, even from the cuts considered scraps. Oxtail stew recipe: I like to prep the veg the night before to make things easier. What you’ll need: 3-4 onions (red or white) 3 cloves garlic 5-6 carrots 1-2 leeks 3 packs (500g each) of oxtail 2 tbsp salt 1-2 tbsp sage Filtered water (I use organic where possible for all of it, and always grass-finished meat.) Method: 1. Chop all your veg and throw it onto a large baking dish with the oxtail. Roast at 200°C for 30 minutes (I never add any oil as the oxtail makes it’s own). 2. Transfer everything into a large crock pot on low, with filtered water, the salt and the sage. 3. Leave it to cook for around 10 hours, I usually put mine on at 8am and take it off at 6pm. 4. Once done, drain some of it through a sieve. Take out the bones, then split it, meat and veg in one container, broth on its own in another. That way you can have the broth by itself, or mix it back in with the veg. Keeps in the fridge for about 5 days. This recipe lasts two people about 5 days of one meal a day.