Frugal Recipes

Check out this amazing recipe for slow braised oxtail with autumn mash - for £2.24 per person!

Recipe #19: Slow braised oxtail with autumn mash (serves 5)

In our brand new Frugal Recipe series, we'll be looking at cheaper cuts of meat and cheaper, more sustainable fish and how to make them into some fantastic meals over the next couple of months.

I'll be showing you some recipes that are great alternatives to (and in my opinion equally delicious as) the more expensive pork chops, chicken breasts and unsustainable cod options.

This week we have a cheap autumnal feel with slow braised oxtail. Oxtails have risen in price in the last 12 months due to the championing from celebrity chefs. But luckily, not all butchers have cottoned onto this and you can still find it cheaply priced. For example, I noticed oxtail down to £4.50 per kg last week at my local butcher's shop.

Just be aware that it needs slow cooking to produce a deep flavoured dish.

Ingredients

2kg of oxtail - aim for top of the tail pieces (£9)
3 red onions (68p)
1kg of carrots (64p)
1kg of swede (70p)
1 garlic bulb (22p)

The cupboard staples...

Salt, black pepper, 2 beef stock cubes, flour, tomato puree and olive oil.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at ASDA (and the local butcher), where it came to £11.24 - that's £2.24 per head!

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150C.
You'll need a good big heavy casserole dish that is capable of holding all the oxtail pieces. For 2 kg of oxtail you'll get five good pieces - firstly, coat the oxtails in seasoned flour. Give them a good coating as this will thicken the final sauce. Get a frying pan and drizzle in a little olive oil and make the pan nice and hot. Now add the oxtails and seal them on both sides. Once they are well-browned on both sides, take out the pan and set to one side.
Now turn the heat down slightly on the pan. Roughly slice the red onions and add them to the pan. Soften the onions down a little and add six (yes six!) finely chopped garlic cloves.
Whilst the onion and garlic is cooking on a low heat, make up two pints of beef stock. Remove the onion and garlic mixture from the pan and add to the casserole dish, then place the oxtails in the dish as well. Keep the frying pan for deglazing.
Then add one and a half pints of beef stock and a good twist of black pepper to the casserole dish. The remaining ½ pint of beef stock we can use for deglazing the frying pan. Get the pan nice and hot and add the stock and reduce down for three minutes (even better would be to deglaze the pan with red wine, if you've got some). Then stir in two tablespoons of tomato puree and add the stock to the casserole dish.
Cover the casserole dish with a lid and place in the oven for four to five hours. Check occasionally to make sure it doesn't need more liquid. And remove the lid for the final 30 minutes of cooking.
When out the oven it will be dark and rich with shiny, tasty gravy - let it rest for a little.
Serve with buttered mashed swede and carrot. Happy eating!

A bit about our Chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Friday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"Cooked this recipe this evening, really yum. Flatmate approves, even got picture evidence." lovelindstrom

"We enjoyed this recipe very much: easy to make and even easier to eat!" varneyrob

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Another delicious offering from Paul. Thank you - keep 'em coming!" Palefire

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other Frugal Recipes: Pumpkin and sage risotto | Rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and Savoy cabbage | Lemon & rosemary chicken thighs | Thai Pollock curry with egg noodles | Chunky pea and ham soup| Spaghetti alla carbonara | Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt | Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne | Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lacashire) hotpot