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Oxtail Stew

Also known as Oxtail Stew (Nigerian Style)

Nigerian-style Oxtail Stew is a luxurious, deeply flavoured meat dish where the gelatinous, collagen-rich oxtail is cooked low and slow until meltingly tender, then finished in the characteristic bold Nigerian pepper sauce. The natural gelatin from the oxtail bones enriches the sauce dramatically — producing a stew of extraordinary body, richness and depth that cannot be replicated with any other cut of meat.

Oxtail Stew, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 big piece of oxtail (approximately a big quantity), cut into sections
  • 1 teaspoon of curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon of thyme
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste FOR THE PEPPER SAUCE:
  • 4 big ripe tomatoes, blended
  • 3 Tatashe (red bell peppers), blended
  • 4 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
  • 3 cooking spoons of vegetable oil
  • 2 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. 01

    Seasoning and Pressure Cooking. Season the oxtail sections with curry, thyme, 2 seasoning cubes and salt. Place in a pressure cooker with sliced onion. Cover with water. Pressure cook for 45 to 50 minutes until the oxtail is completely tender and the meat is pulling away from the bone. If using a regular pot, cook for 2 to 2.5 hours. Reserve the rich, gelatinous oxtail stock — it is the most flavourful cooking liquid in this book.

  2. 02

    Frying the Pepper Base. Heat oil in a wide pot. Add blended tomatoes, Tatashe and Atarodo. Fry for 25 to 30 minutes until deeply cooked and oil floats on top.

  3. 03

    Adding the Oxtail. Add the tender oxtail sections to the pepper sauce. Add ground crayfish, remaining seasoning cube and salt. Pour in a generous ladleful of the rich oxtail stock. Stir well. Simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat. The oxtail stock will cause the sauce to reduce to an extraordinarily rich, glossy, gelatinous consistency.

  4. 04

    Final Taste and Serving. Taste and adjust. The sauce should be deeply rich, slightly sticky from the oxtail gelatin, very well-seasoned and coating the oxtail pieces beautifully.

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