Braised Oxtail in Red Wine Preparation time 10 minutes the night before, 30 minutes on the day of cooking. Cooking time approx. 4 hours Ingredients: (serves 4) 3 whole oxtails (ask your butcher to trim the fat from the tails) 225g medium sized red onion, chopped 200g stalks of celery, chopped 200g leeks chopped with 1 clove of garlic 100g beef dripping 400g tomatoes, chopped A sprig of fresh thyme 1 bay leaf and a good tablespoon of chopped parsley 600ml red wine 1000ml good beef stock Method: 1. The night before the dish is to be cooked, separate the tails by cutting through the digits (only use the thick ends of the tail as the thin ends can be frozen for the day you want a homemade oxtail soup). 2. Marinade the pieces of tail in the red wine and some of the stock to cover it all. Cover with cling film and leave in a fridge overnight. 3.The next day pre-heat your oven to 200C. 4. Remove the tails from the marinade and season well with freshly ground black pepper. 5. In a large pan, fry the tails in the dripping on both sides until golden brown, then drain. 6. Fry all the vegetables in the same pan with the tail residue until soft. 7. Add the tomatoes and the herbs and cook at a simmer. 8. Replace the tails and the rest of the stock and cover with a lid, braise for three hours. 9. Remove the tails from the sauce and rest to one side. Pass the sauce through a sieve into a separate pan to keep warm. 10. In the original pan reduce the marinade down to about a pint then add it to the sauce. 11. Remove any residual fat from the surface by skimming, and test for flavour and consistency. 12. Replace the tails and simmer gently (when the meat is falling away from the bone, it’s ready to serve). A serving suggestion would be to place two tail pieces on each plate with some of the sauce, some crushed buttered potatoes and roasted root vegetables.