MEXICAN
OXTAIL CHILI CON CARNE
- Timescale Weekend Project
- Serves 6-8
- Difficulty Moderate
This recipe holds special meaning for us as it is the recipe that sparked the initial conversation about Our Modern Kitchen. The spiced butter, shamelessly borrowed from Heston Blumenthal, brings a fragrant and variable spice, whilst the oxtail gives a rich and unctuous depth of flavour. Once tried, it’s sure to become an instant favourite.
Ingredients
THE OXTAIL CHILI
1 Jointed Oxtail,
2 Large Onions, chopped
2–4 Green Chillies depending on spice preference
2 Large Romano Red Peppers, finely sliced
4 Garlic Cloves
250ml Red Wine
2 Dried Ancho Chillies, seeds removed & roughly chopped
1 Dried New Mexico Chilli, seeds removed & roughly chopped
3 tsp Tomato Concentrate
1 x 400g Tin of Red Kidney Beans, drained
1 x 400g Tin of Peeled Plum Tomatoes
4 tsp Smoked Paprika
3 tsp Ground Cumin
3 tsp Ground Coriander
3 tsp Dried Oregano
25g Plain Flour
Juice of 1 Lime
1 Large Bunch of Coriander, roughly chopped
Generous Pinch of Salt & Pepper
TO COOK
Olive Oil
TO SERVE
Rice
Jalapenos
Coriander
Sour Cream
Grated Cheese
METHOD
THE OXTAIL CHILI
1. Preheat the oven to 160Cº.
2. Place a large, casserole pan over a high heat with a generous lug of olive oil.
3. Season the flour generously with salt and pepper and then dredge the oxtail pieces in the flour until evenly coated.
4. Add the oxtail pieces to the pan and brown on all sides. You may need to work in batches to do this. Once browned, remove from the pan.
5. Deglaze the pan with a splash of the red wine and add in the onion, green chillies and garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes until starting to colour. Next, add the ground spices and oregano and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then, add the tomato concentrate to the pan, along with the plum tomatoes, dried chillies, red wine and then mix together.
6. Return the oxtail pieces to the pot, and top up with water until just covering the oxtail. Add the pan to the oven with a lid and cook for 4 hours, turning the oxtail pieces halfway through.
7. After 4 hours, remove the pan from the oven and remove the oxtail pieces from the pan. Add the red pepper and the drained kidney beans to the pan and mix together. Return the oxtail pieces to the pan and then return to the oven with the lid on for a further hour or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
Tip – Try using a hand blender to blitz the sauce a little before adding the beans and red pepper – this will help yield a velvety smooth sauce.
8. Once cooked, remove the oxtail pieces from the pan and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Once comfortable to handle, strip the meat from the bones and add to the pan along with the juice of a lime and some chopped coriander. Finally, mix together and then serve your oxtail chili with steamed rice, sour cream and grated cheese.
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