Slow Cooker Jamie Oliver Oxtail Beef Stew (3 Ways)

Name: Easy Slow-cooked Beef Stew 3 Ways | Jamie Oliver
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 9 h
Total time: 9 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2.5 kg oxtail, in pieces; 3 tbsp olive oil; 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped; 3 sticks celery sticks, roughly chopped; 2 large leeks, trimmed and sliced; 4 cloves garlic cloves, peeled; 2 sprigs fresh rosemary; 4 sprigs fresh thyme; 2 leaves bay leaves; 2 heaped tbsp plain flour; 280 ml porter beer; 2 x 400g tins tinned plum tomatoes, bashed up; 500 ml water; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; sea salt; black pepper, freshly ground; 400 g fresh pappardelle; Parmesan cheese, finely grated; mashed potato; kale, quickly boiled; crostini or crusty bread

Source video by Jamie Oliver on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This is Jamie Oliver's deeply savoury oxtail stew, built on roasted oxtail, soffritto vegetables, woody herbs, porter beer and tinned tomatoes. The original is cooked in the oven for around six hours, but it adapts beautifully to a slow cooker because the cut needs long, gentle heat to render down. Once the meat is shredded off the bone, you can serve it three ways: tossed through pappardelle with parmesan, spooned over mash with greens, or loosened with water into a hearty soup.

Slow cooker notes: Source is an oven braise that translates naturally to a slow cooker. Oxtail is still roasted in the oven first to develop colour and flavour (slow cookers do not brown). Vegetables and flour are softened in a pan with the porter to deglaze, then everything is transferred to the slow cooker. Water is reduced slightly because slow cookers retain liquid: just enough to cover the meat. Long oven time replaced with Low 9 hours or High 6 hours.

Ingredients

Stew

2.5 kgoxtail, in pieces
3 tbspolive oil
3 mediumcarrots, roughly chopped
3 stickscelery sticks, roughly chopped
2 largeleeks, trimmed and sliced
4 clovesgarlic cloves, peeled
2 sprigsfresh rosemary
4 sprigsfresh thyme
2 leavesbay leaves
2 heaped tbspplain flour
280 mlporter beer
2 x 400g tinstinned plum tomatoes, bashed up
500 mlwater
1 tbspWorcestershire sauce (add late)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

To serve with pappardelle

400 gfresh pappardelle
Parmesan cheese, finely grated

To serve on mash

mashed potato
kale, quickly boiled

To serve as soup

crostini or crusty bread

Method

Preheat the oven to its highest setting with a roasting tray inside. Season the oxtail generously with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil, then tip onto the hot tray. Roast for around 20 minutes until golden brown all over.
~25 min
While the oxtail roasts, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large casserole pan. Add the chopped carrots, celery, leeks and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, and cook gently for around 10 minutes until softened and fragrant.
~12 min
Stir 2 heaped tablespoons of plain flour into the vegetables to soak up the oil. Pour in the porter and let it bubble, scraping up any sticky bits from the base of the pan.
~3 min
Add the two tins of plum tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon.
~1 min
Tip the roasted oxtail and any tray juices into the slow cooker. Pour over the vegetable, beer and tomato mixture, then add just enough water to cover the meat (around 500ml).
~3 min
Cover and cook on Low for 9 hours or High for 6 hours, until the meat is gooey, tender and falling off the bone.
~540 min
Lift the oxtail out and let it cool for a few minutes. Using rubber gloves or two forks, pinch and pull the meat off the bones, discarding the bones. Return the shredded meat to the sauce.
~10 min
Stir in 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper to taste.
~1 min
To serve with pappardelle: cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Spoon four ladles of the oxtail sauce into a wide pan, add a little grated Parmesan and a splash of pasta water, then toss the drained pasta through. Finish with more Parmesan.
~10 min
To serve on mash: spoon a generous portion of mashed potato onto a plate, top with the oxtail stew and a pile of quickly boiled kale.
~5 min
To serve as soup: ladle some of the oxtail stew into a saucepan and loosen with hot water until it reaches a soup-like consistency. Warm through and serve with a crostini on the side of the bowl.
~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I really need to roast the oxtail first?

Yes. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, and oxtail's depth of flavour comes from caramelising the meat and bones first. Twenty minutes in a very hot oven is the easiest way to do it.

Can I use a different cut of beef?

Yes. Beef shin, chuck or short ribs all work well for the same low and slow treatment, though oxtail gives the richest, most gelatinous result thanks to the bone.

What if I cannot find porter beer?

Any dark, malty beer works: stout, brown ale or a bottle of mild. The malt is what gives the stew its sweet, caramelised backbone.

Why less water than the oven version?

Slow cookers trap all the moisture that would normally evaporate from an open pot, so you need less liquid. Just enough to cover the meat is plenty.

Can I make this ahead?

Absolutely. Oxtail stew is even better the next day once the flavours settle. Cool, refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently until piping hot.

Extraction notes (transparency): Quantities for carrots, celery, leeks, garlic and herbs are not stated in the transcript and have been inferred from a standard soffritto base for 2.5kg oxtail. Worcestershire sauce quantity (1 tbsp) and flour (2 heaped tbsp) and porter (280ml) are explicit. Tin size for tomatoes not stated, assumed standard 400g tins. Oil quantities partly inferred. Servings inferred from quantity of meat.