Oxtail Stew: South African Oxtail Potjiekos

Potjiekos is a traditional South African dish made with game meat. My mom’s version of the oxtail stew or oxtail potjie is hearty and filling. The perfect winter comfort dish!

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Growing up in Pretoria, I’ll tell you one thing. South Africans love their meat, so if you are ever wondering what to cook, you know it’s going to be something meaty. The Oxtail Potjiekos is one of our family favorites for a Sunday brunch or lunch other than the Braai or bobotie, of course! And there’s always enough of this beef dish leftover for dinner. My mum’s oxtail stew recipe is both yummy and saucy.

The Oxtail Potjie is like a stew but has a slightly different cooking method. With a regular stew, you have to stir it every once in a while, but as for this potjie you just leave it to cook for a few hours, no stirring necessary.

If you are wondering what a Potjie is, it is a traditional South African vessel in which food is cooked, basically a round cast iron 3-legged pot, that’s actually descended from the Dutch oven. And a Potjiekos is a traditional South African stew that literally means ‘small-pot-food’, which is slow-cooked in a cast iron pot over an open flame. Although nowadays, we use regular vessels, that’s how the name ‘potjie’ caught on.

What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Oxtail Stew?

To make this Saucy Oxtail stew recipe, all you need is onions, oil, flour, salt and pepper, oxtail, white wine vinegar, brown sugar, carrots, potatoes, and oxtail soup powder.

How To Make Oxtail Stew?

Place the pieces of Oxtail into the bag with flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.

Close the bag with one hand and shake the pieces of oxtail in the bag until they are coated well with the flour mixture.

Place the flour-coated oxtail into a preheated frying pan with a bit of oil until browned.

After all the oxtail pieces have been fried, place them into a saucepan and then fry the onions in the same frying pan until brown. You will get a little more oil from the oxtail as some pieces can be quite fatty.

Place the onions with the oxtail in the sauce pan.  Cover with water and simmer for a few hours until the meat is soft.

Clean the carrots and potatoes. Chop them into chunks and keep them ready to add in the saucepan with the oxtail.

Some pieces of the oxtail can be fatty. Separate the oil from the oxtail before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Add the vinegar, sugar, vegetables, and Oxtail soup powder and cook until the vegetables are soft.

And your Oxtail Potjie is ready to be eaten. You can garnish it with parsley. Serve with white rice and enjoy this yummy stew.

What’s Perfect About This Recipe?

• This is a wholesome hearty meal for a cold winter’s day. Potjiekos is the perfect comfort food!
• The flavour is mouth-watering as the bony pieces are full of gelatin and iron-rich marrow.
• You do not need to add much oil while cooking as the tail meat pieces are quite fatty.

Cooking Tips And Tricks

• If you do not have Oxtail soup powder, you can replace it with beef broth or beef soup.
• If you want more veggies, add in some chopped cauliflower or pumpkin pieces.
• You could cook the stew a day in advance and chill the dish overnight, this way you can scrape off the fat from the top the next day before heating it.
• If you’re in the mood for more offal, try my sis-in-law’s chicken hearts stir fry or tongue chilly fry.
• You can add some red wine to enhance the flavour.
• Serve with melktert, the perfect South African dessert!

Answering Questions About Oxtail Stew

Why Is Oxtail So Expensive?

Oxtail is expensive because although you get about 350 kg of meat from one cow, the tail is only about 2.5 kg of that meat, and so it’s quite scarce.

How Long Can You Refrigerate Oxtail?

You can have refrigerated leftover oxtail for about 3-4 days after cooking. If you want to store it longer, you can keep it in an air-tight container in the freezer for a few months.

Why Are My Oxtails Tough?

The Oxtail is probably tough because it has not been heated enough. As it is bony pieces of meat, they need a lot of time slow cooking in a hot and moist pot, generally about 2.5 to 3 hrs.

How Do You Pronounce Potjiekos?

Potjiekos is pronounced as poy-key-kos or poi-key-kos.

Other Recipes You Might Like

• Salted Ox Tongue Recipe
• Mutton Trotter Curry
• Indian carrot dessert
• Beetroot flavored hummus
• Goat Tripe or Vajri Khudi