Frozen OX Tail

Oxtail is the tail of the animal, cut into sections, and it is one of the most collagen-rich cuts there is. Long, slow cooking dissolves that collagen into gelatine, giving oxtail stew its famously rich, velvety, lip-sticking body no other cut can replicate. Around 30g protein per 100g cooked.

Brown the pieces well, then braise at 160C for 3 to 4 hours, or pressure cook, until the meat falls from the bone. It is the star of Jamaican oxtail stew, Korean kkori-gomtang, Chinese and African oxtail soups and rich European braises. Because so much of the weight is bone, allow a generous amount per person. Cook it a day ahead if you can, as the flavour deepens and you can lift off the set fat.