Instant Pot Oxtail Stew

Instant Pot oxtail stew is a hearty dish to warm up to during the cold, winter months. The oxtail meat falls right off the bone after being perfectly cooked in the pressure cooker. This easy oxtail stew recipe is packed with flavor and will quickly become a family favorite this winter. If you enjoyed this instant pot oxtail stew recipe, you will really enjoy these Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and this Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup.

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An Explanation Of The Ingredients

• Oxtails – Cut the extra fat off of each oxtail before pressure cooking.
• Vinegar – Soak the oxtails in vinegar to tenderize the meat before cooking.
• Salt & Pepper – Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Granulated Garlic – Season the oxtails with granulated garlic.
• Onion – Chop and dice the onions.
• Bell Pepper – I like using a red bell pepper for this recipe.
• Garlic Cloves – Finely mince the garlic cloves.
• Flour – Use flour to thicken the stew.
• Tomato Sauce – Add tomato sauce and water to the stew.
• Tomato Paste – Just a little bit of tomato paste will add tons of flavor.
• Beef Broth – I used reduced sodium beef broth.
• Red Wine – Cabernet works well for this oxtail recipe.
• Cassava – Frozen cassava works best.
• Parsley – Garnish with fresh parsley.

This is how you trim the fat off of the oxtails before cooking.

Saute the oxtails for 3 minutes on each side.

Add the peppers, onion and minced garlic cloves to the pressure cooker.

Pour in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine and beef broth.

How To Make Instant Pot Oxtail Stew

1. First, start by cutting the large pieces of fat off of each oxtail using a sharp knife.
2. Next, place the oxtails inside of a bowl and add vinegar, salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Marinate the oxtails while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3. Chop and dice the bell pepper and onion.
4. Finely mince the garlic cloves.
5. Set the instant pot function to saute and add oil.
6. Once the oil is hot, add the oxtails and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the oxtails to a plate.
7. Add the flour, bell pepper and onion. Whisk together until the diced onions become translucent.
8. Add the minced garlic and saute for an additional 15 seconds or until fragrant.
9. Pour in the red wine and cook for 3 minutes to reduce while whisking to break up lumps from the flour.
10. Place the oxtails back into the instant pot.
11. Pour the tomato sauce, tomato paste, beef broth and add salt to taste.
12. Use a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the instant pot. Do not skip this important step, otherwise you will get a burn notice.
13. Cancel the saute function and close the lid. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes with a 10 minute natural release. Quick release any remaining pressure.
14. Taste the sauce for salt and add more if needed.
15. Open the lid and add the frozen cassava.
16. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes with a 5 minute natural release.
17. Top with fresh parsley if desired and enjoy!

Can I Use Fresh Cassava?

You can use fresh cassava instead of frozen. Reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes with a 5 minute natural release if using fresh cassava for this recipe. I prefer the frozen because I don’t have to worry about peeling it.

Why Trim The Fat Off Of Oxtails?

Oxtails naturally have a lot of fat around the outside of the meat. Once cooked, the texture of the fat tends to become gelatinous which doesn’t taste very good. This is why most of the large pieces of fat should be trimmed off of each oxtail before cooking.

What Kind Of Wine Should I Use?

I recommend sticking to either cabernet or merlot when making this stew. Cabernet is definitely my favorite.

Recipe Notes

• Oxtails release a lot of fat during the cooking process, so you may have some fat on the surface of your stew. Use a spoon to skim the fat off of the surface before serving.
• Cook the oxtails until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. If you are cooking very thick pieces, you may have to cook them for a bit longer. You can do this by setting the instant pot to saute, covering the instant pot and allowing the stew to simmer until the oxtails are fully cooked. Make sure to stir occasionally. Although, I don’t believe this will be an issue. My pieces were pretty thick and this cooking time worked perfectly.
• I recommend using frozen cassava. You may use fresh if you’d like but you’ll have to reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes with a natural release of 5 minutes. You’ll also need to increase the cooking time for the oxtails to 42 minutes with a natural release of 10 minutes.
• This recipe was made using an 8 qt and 6 qt instant pot. If you’re using a 10 qt, you may have to adjust liquid quantities to prevent a burn notice.
• Always read your instant pot manual before using it.