Oxtail Stew in the Roman Style - Coda alla Vaccinara

By John, 23 July, 2025
Region
Italy
Description

"Coda alla Vaccinara"This is the most famous of the Italian recipes for oxtail. It's got incredible rich flavor from slow cooking the meat with tomatoes and vegetables, and then finishing it with pine nuts, golden raisins, and bitter chocolate!

If you have leftovers, they'll go great with rigatoni in the classic Roman way.

Yield
8 Servings
Preparation time
15 minutes
Cooking time
3 hours, 45 minutes
Total time
4 hours
Ingredients
2 lb Oxtail (cut by the butcher)
2 lb Crushed tomatoes
4 Celery ribs
2 T Raisins
2 T Pine Nuts
3⁄4 c Dry White Wine
1 T Lard
1 clv Garlic
1 Carrot
1 Onion
1 Dried Chili Pepper
2 T Fresh Parsley
1⁄4 c Unsweetened Chocolate
1 t Salt
Instructions
  1. Peel the garlic and chop it with a knife.
  2. Peel the onion and slice it finely.
  3. Peel the carrot and cut it into cubes.
  4. Dice a celery stalk and place it in a large saucepan together with the chopped garlic, carrot and onion.
  5. Add the lard and fry the herbs gently.
  6. Spice with sliced chili pepper and let it flavor for a few minutes.
  7. Spread the tail cut into pieces on the bottom of the pan, being careful not to overlap them, and brown over a high flame on both sides.
  8. Splash with the white wine and let it evaporate.
  9. Pour the peeled tomatoes.
  10. Mash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
  11. Season with salt. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 3 hours, or until the meat begins to fall apart from the bone.
  12. Meanwhile, clean the remaining celery stalks, cut them into pieces and blanch them for 1 minute.
  13. Toast the pine nuts in a non-stick pan.
  14. Collect the raisins in a small bowl, cover them with cold water and leave it to soak for about ten minutes.
  15. As soon as the meat is tender and begins to fall apart, add the toasted pine nuts, the well-squeezed raisins and the blanched celery.
  16. Add a generous grating of dark chocolate and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  17. Once the cooking time is up, arrange the oxtail stew on a serving dish and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley, bring to the table and serve.
Source

https://www.cookist.it/coda-alla-vaccinara-ricetta/