A hearty dish that family and friends can gather around for a Sunday braai, this oxtail and lamb neck potjie features both tender oxtail and lamb neck and is full of distinctive, mouthwatering flavour.
What is a Potjie?
The word ‘potjie’ literally translates to ‘small pot’ in Afrikaans. It is a traditional South African stew that is made from slow cooking a red meat and vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkin, cauliflower and carrots. Potjies are usually cooked over an open fire and are made often in braais. The dish is full of flavour and spiced with traditional Cape Malay spices such as cumin and curry powder. The most traditional of the potjie dishes is the oxtail potjie. Oxtail is a popular cut of meat that comes from the tail of cattle and is packed with complex flavour. While it does consist of a lot of bone and marbled fat, this contributes greatly to the overall flavour of the stew.
Why Choose one when you can Have Both?
This potjie consists of both oxtail and lamb neck, both of which are slow cooked resulting in tender and succulent meat. The oxtail itself is tender perfection, and the lamb neck gives the stew a distinctive, gamey taste. If you are not a fan or lamb or even oxtail, you can swap one or both out for some beef or mutton.
Serve this classic potjie dish with some green beans and traditional yellow rice for a well-balanced and satisfying meal or braai with friends and family.
Potjie with Oxtail and Lamb Neck
Ingredients
- 1 large 1 onion
- ¾ cup ¾ cup olive oil
- 1 kg oxtail
- 1 kg lamp neck
- 1 kg small potatoes
- 500 g small carrots
- 500 g butternut
- 4 large baby marrows
- 1 packet mielies
- 1 packet green beans
- 1 packet fresh mushrooms
- 250 ml red wine
- 500 ml coke
- 500 ml fresh dairy cream
Instructions
- Seasoning – marinda salt, pepper, Robertson steak and chops, garlic flakes, Worcester sauce, Knor oxtail soup powder, Mrs Balls chutney.
- Fry the onion in oil and add garlic flakes into the pot.
- Add oxtail and sheep neck in pot and fry until meat and onions are brown.
- Spice the meat with marine salt, Robertson steak and chops and Worcester sauce.
- Add red wine, coke and 1½ cups of water and place the lid on pot and allow the pot to do its thing.
- After 90-120 minutes, add the small potatoes and carrots and 1½ cups of water. Let the pot cook for another 15-20 minutes. (At this stage the pot may not be stirred any longer or else the veggies will smash.)
- Cut the butternut in rings and place it on top of the potatoes and carrots.
- Cut the baby marrows in big chunks and place on top again, followed by the small mielies, green beans and mushrooms.
- Place the lid on pot for 10-15 minutes whilst making the sauce.
- In a separate pot, add 500ml dairy cream, 3¾ cup water, oxtail soup, 100ml Mrs Balls chutney and stir the mixture on a heated plate.
