Oxtail and Potato Potjie with Stokbrood and Smoked Butter

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 4-5 hours
Accessories: Silicone BBQ Mitt, Jack Daniels Wood Chips, FireWire Flexible Skewers

Smoked Butter

Ingredients:

Method:

Place two pieces of charcoal on the bottom of the firebox.
Arrange a GreenFire Eco-Firelighter around the coal and light.
Wait for a few minutes for the coals to light. Insider’s tip: when smoking butter in your Big Green Egg, you don’t want the temperature to heat up too much.
Once the charcoal is lit, cover it with wood chips and quickly place the butter (in a heat resistant bowl) on the grid – close the egg and close the vents at the top and bottom.Leave the butter for 10 minutes to smoke.
By closing the lid you are capturing the smoke from the lit charcoal and wood chips in the cooker.
After smoking time, remove the butter and set aside until use.

Oxtail and Potato potjie

Ingredients:

15 ml olive oil
250 gr wood smoked bacon, chopped
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 cup pearl onions, peeled and halved
1,5 kg good quality oxtail
½ cup seasoned flour ~ ½ cup flour, 5 ml smoked paprika, 5 ml cinnamon, 5 ml ground cumin, 5 ml chili powder, salt and black pepper
15 ml olive oil to brown meat
3 cups good quality red wine
3 cups good quality beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bouquet garni ~ sprig of rosemary, thyme and parsley tied in a bunch
2 bay leaves
500 gr baby potatoes, washed and halved
250 gr yellow patty pans, washed and halved
250 gr baby butternut, washed and halved

Method:

Fill the fire ring halfway with charcoal and position the convEGGtor in the legs up (surface down) position.
Place a large, 6 litre cast iron pot/dutch oven on the grid to heat up and close the Egg.
Keep your vents halfway open to reach 150°C.
Carefully open the egg and fry the bacon, onion and garlic with olive oil. Use your mitt!
Once cooked, scoop these ingredients out of the pot and set aside.
Pat the oxtail dry and cover with seasoned flour.
Heat the next bit of olive oil and brown the pieces of oxtail.
Deglaze the pot by adding the liquids: wine, stock and tomato paste.
Add the bouquet garni and bay leaves.
Close the lid and allow the temperature to stabilize at 150°C.
Leave to cook for 3 hours.
After cooking time, open the lid and add some water if you need more liquid.
Arrange the baby potatoes in the bubbly sauce, and close the lid for one more hour of cooking.
After a total of 4 hours cooking time, arrange the last vegetables on top. Close the lid and prepare your stokbrood.
The potjie is ready when the vegetables are soft, but still firm. Remove the bouquet garni before serving.

Stokbrood

Ingredients:

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt together. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, add the sugar, yeast and water and allow to become bubbly.
Once the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to the flour and salt and mix through with your hands, while using the olive oil to manage the dough.
You can add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
Place the dough in a container, cover with clingfilm and allow to double in size.
Knock back the dough and leave to rise one more time. This will take about 40 minutes, while your potjie is bubbling away on the Big Green Egg.
When the dough has doubled in size a second time, drizzle a clean surface with olive oil and roll small, palm size balls.
Rub the firewire flexible skewers with a good dose of olive oil and skewer the balls of dough. Be sure the balls of dough are rubbed with oil as well, to avoid sticking to the grid.
Once your last veggies has been placed in the pot, you can start baking your bread.
Place each skewer on either side of the potjie, on the grid and close the egg lid for 5 minutes, with the steel side of the skewer hanging over the base.
Once the bread has baked for 5 minutes, turn it to cook for another 5 minutes on the other side.