Have your butcher cut it in thick 3-4-inch segments. Trim away any extra fat you can. Be careful and hold the oxtail with a towel and with a sharp knife cut down. Leave some fat on as this is where the flavor comes from and it is difficult to remove all.
Dry your oxtails well with a paper towel. Make sure your oxtails come to room temperature for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking to allow them to cook evenly.
Do NOT tie your beef oxtail BEFORE your sear and brown as the ties will just come off during the cooking process. You will wait until after you sear your beef oxtails to wrap in butcher’s twine. When the oxtails are browning, they will start to shrink a little bit as the fat cooks off. That is why you need to wait.
Season the oxtail well with salt and pepper on both sides. Set the pressure cooker on the high sauté setting. Add olive oil to the pressure cooker. Sear and brown the beef oxtail in your instant pot (pressure cooker). Use the sauté function on high and brown on all side or about 2-3 minutes on each side. Do NOT overcrowd your pressure cooker. Cook in batches. Remove your browned oxtail from the pressure cooker. There is no need to flour it first. As an extra bonus, this keeps this pressure cooker oxtail stew recipe gluten-free and low in carbs.
To prevent the meat from falling off the bone, tie up the sautéed oxtail in butcher’s twine. Just once around and tied in a knot and you are good to go. You can also use tooth floss. It’s probably best to use a plain floss as spearmint or fruity tutti is not the best flavor addition to this recipe. (Smiling)
Sauté the chopped onion, carrot and celery (soffritto) and garlic until translucent in the instant pot.
Add, wine to glaze the pan. Scrape the bottom of the pressure cooker to get all those delicious bits off the bottom of the pressure cooker. Then add tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves and season to taste. Place the browned oxtail back into the pressure cooker with the delicious tomato wine broth. Add fresh or dried herbs on top. We used fresh rosemary and thyme but can also use 1 teaspoon of dried mixed Italian herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, etc).
Seal the lid to your pressure cooker, make sure the vent is off and sealed and set to high pressure cook for 45 minutes. Once time is up, allow the pressure cooker to do a natural release for 15 minutes and then can vent and release steam.