Instant Pot Oxtail Spaghetti Sauce

Ragu, sauce, meat sauce, red sauce, gravy, spaghetti sauce...whatever you call it in your house; this braised beef oxtail is swimming in the best ever homemade sauce. Use your favorite noodles (we used long fusili) to make this Sunday-best Instant Pot oxtail spaghetti sauce.

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Instant Pot Oxtail Spaghetti Sauce

Even if there were no oxtail in this sauce, the sauce would stand on it's own. Canned tomatoes, tangy balsamic vinegar, all the garlic, salt, all swirled up in the food processor.

Oxtail is tough, literally. It usually requires braising for at least two hours to get that fall off the bone perfection. I don't know about you, but I don't have two hours to babysit anything on the stove. I'm in the trenches with little kids. We don't cook two hour dinners in the trenches, mkay?

We do however, swirl up this tomato sauce; brown the oxtail and onions, and then deglaze with red wine (extra gulp or 7 of red wine for the parents with littles is mandatory). This ultimate comfort meal comes together in 30 minutes, start to finish; thanks to our best friend the Instant Pot.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Beef oxtail is so good, and supports using the whole animal.
• If the pandemic has left you wondering "where's the beef", you can probably still find oxtail since it's not as widely used.
• Your picky eaters probably still won't eat the beef; more oxtail for you.
• You can use whatever your favorite noodles are; here we used long Fusili. What is your favorite noodle? Tell me in the comments section at the bottom of this post. My all-time favorite is ziti noodles.

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN OXTAIL MEAT SAUCE?

• Beef Oxtail: from the tail, this cut has lots of bone and cartilage but also flavor.
• Tomatoes: the base of the sauce.
• Balsamic Vinegar: tangy and sweet.
• Garlic: my bae.
• Salt: flavor-flave.
• Onions: adds sweetness and caramel flavor.
• Red Wine: adds tang, and slight escape if take a few gulps on the side (recommended).

HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS FLAVORFUL RAGU?

1. Get that sauce swirled up in a food processor. Tomatoes, garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar.
2. Brown the oxtail with salt, pepper, and olive oil using the Saute setting on the Instant Pot.
3. Remove the oxtail and throw in the onions, get them super sweaty.
4. Pour in the red wine and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom. Brown bits = all the flavor.
5. Pour in the tomato sauce and set the Instant Pot to manual for 30 minutes.
6. Cook your noodles according to package directions, OR stop just short of done and...
7. (optional but best) Combine the sauce and noodles in a braising dish or skillet and allow to cook together for 5 minutes, finishing the noodles in the sauce.
8. Admire it, because you just made you family's new favorite dinner.
9. Pour a glass of red wine and enjoy.

THIS GOES GREAT WITH:

1. Mini Strawberry Jam Pies
2. Pesto Braided Bread
3. Garlic Blue Cheese Wedge Salad
4. Fennel Apple Salad With Orange Poppy Vinaigrette

Hey- you’ve made it this far, and now we’re BFF’s.  If you make this recipe, I would love for you to give it a star rating below (scroll to the comments).  Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!

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