Slow Cooked

Now I am going to write about oxtail stew. It may sound disgusting but oxtail can be slow cooked into a fall apart beautiful meal. Its flavor is that of beef and is slightly milder than it. You can purchase it in packages with the bone in. As you can imagine, the tail of the ox does a lot of work so you will need to slow cook it otherwisse it will be very tough. The more the muscle is used, the tougher it will be so the longer and slower you should cook it. Depending on how much oxtail you purchase quantities may very. I purchased two pounds from Walmart for 10 dollars. Ox tail is very versatile because you have to slow cook it so any flavors you combine it with will infuse in the meat. This stew takes around 8+ hours, but it requires very little maintenance. I cooked mine on the stove top but you can put it in an over or possibly a crock pot. Man upscale restaurants have begun to use oxtail in their menus. Follow this for a Sunday dinner for the week.

The quantities listed will be for two pounds of oxtail each piece about 2-3 inches in diameter. Leave the bone in because it will keep the meat from separating into unidentifiable pieces. You will need the vegetables listed but in your preferred quantities. You can add any vegetables. This is a very versatile dish and can be tailored to your own tastes. For other vegetables try hearty ones that will keep their shape during cooking like potatoes, parsnips, and other large vegetables. I used carrots and celery with onion as mise en place. Which is a term used to describe the prep work before making a dish. Start by searing the oxtail in a smoking pan with olive oil. Brown the oxtail on all sides and place it on a plate. Add four sliced yellow onions and the diced carrots and celery. If you have potatoes save them for when there is stock... they will only take 30 minutes to cook. If you have frozen peas add those 4-5 minutes before serving. After adding the vegetables stir in 4 table spoons of flour and combine until it is cooked out 1-2 minutes. Then you add the browned meat back in. This is also a good time to add in any other stew meat you may have. Follow by deglazing the pan with 1/3 a bottle of red wine. Wine for cooking should be cheap, dry and not fancy. Any fragrance or fancy infusions will take away from the flavor. I used a Cabernet Sauvingion from Walmart that I purchased for 6.50 dollars. If you would like substitutions I would suggest a guinness beer or slug of stout. If you would like options with out alcohol then chicken or beef stock will do just fine. In this case any liquid, even water, will work fine. Then Scrape the bottom of the pan and add stock or water to cover. Add thyme or other spices now. If they are fresh wait until the end to add them. If you add fresh herbs now, They will wilt and lose their flavor. Ending herbs would be parsley, or cilantro. Depending on your tastes you can can make a gremolata which is a dry dressing with herbs and citrus zest. After you finalize your flavor profile, simmer it for 6-8 hours and serve over rice or potatoes.