Cooking At Home Part 2

Looking back at some of my posts, I found one that I never finished. I cooked some oxtail back last summer and never completed the post. Oxtail is one of my favorite meats.  When cooked right, it can be very tasty and super tender. You can turn the meat it into a ragu for pasta, leave it whole and make soup with it, the possibilities are endless. I'm going to show you how to braise it down whole and use it as an entree. Most people like to use red wine when braising it which makes it just as good, however I didn't have any in house so I just used my chicken stock. Also, I apologize in advance for the bad photos. I was still using a Blackberry back then!

First season the oxtail with salt and pepper on both sides.

Next, in a hot pan, sear the oxtail on high heat in a little oil on all sides.

You can also lightly dust them with flour to help them get some color. Once they are seared on all sides, remove them from the pan. If you were using red wine, now would be a good time to deglaze the pan with it.

Cut up your mirepoix and add a couple of whole crushed garlic cloves.

Hard sear(high heat) your mirepoix so it has some nice color on it and it's just starting to break down.

While your mirepoix is searing, get your aromatics together. I like bay leaves, black peppercorns, and fresh thyme.

Add your chicken stock once your mirepoix has softened and picked up some color, then bring it to a boil.

Put the seared oxtail inside of a braising dish that won't crowd them and pour the hot stock/mirepoix on top of them. Add your aromatics on top, cover with foil, and bake at 325 for about 3-4 hours. You'll know there ready when you can take a fork and pull the meat away from the cartiledge.

During those 3-4 hours, find a way to occupy your time.....

Once there done, remove the oxtail from the braising liquid.

Take the braising liquid, place it in a small pan and reduce it a little over half. Leave in all of the "good stuff" that you braised the oxtail with as this will give your sauce more flavor.

 

Serve it with mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, whatever you like. I have to say that in this picture it doesn't look like the most appetizing thing in the world but I assure you it is! I'll make it again soon and use my Galaxy 3 which has a great camera!