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the goods 3-4 lbs of ox tails salt 8 shallots, peeled 8 cloves garlic, peeled 1/2 lb crimini mushrooms 3 cups beef stock 1 cup red wine 6 oz can tomato paste dash Worcestershire sauce 4 small parsnips 4 small carrots 4 small turnips sprig fresh parsley sprig fresh thyme olive oil you will need:
time: 30 mins active 2 days salting of ox tails'
8 hrs slow cooking / 4 hrs oven cooking
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braised ox tails Truly a dense, unctuous, fall apart & tumble on the tongue treat. Cooked slow and soft and spooned over polenta. The sauce and the polenta taint each other in the bowl. Mush, swirl, spoon. mmm! And wait until you hear about the leftovers! Trim the ox tails of any excess fatty bits, sprinkle them with salt, put them in a covered container and let them sit in the fridge for a couple of days.
Heat some oil
in a large skillet and sear the ox tails on all sides.
You might have to do them in a couple of batches.Remove
them from the pan and set aside. Add a splash more oil
and add the carrots, parsnips, shallots and garlic. Let
them caramelise a little (but not burn) and remove them
to the plate with the ox tails. Pour the wine into the pan and de-glaze any caught bits of meat. When the wine starts to bubble, add the beef stock, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and let simmer a few minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Crock pot: add
everything to the crock pot, herbs included, and cook
on a low setting for about 8 hrs. Taste the sauce and
add salt only if needed (remember, the meat was sitting
in salt for 2 days) Oven: place everything into a casserole...preferably one which is not too big for the contents. Bake at 350f for an hour, then knock the heat down to 300f and bake a further 4 hours, until the meat is tender. Taste the sauce and add salt only if needed (remember, the meat was sitting in salt for 2 days) Serve: with steaming hot polenta (my tip: add a porcini mushroom stock cube to the water, add the corn meal and when it is almost done add a drizzle of truffle oil and a fistful of grated parmesan) and a little meyer lemon zest, minced garlic and parsley.
Leftovers: buy
some potsticker / gyoza / wanton wrappers. Pull all the
meat off any leftovers, making sure no bones or gristle
make their way into the mix, add a little polenta and
all of the gravy, shreds of vegetables etc...
Blend it all into a paste and use this as a filling for
the potstickers. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet,
add the potstickers, cover and fry for a couple of
minutes each side. Add a couple of tablespoons of stock
and simmer, covered, for another couple of minutes.
Steam some Brussels sprouts, slice them in half and
caramelise them in a skillet with some melted butter or
olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, chili flakes, and
a little grated nutmeg. Serve the potstickers over the
seared sprouts and tumble some grated parmesan on top.
I truly believe that I like the leftovers better!
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