This dish started with the discovery of an ox tail in the beef case at Rineer Family Farms. It’s a cut that appears rarely and Emily told me it was the only one left from the three steers they butchered in the last month. So lucky me. I snapped it up and then decided to thaw it and cook it on a cold damp winter day. Heat from within!
In addition, I decided to try something crazy – which was recoding myself talking as I cooked, a kind of radio show narration of the evolution of this dish. If you have nothing better to do with your time, you can listen for 40 minutes!
But here’s the dish:
Ingredients
Oxtail, 3.75 lb at room temp (@RineerFamilyFarms)
1.5 XL White Onions, thin sliced (@RineerFamilyFarms)
1 head garlic, chopped (@haydayfarmsorganics)
1 L gold rush or other apple, cored and roughly chopped (handsontheearth.com)
2T dry tarragon
2T Balsamic vinegar + more for finishing
2T Worcestershire Sauce
1.5 T molasses
¼ to ½ c red wine, preferably dry
Salt and pepper
2T olive oil
2 T flour
2 c cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered (@davidsons_exotic_mushrooms)
2 c shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered (@davidsons_exotic_mushrooms)
The Stew – 8-10 portions – prep time 40 min. – total cook time 3-4 hours
Peel and thin slice the onions
Heat oil until shimmering in L ovenproof pot with lid
Add onions and stir over high heat until translucent and soft, about 3-4 minutes
Reduce heat to low, add garlic and tarragon. Let cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Salad and pepper oxtail at room temperature, then add to pot
Add apple, vinegar, Worcestershire, molasses, wine, and 2 cups water or enough for liquid to cover bottom half of the thickest part of the oxtail
Leave on low heat for 30 minutes covered and pre-heat oven to 350.
Open and shift the ingredients so they are mixed up (since they were just dumped in before) then put pot in oven covered and let simmer.
Check in 2 hours. Most of the liquid should be gone with mostly fat and mushy on the bottom of the pot.
Remove the oxtail to a bowl or board to let it cool.
Over low heat, whisk 2T flour into the pot.
Heat and then vigorously whisk in 2 c heated water adding a little at a time. This should emulsify the gravy nicely and it will become a velvety chocolate brown.
When the the gravy is even in texture, whisk in another 2 c water (does not need to be heated)
Add the mushrooms and let simmer over low heat.
Remove the meat from the bones of the oxtail. Fingers and forks are good for this. Get as much as possible and shred larger pieces with forks.
Add the meat to the mushrooms and stir in. Let simmer for 10 minutes or more.
Taste to adjust seasoning. May need to add vinegar and/or salt.
I served this over fresh tagliatelle pasta cooked al dente and topped with shaved Parmesagne. Small portions are good as it is incredibly rich.
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