braising oxtail

This is my second attempt at making oxtail. Last time I braised the oxtail with brussels sprouts and turnips. Here, I go to Jennifer McLagan's recipe in her sublime book Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient. First, the oxtail are seared in suet.


A mirepoix mix is sautéed in the fat, wine is used to deglaze, bay, star anise and garlic is added, and then it is covered in stock (I used a mix of lamb and beef stocks) and let to braise slowly in the oven. I also added some marrow bones and allspice berries. The meat is then taken out of the broth to cool.


Once cooled, a rich fat can be taken off the unctuously gelatinous stock.


After a second braise in the oven.


Served with suet dumplings poached in lamb stock. Incredible.

oxtail with brussels sprouts and turnip

Bought some oxtail yesterday. I had been thinking about it since seeing an "Oxtail Galette" on a menu. Never having had oxtail, I was excited about the prospect. Came across oxtail and did what seemed right: I cooked the hell out of it.


It's very fatty — as you can see from the fat I left on the meat and the fat in the background that the dog ate (although I wish I had, it was so good). I had two pounds of oxtail (one large, fatty one, two smaller). I seasoned and then fried them in olive oil and drained the oil and removed the meat. I added a leek and most of a head of garlic and sweated that. I added the meat, a huge sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, some beef stock (made with beef ribs, leek greens, allspice and pepper) and some mediocre Beaujolais. I covered it with parchment and a lid.

Two hours later I added brussels sprouts (quartered, in thirds or halved, depending on size), a carrot and a turnip.


And an hour after that, it was amazing. I seasoned it. I took out a section of oxtail, removed the meat from the bone and chopped it. I ladled vegetables and broth on the side. Growing up, I was the kid who hated "gristle" on meat. This has lots of fat and collagen and is so incredibly good. The fat just melts in your mouth. This would be amazing in a crock pot too.