This meal was precipitated perusing my local neighbourhood grocery store’s flyers, FORTINOS to be precise … when this caught my eye (on the back page no less) …
Now, I’ve never bought oxtail before, never cooked with it, never gave it a second thought … really was never on my recipe radar!! Seeing it on sale gave me the push, the incentive I needed. Knew that I wanted to utilize it in a pasta dish, immediately ran a few thoughts through my mind on how I’d go about it … then I googled ideas, and the funny thing is what I envisioned in my brain on doing in the first place, before I even started researching, was EXACTLY a recipe I found (the other one was very, very close as well, slight differences only) … great minds I guess, lol. Looks great packaged eh? Was so excited when I saw it (interestingly, the store was having trouble keeping the refrigerated meat shelf stocked … even imposed a “limit of 3” purchase) … and suffice it to say, was definitely pleased with my oxtail purchase …
First job was to sear the shit out of them, lol … which I did (sorry, no pic and that’s a shame … in fact I’m missing pics from a couple of stages of this whole fucking thing. I get caught up in cooking ‘n creating, grabbing my camera to snap pics isn’t top priority). After blackening the pieces in small batches (and removing and setting aside) in my cast iron stock pot, I threw in one whole onion (chopped) and a carrot (finely diced) as well … stirring quickly and constantly ’cause of the residual high heat, I let them sweat for awhile (a few minutes, 5-10). Then I poured in Italian red wine, deglazing the pot and reducing it by half, at that point I dumped in a can of chicken stock (btw, I probably used 1/4 bottle of vino and used the whole can of broth because I didn’t have a smaller amount handy. That’s the beauty of cooking, it ain’t baking so measurements be damned … 250ml – 400ml, or even 500ml, it doesn’t matter … IT’S not too important … close enough for rock ‘n roll motherfuckers, lol). Next, I added a whole can of Italian San Marzano tomatoes breaking them up with my wooden spoon as I kept stirring. At this point it’s very chunky, and I wanted an evenly blended sauce. kinda puréed -ish … so I hook-up my boat motor (i.e. KitchenAid immersion blender) and have at ‘er for a few minutes whirling away till she’s smooth as silk … with the hot pot beautifully bubbling on the stove top as I do … and now with my sauce having the consistency I want (oh, I also added plenty of seasoning – salt, pepper … and Greek oregano too. Really, you can flavour it to your personal palate … bay leaves, chili flakes, marjoram, basil … the list goes on and on. Put in what YOU like … you’re the one eating it after all). I slow cooked it for hours, allowing the collagen to break down, rendering the meat SO SO tender!! This is the result (2 pics … hey, it’s the star of the show, lol) after 6 – 8 hours of simmering and tossed with the best rigatoni Italy has to offer …
Check out the richness of MY beautiful tomato/beef/red wine/chicken stock/onion and carrot based sauce … whew, that was a mouthful, lol!! Damn, yer boy’s got skills y’all!! I’m salivating as I’m blogging … Yum-motherfucking-O!!
Served with broccoli rabe … my obligatory side dish, lol (this time with roasted shaved garlic slivers … and lotsa chili flakes of course) …
And also with the world’s best focaccia (herb and garlic) … ok ok, Toronto’s best (as voted too, lol) from omg baked goodness ltd. …
And finally … plated …
danistrulytheman 