Oxtails

[ChrisTaylor]

Am in the process of preparing an oxtail soup. The end product is to be a very intense soup served in a very small glass (say, 50mL liquid per person) with a dumpling filled with the oxtail meat. I have already purchased glasses of a size and shape that will allow me to place a dumpling in there and then mostly cover it, alligator-in-the-swamp-like, with the soup (which, incidentally, is based on Escoffier's oxtail soup).

I have picked the meat off the bones, along with a bit of the fat, and flaked it and put it aside. I don't want the dumpling to be just oxtail meat. What would some sensible pairings with the meat be? Things that have popped into my head include something very loosely and generically Chinese--napa cabbage--or perhaps just some herbs (parsley and chives, say). But other things have popped in. Some kind of mushroom, maybe, altho' the soup is very intense, so I don't know if a big earthy hit of mushroom would help matters. I guess what I want to do is have a nice foil for the richness of the soup and the meat (the soup, by the way, started as a brown stock made from pork neck and beef shin, the meat included in the case of the shin, and was then loaded up with oxtail), but at the same time not take away too much from the intent of the dish: it's a small serving because it's meant to be a big gutsy beefy soup.

Thoughts? Theories? Suggestions? The 'theme', if you must call it that, of the dinner is Escoffier. Altho' as you can tell by the idea of throwing in some cabbage and using store-bought dumpling wrappers, I'm prepared to slacken the leash I gave myself when I came up with the theme. I'll be making the dumplings in advance, freezing them and then, on the day, steaming them at the last minute. I considered maybe doing some sort of filled pasta instead, even tho' I have no truck with pasta machines, but given I have numerous other things on my plate, such as knocking out some Espagnole and then demi and then Madeira sauce, plus a few other dishes, I want to keep things reasonably simple.

[Nayan Gowda]

Boiled beef and carrots is a very classic combination. A fine dice of cooked carrot mixed in with the meat of the dumpling would work well; the sweetness offsetting the other umami characteristics.

Or you could take some Bearnaise elements (shallot, tarragon, touch of vinegar) and incorporate that with the meat.

Or perhaps a small, old-fashioned European style herbed dumpling?

[fledflew]

I think that a little bit of diced water chesnuts and just the smallest bit of fresh herb would be an excellent addition to the picked oxtail meat as the dumpling filling. The water chesnuts would be just crispy enough to offer the slightest texture contrast without being too assetive in the crunchiness or taste department. A little bit of herb (parsley or chive as you mention, or maybe even cilantro) just to freshen things up and keep the oxtail and broth from feeling too heavy.

The mention of carrot in the previous post sounds excellent as well. A fine dice of blanched turnip or parsnip could also work well there. It would keep the feeling of a rich, slow cooked, cold weather dish as opposed to the water chesnut and herb option which I imagine would brighten it up a bit. I'd steer clear of mushrooms and napa cabbage since they wouldn't offer any discernible textural contrast and might be difficult to differentiate when it's in your mouth.

If black truffle appears in any of the other courses, I'd mix the chopped peels into the oxtail filling.

[Okanagancook]

Scored some nice fresh oxtails today. I want to sous vide them and have been looking at various times and temps. I want them to be like medium rare tender beef short ribs so I'm thinking 56C for 48 hours.

MC uses higher temperatures but I'm not sure I want them really well done however there is one MC method at 60C for 100 hours....has anyone tried oxtails sous vide?

[EnriqueB]

Yes, I've prepared MC's oxtail recipe (100 h @ 60ºC) twice. Everyone who ate them agreed that they were excellent, though we've never tried any other temps/times to compare.

[Okanagancook]

Thanks for the feed back. I'll give it a try.

With some of the oxtails I made Paula Wolfert's oxtail daube today. Looks amazing.

[Pille]

Oxtail Daube. Courtesy of Paula Wolfert and Recipe Gullet. If I were ever in one of those "Last Meal" situations, this just might be the one.

Bookmarking this recipe right no, to use with my next lot of oxtail. But here's another wonderful oxtail dish, oxtail ragout with celeriac mash. Highly recommended!

[Franci]

Pille, your oxtail looks so good!

I need to try that Oxtail daube myself.

It's a very much appreciated dish also in this house.

My favourite so far is the braised oxtail from Fat (Jennifer McLagan). Picture is not the greatest but I truly love this.

coda di Francesca Spalluto, su Flickr

This is a Oxtail terrine, coming from Anissa Helou Fifth quarter

And this, still from the same book: Jamaican oxtail stew. I don't think it's a very traditional recipe thou

[Pille]

Pille, your oxtail looks so good!

I need to try that Oxtail daube myself.

It's a very much appreciated dish also in this house.

My favourite so far is the braised oxtail from Fat (Jennifer McLagan). Picture is not the greatest but I truly love this.

This is a Oxtail terrine, coming from Anissa Helou Fifth quarter

And this, still from the same book: Jamaican oxtail stew. I don't think it's a very traditional recipe thou

Thank you, Franci! That terrine looks intriguing - we make "sült" or jellied meat with pork legs and hocks etc, but I can see that oxtail would work brilliantly as well!