A couple of days ago, I soaked some dried cèpes and matsutake mushrooms to use in a dish for dinner. The soaking liquid was strained through muslin and popped into the freezer alongside more of the same from earlier.
Yesterday, I dug both out and used it to braise a chopped up oxtail. Some garlic and an onion went in, too. After around six hours slowly cooking. I separated the remaining stock from the meat, bones, veg etc. The stock/braising liquid went into the fridge overnight in one bowl and so did the solids, in another.
This morning I scraped the bulk of the fat from on top of the jellied stock, then separated the meat from the bones while discarding vegetation. The meat fell off the bones if I so much as gave it a withering glance.
The meat went back into the pot along with the de-fatted stock and one large ice cube of red wine. Salt and generous amounts of pepper were added and the lot brought back to a boil. Topped with some chopped Chinese chives. Served with Chinese flatbread (the only bread I have at the moment. There is some proofing at the moment. It will be in the oven in half an hour. Too late for lunch).
