How do you properly cook oxtails?

[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!

[gulfporter]

3 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I do it all the time.

 

There's no such thing as marbled fatty beef in Costa Rica. In order to make it edible I have to use the pressure cooker or braze it for more hours than I care to do. The trick to making it tasty and tender is to Brown it thoroughly and not overcook it. Even if it is nicely marbled, meat that is overcooked in the pressure cooker is going to be stringy and tough.

 

Same is true in Mexico as far as larger cuts of beef being marbled.  However, there are fatty beef pieces.  I buy and IP oxtails in Mexico (colas de res) and they are heavenly!  

[TdeV]

@gulfporter, I recently had an escapade with oxtail. At the end of cooking, there's quite a bit of fat which hasn't rendered. Do you keep the fat with the meat or throw it away? Thanks.

[rotuts]

 

@Tropicalsenior

 

there is no marbled beef in Costa Rica , because :   the beef is not grain finished ,and is pasture finished on pasture that is marginal ?

 

@gulfporter  similar situation ?

[Tropicalsenior]

12 minutes ago, rotuts said:

there is no marbled beef in Costa Rica , because :   the beef is not grain finished ,and is pasture finished on pasture that is marginal ?

It is that plus the breed of the cattle. They are a Brahma cross. Also, they have no concept of Aging. The beef you buy in the afternoon may have been grazing on that grass in the morning.

 

19 minutes ago, TdeV said:

Do you keep the fat with the meat or throw it away?

Do not throw that fat away. It is the most flavorful fat for making roux. I mix equal parts fat and flour and brown it nut Brown. I then roll it into logs and keep it in the freezer. I cut it off as I need it to thicken stews and soups.

[rotuts]

@Tropicalsenior

 

rolled roux logs is a very fine idea.

 

thank you for sharing .

[gulfporter]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

@gulfporter, I recently had an escapade with oxtail. At the end of cooking, there's quite a bit of fat which hasn't rendered. Do you keep the fat with the meat or throw it away? Thanks.

 

I keep it as it comes, I don't trim it at all.  It's not just fat, tons of collagen, too.  The collagen turns to gelatin when cooked and tenderizes the meat as well.

 

Here is a tried and true recipe.  My only change is that I increase carrots, probably use a pound of them, 7 or 8 big ones.  

 

https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-oxtail/

 

 

[gulfporter]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

 

@Tropicalsenior

 

there is no marbled beef in Costa Rica , because :   the beef is not grain finished ,and is pasture finished on pasture that is marginal ?

 

@gulfporter  similar situation ?

Yes.  Even the often touted Sonoran Beef is very lean.  We owned a home in AZ just a few miles from the State of Sonora and the herds rely on dry pastures most of year as it's the Sonoran Desert.