Chopper’s Cheap Eats: Oxtail
Wednesday, February 1st, 2006
This past weekend I was strolling the aisles of our local supermarket. Because we live on an island, it sometimes gets difficult to find quality foods at decent prices, but Saturday was a glorious exception.
First, I found one of my favorite main items in the meat case — oxtail — cheap! $1.49 a pound, and it was the good stuff too — from Misty Isle Farms, near Seattle — so I got two packs. Total so far: $6.50
Then I remembered that I also had a pound of dried fava beans in my pantry at home that I had purchased at a farmer’s market during a previous trip off island. I also remembered that we had onions, carrots, and garlic left unused from another meal preparation.
At this point, my brain gears began to turn and I bolted off to the produce section. I was in luck. A major sale on produce items was happening that day. I found asparagus for $1.09 a pound, and red bell peppers at 2 for 88 cents. Top it all off with rutabagas at 69 cents a pound and I was set for veggies.
The only other thing I needed was a “flavorful liquid,” and to my surprise I found quart containers of my favorite brand of stock, also on sale at $1.99 each
Total for the day: $11.35.
Total for the entire meal, not including a $10 bottle of wine (on sale), but estimating the cost of items already on hand: ~$16.00
Which leads me to this…
Braised Oxtail, with Fava Beans and Mixed Vegetables
Serves six
Ingredients
- 6 large sections of oxtail
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 1 elarge rutabaga, peeled and cut into strips
- 2 red bell peppers, one diced, the other cut into strips
- 2 garlic bulbs, peeled and minced
- 3/4 lb baby carrots
- 1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed
- 1 lb dried fava beans, soaked overnight, and peeled
- 1 quart beef stock
- 2 teaspoons mustard (I used Lopez Larry’s Smokey Chardonnay Dijon, but any kind that isn’t French’s will do fine.)
- 1 teaspoon Israeli zahtar
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Place stock in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add soy sauce as needed for body and flavor (trust me; it works astoundingly well).
- Season both sides of the oxtail sections with salt and pepper.
- While stock is heating, take half of your baby carrots and dice them to the same size as your diced onion. Take the other half and slice them lengthwise.
- Place a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom.
- When the oil starts to smoke, add the onion, diced carrots, and diced bell pepper. Caramelize these vegetables well and stir occasionally to avoid burning. Then deglaze the pan with red wine and add all the contents to the stock.
- Add another tablespoon of EVOO to the pan and place back on medium high heat. When the oil starts to smoke again, add the oxtail and caramelize well on all sides. Then, again, deglaze with red wine and add to the stock pot, which should now be at a simmer. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover tightly. Allow the pot to cook for at least an hour; two would be better.
- While the pot is simmering, fill another pot with 4 cups of water. Add 4 tablespoons of Kosher salt and the 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar, and bring to a boil.
- Blanche and shock vegetables as follows: When the water is boiling, add the carrots and rutabaga and bring back to a boil. Cook until softened but not mushy, then remove them and place in a bowl of ice water.
- Then place the asparagus in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to overcook. Then move it to the ice water with the carrots and rutabaga.
- Now, place the fava beans in the boil and cook until tender, then remove from heat, but leave them in the pot (ie, do not shock the fava beans).
- When the oxtail is “fork tender, well done,” you’re ready to serve. Ladle out two cups of the stock and place in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of water with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, making sure the starch is thoroughly dispersed. When the stock is at a boil, add the mustard and whisk until it’s fully incorporated, then add the starch water (known as a ’slurry’) a little bit at a time. You won’t likely need to use it all. Reduce until the sauce attains the desired thickness.
- Take your cast iron skillet again, and add two tablespoons of EVOO, and place back on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and the vegetables from the ice water and lightly sauté with the zahtar.
- Plate the sections of oxtail on top of a bed of fava beans, then spoon the sauce over top. Arrange the vegetables as you like, and serve with a nice chianti.
Mrs D sez:
We snagged the Israeli Zahtar at World Merchants spice, herb, and tea shop just below Pike Place Market in Seattle. Zahtar’s a spice blend that’s used in Middle Eastern and North African cooking. It’s got multitudes of variations, but this particular blend is made with toasted sesame seeds, Syrian sumac, and Moroccan thyme. It’s subtle and herbaceous, but even the light touch of it in the sautéed veggies gave this part of our meal a distinct and delicious Middle Eastern flavor.
