Oxtail Stew

I found some really good oxtail from Pathmark on sale the other day (I think is from woodstock), so I decided to take the opportunity to tune up my oxtail recipe again. And WahLa! I think by far this is the best one I have ever made, I really like it. The taste is just perfect, very complex. And the texture of the sauce came out perfect too, not too runny, not too thick.

Serves 4-6.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours
Recipe adapted from Elise from Simple Recipes




Ingredients

•3 lbs oxtails with separated joints
•1 medium yellow onion, chopped

•1 celery rib, chopped

•1 large carrot, chopped

•2 cups stock (chicken or beef)*

•1 can of 16 oz whole peel tomato with juice

•2 cups of red wine

•1 teaspoon tomato paste

•3 whole cloves garlic

2 bay leaf

•Pinch of thyme

•Parsley

•2 parsnips, cut intp bite size

•8 oz (1/2 box) mushroom, sliced

•Handful frozen green peas
•Olive oil

•Salt and pepper

*Sometimes I just use beef bouillon cube dissolved in water




Method



1 Pat dry oxtails with paper towels. Sprinkle oxtails all over with salt and pepper, and coat them in thin layer of flour. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium to medium high heat in a 6-quart Dutch oven. Working in batches, and not crowding the pan, sear the oxtails in hot pan on all sides until golden brown. Use tongs to remove oxtails to a plate, setting aside.



2 Add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery to the pan. Cook for a few minutes until onions are translucent. Add bay leaf, thyme, and salt and pepper. Put the oxtails back to the pan. Add the whole garlic cloves, tomato paste and the stock and wine. Crush the tomato with hand while putting them in pan, pour in the juice as well. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until meat is fork tender.



3 One hour before the meat is done, put in parsnips. 20 minutes before done, put in mushroom. 5 minutes before done, put in green peas.


4 When meat is tender, remove oxtails from the cooking liquid. Either skim the fat off the top with a spoon, use a fat separator to remove the fat, or chill the cooking liquid for several hours so that the fat solidifies, making it easier to remove.


5 Add some chopped parsley before serving.