Oxtails Braised in Red Wine

When I was in college, my friend and I took a trip to Atlantic City for the evening.  We didn't have much of a plan, we just went there and figured we'd do some gambling and drinking, and then head back.  Before we went off to lose our shirts, we looked around for a decent restaurant, and found a Cuban place called Cuba Libre.  It's still there, by the way.  So we sit down to eat, and we each decide to order some kind of oxtail stew they have on special, figuring that it would be interesting.  I hadn't had oxtail before, and thought it might be a great place to check it out, having fondly remembered a number of other Cuban beef stews.  But it wasn't just interesting - it was delicious.  So much so that we cleaned our plates from this massive feast, which included not only a healthy quantity of meat but also rice, plantains, and a variety of other things that have since disappeared into a haze of pan drippings and caramelized vegetables.

We never gambled that night - we stumbled into the casino, half-drunk on meat, and played slots for 5 minutes before we decided to turn back.  On a whim, I put $40 on red at a roulette table which hit and, having recovered the cost of my dinner, realized that we had won that night, big time.

This recipe is the first of two oxtail dishes that I will make - this being the more simple, more American version, cooked down slowly with red wine and root vegetables, and a future recipe being the Cuban oxtail stew, or rabo encendido.  I just found this version on the New York Times recipe page and gave it a shot, replacing a non-latin variant on this recipe I made years back because this had more wine in it, and let's face it, that's going to make it much better.  Turned out to be a winner, although it doesn't hold a candle to our Cuban feast that night.

Every bit as delicious as a chuck roast or short rib stew, if not more so.

Oxtail Stew Recipe

By Melissa Clark, NYTimes

• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, more as needed
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2.5 pounds beef oxtails, patted dry
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, peeled, trimmed and sliced lengthwise 1/4-inch-thick
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch lengths
• 1 small celeriac, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks (or turnips or whatever)
• 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ bottle (375 mL) dry red wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 5 parsley sprigs, plus 2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves
• 2 rosemary branches
• 2 bay leaves
• Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• Torn celery leaves, for garnish (optional)

Let's not kid ourselves - it is what it is.  Get this from a butcher, and try something new and delicious.

In a large bowl, combine salt, pepper and allspice. Add oxtail to bowl and rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Heat an 8-quart Dutch oven, or a heavy soup pot with a lid, over medium-high heat. Add oil and warm through. Add as many oxtail pieces as you can fit in a single layer without overcrowding the pot. Sear, turning occasionally, until the meat is uniformly golden brown all over, including the sides. Transfer meat to a plate; repeat until you’ve browned all the oxtail.

Add shallot to the pan drippings and cook over medium heat until lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add carrot and celery root and cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and two-thirds of the garlic (save the rest for garnish) and cook 1 minute.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour wine and stock into pot. Bundle parsley sprigs, rosemary branches and bay leaves with kitchen twine and drop into pot. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook over medium heat until liquid has reduced by half, about 15 minutes.

Return oxtail to pot and bring to a simmer. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook, turning oxtails every 30 minutes, until meat is fork tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Transfer oxtails to a plate. Spoon off fat from surface of pan juices and discard (there will be a lot of it). Toss oxtails with remaining pan gravy. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

In a small bowl, toss together chopped parsley, garlic, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Scatter mixture over oxtails and garnish with the celery leaves, if using, before serving.  Serve over polenta or mashed potatoes, with a green vegetable.