Braised Oxtails

My father denies that he bought the Mario Batali extra large Dutch oven for me. He said he bought it for himself so he can make his Filipino specialties without crowding the smaller pots we already have. I’ll let him slide, but to christen his new and glistening red pot, I braised some oxtails and kicked off autumn. Braising has got to be one my favorites things to do. A little beefy wine, a little stock, some good meat–you can just leave everything in the oven for a couple of hours. Browning is the key and it’s the step that a lot of Filipinos skip–they love their pressure cooker too much. When the meat falls off the bone without force, it’s like Christmas. If you love to cook, I think you have to give in some of your time to do beautiful things like this.

Ingredients:
6 pieces of oxtails
red wine
beef broth
1/2 stick of butter
1 red onion
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 leeks, white parts only, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
3 thyme sprigs
3 bay leaves
1 bunch parsley stems

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Meanwhile in a large Dutch oven, add some butter over medium heat until foam subsides and brown the oxtails on all sides, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add vegetables to the pot and sauté until softened. Add the oxtails back arranging them in one layer. Add wine, herbs and enough stock to cover the oxtails. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and place inside the oven on the middle rack and braise until meat is tender and almost falling off the bone, about 2 hours.
3. Remove the oxtails to a plate. Pour the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a saucepan and discard the other solids. Boil liquid until thick and reduced. Serve with pasta.

Related post/s:
Other oxtail recipes