So this turned into an all-day project, but a fun one.
- 1-½ pounds meaty oxtails (bone-in)
- 1 medium onion, chopped roughly
- 1 medium carrot, scrubbed, cut lengthwise, and then cut into big chunks
- 1 rib celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, whole
- 1 cup red wine
- 1-½ beef broth
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
Season oxtails on all sides with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer to your trusty Cuisinart slow cooker. Add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to the pan, return it to the heat, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until vegetables turn translucent and are just beginning to brown at the edges. Add vegetables to slow cooker. Deglaze the pan with wine and reduce by half. Add wine, broths, sauces, and bay leaf. Set to high. Cook for 4-5 hours.
Remove oxtails from slow cooker. Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve into a clean container. Transfer broth to a fat separator, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. (Discard vegetables)
Once oxtails have cooled, remove and shred the meat. Put the meat in a glass bowl with a cover and refrigerate. Discard bones.
- 3 ounces diced pancetta
- White and light green parts of one leek, cleaned and diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 6 brown mushrooms
Sauté pancetta in a non-stick skillet until it begins to brown and has rendered its fat. Add leeks. Sauté until they begin to wilt and take on some color. Add mushrooms and sauté for about 6-8 minutes or until they are soft and have given up all their liquid. Add garlic and season with salt, pepper, a pinch or two of Italian herbs. Sauté for about 45 seconds. Transfer to glass bowl with the meat.
Meanwhile, reconstitute 1 ounce porcini mushrooms in hot water. Drain, rinse, and chop into medium dice. Add to glass bowl.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water seasoned with salt to the boil. Cook 10-12 or so baby potatoes and 1 carrot cut into quarter-inch coins for about 15 minutes. Drain and add to glass bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of Wondra to glass bowl and mix thoroughly.
About 30 minutes before dinner pour the stock off the fat into a large pot, discarding the latter. Bring to a boil. Add contents of glass bowl. Stir and reduce heat to a low simmer.Top with fresh chives and serve.
To drink I poured a Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) 2002. On decanting off moderate sediment, it showed a lovely ruby with just the slightest hint of brick at the very edge. The bouquet suggested blackberry, black cherry, and blackcurrant, with a dash of leather and cedar. Ditto the palate. Soft smooth tannins. Drink now. Grade: 93
PS: I can't figure out why TypePad insists on rotating the image. Grumble.
