Before I come up with what I’m going to cook in this column each week, I like to bring up my ideas with friends to see whether or not what I’m going to be making is actually as unusual or uncommon as I think it is. However, none of the things I’ve made so far have been met with the same derision and outright repulsion as saying I was going to cook oxtail.
Why does the tail have such a bad reputation? How did legs and wings and whatever a brisket is get a pass, but tails are just unacceptable? Is it the proximity to the butt? It’s a meaty appendage like any other. I just don’t get it.
Oxtail, unlike everything else I’ve written about, is not cheap. It’s also not easy to find. Sometimes you can find it at grocery stores here in Guelph, but it’s a crapshoot so don’t bank on it. I, exasperated, ended up going to Cumbrae’s butcher shop in Toronto to pick some up. Two pounds of oxtail– enough to make enough soup for dinner, lunch, and to store some in the freezer– ran me $18. Expensive for this column, but in the grand scheme of things, not too bad.
Some recipes will tell you to sear the meat. Searing meat is stupid. Stop doing it forever. Instead, trim what visible fat you can from the meat. Fat can be delicious, but in soups it is your enemy. Then throw all the pieces of tail on a baking dish and throw it in the oven at 400 F for 20 minutes. When there’s about five minutes left, soften celery, onions and carrots in a stockpot with salt, pepper and garlic to taste.
Remove the meat from the oven and place gingerly with forks or tongs into the stock pot with the vegetables, letting as much of the excess fat drip into the roasting pan as you can. Drain as much of rendered fat from the roasting pan as you can. You want as little of the fat in the soup as possible, or else you’ll end up eating gravy.
Deglaze any burned bits of meat with a cup of red wine and then pour it into the stock pot. Add beef stock and water until, with the wine, you’ve added about 3L of liquid. If you are using liquid stock, subtract from the amount of water, and if you are using powdered add to it.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and leave, partially covered, for about three hours, or until the meat begins to fall from the bone. As with all soups, skim off any foam or film that collects on the surface. Throw it away. Do not eat it.
When cooked, remove the meat from the soup and place on a plate to cool. Strain the soup through a colander or sieve and discard the vegetables. Remove the meat from the bones if desired and return to the soup and reheat. Serve with crusty bread, turnips or parsnips and a few drops of hot sauce.
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