Tails and Tendons

smokingal

Oxtails are a wintertime favorite and with some Wagyu tails hanging out in my freezer, along with some shio koji taking up space in my pantry, I decided the two should meet.  While fishing for the tails, I noticed some tendons that I had purchased this summer and basically forgotten about.  Thus this idea for oxtail and beef tendon stew came to be.

 

 

 

Shio koji was applied to the tails and tendons (not pictured) and tossed into the fridge to
marinate for 3 days. 

 

 

 

 

After 3 days, the tails and tendons were removed.  The oxtails were not rinsed, only patted dry. They were seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder and tossed onto the BGE at
250F.

 

 

 

 

 

The tendons required more work beyond the ridiculous amount of rinsing and soaking in which I engaged prior to the shio koji marinade.  It is recommended that they be parboiled prior to incorporating them into the main dish in order to remove impurities.  I used this as a chance to infuse more flavor by making dashi in which to boil them.

 

 

 

 

The oxtail had been cooking for a little over an hour when the diced tendons went on to pick
up some smoke.  They were only left on the Egg for 30 minutes, as I didn't want to end up
with chewy dog treats.

 

 

 

 

A mirepoix was browned using rendered wagyu fat, along with cinnamon sticks, tomato paste,
crushed garlic and beef stock.  This was then strained and added to a crock pot, along with
some additional beef stock, green onions, fresh sliced ginger and blood orange peel.

 

 

 

 

 

Once the oxtail had taken on enough color, around 2.5 hours, they were placed in the crock
pot with the beef tendon.

 

 

 

 

 

Around 5 hours later, everything was fall apart tender.

 

 

 

 

Koshihikari rice was prepared and some furikake was whipped up as a topping. 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was served.

 

 

 

 

The oxtails were tender and succulent, but the shio koji definitely changed the texture a bit.
The curing properties of the shio koji were more noticeable than the flavor it imparts.   I really
wasn't expecting much from the beef tendons and was more than pleasantly surprised as to
how they turned out.  For those of you who enjoy the mouthfeel and flavor of the fattiest parts
of perfectly braised short ribs, they were like that but by a factor of 10.  I love Koshihikari rice
and the furikake topping imbued flavor that put the rice on par with the rest of the plate.  That gravy was the stuff of legends.  Excellent eats.

theyolksonyou

Ok, damn. 

johnnyp

theyolksonyou said:

Ok, damn. 

what he said.

Holy cow. excellent cook

Botch

Yum!  That started out like making phô, but took a different turn.  

lkapigian

Love me some Gambral Cord....readily available whete I am and a great Insta Pot cook, yours looks amazing as usual

JohnEggGio

Wow!  I draw stick figures - you create the Mona Lisa.

Beautiful! 

nolaegghead

JFC!  Impressive! 

abtaylor260

I was thinking ramen at first but wow!

Dobie

I’ve never eaten anything like that before, I gotta get out more 😐

lousubcap

Cruising in LEO now after the Navy game but even with that there is the obvious level of consistent greatness in any of your cooks.  Incredible talent, creativity and able to present in easily appreciated fashion.  Dang-another off the charts cook. 
I will move quickly into LEO and return Sunday to lick the monitor one more time.  
Outstanding.  Thanks for sharing.  

Markarm4119

I am amazed every time you post a cook.
If you are not a professional cook you should be, or at least write a cookbook.

thetrim

FWIW, I think you could make a placenta look incredible.

GrateEggspectations

Whenever I see your posts, I wonder where you get your ideas. As others have said, amazingly creative and utterly delicious looking. The effort you put into your cooks and your attention to detail paired with your thorough documentation always make your cooks a great read. 

Dyal_SC

Superb. 

bluebird66

Outstanding!

TrippleRipple

Every. D@mn. Time. Absolutely outstanding!!

smbishop

What everyone else said!  ☝

Mickey

No need in anyone posting today. YOU WIN!

saluki2007

Bravo as always. 

johnmitchell

@smokingal. Fantastic cook and post. Oxtail is inherently a fatty cut and looking at your second pic of the tails do you think there was any advantage of the Wagyu. Looks like a lot more fat than meat on those tails.

 

JohnInCarolina

All I want to know is: when are you opening the restaurant? 

That plated shot, my goodness.  I just ate breakfast and I'm drooling.

Spaightlabs

I didn't notice who posted this before I opened it, but about 1/3 of the way through I know it had to be Smoking Al. 



I kid. nice job Smokin Gal, and thank you so much for sharing your vision and hard work and fog giving us all something to aspire to.

smokingal

johnmitchell said:

@smokingal. Fantastic cook and post. Oxtail is inherently a fatty cut and looking at your second pic of the tails do you think there was any advantage of the Wagyu. Looks like a lot more fat than meat on those tails.

 

Most oxtails have much more external fat than marbling.  These Wagyu tails were very rich.  The difference was notable.  Also, I got these during a 50% off sale, so they costed less per pound than what I would have paid at the grocery store.

SciAggie

We’re the tendons actually consumed or was that to add gelatin and richness to the broth? I didn’t know you could buy tendons...

smokingal

SciAggie said:

We’re the tendons actually consumed or was that to add gelatin and richness to the broth? I didn’t know you could buy tendons...

Tendons are very commonly used in Asian dishes and easily found in Asian markets, though I bought mine online from a local GA farm.  When prepared properly they are good eats, and they also provide gelatin and richness to the broth.  Otherwise, they make great smoked dog treats.  This was the shot of the tendons; they were so luscious:

Eggdicted_Dawgfan

Outstanding cook and write up. Not sure how I missed this originally. Any chance you could share your local (Georgia) source for these @smokingal

Langner91

I had to check my browser bar to make sure I was on the right website!  That looks wonderful!

paqman

Just seeing this post now...OMG this looks great!  Lots of work but I bet it was worth it.  Where does one find wagyu oxtail???? 🤔

thetrim

Did she ever pop up anywhere?

Canugghead

Always impressive. Have not seen @smokingal post lately, hope she is well.

Matt86m

Wow! That's one hell of a dish!