OT - Cuban oxtail stew (rabo encendido)

caliking

Serious Eats recipe, that popped up in my inbox a few days ago. It’s been a minute since I made oxtails, so figured I’d give it a shot. 

Smoked the oxtails in the dishwasher. DP’s SPG, and mesquite. 

Let those run for a few hours. 

Then, into the pot with sautéed onions, garlic, clove, bay leaves, tomatoes, and other stuff. 

Let it all braise for  a few hours, in the oven. Tucked it in the fridge for a night. 

Served above arroz verde (with kale, since we have a bunch growing in the garden). 

Pretty damn good! Perfect for the chilly days we’ve been having (thermometer read 77F, when I was driving home today ). 

I didn’t realize how much I missed oxtails. So farkin’ delicious. 

Photo Egg

Really nice buddy

Mattman3969

Nice vittles 

fishlessman

havent even seen oxtails for about a year. one of the only things missing from the shelves.  looks great

Canugghead

Keep the tease streak going. Love how you chopped the green onion(?) at such sharp angle.

caliking

Photo Egg said:

Really nice buddy

Thanks. Perfect stew weather today... high of 83F!

caliking

Canugghead said:

Keep the tease streak going. Love how you chopped the green onion(?) at such sharp angle.

Thanks!

Would have preferred cilantro for the garnish but a) the scallions look a tad fancier b) I used up the last of the cilantro for the arroz verde

bubbajack

I need to try some oxtail. That is a great looking dish.

caliking

bubbajack said:

I need to try some oxtail. That is a great looking dish.

Its good stuff. The collagen from the tails renders nicely into the stew. A lot of meaty bits to eat. Oxtail gumbo has been a winner in the past, as well. 

U_tarded

I’ve been making birria with a combo of oxtails and short ribs.  I think this is my next venture.  Thanks for sharing 

Mark_B_Good

Did that taste as delicious as it looks? WOW.
We do a cast iron pot stew with ox tail ... south african dish ... also really good, but I can imagine how much better it would taste with smoke penetration.

caliking

Mark_B_Good said:

Did that taste as delicious as it looks? WOW.
We do a cast iron pot stew with ox tail ... south african dish ... also really good, but I can imagine how much better it would taste with smoke penetration.

It did!

Do you have a recipe for the South African oxtail stew? I'd like to try it.

Mark_B_Good

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

Did that taste as delicious as it looks? WOW.
We do a cast iron pot stew with ox tail ... south african dish ... also really good, but I can imagine how much better it would taste with smoke penetration.

It did!

Do you have a recipe for the South African oxtail stew? I'd like to try it.

My buddy makes it ... we normally pick a day in the fall to light up a nice fire, get some coals for it, then we each cook a pot .... I normally do lamb. His method looks a lot like this method though ... it's absolutely delicious:

Oxtail Potjie | Food Lover's Market (foodloversmarket.co.za)

lousubcap

How did I miss this earlier??  Beautiful cook right there.  Nailed it!

stv8r

Love something different!  Looks great!

JohnInCarolina

Yep.  I'll be trying this!

YukonRon

I have not experienced this dish. I have had ox tail, and enjoyed it, but this I must try. Thank you for sharing, I always enjoy your posts.

caliking

Thanks, folks. Leftovers tonight, and its actually chilly here! The temp has dropped quite a bit in the last couple of days.

JohnInCarolina said:

Yep.  I'll be trying this!

One thing I might do differently, instead of sticking it in the oven right away, is to put the pot (uncovered) in the KBQ for an hour or so, for the stew to pick up more smoke. Then cover, and finish the braise in the oven. 

caliking

Mark_B_Good said:

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

Did that taste as delicious as it looks? WOW.
We do a cast iron pot stew with ox tail ... south african dish ... also really good, but I can imagine how much better it would taste with smoke penetration.

It did!

Do you have a recipe for the South African oxtail stew? I'd like to try it.

My buddy makes it ... we normally pick a day in the fall to light up a nice fire, get some coals for it, then we each cook a pot .... I normally do lamb. His method looks a lot like this method though ... it's absolutely delicious:

Oxtail Potjie | Food Lover's Market (foodloversmarket.co.za)

Thanks. I've heard of potjie before, but forgot what exactly it was. 

And, don't be coy, man! Let's hear more about that lamb stew. 

Mark_B_Good

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

Did that taste as delicious as it looks? WOW.
We do a cast iron pot stew with ox tail ... south african dish ... also really good, but I can imagine how much better it would taste with smoke penetration.

It did!

Do you have a recipe for the South African oxtail stew? I'd like to try it.

My buddy makes it ... we normally pick a day in the fall to light up a nice fire, get some coals for it, then we each cook a pot .... I normally do lamb. His method looks a lot like this method though ... it's absolutely delicious:

Oxtail Potjie | Food Lover's Market (foodloversmarket.co.za)

Thanks. I've heard of potjie before, but forgot what exactly it was. 

And, don't be coy, man! Let's hear more about that lamb stew. 

My lamb potjie normally wins the competition! HAHA.

I'll probably post the cook when we do it again.

It's not a complex cook.  I normally start with olive oil at the bottom of the pot, get that real hot, then brown my onions, put in the meat (I have a big pot, so I use about 5 lbs of deboned shoulder or leg) ... brown that to a rare temperature.  Before that lamb is rare, I also add some halved baby potatoes (probably equal volume to meat) and let those cook a bit, then I add about two jars of my homemade tomato sauce, and 1 cup of sundried tomato SAUCE (not dressing), seasoning (like rosemary, salt), and some of the hardier vegetables ... mostly carrots.  Let that cook for maybe 20 minutes. Then I add the softer vegetables, like diced butternut, snap peas, mushrooms, brussel sprouts ... you can put whatever vegetables you like at that point.  Let that cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Trick is to never stir, so you don't end up mushing up everything ... you'll only stir it once, gently at the end when ready to serve from the pot. This means low heat ... you want a simmer not a boil.

The whole thing takes probably 1.5 hours ... I'll know it's done when those softer vegetables are cooked through.

caliking

Mark_B_Good said:

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

Did that taste as delicious as it looks? WOW.
We do a cast iron pot stew with ox tail ... south african dish ... also really good, but I can imagine how much better it would taste with smoke penetration.

It did!

Do you have a recipe for the South African oxtail stew? I'd like to try it.

My buddy makes it ... we normally pick a day in the fall to light up a nice fire, get some coals for it, then we each cook a pot .... I normally do lamb. His method looks a lot like this method though ... it's absolutely delicious:

Oxtail Potjie | Food Lover's Market (foodloversmarket.co.za)

Thanks. I've heard of potjie before, but forgot what exactly it was. 

And, don't be coy, man! Let's hear more about that lamb stew. 

My lamb potjie normally wins the competition! HAHA.

I'll probably post the cook when we do it again.

It's not a complex cook.  I normally start with olive oil at the bottom of the pot, get that real hot, then brown my onions, put in the meat (I have a big pot, so I use about 5 lbs of deboned shoulder or leg) ... brown that to a rare temperature.  Before that lamb is rare, I also add some halved baby potatoes (probably equal volume to meat) and let those cook a bit, then I add about two jars of my homemade tomato sauce, and 1 cup of sundried tomato SAUCE (not dressing), seasoning (like rosemary, salt), and some of the hardier vegetables ... mostly carrots.  Let that cook for maybe 20 minutes. Then I add the softer vegetables, like diced butternut, snap peas, mushrooms, brussel sprouts ... you can put whatever vegetables you like at that point.  Let that cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Trick is to never stir, so you don't end up mushing up everything ... you'll only stir it once, gently at the end when ready to serve from the pot. This means low heat ... you want a simmer not a boil.

The whole thing takes probably 1.5 hours ... I'll know it's done when those softer vegetables are cooked through.

Oh man... this has to be delicious! 

The recipe I followed called for tomato paste, but I didn't have any, so subbed sundried tomato paste. Liked the flavor much better, compared to stews I've made in the past.

Please post a cook thread, the next time you and your buddy cook your stews. Sounds like a wonderful time. 

Mark_B_Good

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

Did that taste as delicious as it looks? WOW.
We do a cast iron pot stew with ox tail ... south african dish ... also really good, but I can imagine how much better it would taste with smoke penetration.

It did!

Do you have a recipe for the South African oxtail stew? I'd like to try it.

My buddy makes it ... we normally pick a day in the fall to light up a nice fire, get some coals for it, then we each cook a pot .... I normally do lamb. His method looks a lot like this method though ... it's absolutely delicious:

Oxtail Potjie | Food Lover's Market (foodloversmarket.co.za)

Thanks. I've heard of potjie before, but forgot what exactly it was. 

And, don't be coy, man! Let's hear more about that lamb stew. 

My lamb potjie normally wins the competition! HAHA.

I'll probably post the cook when we do it again.

It's not a complex cook.  I normally start with olive oil at the bottom of the pot, get that real hot, then brown my onions, put in the meat (I have a big pot, so I use about 5 lbs of deboned shoulder or leg) ... brown that to a rare temperature.  Before that lamb is rare, I also add some halved baby potatoes (probably equal volume to meat) and let those cook a bit, then I add about two jars of my homemade tomato sauce, and 1 cup of sundried tomato SAUCE (not dressing), seasoning (like rosemary, salt), and some of the hardier vegetables ... mostly carrots.  Let that cook for maybe 20 minutes. Then I add the softer vegetables, like diced butternut, snap peas, mushrooms, brussel sprouts ... you can put whatever vegetables you like at that point.  Let that cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Trick is to never stir, so you don't end up mushing up everything ... you'll only stir it once, gently at the end when ready to serve from the pot. This means low heat ... you want a simmer not a boil.

The whole thing takes probably 1.5 hours ... I'll know it's done when those softer vegetables are cooked through.

Oh man... this has to be delicious! 

The recipe I followed called for tomato paste, but I didn't have any, so subbed sundried tomato paste. Liked the flavor much better, compared to stews I've made in the past.

Please post a cook thread, the next time you and your buddy cook your stews. Sounds like a wonderful time. 

Using sundried tomato paste/sauce is actually one of the twists in my recipe, and I think the key reason it wins competitions ... lol. You should see the look on a South African's face when a Canadian beats them in a potjie contest (by the way for those that don't know potjie is pronounced POY-KEE, and it literally translates to POT ... the dish is called potjie kos ... which translates to POT FOOD).

Mark_B_Good

OK, I'll share another little trick ... I also add like 3 tablespoons of maple syrup to Canadian-ize it.  And it's delicious ... it counters the savory-bitterness of the sundried tomatoes. 

Mark_B_Good

And never use tomato paste ... too thick and bitter ... rather use your favorite tomato sauce.

caliking

Mark_B_Good said:

OK, I'll share another little trick ... I also add like 3 tablespoons of maple syrup to Canadian-ize it.  And it's delicious ... it counters the savory-bitterness of the sundried tomatoes. 

Great tips. I'm going to try this.  Thanks for sharing the recipe(s). 

Mark_B_Good

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

OK, I'll share another little trick ... I also add like 3 tablespoons of maple syrup to Canadian-ize it.  And it's delicious ... it counters the savory-bitterness of the sundried tomatoes. 

Great tips. I'm going to try this.  Thanks for sharing the recipe(s). 

Do you have a cast iron pot, or you thinking of doing this in a dutch oven?

Mark_B_Good

Those cast pots get hot .. we literally only need like 2 or 3 red coals under them and they are cooking like a storm!

caliking

Mark_B_Good said:

caliking said:

Mark_B_Good said:

OK, I'll share another little trick ... I also add like 3 tablespoons of maple syrup to Canadian-ize it.  And it's delicious ... it counters the savory-bitterness of the sundried tomatoes. 

Great tips. I'm going to try this.  Thanks for sharing the recipe(s). 

Do you have a cast iron pot, or you thinking of doing this in a dutch oven?

I have a couple of camp DO's (CI, with legs) that may be fun for this kind of cook outdoors.  Otherwise, I may just do it in the usual enameled one, and finish inside.