Tails and Tendons

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.