OT - Cuban oxtail stew (rabo encendido)

Really nice buddy

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

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

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

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

Yep.  I'll be trying this!

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 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).

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

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?