Oxtail used to be cheap. It needed long, slow cooking to turn this piece of meat that might have otherwise been discarded into tender, delicious morsels. Now oxtail, along with other once “lesser” cuts like short ribs, is no longer a bargain. But it’s still delicious. “America: The Cookbook,” a culinary atlas of the country, includes this recipe for braised oxtails from Mississippi.
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Ingredients
- 4 pounds oxtails
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 1 cup red wine
- 4 cups beef stock, or more as needed
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Season oxtails with salt and pepper. Over medium-high heat, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot with a lid. When the oil is hot, brown the oxtails in batches. Set aside the oxtail.
Add onions to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, roughly 4 minutes. Now, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Next, add the red wine, bring it to a boil, and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze any brown bits.
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Return the oxtails to the pot. Add enough broth to cover oxtails by 1 inch. Put in the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 90 minutes. Turn the oxtails, then cook for another 90 minutes.