In a previous post I wrote about how easy it is to make a simple bolognese sauce. It’s something that can be done after work in as little as an hour, the flavor is good and beats the socks off most canned pasta sauces. However to take it to a next level you may need a little more time, more specifically a whole day. Last Sunday I had the time so I made an oxtail ragu.
Oxtail is not a element you normally see in a meat sauce, it takes a long time to cook, and can be pricy since there is a relatively low yield per animal. This is however one of my favoriate cuts of meat. Because the a large amount of connective tissue and bone in the meat it makes pasta sauces extremely rich and flavorful. When making the meat sauce I usually hand pull it the meat apart removing some of the harder to break down connective tissue and the result and meat that has the consistently of pulled pork, perfect soaking up all of that rich tomatoey sauce.
Ingredients:
3-4lbs Oxtail
24oz can whole san marzano tomatos, crush with hands.
20oz beef stock
1/2 oz dried morels
1 8oz can tomato paste
6 cloves of garlic minced
2 medium yellow onions diced
6 ribs of celery diced
3 medium carrots diced
10-15 leaves of fresh basil chopped
oregano to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
3 bay leaves
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Directions:
Clean the oxtails with water and pat dry season with salt and pepper. Place morels in a bowl and sumerge in hot water, set aside. Heat a 6 quart heavy bottomed pot on high heat, add vegetable oil. When the oils starts shimmering add oxtails a couple pieces at a time not crowding the pot. Cook all sides till brown. Continue searing oxtail in batches till all pieces are complete. drain about 3/4s of oil from pot, return back to stove. Reduce heat to medium and place onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, cook mixture until onions become translucent and slightly golden. Add celery, carrots continue cooking for 6-8 minutes. Add bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and oregano, cook for another 2 minutes. Add beef stock and hand crushed tomatoes, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Add browned oxtails and juices. Half cover pot, let simmer for 3 and half to four hours. Come back occasionally to stir, approximately every 30 minutes. Afterwards removed the oxtails and bay leaves from the sauce.Try pulling the meat off the bone with a fork, if the meat does not come off easily then return to pot and cook for another hour trying again repeat until there is little resistance. Discard bay leaves and cover the oxtails in plastic wrap so they dont dry out. Continue cooking sauce while waiting for oxtails to cool. Meanwhile ladle out 1/2 cup hydrating liquid used for the morels and put in sauce. Dice morels into 1/4 inch pieces. An hour after the oxtails have been cooling remove plastic wrap and begin separating the meat from the bone. discard larger pieces of fat and connective tissues that has not broken down yet. Stir in oxtail meat, morels and half the can of tomato paste to the sauce. If the sauce is not to the desired thickness or tomatoey consistency add more tomato paste and reduce till desired thickness is achieved. Serve with favorite pasta.
