Oxtail Ragu Food

OXTAIL RAGU

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly oil a baking pan large enough to hold the oxtails in a single layer.
• Place chopped onions and garlic in prepared pan. Rub oxtail sections with olive oil; season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange on top of onions. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Turn oxtails and continue roasting until well browned, another 20 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven.
• Pour in wine vinegar, tomato sauce, chicken stock or water, rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt, and red chili flakes to the baking pan; stir. Pour the entire mixture into a large pot. Place over medium-high heat until sauce begins to simmer. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer over low heat until meat easily separates from the bone and is very tender, about 4 to 5 hours. Skim off fat before serving.

BEEF SHANK AND OXTAIL RAGù

Steps:

• Heat the oil or fat in a heavy pot. Salt the meats lightly, and brown on all sides. Remove the meat (or push it aside if your pot is big enough), and sauté the onion and carrot for a few minutes. Splash in the red wine and reduce for a minute, then tuck the meat back in among the vegetables, nestling in the herb packet as well. Pour on enough water to cover the meats by 2 inches, and simmer, covered, for 2 1/2hours. Add the additional vegetables, and a little more water if they are not well covered, and simmer until tender-about 20 minutes.
• For my first meal, I have the shank surrounded by the vegetables with a little of the cooking liquid on top. If I have some on hand, a Winter Green Sauce (page 159) is particularly good with this. I reserve for later any meat I can't finish.
• Second Round: Oxtails with Grits or Polenta
• Spoon most of the oxtails into a warm wide, shallow bowl into which you've dished up a generous serving of grits or polenta (see pages 196 and 193). Pour a small ladleful of the flavorful beef broth over, thickened, if you like, with a little cornstarch or instant flour. If you want to jazz up the dish, make a small amount of the gremolata (see page 249) that is used for veal shanks-just a teaspoon sprinkled on top is enough.
• Third Round: Penne with a Meaty Sauce
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and start cooking 2-3 ounces of penne or ziti. Meanwhile, scrape off from the bones whatever meat remains, and chop it up. Strain the rich cooking broth into containers for freezing, reserving the vegetables. Heat a little olive oil in a medium skillet, and lightly sauté a thin-sliced garlic clove for a minute. Add the strained veggies, the chopped-up meat, and about 1/4 cup tomato sauce (or, if you don't have any, use a tablespoon tomato paste and some of the pasta water). Scoop up the pasta when done, and mix it with the sauce in the skillet, adding more pasta water if needed. Turn off the heat, and fold in a small handful of grated Parmesan.

SEMOLINA GNOCCHI WITH OXTAIL RAGù

Steps:

• For ragù:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Sprinkle oxtails with salt and pepper, then flour. Heat oil in heavy wide ovenproof pot over high heat. Add oxtails; cook until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Add celery, carrots, and onion to pot. Reduce heat to medium-high and sauté until vegetables brown, about 15 minutes. Add wine and tomatoes. Boil until thickened to chunky sauce, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in garlic. Tie parsley, rosemary, and bay leaves with kitchen string and add to pot. Return oxtails to pot in single layer. Add all broth; bring to boil. Cover pot; place in oven.
• Braise oxtails until very tender, about 2 hours. Transfer oxtails to rimmed baking sheet. Using potato masher, crush juices and vegetables in pot to coarse sauce. Pull meat off oxtails and add to sauce. Season ragù with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool, cover, and chill. Rewarm before continuing.
• For gnocchi:
• Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Bring milk, butter, and salt to simmer in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in semolina. Stir until semolina is very thick and bubbling, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in yolks, 1 at a time, then 1 cup Parmesan. Place pot over low heat and stir 2 minutes. Spread semolina in prepared dish. Cover and chill until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Preheat oven to 475°F. Butter 15x10x2- inch glass baking dish. Using 1 3/4-inch round cutter, cut out as many semolina gnocchi as possible; arrange in prepared dish. Top with warm ragù sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.