Braised Oxtail

So - you know how a lot of cultures, Chinese culture being one of them, eat every part of the animal? Nothing goes to waste. Depending on the animal, this can include blood, heart, eyes, kidney, stomach, testicles, etc....I can pretty much go on forever. All of that stuff falls under a term known as Offal. Is offal awful? Sometimes - but it can also be Offal Good especially if you're Chris Consentino. I'm not Chef Consentino - and I'm only SOMETIMES a fan of that stuff, and one of those times is undoubtedly ox tail. YUM!!!! Yes - that long skinny thing that whips back and forth off the butt of a big hairy animal. That same long skinny thing, after being braised at 300 degrees in a liquid of many flavors for 3-4 hours, is way more than awful good - it's frickin' to DIE for. Imagine having a piece of savory meat slip right off the bone the moment you put your lips to it. It's a perfect combination of meat and fat. Dare I say it - it's a million times better than everyone's favorite meat and fat combination: bacon.

This picture does not by any means do it justice. You have to make it, or come over and have me make it for you (which i'd be glad to do), in order for you to fully understand the lip smacking, finger lickin' delight that is braised oxtail. I was too anxious to eat so - no time for a million shots.


Now that I've professed my love for braised oxtail. I must also share my dad's love for oxtail. He's a very simple man. Meat, sauce and rice is all he needs. (Maybe some veggies). I swear he poured on the braising liquid into his rice bowl so that it turned into a rice soup. Here he is, about to eat his last bite(s) in front of a bunch of meatless tail bones. He had a last helping of rice that he put in the ox tail serving bowl - just to sop up the sauce. What a good man.


Now on to serious business. How do you make this wonderful dish? I'm not even going to take credit for this because there's no way I could have come up with this recipe on my own. I found the recipe on SundayNiteDinner.com which also has much more beautiful pictures that do it justice. I followed the recipe to the T, but also used chopped cilantro as a garnish.