Apr 20th, 2009
Naramata Bench Syrah Braised Oxtails
This has got to be my favorite recipe in this book so far. I’m sure it’s a combination of preparation and cooking method for this particular recipe, and getting used to the style of the book as a whole, but it came together perfectly.
It’s also one of the few recipes in which the mirepoix (there go those fancy French words again! It just refers to the mixture of onion, carrots and celery that form the base of a dish) is still part of the final dish, as opposed to strained out and tossed away after their flavor has been extracted. Neil especially likes this part, since throwing out food (even when it’s flavoring agents that have done their job and are just soggy shells of their former selves) always irks him.
We planned from the outset to make the ragù preparation of this dish, and the vegetables made an awesome textural addition to the seared, then oven-braised meat.
The finished meat came off the bones and shredded perfectly, and the sauce was absolutely divine. We made a quick batch of pasta while we were waiting for the braise to cook, and our fresh noodles with the rich sauce was a flawless execution of rainy day (which it was) comfort food.
If we know eachother (or if we don’t, and you’d like to meet), bring over a bottle of red and an oxtail any time. I’d make this again in a heartbeat.
Naramata Bench Syrah Braised Oxtails – page 200
