Rabo de toro is a braised oxtail dish from Spain. This is a recipe that I actually learned in school and fell in love with when I first tasted it there. To start, let me explain what oxtail is. Oxtail generally refers to beef or veal tail, as oxtail is not used as much anymore. Because oxtail can be very tough, it requires long, slow braising and is often used in soups or stews. I make this dish more during the fall and winter months because of how hearty it is, but you can easily divide the meat and sauce into smaller portions and serve it alongside tapas all year round.
I chose to prepare garlic mashed potatoes and wilted spinach as side dishes, but rice and any seasonal vegetables make good side choices as well. The recipe is as follows. Also, while I go through the method for the recipe, I will make a few suggestions for home cooking, as I am modifying from recipes that are better suited to restaurant style cooking and equipment. These suggestions will be in italics, but feel free to use what is most comfortable for cooking in your own home. I will never tell you to purchase expensive gadgets or equipment, unless I feel it will make your life easier.
Yields 5 portions
Ingredients
5 lb. beef oxtail
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, or as needed
2 large onions, small dice
4 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced very thin
2 oz. pancetta, diced
¼ cup brandy
½ cup red wine
2 cups brown veal stock
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish
Directions
1. Pat the oxtail dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. In a large pot over high heat, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Sear the oxtail in the olive oil on all sides, using a pair of tongs to turn the oxtail until it is a nice brown color. Remove the oxtail from the pan and reserve.
For the pot, I would suggest using a rondeau, which is a round pot with two handles, wider in the middle, and shallow sides with a tight fitting lid. Season the meat to your liking; I use kosher salt at home so that I can actually see and gauge how much salt I use.
2. Lower the heat to medium and add the pancetta. Cook the pancetta to crispy, about 3-5 minutes, then add the onions, tomatoes, and garlic. Cook to a jam-like consistency, stirring occasionally, about 10-15 minutes.
If you cannot get pancetta from your deli/butcher, thick cut bacon will work just as well. This mixture of onions, tomatoes, and garlic is known as a sofrito and is used as the base for many Spanish/Latin dishes. There are variations of sofrito, this recipe being only one of many.
3. Add the brandy and cook out the alcohol, then add the red wine and reduce by ¾. Add the spices and season with salt and pepper. Add the oxtail and enough brown veal stock to come about halfway up the meat. Cover and braise the meat over a low simmer until the meat is fork tender and the braising liquid has reduced, about 2½ to 3 hours. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Garnish with parsley and serve with sides.
I generally use Tempranillo wine, but any red wine that you like will do. Although most people use cheap wine in cooking, we were always taught that if you reduce cheap wine, you wind up with concentrated cheap wine, or as the professors put it, crap. Use a wine that you yourself would drink on its own and you will be fine. This technique is actually called mirroring, as we use the same wine in preparing the food and serve the same wine alongside the food. The food and wine pairing is considered automatic, so to speak.
Although I haven't included any pictures displaying the cooking methods this time, I will be including some in future posts. Please feel free to make suggestions of your own and ask any questions you'd like as well. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
