oxtail again but different.

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moikel

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jul 26, 2011
3,198
218
Sydney &Greenwell Point Australia
I had 4 packs of oxtail in the freezer.It was reduced so I bought up big on the basis I would do some braise.

Its now way to hot for that style of food so I am going Latin American.

Well my version anyway
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I will poach them in some beef stock with bits for a couple of hours,dry them then smoke them in the MES then shred them & build a sauce up from there .

I can buy tortillas ,so I will do some beans, I will also fry some blood sausage as a sort of a crumble to go on the top.

Its still in my head just yet.
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Saturday now & hot again so I need to adapt how I cook.

In stock  on the stove top for a while,then the smoker.I figure then I pull them ,make a sauce etc.

One of the great things about the forum I get to see styles that  aren't done well here. Mexican food is the classic example.

I have seen enough on the site from talented people to give this a shot.

Bear with me I have a bunch of stuff that has to be done around the yard before monday & I just have to deal with the heat.

I am from out west so grew up with 45c Xmas days ,you just got to knuckle down & do it.
 
 
Nothing wrong with fish, but oxtail is for special company. Got something planned?
Linda won't eat ox tail so its my week night meal so I don't have to cook fresh each night.

Plan is this ,brown them first all ten pounds of it,marked down 50% what can you do?
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I made a strong beef stock flavoured with cilantro roots,garlic,green onions,lime leaf.

I found a Mexican beer called Sol in 1 litre bottles so grabbed 2 to go in stock with cilantro,limes, brown sugar,chilli,cbp,cumin & yet to be decided
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Cook ox tail in this on the stove top for a few hours.Cool then smoke tail bits for an hour or so then shred all the meat off them. Skim fat off stock then use that as a base to make a hot sauce ,fried onions,tomato, some black beans as sides.Then load it into tortillas .

Does that make sense or have I just trodden all over years of Tex Mex cooking tradition?
 
 
Linda won't eat ox tail so its my week night meal so I don't have to cook fresh each night.

Plan is this ,brown them first all ten pounds of it,marked down 50% what can you do?
biggrin.gif


I made a strong beef stock flavoured with cilantro roots,garlic,green onions,lime leaf.

I found a Mexican beer called Sol in 1 litre bottles so grabbed 2 to go in stock with cilantro,limes, brown sugar,chilli,cbp,cumin & yet to be decided
biggrin.gif


Cook ox tail in this on the stove top for a few hours.Cool then smoke tail bits for an hour or so then shred all the meat off them. Skim fat off stock then use that as a base to make a hot sauce ,fried onions,tomato, some black beans as sides.Then load it into tortillas .

Does that make sense or have I just trodden all over years of Tex Mex cooking tradition?
You can just trod anywhere you like. My first thought with you and all that oxtail was, please excuse my poor memory, but what about that forever building broth you keep in your freezer I seem to remember? Please excuse me for not remembering the proper name for it but you said you continiously build upon it. I loved that idea. I have a pan of grill moping sauce I use that is like 30 years old that I just keep adding too also.....LOL I know not the same.
 
 
You can just trod anywhere you like. My first thought with you and all that oxtail was, please excuse my poor memory, but what about that forever building broth you keep in your freezer I seem to remember? Please excuse me for not remembering the proper name for it but you said you continiously build upon it. I loved that idea. I have a pan of grill moping sauce I use that is like 30 years old that I just keep adding too also.....LOL I know not the same.
Chinese master stock.I freeze it nowadays then I always have it. I did ox tail in that style & it was great. Often its poached meats then dried then wok fried .

I just thought I would try something with a Mex feel because I see so much of that food here & on your TV shows that come here. I see tongue taco's so I thought oxtail would be the same principle .I will need to skim the fat off the stock,then reduce it right down. I thought if I smoked the bits of tail in the MES then pulled it ,then I would have the building blocks to make a meal.
 
Don't know I have ever seen anything you've made that wasn't appetizing.
Very kind of you Kevin,I feel the same way about the Cajun food you do .
I have all the meat in the fridge , stock is cooling off.Lot of fat ,so I will set it then skim it ,then start again. It's got some good flavours but I need the fat out if it to get the feel of it.
I will put the meat in the MES later. Total fire ban here ,might hit 39c tomorrow.
I have the principle right don't I? Cheaper cuts cooked slow ,sauce,beans,tomato, salad ,tortillas .
 

Thats about 5kg of oxtail.

Its very soft now after 4 hours poaching ,I will arrange all the bigger bits in the MES ,the little bits have fallen apart,give them a quick smoke ,them shred them. Work my way forward from there.
 
Howdy Mick.... I was in the freezer and I have 50% off ox tails waiting for another project.... Soooooo, I'm hanging on....
 

Ready to go in the MES.


Good colour . Benefit of this route is I have ditched a lot of fat.

After I shred them I figure its a simple sauce with some onions,bell pepper,left over poaching broth.

I had white beans already open so I boiled them with a smoked pork bone. Thats a side . Some grated cheese. Pickled jalapeno's .Beats the crap out of that Ol El Paso stuff they advertise on TV.
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Hot as Mexico here 38C.  
 
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Howdy Mick.... I was in the freezer and I have 50% off ox tails waiting for another project.... Soooooo, I'm hanging on....
Am I making sense here
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? I figure its accidentally authentic.I hate all that canned tomato salsa thats some shade of red not previously known on earth ,pumped  with sugar.

I figure you can make a taco  filling out of whatever you want .
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Fried 2 red onions ,2 red bell peppers,3 x cloves of garlic, slurp of vermouth ,some paprika ,added all the chopped ox tail.Then about a fat cup of reserved stock,  good solid pinch dried greek oregano,1/2 bottle tomato passata,some  juice of the jalapeños  just letting that simmer.


I think I will serve it with beans,tortillas,pickled jalapeños ,chopped cucumber,fresh cilantro.

Flavours are very rich & righteous ,that stock has got some lovely depth.

I have enough to feed me for a week.
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That was pretty good.Just as well because I have a shed load  left over.


Bear view.


Is it Mexican? You couldn't sell it to people here they want sour cream ,corn chips lurid coloured salsa ,tabasco  because thats what they think it is.

I think its got a street food feel, & there are grannies at gas stations & street corners in the USA making better food than tattooed hipster chefs here. I know what I would rather eat.
 
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