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Beautiful brown braise, succulant and enjoyable from the kitchens of  chrismukkah

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Actually more like Braised Oxtail with just REGULAR lemon polenta, which is very easy to make, but a BITCH to clean up XD

This recipe comes from: http://www.foodgal.com/2011/03/meaty-memories/

Savory Braised Oxtail with Preserved Lemon Polenta

* my tweaks

(Serves 4)

2 cups all-purpose flour* (I only needed 1 cup, as I only used one package of oxtails)

1/4 cup salt* (This I did -NOT- do, and I honestly think you folks shouldn't put in either- and I'll come to why soon enough)

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

12 large oxtail (6 to 8 pounds) - Like I said, had one package...about 6 to 8

1/2 package ground beef* (I had a frozen package in the freezer, to make up for the oxtails that I didn't have)

4 tablespoons canola oil (used olive oil)

2 large onions chopped

1 shallot*

2 medium fennel bulbs, cored and roughly chopped (didnt have, should have used...but I did put in 2 tablespoons fennel powder)

1 celery stalk, chopped (same deal, no celery...used 1 tsp celery seed)

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (had 2 of those at least)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

10 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

4 lemongrass stalks, white parts only, pounded and finely chopped*
(didnt use, and I've never liked the taste of these guys...too stringy)

2 cups Shaoxing wine (didnt have, but I did have some nice white Chardonnay instead...plus 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar)

1 (1-pound) can plum tomatoes, drained (I used 1 can whole tomatoes...same thing)

1 cup dark soy sauce (Ran out of soy at 1/2 cup- so, added 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce)

4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried

2 bay leaves

1 lemon, halved

Preserved Lemon Polenta (see recipe below)

On a platter, combine flour, salt and pepper, and mix. Add oxtails and dredge on all sides. Set aside.

Heat a Dutch oven or heavy large pot over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat bottom of the pot. When the oil shimmers, add oxtails and brown on all sides, about 10 to 12 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Remove the oxtails, wipe out the pot, and add remaining 2 tablespoons oil. When oil shimmers, add onions, fennel, celery, carrot, ginger, garlic and lemongrass. Saute, stirring until soft, about 10 minutes. Add wine, stir, and cook to reduce it by half, 6 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, soy sauce, thyme, bay leaves and lemon. Return meat to the pot, add water to cover, and correct seasonings. The liquid should be well seasoned. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until the meat falls from the bones, about 3 hours.

Remove oxtails to a plate and skim sauce to remove fat. Remove bay leaves, lemons, and thyme sprigs, if using, and cook over high heat to reduce sauce by one-fourth, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a hand or standard blender, puree sauce. Correct seasonings. Divide polenta among 4 plates, top with oxtails, spoon some of the sauce over, and serve.

Now - I will say this again: you DO NOT NEED the 1/4 cup of salt.

Because:

1.) You get ENOUGH flavor when your sear the oxtails in the pan, to start with.

2.) PLUS, the 1 cup dark soy ! (And if you still want to cut down the salt even more, use low-salt soy sauce or tamari!)

3.) It gets PLENTY of richness as it cooks down from the cooking time.

4.) And seriously... 1/4 cup salt??? Who even DOES that??? *dies*

...Moving on... :P

Preserved Lemon Polenta

(Serves 4)

5 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted...doesnt matter, but I would actually go with unsalted on this one, to let the lemon and polenta shine through)

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (skipped, but dont let that stop you)

1 cup medium-grain polenta or cornmeal

1/4 cup preserved lemons (here, I used the zest of one whole lemon instead...and while preserved lemons have their own unique flavor, they are preserved with a buttload of salt as well!)

4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium canned broth (used low salt)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add shallots and ginger, and saute, stirring until soft, about 6 minutes.

Add polenta, preserved lemon, and stock. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, fold in remaining butter, and cover tightly with foil. Transfer to the oven and bake until liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Correct seasonings and serve.

- This part I skipped, and just cooked it in a small saucepan on the stove instead. As long as you keep an eye on it - you gotta treat it like "Cream of Wheat" in the sense that, if it gets too thick, just slowly stir in the chicken stock a cup at a time until you reach the desired creaminess!

Recipe from “Blue Ginger” by Ming Tsai

Its good and rich folks, and dont be turned off by the fact that its a tail!

Mmmm... tail *nom nom* :p

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Note: What is Oxtail? no oxen are harmed.
Oxtail comes from a Cow. It is the meaty part at the top of the tail.

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Allergy warning – recipe contains dairy products