Oxtail Stew in the Style of Alto Adige

By John, 19 March, 2021
Region
Italy
Description
Spezzatino di Coda di Manzo all'Alto Adige

This Spezzatino di Coda di Manzo is a recipe from the northeastern Italian Alps. It includes typical mountain seasoning like juniper berries and bay leaves. This is not the iconic oxtail stew from the area of Rome/Lazio, called Coda alla Vaccinara, which has tomatoes and batons of celery in it. 

Oxtail has a lot of collagen, so slow cooking develops it into a rich, delicious stew full of umami goodness. Leftovers make a great sauce for pasta.

Yield
6 Servings
Preparation time
3 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients
3 lb Oxtail (cut into pieces)
1 Onion (chopped)
1 clv Garlic (crushed)
1 t Peppercorns (crushed)
1 T Juniper Berries (crushed)
2 Bay Leaf
1 pn Thyme
3 c Dry Red Wine
1⁄2 c Olive oil
1 T Tomato Paste
1 c Beef Stock
Instructions
  1. Marinate the oxtail in a marinade of all ingredients up to the wine. Longer is better, up to two days.
  2. When you are ready to cook it, remove the oxtail from the marinade and dry it.
  3. In a large skillet, heat the oil and brown the meat.
  4. Strain the onion and garlic from the marinade and add it to the skillet.
  5. Add the tomato paste and the stock, and strain in some of the marinade.
  6. Cook slowly for at least three hours.
  7. Serve hot, or chill and skim off the fat and reheat.
  8. Serve very hot with polenta.
Notes
This is very rich. I find that sliced habanero chilies accompanies it nicely.
Source
La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy