Region
Description
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
Instructions
- Marinate the oxtail in a marinade of all ingredients up to the wine. Longer is better, up to two days.
- When you are ready to cook it, remove the oxtail from the marinade and dry it.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil and brown the meat.
- Strain the onion and garlic from the marinade and add it to the skillet.
- Add the tomato paste and the stock, and strain in some of the marinade.
- Cook slowly for at least three hours.
- Serve hot, or chill and skim off the fat and reheat.
- 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