Re the barbacoa. I simply cannot put the money down on oxtails. Do you think it would be fine

M

Marg CDN

Well-known member
without or should I wait for a lottery?

I'll use beef and I think I can find all the chilies. The Mexican store actually made it through the worst of the shut-shop-season. So sad to see businesses that couldn't.

For 6 1.5" bits of oxtail, the supermarket wants $13. It's like beef tongue. It used to be throw-aways at 20 cents a pound. Now if you can find it, it's unaffordable.

So without oxtail???

 
Marg, I've used beef once and pork the next two times for that recipe. Both are amazing.

Let me qualify that by saying it's Kenji's Chipotle barbacoa recipe that I'm referencing. The first two times I used oxtails...and your cost isn't just a Canadian obscenity. It's that costly here as well. I used to throw them in my spaghetti sauce for...well, for decades!...until the price made it simply stupid to do that.

The last batch I didn't use oxtail...just added a few soup bones that had some meat left on them. It's still good.

I can mail you the chilies if you can't find them. I just sent a chili care package to my mom's neighbor. I had brought a frozen container of the last pork batch when I went up (it freezes really well) and handed a small container over the fence to Michelle. I had a text within the next 2 minutes asking for the recipe. The mexican grocery store in my town is open, but I still have enough of each chili to send to you if you'd like to try it without selling your kidney on Craig's List to buy the oxtail. Just give me the word.

 
OK. I feel encouraged. ANd good to know it freezes well. We are still not having friends for dinner

in our world.

BTW, no one would want my stony kidneys so I'll do without the ox's contribution.

 
Just looked at the recipe. It looks like you could try a pound of bone in beef shin. . .

like for Osso Bucco (beef shank), instead of the oxtail. Would this be any easier for you to find? You could bone some of this off the bone, or have the butcher cut the shin/shank crosswise as thinly as possible to duplicate the browning in the recipe.

Looks very good; I saved the recipe.

 
Am I the only one who remembers the scene from Giant where Liz Taylor faints when the brains

are scooped from the calves head that was wrapped and, I think, cooked in a pit? Gotta watch that movie again.

 
I have.

It just tastes pretty much like unctuous pot roast from all the collagen and a little gamey. The most honored guest gets offered the delicacy - the eyeballs, although I have never witnessed that. I believe in rural areas it is still not uncommon to cook things in pits buried in the ground for big parties

On a related note, the hottest dish in town here at a very fashionable restaurant a few years ago was carnitas-but the carnitas were an entire half hogs head that was brought to the table. It was supposedly fantastic, with lots of crispy skin in proportion to the meat.

 
Barnyard? I have cooked chunks of beef shank, never noticed barnyard. . .

The shank I cooked is cross-cut through muscle and bone. The bone is "o" shaped and you can see the good, gelatin-y connective tissue separating the muscle. Never noticed a barnyard smell/taste. Maybe you got some "funky" shank?

The barbacoa recipe is going for a real beefy flavor. But I just read Melissa Dallas' comment above describing beef cheeks as gamey. ?s gamey what you were thinking of? Gamey to me is stronger in flavor, while barnyard is more, uh, stinky/aromatic/smelly. . .

 
Yes, reminiscent of what the animals walk around in at the lower leg level.

I have an overly-sensitive nose but it all smells that way to me. Not strong, just there. And yes, that is the same cut. We can get with and without bone. I like it a lot and will use this to get the beefy flavour without the tenderloin price. Thanks M

It's on for next week.

 
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