Rabo Encendido

Name: Rabo Encendido
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 4 lb oxtail (trimmed of obvious excess fat); 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 unit yellow onion (diced); 1 unit green bell pepper (diced); 5 clove garlic (minced); 12 oz tomato sauce; 1 cup dry white wine; 2 cup beef stock; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp dried oregano; 2 unit bay leaves; 2 unit potatoes (peeled, 1 1/2-inch chunks); 2 unit carrots (large chunks)

Meat & Seafood · Latin American & Caribbean

15 ingredients · 210 minutes · 6 servings

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160kcal3.1g protein4.9g fat20.6g carbs*

Nothing flagged in the ingredient list. The label is still the last word.

Restrictions

Diets

No pork

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

4 lb	oxtail (trimmed of obvious excess fat)
2 tsp	salt
1 tsp	black pepper
2 tbsp	olive oil
1 unit	yellow onion (diced)
1 unit	green bell pepper (diced)
5 clove	garlic (minced)
12 oz	tomato sauce
1 cup	dry white wine
2 cup	beef stock
1 tsp	ground cumin
1 tsp	dried oregano
2 unit	bay leaves
2 unit	potatoes (peeled, 1 1/2-inch chunks)
2 unit	carrots (large chunks)

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

¼ tsp

red pepper flakes, for a restrained heat note

Steps

prep10 min
oxtail very dry and evenly seasoned
Pat the oxtail dry and season all over with salt and black pepper. Trim only loose exterior fat; the connective tissue inside the joints is what will become gelatin and give the finished sauce its body.
sear20 min
medium-high heat; deep brown crust on multiple sides
Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven and brown the oxtail in uncrowded batches. Let each face develop a dark crust before turning. Crowding here steams the meat and sacrifices the roasted flavor that must carry through a long wet braise.
saute10 min
onion and pepper softened; garlic fragrant but not browned
Lower the heat and cook the onion and green pepper in the rendered fat until softened, scraping up browned bits. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano and optional chile only for the final minute so the garlic and dry spices bloom without scorching.
braise125 min
bare simmer on the stovetop, mostly covered; meat beginning to yield easily at the joints
Add the tomato sauce, wine, beef stock and bay leaves, then return the oxtail and any juices. The liquid should come most of the way up the meat without drowning it. Cover and maintain the gentlest stovetop simmer, turning the pieces occasionally and skimming pools of excess fat from the surface.
braise30 min
stovetop bare simmer; potatoes and carrots tender; oxtail nearly falling from the bone
Add the potato and carrot once the oxtail is already close to tender. Continue gently on the stovetop until a fork slides into the meat with almost no resistance while the vegetables remain intact; adding them earlier would make them dissolve before the collagen finishes converting.
reduce15 min
uncovered; sauce glossy and spoon-coating rather than oily or watery
Remove the lid and bay leaves, skim again if needed, and simmer until the braising liquid concentrates around the meat. Stop when the sauce clings to a spoon and tastes integrated. If the meat is tender before the sauce is ready, lift it out during reduction rather than overcooking it.