Kare-Kare

Oxtails.

They are classified as offal.  Like all the guts and blood  and extremities of the cow, it's considered a throwaway piece in modern meat processing.  Recent exposure of these little chunks of meat and bone by celebrity chefs fueling the trend for wholesome and nostalgic dishes, have pulled oxtails out of the waste bin and the secret depths of grandma's stewpot.  And where you used to have to go to a specialty butcher or an ethnic market to find them and buy them for maybe $1/pound, these days you can now find them in most meat sections of the big box grocery stores at the exorbitant, trendy price of $5/pound.  Luckily, I live in the culturally diverse precincts of Chicago and the Korean market is nearby where I can get them for $2-3/pound.  Not the cheap garbage price of 10 years ago, but much more manageable for the pocket book.

These bony pieces of 'waste meat' are, in my opinion, one of the best cuts of meat in existance.  And not necessarily because of the meat itself which is tough and stringy.  Oxtails are collagen filled bombs.  It's the bone, cartilage and marrow that make these bits awesome.  The best way to cook oxtails is by stewing them.  Throwing them into a pot of liquid and letting them simmer on a slow low heat for hours.  What you get is some of the richest, most gelatinous, most flavorful stock you've ever tasted.  And the meat, which has now been sitting in this stock has also absorbed all that flavor and is now soft, tender and fall off the bone goodness.  A few pieces of oxtail can make alot of stock, and from that stock you can make stew.  And that's what I do.  I make a stew.  I make kare-kare.

Kare-kare is a Filipino stew, oxtails and vegetables in a peanut sauce. Alone it is a rich and thick delicious meal.  But it's made even better with a side serving of bagoong, a fermented salty shrimp paste that is so pungent it'll scare off alot of people with just a whiff.  But when added to kare-kare, even in the smallest of quantities, it adds that extra touch of umami that makes the dish heavenly.  Altogether, served over lots of rice, it is my favorite thing to eat.

This is my version.  This version would be the 'Americanized' style with green cabbage, green beans and eggplant from the local Jewel.  Depending on where I go shopping the day I decide to make it, the added ingredients will vary.  If I want to go more asian, I'll find me some chinese long beans and japanese eggplant, some baby bok choy or maybe okra.  Maybe go that extra mile and find some banana blossom shoots.  Toss in some tripe or add some color with annatto.

It's really very simple to make.  It just takes time since you have to stew the goodness out of the oxtails.  Normally I braise the oxtails the day before.  Season them heavily with salt, toss them into a pot of water with chopped onion and garlic, bay leaf and peppercorns and then let them simmer for 3-4 hours.  Set it on the stove or in a crockpot and let it go.  When they're finished, I'll pull out the meat, strain the stock into a container to remove all the cooked onions and herbs then put all the meat back into the stock and let it cool overnight in the refrigerator.  I don't have to do that, I could make it all in one day.  But the advantage to this is mostly me being a little health conscious.  The next day, the chilled stock has a solid layer of fat on the top.  I scrape that off and throw it out.

So then I'll heat some oil in a pot, saute some chopped onion and garlic because more is better and if I have it, this will also be where I add a some annatto oil or powder.  It gives it a more orange color which some people find more appealing.  I'll then toss the gelatinized stock and meat into the pot and let it heat back up and once it's got a good simmer to it add in the peanut butter.

Yes, peanut butter.  You could go all authentic and get some peanuts, roast them up and then crush them by hand or in a food processor, or you could always just buy peanut butter.  I usually read the label.  I take that back.  I usually just buy Jiff, Extra Crunchy.  Peanuts and sugar and salt.  That's it.  I don't buy the reduced fat stuff, I don't buy the less sodium stuff, because they throw in things like corn syrup or soybeans.  I want peanuts, salt and sugar and nothing else. And I buy Jiff because that's what I grew up on.

So I mix in the peanut butter, let it melt into the stock, toss in all my vegetables, let those cook a few minutes until cooked through, season with salt and pepper as needed and then voila!  The best stew ever!  A bed of rice, some bagoong and dinner is served.

And I also get to enjoy it for days after.  A pound of oxtails can make enough kare-kare to stretch over half a week for two people.  Not bad for $5 of meat.