Today was probably not the best day for this dish.
Earlier in the week when I purchased the oxtails, there was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground and I was craving a rich, hearty braise. There was still a chill in the air when I put them in a low oven and braised them late into the night, falling asleep to the comforting smell of malt and meat.
But today, as the snow quickly melted on this unseasonably warm day, my appetite wavered to peas and radishes and young, fresh food. So I wrapped it up and put it away for tomorrow, when the cold will return along with a craving for slow-cooked meat.
oxtail braised in malt
almond risotto
oxalis
Oxtails are full of connective tissue that contain collagen proteins. When cooked at temperatures above 65C, the collagen breaks down into gelatin. The shredded meat can be shaped and compressed and the gelatin will help it hold its shape. This technique can be applied to any hard-working cut of meat that is cooked long and slow such as pulled pork or lamb shanks.
Almonds and nuts can be treated like grains if they are first cooked until tender. This can take a long time by conventional methods. A pressure cooker will tenderize nuts in under an hour, depending on the variety and age.
To make almond risotto, chopped slivered almonds are toasted until golden and fragrant, then cooked in stock until tender. The stock is reduced at the end of the cooking until syrupy. Drained yogurt or labne is stirred in at the end to round out the flavor with a bit of tartness.
Playing with Fire and Water 
Good point about the gelatin binding the protein. I’ve made cylinders of pulled mutton shoulder, and also pulled pork. I’ve previously run into the limitation that you can’t then heat the product without it losing its shape and becoming unbound. Same thing happens with rillettes. Your post just spurred me to think a bit more about how to keep them bound.
Obviously, Activa would be ideal, but Activa isn’t feasible for home cooks because it loses its effectiveness so quickly. I’ve only ever ordered and used it once. I got a few dishes out of over a couple weeks, but now worth $70 for a bag of RM that I only used 1/10th of.
I’m making a cylinder of rabbit rillettes for a dinner next weekend. I’m thinking I might try including a bit of a methocel slurry when I’m mixing the rillettes in a mixer. I’ve got A15C, A4M, F50, and SGA7C. I’m thinking I’ll use the A15 in the first run.
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The almond risotto is very interesting; I had already read the sunflower seed variant on the Ideas in Food blog, but this one looks more fun. And if I hadn’t been paying attention, I swear that piece of oxtail looks like a chunk of unpeeled yucca.
I do have a friend who wants to have a cassoulet weekend even though the first available date is some time in June. Almost as bad as having cipate in late July.
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Ok now Oxtail I can eat that with beef tongue hah
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Hi. I read your blog everyday very inspiring. Did I read this right… for the oxtail and pulled pork… all you did was wrap it in plastic? no Activa or anything? And it stayed that way even after you reheated it? Thanks.
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no Activa involved, but there are some factors that will help it along:
-choose a cut of meat with a lot of sticky connective tissue, not just fat
-form it while it’s hot
-wrap it tightly in plastic, then compress under vacuum, chill well
-unwrap carefully while chilled
-reheat gently with minimal disturbance
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I’m assuming that you’re using a Minipack chamber vacuum rather than something like a Foodsaver (like most of us dilettantes)to get adequate compression. yes?
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