Today I’ll be putting a shank portion ham on the BGE over applewood smoke. Our sides will be Ms. Jan’s homemade potato salad, BBQ baked beans, fresh bi-color cob corn, and deviled eggs. Fried cornbread will also be on the side. The day is perfect as a slight breeze is blowing the sunshine around. The back porch Yeti is restocked, iced, and ready to go. Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are available. Life is good in Gator Nation!
I sear the oxtails in my 12 quart cast iron Dutch oven after I salt and pepper them and dredge in flour. Then I take them out and soften an onion and add two cups of sturdy red wine and deglaze. Then I add one cup of chicken stock, a cup of tomato sauce, a tablespoon of fresh thyme and the oxtails. Bring to a boil. Three hours in a 375 F oven and then taken out and the oxtails are removed and allowed to cool. Then shred the oxtails by hand and add back to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer. Cook the pasta of your choice (I like rigatoni or bucatini with this dish) until a minute or two from al dente. Add a cup or two of the pasta water to add to the sauce for the desired thickness and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce. Serve with a good parmesan like a Reggiano. Sometimes I sprinkle a touch of coarse sea salt on as well. Dee-lish but very rich. Maybe serve with a side of Lipitor. When I was a kid oxtails were cheap, but no longer. I used just over three pounds and that cost about $30.
Agree on oxtails being expensive now. Crazy how it became trendy now to the point where it costs more per lb than a good steak. I make mine Jamaican style (I’m Haitian and Jamaican), and always over rice. I never once thought to shred it or eat it over pasta. Interesting how everyone does it differently. The overall technique you use is similar though, even if the seasonings and plating differ.
Found an old pic of me at my previous home in Lehigh Acres. This is my lanai. Woods on 3 sides of me. It was a great home in the country. I'm doin' some kabobs for my Cuban lady guest. Early 90's....good times.....
Last year I did dueling oxtails with a black friend from islands. His was akin to jerk over yellow rice. His cousin was judge and we ate each others. His cousin called it a draw and do over. Fun time.
Site screwing up my photo uploads - sorry. In the meantime........I have to say I'm eating one of the best apples I've enjoyed in a while. Evercrisp is the variety. Cross between Fuji and Honeycrisp. Got them at Publix. Crispy and sweet - but not too sweet. Juicy too. And just the right size! Yum!!!
It is once again time to appreciate our local businesses so tonight we are going to pick up supper from Fat John’s Pizza. We went to Tallahassee today for my last 6 months follow up with my pulmonologist post open heart surgery. Everything is going well so he moved me to annual checkups. Beautiful day here today and we will enjoy the afternoon/evening on the back porch. Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are there for our enjoyment. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Eating my first sub ever from Jersey Mikes. Roast Beef! Watching "Gone in 60 Seconds". The re-make with Nick and Angelina. What a fantastic car guy movie! Ah....the bachelor life!
Tacos last night (with margaritas) and chopped salad tonight (without margaritas). I am think that a round of Tom Collins would be good tonight given that it is getting hot and I have some lemons that need to be used.
Funny thing about that sub from Jersey Mikes is I got it while in Port Orange where our closest Harbor Freight is located. There's a Publix in the same shopping center so I picked up Mom's provisions after I got what I needed at HF, and then decided to get us both a sub. On the way to her house I went a back road which has a turn where the owner of Big Joe's Subs lives. And as I was going by....he was backing out of his driveway. I mean I could have held the Jersey Mike's bag out the window just as a gag. But that would be dumb with zero upside, so I just kept going. At HF I picked up a set of new ratchet straps and load ramps in anticipation of picking up a new motorcycle on Friday. It's in Orlando so taking the Silverado over and will transport it back in the bed. I usually use my single axle landscape trailer but it's so rusty now I don't trust it going that far. It's a used sport bike but that's all I want to say until it's in my possession. Glad I ate that sub last night though because with the tooth extraction today I guess it's a soft food diet for the next few days.
Tonight I’ll be bar-b-crewing chicken halves seasoned with coarse black pepper and Everglades seasoning. Yep, Pat’s homade on the last two turns. Our sides will be fresh steamed green cabbage, bi-color cob corn, and jalapeño cornbread. Afternoon/evening ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are in order to celebrate our win today. Life is good in Gator Nation!
I know what you are saying, but I'd say yes and no. Because I also picked up a pack of 4.5" metal cutoff discs. And I can promise you I will be using those! I wanted to pick up a new pair of bypass pruners too, but they were out. They are Felco knockoffs, but a lot less $. But to your point - I know I have bought stuff there that I never even used once!
I have had my Felco's for over 30 years. Still great. The one "knock off" I had was made by Stihl (and actually decent) and they have been thrown out. Not the same quality. The old saying is that I can't afford cheap tools. If you need something for a onetime job, then it is OK to go cheap. I had to do some tile work and needed a tile saw and bought Skil. It did the job, but I don't think it could do it again.
