OX TAIL - Food for a winter wonderland and warm up ski!

I have only had Ox Tail a few times in my life but was ready to cook it for myself and Jo.  This is the beginning with the raw ingredients in the pan.  I also added some beef reduction from the short ribs that were cooked last week (Straining the drippings and freezing them either in ice cube trays or a jar like I did is a great way to add a little extra flavour.)

The Ox Tail were then covered and placed in the oven at 250F for 2.5 - 3.5 hours. Then removed from the oven to cool with the cover on.  The two pictures above are just after the cover was removed.  Once cooled the Ox Tail were then removed from the pan and placed on my cutting board where the meat was removed from the cartilage.  It can be left on but this dish was going to be a pasta dish and I wanted the meat right in the pasta.  The ingredients that were left in the pan were strained as to get most of the fat out.....honestly it was a little rich for me with all that fat and I could have made a sauce out of it but not that much was needed for my taste.  So after most of the fat was strained out (and kept for later use)I put the ingredients back into the pan with some red wine and water and let it reduce.....I also added some onions and leeks that were from the garden (my veggies are still out there under a foot of snow).

(This picture is before I strained)

While the sauce was coming together, the spaghetti was made and cooled.  Don't forget to generously salt the water you are making your pasta in and if you are using it later,let it cool on a flat surface and add some olive oil to it, mix it around, this will help it cool properly and it won't stick together.  The spaghetti was added back to the sauce once it was ready and tasted to my liking, cheese was added as always as I am a cheese girl and placed in the oven for about 6 minutes so the cheese could melt and the spaghetti could warm up and then we ate.  As much as I wish I had more time to make the dish look pretty and sophisticated for you the hunger over took the picture and we ate!!!

This dish was very rich and satisfying and a great dish to have the night before an active outside day in the snow.....that is where I will be for the rest of the day!   ENJOY YOURS!