Oxtail Ravioili
I love pasta...I’ve probably said this 100 times but I really love it!
I’ve been on the homemade pasta kick for a while. When I went to Italy (Positano & Capri) for my play brother & sister’s wedding, I got hooked to the texture & flavor of homemade pasta. It’s seriously like no other...After tasting homemade pasta, I know what al dente truly means.
Anywhooo..a couple of weeks ago .my co-worker told me about this amazing Italian restaurant in Fort Greene, BK called Aita (a must go) and said their oxtail ravioli was AMAZING..and it seriously is. It’s ground oxtail in a sage brown butter bone marrow sauce...It’s so f*cking good! I had it delivered and it was so good I insisted on trying to recreate this..I often like to do this when I really like a dish lol.
I had a rough couple of weeks so I wasn’t really cooking anything but my boo was heading back to DC to handle a couple of things so I decided that the weekend was going to be an Alex self-care weekend. Also, my therapist told me during our session that week - “you need to pour into yourself because you’re the most important person in your life”...I really took that to heart.
The next day, I was up early scrolling through IG and saw that a chef that I follow was hosting an agnolotti pasta making class with a sage brown butter meat jus sauce...divine intervention because this was basically the oxtail ravioli from Aita!
The class was great & slightly complicated but I learned some great techniques and made an oxtail jus...aka a demi-glace (my remixed version lol)...aka a rich & flavorful sauce made from braising meaty bones. The fat from the bones are released which makes a delicious sauce (hard to explain but amazing). It’s literally a 2 day cooking situation (which I later learned) but so worth it.
I’m going to wrap this story up lol…
The day of the class I made the sage brown butter with the oxtail jus but it wasn’t quite what I remembered tasting from Aita (still good but not quite right)...it was because my jus didn’t settle & combine into the butter...AKA it was too fresh. You know how your Mom or Grandma always says “this dish will be even better the next day” well in this case, they are super right. Some things just take time!
For LDW, my bestie Ash came over for Friday dinner and I had some leftover oxtail jus & some of the oxtail filling from the class in the freezer. I knew it would be perfect because the flavors really set in and the jus was thick and the flavors really settled in!
This dish means a lot to me. It requires patience, creativity, trusting my gut and a level of technique that I even surprised myself. Oh and Ash loved it! It honestly tasted like Aita’s dish and I was so proud of myself! This is seriously the perfect welcome to fall dish and comfort in a bowl!
After my lengthy explanation, you can TOTALLY make this dish! I really really really suggest making homemade pasta dough for your ravioli but wonton wrappers do the trick too!
Link here is an easy homemade pasta recipe that I started using when I first started making pasta.
Important Note: This is a two day process because you want the jus or demi- glace to be thick and solidified aka the fat will be nice & settled....aka making it the day before.
If you make it….which I will be sooo proud of you, be sure to tag me @justaddhotsauce_
Oxtail Ravioli & Jus/Demi-Glace
2lb oxtail, generously seasoned with salt & pepper
2 carrots, roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
5-6 garlic cloves
2 cups of GOOD red wine (I like Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 cup of beef stock
A couple of sprigs of rosemary (about 4)
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper, to taste
Parmesan reggiano cheese, on the block for garnish
Wonton wrappers (if not making homemade pasta)
1 egg, for egg wash (if not making homemade pasta)
Sage Brown Butter Sauce
6 sprigs of fresh sage
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons oxtail jus
Tools You Will Need
Food processor
Fine strainer
Pastry bag or large ziplock bag
zester or cheese block grater
Directions
In a big stock pot on high heat with olive oil, sear the oxtail on all sides until you get a good crust on it, about 3 minutes each. You are basically locking in the juices.
After searing, remove the oxtail and set aside on a plate.
Reduce heat to medium and add the celery, carrots, garlic & onions. Saute for about 3 minutes. Add salt & pepper, stir to combine.
Add 2 cups of red wine & 1 cup of beef stock.
Add the bay leaves & rosemary sprigs.
Add the oxtail back into the pot (with all the juices) and bring the heat to medium low/low heat & cover
Let the oxtail cook AKA braise in it’s own goodness for 3-4 hours. Taste for salt & pepper.
NOTE: This is where it gets technique-y but you got this!
8. After the oxtail is tender and is falling off the bone, take it out and remove the meat from the bone. Set aside in a bowl
9. With a slotted spoon, take out the cooked down onions, garlic, carrots & celery. Add it into the food processor along with the shredded oxtail meat and ½ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
10. You are going to roughly chop it in a food processor (you don’t want it super mushy like baby food. There should still be some texture to it). After chopping it in the food processor, taste a little to see if you need to adjust seasonings (I literally almost ate the whole bowl lol).. Put it in a pastry bag or ziplock bag and in the fridge it goes.
NOTE: This style of grinding the meat is very popular in Italy and is used to fill pasta like ravioli, etc. You don’t want it totally mushy like baby food but the meat mixture should still have some texture to it...pulse it about 4 times
NOTE: If you don’t have a food processor, you are going to finely chop everything on a cutting board with a sharp knife.
11. Sooo you have all that sauce/juice leftover in your stock pot - this is your oxtail jus. You are going to strain that so no big pieces of rosemary, leftover veggies, etc. go into your jus. I just strain it over a mason jar. Put it in the fridge or freezer (if you are not making it the next day)
Note: the reason why you are making the oxtail jus the day before is because you want the fat to solidify, flavors to deepen and fully combine...you want it to be THICK!
….THE DAY AFTER!
(..or days after if you put in the freezer for later)
The Assembly
I know it sounds nuts to make something that takes two days but this dish is seriously worth it and you will be so proud of yourself!
If you are using wonton wrappers, pipe the oxtail meat mixture onto one wonton and with a brush (or your finger) dip into the egg wash (1 egg beaten) and run your brush along the edges of the wonton, around the oxtail filling and then put another wonton wrapper on top and press down to seal the sides.
Note: If you are using handmade pasta be sure your pasta is rolled out wide and long enough to hold your filling. Essentially you are doing the same thing as the wonton wrappers but cutting out ravioli pieces. You can a ravioli starter kit - here or a ravioli cutter - here
At this point all of your ravioli’s are formed and you should start boiling your water. Ravioli cooks super quick, about 3 minutes total.
2. In a saute pan, melt 2-3 tablespoons of unsalted butter & let it brown (not burn but let the butter flavor deepen & develop), about 3-4 minutes. Continuously keep stirring as you will start to see brown flakes after the butter starts to bubble.
Brown butter is made by cooking unsalted butter long enough to turn the milk solids brown while cooking out any water present in the butter. Often described as tasting nutty or toasty, it has a deeper, richer, more intense flavor than melted or clarified butter.
3. Add about 6 sprigs of sage to the brown butter.
Note: At this point, you should drop in your ravioli as the sauce forms super quick.
4.Once the butter is browned (it will happen quickly), add 3 heaping tablespoons of your oxtail jus/demi-glace into the butter & sage and stir to combine so it becomes a thick sauce. Taste to adjust seasoning with salt & fresh cracked pepper
5.After your ravioli is done, add it to your sauce (directly from the water. Don’t bother straining it) and swirl it around so all crevices and corners of the ravioli are covered in the sauce.The pasta water leftover on the ravioli will help the sauce stick to the ravioli too.
6.Serve in a big bowl with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese!!