Flavor and collagen packed oxtail chili
Make it for gelatinous goodness & rich flavors. Using oxtails, three kinds of beans, mushrooms, and root vegetables, this chili tastes and warms like none other. The recipe calls for skimming the surface fat from the broth, so far content will be lower.
Ingredients
Oxtail broth
- 4 lbs oxtails large, meaty pieces with bones. About 5-7 pieces.
- 1 head garlic peal and use whole cloves
- 1 piece ginger root cut to about 1" pieces
- 2 pieces Fresno peppers cut into small pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cups beef broth can use chicken broth or just water
- 1-1/2 cups red wine
Beans - cook with a pinch of salt until they are tender but not mushy
- 1 cup dried kidney beans soak in water for 6-8 hours and cook for about 45 min,
- 1 cup dried pinto beans soak in water for 6-8 hours and cook for about 40 min.
- 1 cup dried black beans soak in water for 4 hours and cook for about 25 min.
Vegetable mix
- 2 yellow onions quartered and sliced thin
- 2 sweet potatoes 1 if it's a large piece
- 2 orange bell peppers can be any color
- 3 golden beats
- 1 lbs cremini mushrooms
- 7 cloves garlic peel and slice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine to deglaze with mushroom
Spice mix
- 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1/2 tbsp crushed red peppers
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 tbsp maple syrup can use honey, brown sugar, or maple sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Aromatics
- 1 head garlic pealed and sliced thick
- 1 ginger root about 2" piece, cut in 1/2" pieces
- 2 sprigs oregano
- 5 sprigs thyme
Soup mix (in addition to oxtail bone broth)
- 4 cups water
- 30 oz diced tomatoes about 2 cans
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt
Addition right before eating
- 1/2 head cauliflower
- 1/4 cup green beans
Instructions
Make oxtail broth - Day 1
- Pat dry oxtail pieces on both sides and sprinkle a healthy dose of salt & pepper on both sides.
- Sauté aromatics - Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in an iron skillet or a heavy pan at a medium heat, and sauté garlic, ginger, and Fresno (or other) peppers until the garlic turns golden brown.
- Sear oxtails - Raise the heat to medium high and sear oxtails on all sides, for 3-5 minutes each, until they turn brown & crisp.
- Deglaze the pan - after removing the seared oxtails, let the pan cool for 5 minutes. Drain excess fat, return to the medium heat, and deglaze with red wine. Add to the broth.
- Make a bone broth - Transfer all the pieces in a large soup pot and add 6 cups of beef broth (can be chicken or water) and put on a medium high heat. Once it's close to reaching a boiling point, make sure you skim the scum and excess fat. Continue to cook oxtail for about 3-1/2 to 4 hours until the meats are almost falling off the bones.
- Separate meats/bone and broth - fish out oxtails from the soup and once it's cooled, break the meats into small pieces. Let the broth cool and store in a fridge for several hours or overnight.
- If there are more gelatins left on the bones, place them in a small pot, add water and cook for another hour or so. Set the broth aside in a fridge to add to the soup pot later.
Soak the beans - Day 1 or early Day 2
- Soak dry beans separately - about 6-8 hours for kidney and pinto beans, and about 4 hours for black beans, in the 4 cups each of water.
Parboil beans
- Kidney and pinto beans - cook separately in about 6 cups each of water with a pinch of salt for about 40-45 minutes until they are soft, but still firm.
- Black beans - cook in about 6 cups of water with a pinch of salt for about 30 minutes until they are soft, but still firm.
Skim the fat from the bone broth
- Once the surface fat is hardened, skim off the fat from the broth.
Sauté aromatics and vegetables
- Prepare aromatics - peel garlics and slice lengthwise. Slice ginger roots. Separate oregano and thyme leaves from the stems.
- Prepare root vegetables - cut onions, sweet potatoes, golden beets, orange bell peppers, and mushrooms in about 1/2" pieces.
- Mix all the spices, except for maple syrup.
- Sauté garlics and ginger - heat a large skillet in medium heat, and add olive oil. Once it's heated, add garlic and ginger spices. Once the garlics turn golden brown, fish both garlics and ginger out and transfer to a large soup pot.
- Sauté onions and root vegetables - In the same skillet, sauté onions until they are light brown. Transfer onions to the soup pot. Add sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers, and beets to the skillet, and after a few minutes, add in spice mix and oregano & thyme. If the skillet becomes too try, add a little bit of broth. Transfer them all to the soup pot.
- Sauté mushrooms and deglaze the pan - finally, add mushroom and red wine to the skillet and cook mushroom for a few minutes. Transfer mushroom and deglazed juices to the pot.
Cook vegetables and beans and add bone broth and oxtails
- Drain the beans.
- Add 4-6 cups of water to the soup pot. It should come up to about 1" above the surface of the vegetables. Place the pot over a medium high heat.
- Right before the pot starts boiling, skim the scum and add maple syrup, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Turn the heat down to medium low and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the oxtail bone broth and beans. Let them cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are somewhat soft.
- Add oxtail meat pieces and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the levels of salt and spices.
Let the soup stand for a few hours and finish it up
- Once the soup settled after a few hours, take the portion you will eat on the day in a smaller pot.
- Add cauliflower (or other cruciferous vegetables and/or green beans) to the pot and cook for a few minutes
- Serve in a large soup bowl and add your favorite topping (like crème fraiche) - now you are ready to eat.
- Freeze the rest in small batches.
Nutrition
Calories: 703kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 63gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 166mgSodium: 1306mgPotassium: 1613mgFiber: 12gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 6479IUVitamin C: 56mgCalcium: 178mgIron: 12mg
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