Mama Leone's Ox Tail Sauce

Recently I was once again having that classic conversation about the "weirdest" thing you've ever eaten or had the opportunity to eat. For the record I was once offered Horse Sashimi in Kyushu, the south island of Japan. It was the speciality of the town we were staying in at the time. I gratefully declined; however, only recently learned that most horse meat is eaten on the raw end of things, which made me rethink my decision, sort of. I did once eat cow's tongue, mmmmm.

Anyway, if you've never tried it, ox tail is one of my favourite meats. It's cooked and served on the bone, broken up into small pieces. Someone asked me if it was actually what it sounded like, the tail of the ox. I honestly did not know, and concluded that it was the tail-end of the ox...wrong. It's the tail. of. the. ox. The Jamaicans cook it really well, but I've only ever used it in a pasta sauce. So easy. Try it. I think it's the year of the ox, too.

Mama Leone's Ox Tail Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 oz salt pork, sliced thick
¼ lb onions, diced
2½ lbs ox tail
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp black pepper
pinch crushed red pepper
6 tbsp dry red wine
½ celery stalk, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 ripe tomatoes
2 cups beef broth


Combine oil, butter, salt pork and onions in large pot and cook to medium brown. Add oxtail and brown on all sides. Chop garlic and rosemary together and add to pot with bay leaf, salt, black and red pepper. Stir and cook 2 minutes. Add wine, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery, carrot, green pepper, tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add broth and cook slowly for 1½ hours. Remove salt pork, bones and fat from ox tail, and adjust seasoning. Serve with polenta (I never do this) or heavy pasta.

(One of the very few things my psychologist during high school ever told me was that she had gone to Mama Leone's restaurant in NYC as a child. Probably my favourite cook book. The restaurant closed, I think, before I was born.)

Also, can someone please get this song out of my head? Thanks.