Ingeredients
(Serves 4)
1 x large oxtail
1 x 150g piece of pancetta, cut ¼ inch thick
2 x carrots }
1 x onion }
½ head celery } Mirepoix
½ bunch thyme }
1 x bulb garlic }
1 x bottle red wine
1 x tablespoon tomato puree
2 x litres brown chicken stock
6 x shallots (confit in duck fat until soft)
about 450g duck fat [for shallots etc]
1 x egg yolk
1 x chicken breast
100g foie gras
200ml double cream
12 x baby beetroots (roast in apple juice and then peel when cooked)
12 x silverskin onions (confit in duck fat until soft)
½ celeriac
150g baby spinach
To prepre the oxtail
Take the oxtail onto a chopping board and cut it across the bone about five vertebrae down then carefully take the meat away from the bone from the thick end (like a chicken galantine) to achieve a square sheet of Oxtail with no holes then place the pancetta down the centre with the whole confit shallots on top and wrap the meat around. Tie tightly with plenty of string to hold in the filling.
To braise the oxtail
Take a heavy bottomed pan, add a drop of oil then add the chopped mirepoix caramelise until golden brown then add the tomato puree. Cook out for a further 5 minutes then deglaze with red wine. Reduce, then add the brown chicken stock. Season and pan fry the oxtail until golden brown, place in the braising liquor and cover with a cartouche then into the oven at 165°C for approximately 4 hours until oxtail is soft and fragile. Carefully take out the oxtail, place onto cling film and cut the string and remove. Wrap tightly in cling film to shape the oxtail into a tube slightly larger than the diameter of a toilet roll. Tie the ends of the cling film to retain the shape and place in the fridge overnight. Pass the braising liquor through muslin and reduce, skimming all the time until you reach a sauce consistency.
For the chicken and foie gras mousse, blend the chicken breast in a blender with 100g foie gras and one egg yolk, salt and pepper. Pass twice through a drum sieve then over ice beat in 250-250ml of double cream, season and set aside.
Take the oxtail from the fridge, remove the cling film and cut into four equal pieces. Take the chicken mousse and with a spoon, place on top of the oxtail in a dome shape. Cover with cling film and wrap tightly underneath.
To serve
Place the four pieces of oxtail in a pan of simmering water for five minutes and take out carefully. Take off the cling film and place in another clean pan and pour over half of the reduced braising liquor. Simmer on the side of the stove for a further 5 minutes basting constantly. Meanwhile, sauté the spinach, warm the beetroot in a little butter, pan fry the Silverskin onions and warm the celeriac puree. Place the spinach in a ring in a bowl and add a dot of celeriac puree at 12pm, 5pm and 7pm. Put the Silverskin on top and then 3 beetroot in between. Place the oxtail on top of the spinach, pass the sauce again and generously spoon the sauce over the oxtail. Serve immediately.