You Can Make This Viral Oxtail Grilled Cheese at Home With Your Small Kitchen Appliances
This social media-approved recipe from Fat Fowl New York pairs the beloved comfort food with the comfort of cooking in your home kitchen
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Saturday evening strolls through our neighborhood supermarkets were an event growing up. Each week, my mother would pack my sister and me in the car, hand us the coupon organizer for safekeeping on our drive, and off we would go to Pathmark, SuperFresh, and ShopRite—always in that order.
Because my mother lives for a good discount, she prepped her lists days in advance, cross-referencing circulars with clipped coupons. When we reached the brightly lit aisles, we knew—if it’s not on sale, it’s not going in the cart. We dared not ask.
At home, individuals can braise the oxtail using a multi-cooker like a crockpot, cooking it for approximately three hours to get the meat tender.
If you’re looking for a way to up your grilled cheese game, now’s the perfect time to learn Benjamin’s much-acclaimed recipe. June is Caribbean American Heritage Month—an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of West Indians, like Benjamin, who began his culinary journey turning out flavorful foods in his grandmother’s kitchen.
A native of Saint Lucia, Benjamin adapted his world-famous recipe for Consumer Reports and offered ways to achieve the same great taste with small kitchen appliances. “At home, individuals can braise the oxtail using a multi-cooker like a crockpot, cooking it for approximately three hours (one hour per pound) to get the meat tender,” Shorne says.
Once your oxtail is ready to go, use a toaster oven to toast the bread and then build the sandwich, layering the toast, oxtail and then cheese in the countertop oven to melt. Shorne says to finish it off by broiling it for 1 to 2 minutes, then top it off with the other toasted piece of bread.
You’ll have to go to Brooklyn to get your hands on Shorne’s delectable dish, but this slight variation of the recipe gets you pretty close. Shorne makes his with homemade tomato jam, which he considers his secret sauce, but you can find the condiment at the supermarket.
Fat Fowl's Oxtail Grilled Cheese
For the Braised Oxtails
3 pounds oxtails, cut into 4-inch lengthwise pieces
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, plus more for cooking
1 tablespoon Gravy Master (or 1 tablespoon brown sugar, for caramelizing)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
4 whole peeled cloves of garlic
2 sprigs thyme
2 cups chicken or beef stock
3 cups red wine
1 stick (½ cup) butter, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Herb Sachet (Wrapped in Cheesecloth)
1 sprig of parsley
1 slice fresh ginger
4 allspice berries
1 bay leaf
1 whole Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper
For the Grilled Cheese
Sourdough bread slices
Gouda cheese, sliced
Directions:
- Start by patting each oxtail dry with paper towels. Sprinkle all over liberally with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on medium to medium-high heat in a 6-quart Dutch oven.
- Working in batches and not crowding the pot, sear the oxtail on all sides until golden brown. Use tongs to transfer them onto a plate and set aside.
- Add the chopped onion, carrot, garlic, and celery to the same pot. Cook for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste and gravy master. Once thickened, lower the heat and add the oxtails back into the pot, along with 2 cups of the red wine to deglaze the mixture. Once the wine has largely evaporated, add the stock and the cheesecloth with the herb mixture to the pot and simmer for 3 hours, until the oxtail is fork tender.
- Once cooked, remove the oxtail from the braising liquid. Allow the meat to cool down a bit, then pull the meat off the bone and set aside for later. Strain the braising liquid into a bowl. Cool the hot liquid in a prepared ice bath (a large container with water and ice) by floating the bowl in the ice bath—this process will cool the liquid quickly and bring the oxtail fat solids to the top for skimming, resulting in a clarified jus or sauce. Skim the fat off the top of the cooled liquid and discard.
- In a pot, combine the oxtail meat and one cup of red wine. Once the wine reduces, add the oxtail braising liquid. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, add in the diced butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Apply oil liberally to both sides of 2 pieces of sourdough bread. Place bread in a preheated sauté pan and toast both sides. Add tomato jam to one piece of toast.
- On the side with the tomato jam, pile on enough oxtail meat to cover the toast, then top with sliced Gouda cheese and the other piece of toast. Cover the pot with a lid until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
Top-Performing Kitchen Tools That Will Help You Nail This Recipe
