Try this great recipe for Paleo Beef Oxtail Bourginon!

I spent the first two weeks of September back in Nashville on a visit to see my parents and my sister. One night me and my sister had a sleep over at her new house. She made me this awesome Paleo Beef Bourginon with Oxtails. She took a picture and I said she should write a blog post about it because it was so good! It is perfect for people who are wanting to get into new and different cuts of meat.

My little sister has recently started blogging at Me Gusta Mantequilla which means I love butter in Spanish. She is a Spanish teacher, world traveler, expert gardener and baker extraordinaire. She lost nearly 100 lbs after she got out of college and she recently got married to a great guy (see her husband make pizza here) who is also Paleo. She writes about her cooking creations from her little homestead in Nashville where she has a great kitchen, auqaponics and uses lasagna gardening methods. She also likes to write about education and homeschooling so stay tuned to great things going on over at Me Gusta Mantequilla and make sure to like her facebook page. I hope you enjoy this great fall dish!



Francophilia (an interest in all things French) on a Budget



If you are like me, you may be a budget real-foodie and trying to find ways to stretch your grass-fed meats. I have found that when it comes to rare cuts of meat, I like to get fancy. I feel like I’m a five-star chef whipping up the next big thing using the tongue for authentic lengua tacos, or creating the smoothest pate for a party. Plus, fancy is all in the name. Oxtail Bourguignon is really just a fancy name for slow cooked meat stew. It originates from the Burgundy region of France, hence the name. When I’m not in Spanish teacher mode, I am a Francophile. I have been ever since I spent a summer milking goats, getting attacked by fleas (from the goats), and between milkings hiking along the ridge top of the mountains outside of Vence, France. It was the best summer ever, even with the flea bites. Making food with French flair or French techniques, makes my heart happy.

Best Broth Ever

I created a gluten-free version of this dish, it is normally dredged in flour before browning. Make sure you do brown the oxtail until it is BROWN, not light tan and not black (you’ve gone too far), get in there and brown it. The second best part of this dish besides the comforting flavors, is the broth. If you refrigerate this dish and pull it out the next day, it will look like you made oxtail Jello, the broth gels so well. Full of minerals and nutrients, and gut healing goodness. If you’re wondering why I am so excited about bone broth, see this post from Underground Wellness, here.

I hope you enjoy, and let me know how it comes out!

Paleo Beef Oxtail Bourginon

Servings: 5-6

Ingredients:

8 slices fatty beef, lamb or other bacon, uncooked, chopped (find bacon here (I like this company)

Butter or ghee for browning the oxtail (find ghee here)

3 large fresh Italian parsley sprigs

3 large fresh thyme sprigs

2 large fresh bay leaves, bruised

1 tablespoon butter or ghee

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 to 4 1/4 pounds meaty beef oxtail pieces, trimmed of excess fat.

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup diced carrot plus 6 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks

4 large garlic cloves, peeled; 1 minced, 3 left whole

1 3/4 cups homemade beef broth (find a great recipe here)

1 1/2 cups red wine (Burgundy wine is traditional but any red wine will do)

1 lb baby bella mushrooms, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

12 small (1-inch-diameter) shallots, peeled – (you can also use large ones and cut in 1-inch chunks)

Directions:

Cook bacon in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Using a fork, transfer bacon to plate. Pour drippings into small bowl. Return 6 tablespoons drippings to pot (add ghee or butter, if necessary, to measure 6 tablespoons total; reserve bacon for another use). Tie parsley, thyme, and bay leaves together to make a herb bundle (otherwise known as a bouquet garni) *If you don’t have any string, which has happened to me a few times, just bundle up the spices and tuck into the stew. You will not be stirring this dish at all while cooking, so they should stay in place. Mix 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and nutmeg in small bowl. Season oxtails on both sides with the mixture. Heat bacon drippings in pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add oxtails and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer oxtails to bowl after each batch. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add chopped onions, diced carrot, and minced garlic to pot. Sauté until onions soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Return oxtails and any accumulated juices to pot. Add your herb bundle/garni, then broth and wine. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer until meat is almost tender, adjusting heat occasionally to maintain gentle simmer, about 3 hours. Mix in mushrooms, shallots, carrot chunks, and whole garlic cloves. Increase heat and return to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover pot and simmer gently until meat and vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes longer. Tilt pot and spoon off any fat that rises to surface. Simmer uncovered until sauce reduces slightly, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper Note: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over low heat before serving. This dish reheats beautifully! Serve with cauliflower mash or by itself in a bowl.

Hope you enjoy this dish!

– Ellen

Be sure to check out my sister’s blog Me Gusta Mantequilla and her facebook page.



