Oxtail Stew a la Jardiniere
Braised oxtail and root vegetables, dehydrated at home and brought back with a pot of hot water.
- calories
- 610
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 122
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 500 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Car camping
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Oxtail | 1 lb bone-in | yields about 5 oz of meat once braised and stripped |
|---|---|---|
| Canned tomatoes | 1 cup | crushed, used in the home braise |
| Brandy or cognac | 2 tbsp | or a fortified wine; cooks off entirely at home |
| Onion, carrot, celery root | 2 cups diced total | |
| Peas and green beans | 1/2 cup | freeze-dried, added dry to the trail bag |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 3 tbsp | thickener at camp |
| Bay leaf, thyme, black pepper, salt | to taste | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle, added at camp |
Method
- Pour 500 ml of boiling water over the bag contents in your pot. Stir once.
- Cover and let it sit off the heat for eight minutes. The vegetables need longer than the meat.
- Return to a low flame for two minutes, stirring, until it loosens into a stew.
- Sprinkle in the potato flakes to thicken, then pour the oil over the top and stir.
Oxtail is a long braise at home, not on the trail, so the work is front-loaded. Simmer the oxtail with the tomatoes, brandy, and aromatics for three hours, strip the meat off the bone, shred it fine, and spread it on trays with the sauce and vegetables. Dry the meat hard — any fat left in it will go rancid in a week. Skim the braise cold before drying and the packed weight drops noticeably.
Collagen is why this rehydrates better than most dried beef. It sets to gel when the braise cools and dissolves back into body when hot water hits it, which is what makes a stew instead of wet shreds. The potato flakes cover the rest. The alcohol was in the original braise and burns off at home, so nothing is carried.
Packing
Everything dried goes in one quart freezer bag with the freeze-dried peas and beans. Potato flakes ride in a separate small bag so you control the thickness. Oil in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- Skip the potato flakes and eat it thin over instant couscous if you want more carbohydrate.
- Beef shank dehydrates the same way and costs less, though the broth is thinner without the oxtail collagen.
- A spoonful of tomato powder stirred in at camp deepens the color if your braise dried out pale.
https://savoriurbane.com/tocanita-din-coada-de-vita-oxtail-stew