Recipe: Oxtail & Farro Soup Batch

1. In a large sauce pot, add the oil blend over medium heat and sweat down the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the roasted red peppers and the shredded and chopped oxtail meat and continue to stir over medium heat until combined.

3. Deglaze the pot with the cooking wine and reduce by half.

4. Stir in the tomato paste until dissolved.

5. Add the oxtail stock, diced tomatoes and the cooked farro and bring to a boil.

6. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

7. Tighten up the soup with a cornstarch slurry as needed.

For the Oxtail Braise and Stock

• 30 lb.            Halperns’® Beef Oxtail
• to taste         Kosher Salt
• to taste        Trade East Ground Black Pepper
• 3 lb.            Shallots, minced
• 2 lb.            Fresh Jumbo Carrots, diced 
• 2 lb.            Markon Jumbo Celery, diced 
• 2 oz.          Markon Thyme 
• 9 oz.         Markon Ready-Set-Serve Fresh Peeled Garlic
• 10 oz.       Sherry Cooking Wine
• 8 oz.         Gordon Choice Tomato Paste 
• 6 gal.        Water, hot

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat the convection oven to 450°F.

2. Sort the oxtails by size, keeping the larger ones separate from the smaller pieces. Place on full size sheet trays and season with salt and pepper.

3. Roast oxtails for 40 minutes, flipping them after 20 minutes.

4. Save the fat from the sheet trays to cook the mirepoix. Deglaze the fond off the sheet trays with the sherry and a wooden spoon, add to the stock pots.

5. Add the oxtails to two separate pots on the stove, one for larger tails and one for the small ones.

6. Fill two stock pots with 3 gallons each of cold water and place on low/medium heat.

7. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the same sheet trays with the residual fat from roasting the oxtails, season with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes at 400°F.

8. Stir in the tomato paste with the mirepoix and add the whole garlic and thyme sprigs. Roast further for an additional 5 minutes.

9. Disperse the mirepoix evenly between the two stock pots.

10. Allow the oxtails to gently simmer (not boil) for about 5 hours, checking the tenderness of the oxtails. You don’t want them falling off the bone. The pot with the smaller bones will be done first.

11. Once tender, remove the oxtails gently with a pair of tongs and place on sheet trays lined with parchment. Allow to cool under refrigeration.

12. Strain the oxtail stock through chinois and reserve for further recipes. 

For the Basic Farro

• 2 gal.      Water
• 2 lb.        Farro

Preparation Instructions

1.  Bring the water to a boil. Add the farro and simmer up to 25 minutes or to desired doneness.

2. Place in a fine mesh strainer. Allow to drain. Rinse under cold water until cool. Place in full 2″ stainless steel hotel pans. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To prepare à la carte:

1.Reheat desired portion size in a heated nonstick sauté pan with a small amount of broth, water or oil. Cook until just warmed through.