Rabo de toro (bull´s tail stew)

Let´s keep up with the traditional Spanish meals!

Today, rabo de toro, bull´s tail stew. I don´t know if the fame of the dish is because it is made of bull or because of the main ingredient is not so appealing or common. It takes quite many hours, you can speed it up using pressure cooker.

Traditionally, this dish is made with the Lidia bull´s tail. Of course this is a rare and desired product, so really expensive, otherwise bull or cow tail is used.

It is important to choose good pieces, you have to find pieces with lots of meat and big bone marrow, which will good flavor to the stew. Unfortunately the ones I used were a bit average.    

Ingredients

• 1 large leek
• 1 carrot
• half red pepper
• 1 tomato
• couple garlic nails
• 600g bull tail
• laurel
• 25 cl red wine
• 10cl Porto wine
• 35 cl broth vegetable or meat
• Optional: 2 potatoes and parsley

Preparation 

Serving for 2.

Add salt and pepper to the tail and then cover it with flour. In a hot pan, cover the bottom with olive oil and place the tail as to fry it. You have to fry all the sides so all the outer meat is browned.

After the tail is ready, in a casserole add a bit of the frying oil, trying that the burned flour doesn´t go there. Chop all the vegetables and fry them for 5-10 minutes, then add the bull´s tail and add the wines, the broth and the laurel, mix it till all the alcohol has evaporated. Then close the lid and let cook for 2,5 or 3h.

Every once in a while, open to stir a bit. The cooking time is approximate, the meat is ready when feels that the meat is falling from the bone.

Once is ready take away the bulls tail and the laurel leaf. Blend the sauce and put it through the strainer, if the sauce is too liquid boil it a bit more, but I recommend what I did.

When you take the bull´s tail out of the casserole, peel and cut couple of potatoes and place them to boil with the sauce before blending it. The potatoes will release the starch, helping making the sauce thicker, plus you have an amazing flavored potatoes to go with the stew.

Hope you like it

Mr South