Oxtail poutine and butter-fried steak with golden garlic
Poutine is a Canadian dish of chips and creamy curd cheese covered in a meaty gravy. Here it's served alongside butter-fried steak for top-notch comfort food!
Ingredients
For the poutine
- 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú beef dripping
- 2kg/4lb 8oz short ribs, cut into 500g/1lb 2oz portions
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 celery stick, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 250ml/9fl oz red wine
- 2 litres/3½ pints beef stock
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2kg/4lb 8oz oxtail
- 250g/9oz floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, cut into 2cm/¾in-thick chips
- 500g/1lb 2oz beef dripping
- 75²µ/2½´Ç³ú curd cheese
For the steaks
- 2 x 550g/1lb 4oz bone-in steaks, such as T-bone or prime rib
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú beef dripping
- 250g/9oz unsalted butter
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- 2 heads garlic, peeled, cloves separated
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3
To make the oxtail gravy, heat the dripping in a large casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the ribs in batches and seal until brown all over. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook for 5–6 minutes. Add the red wine and simmer until the volume has reduced by half. Add the stock, return the ribs to the pan, cover and place in the oven for an hour.
Meanwhile, roast the oxtail in a frying pan and add it to the casserole pan and continue to cook for a further 3 hours. Remove from the oven and carefully flake the meat using a fork and stir. It should be a little lumpy.
Rinse the cut potatoes in plenty of cold water to remove the startch and place in a saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for 7 minutes. Drain in a colander and allow to dry.
Put the beef dripping in a deep-fat fryer or a large, deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat to 140C. (CAUTION: Hot fat can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Fry the chips for 4–5 minutes, ensuring they are submerged. Remove from the fryer and drain. Shake the chips to chuff the edges and allow to cool completely in the basket.
Meanwhile, season the steaks all over with salt and pepper. Heat the dripping in a large cast-iron frying pan over a high heat. Once it is foaming, add the steaks and cook for 5 minutes, or until crusty on the bottom. Turn the steaks and add half the butter, the thyme, rosemary and garlic. Cook over a high heat, basting the steaks with the foaming butter, garlic and herbs, for 5–7 minutes, or until medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a plate and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the herbs from the pan and keep frying the garlic until soft and golden, adding the remaining butter.
Reheat the deep-fat fryer or heavy-bottomed saucepan to 190C. (CAUTION: Hot fat can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Fry the chips again for 4–5 minutes, or until golden.
Strain 2 ladles of oxtail gravy into a pan places over a medium heat and simmer until thickened and heated through.
Cut the steaks off the bone and slice the meat across the grain. Serve with the fried garlic and the resting meat juices poured over. Toss the cooked chips with the cheese curds and place in a serving dish, pour over the gravy and serve with the steaks.
