Like I promised in my last video today we’re going to use the braised oxtail I had left from my oxtail glaze. We’re going to make a carrot beignet that’s filled with the braised oxtail, a salted mandarin peel gel and we’re serving it with some delicious Australian black winter truffle.
The salted mandarins
12 | mandarins |
​ | Coarse salt |
Start by cutting th mandarins in four, but keep the mandarins attached at the base, so do not cut all the way through. Now fill the gaps with a generous amount of coarse salt and then transfer them into a preserving jar. Give them a good push to ensure every gap is filled. Then close the lid with the sealing ring and keep it in your fridge for at least 2 months. Every week you need to give the jar a little shake to ensure everything stayed covered with the salt. Now it’s been three months and the mandarins have such a powerful and delicious smell. You can keep them for months in your fridge. Then take a couple of the mandarins out of the jar and remove the inside. Now use a sharp knife to shave any white membranes off. These are bitter. Keep the inside of the mandarin for later. It’s very salty, but it’s a great way to season other recipes. The peel you can cut into a very fine brunoise and then keep it in your fridge for later.
The oxtail
3 liters | water |
120 grams | nitrite salt |
2 kg | oxtail |
3 | shallots |
5 cloves | garlic |
4 | bay leaves |
​ | Beef stock |
​ | Ponzu vinegar |
First we need to brine the oxtail. Mix the water with the nitrite salt and mix it well to dissolve the salt. Then add the oxtail and make sure everything is submerged. Now let this brine for 24 hours in your fridge. After that drain the liquid and let the oxtail sit for at least 30 minutes to remove as much water as possible. Then add a drizzle of oil to a hot pan and pan fry the oxtail till golden brown on all sides. This is going to take some time, but the flavor is so good! Now take them out of the pan and continue pan frying the remaining oxtail. Meanwhile take the shallots, cut them in half, clean them and chop them. Then remove the last oxtail from the pan and pan fry the shallots. Also add the cloves of garlic that are cut in half. Once they start to color deglaze the pan with some beef stock and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Then pour it into a big pot, add the oxtail and submerge it completely with beef stock. Finally add the bay leaves and then bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling cover the top with a piece of parchment paper or a lid and transfer the pot into an oven. Cook it at 85 degrees Celsius for at least 14 hours. The next day you can remove the parchment paper and gently take the oxtail out of the broth. Let them cool down for 5 minutes and the remove the meat from the bones and fat. Set the meat aside for later. After that pass the liquid through a fine sieve and reduce the broth till it has reached the desired flavor. While reducing use a ladle to remove any fat that’s floating on top. When that’s done pass a through a super fine sieve once more. Now the flavor is spot on! It’s so rich and powerful. If it’s too powerful you can add a little drizzle of ponzu. This will balance the heaviness of the broth and give it a fresh kick. We’re going to use it to season the oxtail and to make the beignet batter. First add the mandarin brunoise or plain mandarin peel and a drizzle of the delicious broth. Now mix this well and give it a taste for seasoning. Then portion it into small balls and keep it into your fridge for later.
The mandarin peel gel
​ | Mandarins for 80 grams of peel |
Mandarins for 220 grams of juice | |
6 grams | salted mandarin pulp or 4 grams of salt |
50 grams | ginger syrup |
4 grams | agar powder |
First peel enough mandarins for 80 grams of peel. A mandarin can be quite hard to peel, so just put your peeler on top and zigzag the peeler for a super thin peel without any of the bitter white membranes. Then bring some water to a boil and blanch the peels for 15 seconds. After that drain the water and submerge the peels completely with new water. Now boil the water again for 15 seconds and then repeat this process once more. Meanwhile cut the peeled mandarins in half and juice them for 220 grams of juice. Then add the blanched peels, the salted mandarin pulp or the salt, the ginger syrup and the agar powder. Now blend this till smooth. Then pour it into a saucepan and bring this to a boil for one minute. Stir it every now and then to prevent it from burning. Then pour it into a bowl and let it cool down completely in your fridge. Once set transfer it into a blender and blend it into a smooth gel. Then transfer it into a piping bottle and keep it in your fridge for later.
The beignet batter
2 big | carrots (150 grams of cooked carrots) |
180 grams | oxtail broth |
2 | eggs |
4 grams | salt |
240 grams | flour |
30 grams | corn starch |
First peel two big carrots and trim the sides. Then transfer them on some aluminum foil and drizzle some oil on top. Now wrap them every tightly with the foil and cook them in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. After that remove the foil and let them cool down for 5 minutes. Then cut them in smaller pieces and transfer 150 grams into a measuring jar. Also add the oxtail broth, the eggs and the salt. Now blend this till completely smooth. Then mix the flour with the corn starch and while stirring also add the smooth mixture. Once it’s completely smooth directly stop mixing to prevent too much gluten from forming. Then transfer it into a syphon and charge it with two charges. Shake it well after each charge. Now let it set overnight in your fridge.
How to finish the beignets
First heat up a small ladle in frying oil that’s 180 degrees Celsius. Now remove any access oil and fill the ladle halfway with the batter. Then press the oxtail in the batter and cover it with the batter. Now submerge the ladle in the oil and deep fry them till golden brown on all sides. They are best served straight away, but you can also pre make them and heat them up in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 3 minutes. Just look at that, so so good. Now place a beignet in the middle of a plate and drizzle some of the mandarin peel gel on top. And then we finish it of with some thin slices of Australian winter truffle. You can also use summer truffle. It’s not going to be the same, but the price is much lower