Spanish Oxtail and Croquettes for Hispanic Heritage Month

This post has been sponsored by Rumba® Meats, however, all opinions listed here are my own.

Being a Honduran who is married to a Spaniard and is raising a child in Tijuana, Mexico, I can testify that the many colorful quirks found across the Hispanic community are a joy to discover and marvel at.  For this reason, Hispanic Heritage month is one of my favorite times of the year, as during these weeks we celebrate the beautiful culture of the Latino community, observing our communal identity while at the same time shedding light on our diverse idiosyncrasies and traditions across nations.   

This deep cultural richness and variety is something we want to pass onto our daughter with the experiences and knowledge we soak up as a family. 

Apart from traveling and language (the poor girl is not even two yet and is already having to discern between Mexican, Honduran, and Castilian Spanish!), we find a fantastic gateway to explore the Hispanic culture is through food.  

Today, in collaboration with the fantastic folks at Rumba® Meats, I bring you not one, but two recipes from la madre patria: rabo de toro a la cordobesa (Córdoba-style oxtail) and oxtail croquettes.  You’ll find the former to be a delectable gourmet dish for a fancy meal while the latter is a great recipe to cook with your children.  

I love Rumba® Meats because they are a reliable brand should you wish to explore traditional Hispanic dishes involving meat.   Menudo, bone marrow, liver, tongue, feet… All of these make delicious primary ingredients, but are hard to find in conventional supermarkets.  Not to worry, Rumba® Meats has you covered with whatever meat your heart desires! (Which reminds me, they carry beef heart too!)

These glorious cuts are premium quality, hand-picked, and vacuum-sealed for maximum freshness.  My oxtail medallions arrived in a tight and colorful little package, ready to be rendered into a delicious concoction. If you’d like to purchase Rumba® Meats products can search for the closest stores that carry them in your area using their store locator tool. 

Rumba® Meats doesn’t just provide the quality and trustiness of your abuelita’s butcher, no.  The brand is committed to the Hispanic community wholeheartedly, especially this Hispanic Heritage Month because they are helping fund scholarships for high school students. Last year they supported the future of 25 students! Check out the following video with testimonies from some of the recipients:

You can also support the cause, all with the purchase of Rumba® Meats products during Hispanic Heritage Month!

They are doing this in partnership with USHLI, a great organization whose mission is  “to fulfill the promises and principles of democracy by promoting education and leadership development, empowering Latinos and similarly disenfranchised groups through civic engagement and research, and by maximizing participation in the electoral process.” You can find more information about their scholarship program here and apply here. 

Rabo de toro a la cordobesa (Oxtail) 

This recipe is said to have originated among the poorer quarters of the Andalusian population during the 19th century.  The stories say humble people lined up outside of the bullfighting arenas for any “throwaway” meats that they could take after the corridas.  Enter the boney, fatty, cartilage-filled rabo de toro.  If nothing else, it could amount to a decent soup, they must have thought back then.  But the people of Córdoba took this unpopular meat cut and, with dedication and love, turned the rabo de toro into a flavorful, mellow, fall-off-the-bone delicacy.  Here’s how you can make it at home!

Oxtail Croquettes

There is a concept in Spanish I simply love: recetas de aprovechamiento.  Strangely, there is no literal verb in English that means the same as “aprovechar”.  It means to make the most of, to take advantage of that which could be deemed useless.  So when you make turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving, you’re making a receta de aprovechamiento.  Oxtail croquettes are perhaps the quintessential receta de aprovechamiento in Spain, because their confection must entail the previous making of a rather sophisticated oxtail recipe.  The result is a scrumptious, homey Spanish comfort food. Being a mom, the thing I love about croquetas is how easily you can get children involved in their making, by setting up a sort of Fordian assembly line in which they can roll, flour, and bread the delicious croquetas for mom to fry.  My curious toddler daughter loves experiencing different textures and smells, making shapes and getting involved in a routinary process in which she can clearly see her contributions. That is why croquetas are not only beloved by children for their taste, but also for the fun cooking process behind them. 

You can watch the step-by-step video for both recipes on my YouTube channel and check the ingredients and instructions below!

Córdoba-style Oxtail

Prep time: 15 min.   Cook time: 1-2 H.  Total: 2:15 H.

INGREDIENTS (makes 4-6 servings)

• 3 lbs oxtail
• 2 tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 cup cooking red wine
• 1 leek (chopped)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 whole cloves 
• 2 carrots (chopped) 
• 1 cup of water
• 2 cups beef stock 
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped 
• 2 Tbsps all-purpose flour
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

STEPS:

1. Put flour in a large resealable bag, add oxtail pieces and toss gently until the meat is lightly
2. coated in flour.
3. In the pressure cooker, sautée oxtail pieces in olive oil on all sides till lightly golden.
4. Remove and set aside. Now add tomatoes, carrots, leek, garlic, and pepper and sautée until soft.
5. Add the oxtail back, add salt and pepper to taste, and pour in liquid ingredients (wine, water, and stock). Bring to a boil, add cloves and bay leaves and close the lid on the pressure cooker. Also, use a thermometer to check the internal temperature, cook to 160°F.
6. Allow the pressure cooker to reach maximum pressure and turn the heat down to low. Allow cooking for an additional hour.
7. Once the pressure has been released, safely open the cooker. To know if the meat is done, drive a toothpick through it; if the meat gives way with no resistance, your oxtail is fully cooked. If it still is a little hard, you need to cook for longer.
8. Remove oxtail and bay leaves from the cooker. Put all the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend to form a delicious gravy.
9. Serve oxtail with gravy and carbohydrate of your choice (preferably rice or roasted potatoes). Enjoy!

Oxtail Croquettes

Prep time: 20 min.   Cook time: 10 min.  Total: 30 min.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 30-40 croquettes)

• 1 lb oxtail leftovers
• 80g unsalted butter
• half an onion, chopped
• 120g all-purpose flour
• 250g whole milk
• 250g evaporated milk
• 500g oxtail gravy

For coating: 

• 5 eggs
• about 1-2 cups of flour
• 1-2 cups of breadcrumbs

STEPS:

1. On a pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add chopped onion. Sautée it until it softens and changes color.
2. Fold in the 120g of flour, and cook, mixing, for about five minutes until it changes color. Add the whole milk and evaporated milk and stir continuously.
3. When the mix starts to thicken and become a homogenous bechamel, fold in the oxtail gravy (saved from the previous recipe). Keep stirring until the mix is of a creamy density and uniform in color.
4. Fold in the chopped oxtail leftovers and mix them evenly into the mix.
5. Transfer mix into a container and allow it to cool. Once it reaches room temperature, cover the surface tightly in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 12 hours.
6. Apply oil to your hands and, with the help of a spoon, scoop out the resulting dough and roll into balls no bigger than a small egg.
7. Lightly flour the balls before coating them in egg and bread crumbs.
8. Fry the croquettes in olive oil, rolling them around until they’re evenly golden and crunchy on the outside. Remove excess oil on paper towels.