Oh the memories are pouring in! I completely ADORE homemade beef oxtail and short rib soup. It is SUCH a soul-filled meal for me and during these cold months, I CRAVE it!!
My grandmother, Mau (that’s what we called her), ALWAYS had a pot of her oxtail soup cooking on the stove every Sunday. Back then, I didn’t understand why she started this soup at 10 am but now as I have perfected it over the years, if you plan on eating it the same day, you have to start it early……the broth needs to build for AT LEAST 5 hours and there is a great deal of time spent skimming the foam off the top to get that clear, yummy broth.
THE SMELL of that soup cooking all day is permanently LOCKED into my senses! It filled the air with all the root veggies and barley she added in. It didn’t hurt that she had a homemade loaf of bread baking at the same time…what a coincidence….oh the simple things!!!!
We went over every Sunday, about 5, and my grandpa was always lounging in his recliner chair, watching some silly TV show, I think probably Archie Bunker, but we RAN through the front door and straight to the kitchen and up to the stove where that old pot was stock full of this soup! Like a bunch of hungry cats, we pounced to the table and sat, acting so ravished as if we hadn’t eaten in 3 days….she complained how we were driving her a bit crazy but looking back, she couldn’t have gotten a better complement and she knew it, but she still had to fret.
I have a copy of her handwritten recipe but I think on purpose she left a few things off, mostly the “secret” of cooking the oxtails and short ribs for hours. There is just some scribbles about veggies and a few instructions but I treasure that recipe and have called on her to fill me with the cooking tricks only she knew. I think after several years, I got it, finally.
So here’s to you Mau, I think you would be proud. —Eatentions
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