Rabo Encendido…TAIL ON FIRE!!

I always feel like when I translate the name of this dish that all of a sudden I turn Jamaican “Mo fiah, Mo fiah.” OK so maybe not a lot of you understand that comment right now and I tried my hardest to find a YouTube clip or something that had that sound bite but alas, it didn’t work out. Just trust me. On a side note: in search for this sound bite I asked my BFF (for those of you ignorant to the hip abbreviations of kids nowadays, that means best friend FOREVER) if she could remember where the hell we used to hear that phrase all the time and she suggested looking into Beenie Man. So I searched YouTube for Beenie Man and was reminded of the oh so popular song of his, “Who Am I?” Good times!

Anyways…so Rabo Encendido, which could also be interpreted in a very inappropriate way because anyone who is familiar with the Cuban culture knows how foul-mouthed we are. The dirty part of the name is the “Rabo” because for us nasty minded Cubans that also refers to the male genetalia…I say it like that to make it sound clinical and not dirty which adds credibility to this whole blog. I should also add that I did try to find the history about why this dish is called Tail on Fire but AGAIN I was failed by my internet searching skills. Pretty much Wikipedia didn’t have the answer…what the hell?! And the only mention they had of “Rabo Encendido” was in the Puerto Rican cuisine section. So to Wikipedia I say, F.U.!

So much digression (I’m going to go ahead and believe that is the legit way to use that word) in this blog.

Rabo Encendido is oxtail stew. I will agree with every other blog that has already made this statement that calling it “Tail on Fire” misrepresents the dish because while, yes, it is oxtail, it’s not spicy nor is it served ablaze à la bananas foster (mmm….bananas foster ) which is what I assume one would think when a dish is on fire. This dish is a lot like many Cuban dishes in that it has a tomato based sauce and, like most Cuban dishes, it is oh so delicious.

I decided to make this for my boyfriend’s parents. As any good Hispanic woman will tell you, the secret to courting a man or his parents is to cook for them. In my case, my boyfriend is Caucasian and having had a few rounds in the relationship rink with the “Whities” (really, it’s a term of endearment plus my BFF is half white so it’s OK) I know the best way to impress a man and/or their parents is to cook an ethnic dish because 1. even if you mess up the dish, they don’t know any better and 2. they end up feeling all hip and accepting of other cultures which makes them feel good about themselves like they’re being culturally competent or some shit.

By now, you should know that my next step was to call my mother. I wish she had some funny shit to say when I called her but she really didn’t. I called her up and asked her to remind me how to make this dish (I have made it only ONE time before and it didn’t turn out all that great, I mean the BF [this particular abbreviation is for “boyfriend”] thought it was good but as I mentioned he’s Caucasian and doesn’t know any better, bless his heart). So she gives me the quick and dirty of it. Pressure cook the oxtail only 5-10 minutes from the moment the pressure cooker makes that notable ch-ch-ch sound. Let it cool enough to handle and clean the fat off the oxtail. Then in a pot with some of the water from the pressure cooker add the sofrito, can of tomato sauce, red wine, sazon completa, garlic, black pepper, white wine (only a little bit and only if you want), and salt to taste. I should mention that oxtail is not disgusting as one of my friends commented when I told him I made oxtail stew. It’s freaking delicious, though the downside, it’s fatty, and so the cleaning part of this recipe is 1. tedious but also very necessary.

So I make the rabo and serve it all up with black beans and rice and my very favorite tomato and avocado salad. Have I mentioned how you make the avocado and tomato salad? In case I haven’t (or if I have, enjoy the refresher) this is the simplest and tastiest little side dish. Just cube an avocado (a ripe one…though not so ripe that it’s mashed easily) and tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with a little salt (to your liking) and voilà! Tasty!

So we’re sitting at the table eating the rabo (tee hee!) and it’s tough. My meat is tough (LOL!). The boo and his parents are eating it up and loving it but I know it’s not right. So I call my mom the next day to discuss the results of what feels like a failed dish. I explain to her that the flavor was spot on but the meat wasn’t tender. We go over the steps and as I’m talking about having only boiled the meat for 5-10 minutes after the ch-ch-ch sound then cleaning and seasoning it she stops me. “Wait, but did you put the meat BACK to boil?” …..”Um….no. You didn’t tell me to!” Yeah my mom skipped a whole step. So when you read above how to make Rabo Encendido just know that AFTER you clean the meat, it goes BACK into the pressure cooker to cook for roughly 30 more minutes (drain off most the water from the first boil and replace with fresh water and know that the timing starts from the moment it makes the ch-ch-ch sound). This will tenderize the meat to the point where it falls off the bone which makes for DELICIOUS rabo and much easier eating.

For the parent’s dinner, I had bought two packages of oxtail and realized it was too much meat (giggle). So I ended up making this dish a second time for my roommate and was sure to boil the tail for a second time. I will say, the dish came out BANGIN’! Unfortunately, I have no pictures as proof. Thankfully, I like Rabo (hahdk;dksa!!) so I’m sure I’ll be making this one again!