Wagyu Zabuton

Pickled Garlic Chives, Kale, Smoked Beef Fat, Truffle-Oxtail Reduction

Chef Justin Woodward of Castagna | Portland, OR
Yield: 10 to 12 servings

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Adapted by StarChefs | APril 2018

INGREDIENTS

Zabuton:
One 3-pound Lone Mountain Wagyu zabuton, cut into 100-gram portions
Smoked beef tallow

Smoked Beef Tallow:
Beef fat trimmings from fat cap

Truffle-Oxtail Reduction: (Yield: 100 servings) 
20 pounds oxtails
30 pounds veal bones
5 pounds onions, coarsely chopped
2 pounds carrots, coarsely chopped
1 pound celery, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped Périgord truffle
Sherry vinegar

Pickled Garlic Chives:
1 bunch garlic chives, cut into batons
100 grams red wine vinegar
30 grams sugar
10 grams salt

Thai Basil Emulsion: (Yield: 50 servings)
3 bunches Thai basil, picked
600 grams grapeseed oil
5 egg yolks
85 grams red wine vinegar
Salt

To Assemble and Serve:
Salt
Baby kale and brassicas
Lime juice
Black pepper

METHOD

For the Zabuton:
Heat the water bath of an immersion circulator to 56°C. To a vacuum bag, add one 100-gram portion Zabuton and 5 grams tallow. Seal bag and cook sous vide 25 minutes. Remove from bath and cool.

For the Smoked Beef Tallow:
Using tin foil, make a divider for a Dutch oven and insert, dividing it in half widthwise. Place fat in one half of the Dutch oven. In a cast iron pan over high heat, place cherry wood chips. When the chips start smoking (a lot), pour them into the other half of the Dutch oven. Cover with lid and smoke fat 25 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Transfer fat to a vacuum bag, seal, and cook sous vide in simmering water for 2 hours. Strain through a chinois.

For the Truffle-Oxtail Reduction:
In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, thoroughly brown oxtails and veal bones. Remove bones from pot and set aside; pour off excess fat. Add onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and sauté until golden. Return bones to the pot, fill with cold water, and bring to a boil. Decrease heat and simmer 12 hours, skimming off impurities. Strain through a chinois into a clean pot. On medium-high heat, bring to boil and reduce to napé. Add chopped truffle, season with Sherry vinegar, and stir in some finely chopped Smoked beef tallow.

For the Pickled Garlic Chives:
Place garlic chives into a nonreactive container. In saucepot on medium-high heat, combine 100 grams water with vinegar, sugar, and salt; bring to a boil. Pour brine over garlic chives and cool at room temperature.

For the Thai Basil Emulsion:
To a Vitamix blender, add basil, oil, and yolks; blend until hot. Pass through a chinois and cool in an ice bath. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Season with vinegar and salt. Transfer to a squeeze bottle.

To Assemble and Serve:
Heat a plancha on high. Season the Zabuton with salt and sear on the plancha. Add Pickled Garlic Chives to the plancha and sear. Spoon Smoked Tallow onto plancha and lightly wilt kale and brassicas. Place the brassicas in a bowl and season with Truffle-Oxtail Reduction, salt, and lime juice. Trim Zabuton into 2 neat pieces and plate, drizzling Truffle-Oxtail Reduction on top. Season with pepper. Pipe a dot of Thai Basil Emulsion onto the plate and garnish with kale and brassicas.  

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