Coda alla Vaccinara is done by texture, not by optimism. The oxtail should release cleanly from the bone, and the tomato-celery sauce should turn glossy from the collagen in the braise.
Roman cooks keep more than one finish for this dish. We use the savory celery and tomato version as the main path, then explain the cocoa, raisin, and pine-nut branch separately so the tradition is clear without pretending there is only one formula.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Pat the oxtail dry and season it with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Brown the oxtail in batches, 8 to 10 minutes total per batch. Move the browned pieces to a plate.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, and parsley and cook for 6 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot.
Return the oxtail to the pot. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by about half.
Add the crushed tomatoes and enough water to come halfway up the oxtail. Cover loosely and simmer gently for 2 1/2 hours.
Add the celery and continue simmering 60 to 90 minutes, until the meat pulls from the bone with a fork and the sauce looks glossy.
If the sauce is thin, uncover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. If it is tight before the meat is tender, add hot water by the ladleful.
For make-ahead cooking, chill the stew overnight and lift off the firm fat before reheating slowly.
For the richer Roman branch, simmer pine nuts, raisins, and cocoa in a small ladle of sauce for 3 minutes, then stir it into part or all of the finished stew.
Serve hot with plenty of celery-rich sauce. Save extra sauce for pasta the next day.
You made Coda alla Vaccinara. Time to eat.
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Do not rush the last hour. Oxtail changes from chewy to spoon-tender only after enough collagen has melted into the sauce.
Six Italian regions. Nothing reformulated. Imported direct.
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