Twister did more than make me briefly go through a phase of wanting to be a storm chaser - it showed me that with a durable enough pickup truck, you could easily drive directly through a four-bedroom house. It also made my stomach growl when Aunt Meg busted out the country cooking in her bohemian Oklahoman homestead: ribeyes with fried sunny-side-up eggs, mountains of fluffy mashed potatoes, and a rightfully famous gravy. And homemade lemonade, shit, I forgot the lemonade.
Ingredients
Stock Ingredients:
3lbs oxtail
1 Spanish onion, roughly chopped
Kosher salt
3-4 Tbsp tomato paste
Celery, roughly chopped
Carrots, roughly chopped
Vegetable oil
Handful garlic cloves, cut in half
Mashed Potatoes Ingredients:
3lbs russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
Water
Kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup butter
Ribeye & Eggs Ingredients:
Ribeye steak
2 large eggs
Method
Gravy Method:
Into a large bowl, add 3lbs oxtail, 1 roughly chopped large Spanish onion, a few ribs of celery, and few roughly chopped carrots.
To the bowl, add a dash of kosher salt, 3-4 tablespoons tomato paste, and a drop of vegetable oil. Toss everything together until everything is well coated in the tomato paste.
Dump onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast in a 400°F oven for 30-60 minutes.
Using a pressure cooker, add in the roasted vegetables and oxtail along with fresh parsley and thyme and a handful of fresh garlic cloves cut in half.
Pour boiling water over the rimmed baking sheet and scrape everything off the pan before dumping into the pressure cooker. Top the rest off with water.
Cook under high pressure for 2 hours.
Strain into a large stockpot and defat using a ladle or fridge overnight and scrape it off the next day.
Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and reduce by 50%.
Refrigerate. When settled and removed from the refrigerator it should be gelatin-like.
In a medium pot, render out the fat of a few slices of beef suet over medium-low heat.
Once melted, strain out into the intended gravy vessel and heat the fat over medium heat while the stock is melted in a separate pot.
Once the fat is shimmering, add in 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and whisking, and cook for 3 minutes.
Slowly ladle in the stock while whisking constantly. Make sure it’s fully incorporated before adding another ladle full.
After 4 cups have been added, add in the rest of the stock and cook for 10 minutes until thick. Season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a splash of gravy master to darken the color. Whisk together.
Mashed Potato Method:
Start by peeling and cutting into 1” cubes of 3 pounds of russet potatoes and placing them into cold water to rinse.
Place into cold, heavily salted water that is brought up to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until complete tinder.
Drain and place over low heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
On a separate burner, gently melt ½ cup of heavy cream and ¼ cup of butter.
Once melted pour into the potatoes, kill the heat, and mash together. Top with kosher salt to prevent gooiness.
Once smooth, taste for seasoning. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
Ribeye & Eggs Method:
Place a ribeye steak in a cast-iron skillet and blast with heat until a crust has developed on both sides.
Once the crust has formed, lower the heat to cook the steak through.
On the other side of the skillet, add in 2 eggs.
Before the eggs finish cooking, remove the ribeye to allow it to rest before serving.
Let eggs cook until sunny side up doneness is reached and serve.