Oxtail Ragout

Directions

1. 1
   ["Have the butcher disjoint the oxtails - that is, cut them through at the joints, not hack them into pieces. [Just love this instruction ! Today precut oxtails are available in most large supermarkets.]", "Preheat oven to 450. Let oxtails come to room temperature, then season each one well with salt [I use Kosher salt] and freshly ground black pepper. Dredge each oxtail thoroughly in flour and pat off any excess. Being careful not to crowd them, place oxtails in a flat baking dish [I use a roaster with handles]. Roast at 450 for 30 minutes. [Beard says to shake the pan from time to time and baste the meat with its own juices. I only sometimes shake the pan and never baste. Seems to work for me.]", "Remove pan from oven and pour off fat. [I usually don't find it necessary to pour off fat. If I need to, however, I remove the oxtails to a platter first, then pour off excess fat being careful to leave all the browned, yummy bits of fond behind. Then I return the oxtails to the roaster.]", "Move oxtails close together in the roaster. Carefully warm the brandy in a large metal soup ladle. Pour warmed brandy over oxtails and flame. When flame extinguishes itself, transfer oxtails to a deep casserole and add the carrots, onion, thyme, parsley, bay leaf and enough water and broth or water and wine to cover. [I tend to use a no/low-salt beef broth rather than the wine. And if I've been really organized and have homemade broth/stock - it really does taste the best. If using fresh thyme, increase the amount to 1 tablespoon. Dried thyme is quite successful in this dish, however.]", "Lower oven heat to 350. Braise oxtails, covered, for 3 hours. [I usually stir them around at this point.] Reduce heat to 250 and cook, covered, for 3 hours more. [Often the oxtails are \"falling off the bone\"" wonderful after the first three hours. If I cook them further