Small’s Paradise and Jimmy Smith's Oxtail Stew

 

Smalls Paradise

aka Big Wilts Smalls Paradise

2294½ Seventh Avenue, 
New York, New York 

 

Owned and operated by Edwin Smalls then by NBA legend, Wilt Chamberlain, this venue was one of the premier nightspots in Harlem during the late 1920s. It hosted mainly jazz performers such as Jimmy Smith, Babs Gonzales, King Curtis, and even Jimi Hendrix. Before it closed its doors in 1986, Small’s was considered one of the most successful, prestigious, and longest operating nightclubs in the history of Harlem ever owned by an African American.

 

 

Jimmy Smith’s Oxtail Stew

3 lbs oxtails (separated joints)

salt and pepper
olive oil

2 c. red wine
1 large chopped carrot

1 yellow chopped onion
1 chopped celery stalk

3 whole cloves garlic (unpeeled)
1/2 c. beef stock

1 bay leaf
pinch of thyme parsley
2 sliced turnips

2 sliced parsnips
2 sliced carrots

Rinse oxtails under cold running water then pat dry with heavy paper towels. Sprinkle the tails completely with salt and pepper. 

In a 6-quart Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat.

Add small batches of oxtails at a time, searing them in the hot pan on all sides until golden brown. Remove oxtails with tongs and transfer them to a bowl containing wine. Set aside.

Add chopped carrot, chopped onion, and celery to the pan. Cook the vegetables for about 5-7 minutes or until onions are clear. Add the oxtails with wine back to the pan. Add whole garlic cloves and beef stock. Stir briefly.

Add bay leaf, thyme, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 3 hours or until meat is fork tender. About an hour before the oxtails are done, preheat heat oven on 350°F.

Add sliced carrots, parsnips, turnips and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a roasting pan and sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 1 hour, or until lightly browned and cooked through.

When oxtails are tender, remove them from the liquid. Skim the fat off the top with a spoon, or a fat separator. Pour the cooking liquid through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to press against the vegetable solids that are caught in the strainer. Discard the solids. 

Return the liquid to the pan and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add in the oxtails, and add the roasted vegetables to the pan. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for about 30 minutes.