Ochsenmaulsalat

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot (6-liter minimum)
• •Very sharp carving knife or deli slicer
• •Large mixing bowl with lid or cling film
• •Skewer for testing doneness

Instructions

1. 1

   Simmer the ox muzzle

   Place the cleaned ox muzzle in a large pot. Cover with two liters of cold water. As with any good broth, start cold. Hot water tightens the proteins on the outside and traps impurities inside the meat instead of letting them rise where you can skim them. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Gray foam will collect on the surface. Skim it off patiently until it stops coming, about fifteen minutes.

   Ask your butcher to clean and trim the muzzle for you. A good butcher will have scraped, singed, and washed it already. If you're working with a piece that still has bristle or rough patches, blanch it in boiling water for five minutes first, scrub thoroughly under cold water, then start fresh with clean water for the proper simmer.
2. 2

   Add the aromatics

   Once the foam is cleared, add the carrot, parsnip, celeriac, halved onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice berries, and salt. Reduce the heat until the surface barely trembles. You want the faintest movement, the kind of simmer where a single lazy bubble breaks the surface every few seconds. Cover loosely and let it cook for two and a half to three hours. The muzzle is ready when a skewer slides through the thickest part with no resistance at all. If it catches even slightly, give it another thirty minutes. You cannot overcook this, but you can absolutely undercook it.

   The allspice is traditional in Viennese Ochsenmaulsalat. It gives a warm, slightly sweet note in the background that rounds out the vinegar in the finished salad. Don't skip it.
3. 3

   Slice while warm

   Lift the muzzle from the liquid and let it cool just enough to handle, about ten minutes. Don't let it go cold. This is the most important moment in the whole recipe. While the meat is still warm, it's supple and the gelatinous connective tissue hasn't set yet. Slice it against the grain as thinly as you possibly can, three millimeters or less. A very sharp knife is essential here. If you let the muzzle cool to room temperature before slicing, it firms up and fights back, and your slices will be thick and clumsy. Warm meat, sharp knife, thin slices. That's the rule.

   If you have a deli slicer, now is the time to use it. If not, your sharpest carving knife and patience will get you there. Press the meat flat with one hand and take long, steady strokes.
4. 4

   Make the marinade

   While the meat cools enough to slice, whisk together the Apfelessig, white wine vinegar, oil, mustard, and sugar in a large bowl. The marinade should taste sharp and assertive on its own. This is a vinegar-forward dressing, not a vinaigrette. The oil is there for body, not to soften the acidity. Two tablespoons of oil against four tablespoons of vinegar. That ratio matters. Taste it. It should make you wince slightly. The meat will absorb the acid overnight and mellow everything out. Season with salt and black pepper.

5. 5

   Dress the warm slices

   Lay the warm sliced muzzle into the marinade as you cut it. Toss the slices gently so every piece is coated. Add the shallot rings and cornichon rounds. Toss again. The warmth of the meat opens it up to absorb the marinade the way cold meat never will. This is the same principle behind Austrian Erdäpfelsalat, where you pour hot broth over warm potatoes. Warm food accepts flavor. Cold food resists it. Cover the bowl tightly with cling film, pressing it down so it touches the surface of the salad, and refrigerate overnight. Twelve hours minimum.

6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Pull the salad from the fridge thirty minutes before serving. Cold dulls flavor, and this deserves to be tasted at cool room temperature, not straight from the fridge. Taste the marinade and adjust the vinegar, salt, and pepper. The overnight rest will have softened the acid considerably. If it needs a splash more Apfelessig, add it now. Arrange the salad on a serving plate or divide among individual plates. Scatter the thin red onion rings and chives over the top. Serve with thick slices of good sourdough bread. The bread is not optional. Ochsenmaulsalat without bread is like a sentence without a full stop. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Finding ox muzzle requires a conversation with your butcher, not a trip to the supermarket shelf. Call ahead. A proper butcher shop or one that serves Eastern European or Austrian communities will know exactly what you need. Ask for it cleaned and ready to cook.
• •Reserve a cup of the cooking liquid. If the salad looks too dry after its overnight rest, a splash of warm broth loosened with a little vinegar brings it back to life without diluting the flavor.
• •Kremser Senf is a medium-hot, slightly sweet Austrian mustard from the town of Krems an der Donau. If you can't find it, a good Dijon works, but go easy. Dijon is sharper and less rounded. Start with half the amount and taste your way up.
• •This salad is better on the second day than the first. The flavors continue to deepen. It keeps well in the fridge for three to four days, which makes it ideal for a weekend Jause (cold snack platter) or as part of a Beisl-style spread for friends.

Advance Preparation

• •The salad must be made at least twelve hours ahead. The overnight marinade is not a suggestion, it's the technique. Without it, you have warm sliced meat in a dressing. With it, you have Ochsenmaulsalat.
• •The finished salad keeps refrigerated for up to four days and improves steadily. Make it on a Thursday, eat it through the weekend.
• •The cooking liquid can be strained and frozen. It makes an excellent base for soups or for cooking Knödel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)