Jump to content

  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Oxtail Expenses

liuzhou

By liuzhou
in Cooking

 Share

Recommended Posts

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted

_20250320084926.thumb.jpg.07064d310657a7020bea099e6b64f676.jpg

Image from Meituan online shopping app, China

 

Recent mentions in the Dinner 2025 topic regarding oxtail pricing has got me thinking. I had a look at the price here (I haven’t bought any for a while). Given the relative purchasing power of the relevant currencies, it is actually more expensive here than in N. America, but then not so much cattle here.

 

But that is not my main point here. I have developed an untested, but I believe plausible, theory for oxtail being relatively expensive. In the past, it was considered poor people’s food and when even available, was cheap. In the 2000s, celebrity chefs such as Heston Blumenthal began to use cheap cuts more and they became a sort of fashion, driving up prices of many previously shunned foods.

 

Also, each animal only has one tail! And that tail doesn’t provide a lot of food compared to the rest of the beast, again adding a scarcity premium to the costing.

 

Heston Blumenthal Recipe: The twist in the tail | Life and style | The Guardian

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 3

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

I think you're probably right as to the reasons. We've seen that happen, at least in the USA, with other cheap cuts of beef and, for that matter, chicken wings. When peasant food becomes chic it becomes more expensive. I hadn't thought about the relative scarcity factor, though. One tail out of all that carcass is pretty slim pickings. Reason to raise the price? Yes, if it's chic.

  • Like 1

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

If it's any consolation, donkey tail is even more expensive!

  • Like 1

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
  On 3/20/2025 at 12:51 AM, liuzhou said:

_20250320084926.thumb.jpg.07064d310657a7020bea099e6b64f676.jpg

Image from Meituan online shopping app, China

 

Recent mentions in the Dinner 2025 topic regarding oxtail pricing has got me thinking. I had a look at the price here (I haven’t bought any for a while). Given the relative purchasing power of the relevant currencies, it is actually more expensive here than in N. America, but then not so much cattle here.

 

But that is not my main point here. I have developed an untested, but I believe plausible, theory for oxtail being relatively expensive. In the past, it was considered poor people’s food and when even available, was cheap. In the 2000s, celebrity chefs such as Heston Blumenthal began to use cheap cuts more and they became a sort of fashion, driving up prices of many previously shunned foods.

 

Also, each animal only has one tail! And that tail doesn’t provide a lot of food compared to the rest of the beast, again adding a scarcity premium to the costing.

 

Heston Blumenthal Recipe: The twist in the tail | Life and style | The Guardian

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expand  

 

I think that that is exactly right.  Same thing with short ribs.

 

Fortunately, ethnic markets in the US have prices for oxtail that aren't as crazy.

weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
  On 3/20/2025 at 1:58 PM, gfweb said:

I think that that is exactly right.  Same thing with short ribs.

Expand  

And can certainly name a few others (hangar, skirt, et al.)

 

I think I can get oxtail at my Dominican butcher for around $13 - $14/lb. Does that sound right?

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

and the tails these days are not even from Ox :   a much older , thus tastier , beast of burden.

 

 

  • Like 2
gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
  On 3/20/2025 at 2:37 PM, weinoo said:

And can certainly name a few others (hangar, skirt, et al.)

 

I think I can get oxtail at my Dominican butcher for around $13 - $14/lb. Does that sound right?

Expand  

Wow.  Sounds like NYC pricing.  I'll have to check what we'd pay.  Guessing its ~$9/lb.  Short ribs here are $10.49/lb in the supermarket.

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted (edited)

Per this week’s ad from a local market, oxtails and short ribs are both $6.99/lb. Those are “specials,” regular prices are a buck or two/lb higher.
This market does not have any pre-packaged meats, except frozen items like rabbits.  Everything else is cut and packaged to order with 3-5 butchers usually on duty. 

IMG_2973.thumb.jpeg.741320831cc112355724214505793cdb.jpeg
 

Edited to add a photo from a post from 2022 when the tails were $4.99/lb so they have gone up in price.  They were still frozen when they sliced them for me.
IMG_2974.thumb.jpeg.e24fe088dc2105fa437955b1cac64427.jpeg

Edited by blue_dolphin
To add photo (log)
  • Like 7
  • Thanks 2
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
  On 3/23/2025 at 5:42 PM, rotuts said:

@blue_dolphin

 

my guess this is a bit of an ethnic market , as they also have pork neck whole octopus.

 

Excellent !

Expand  

Yes, they're kind of a pan-ethnic market.  Persian and Mexican are most highly represented but they have other cuisines as well. Fun place to wander around. 

  • Like 4
AAQuesada

AAQuesada

Posted
Posted
  On 3/23/2025 at 5:25 PM, blue_dolphin said:

Per this week’s ad from a local market, oxtails and short ribs are both $6.99/lb

Expand  

That's wild! even my local 99 Ranch (Westwood by UCLA) is 13.99 per pound. Usually they are more inexpensive than other local places

  • Like 1
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 3/25/2025 at 7:07 PM, AAQuesada said:

That's wild! even my local 99 Ranch (Westwood by UCLA) is 13.99 per pound. Usually they are more inexpensive than other local places

Expand  


This place is Valley Marketplace, previously Valley Produce. It’s a small, family-owned business with just 3 locations in Reseda, Simi Valley and Valencia. Not really worth the drive from anywhere unless you need a lot of something that happens to be on special.  
There's a Vallarta (SoCal Mexican grocery chain with 55 locations) right next door to the Simi location but I haven’t seen ox tails there.  Maybe ya gotta ask?

 

 

Edited by blue_dolphin (log)
  • Like 1
Dejah

Dejah

Posted
Posted
  On 3/25/2025 at 11:06 PM, blue_dolphin said:

They were good.  Now I wish I’d headed over there today to get some! 

Expand  

Definitely meatier than the ones I got.
There's another local abattoir, about 20 minutes from the city that raises and butchers his own beef, pork, lambs.
I called and he does have OT frozen, $9.00 / lb. I am waiting for lamb livers, so will head that way when he has some.

  • Like 3

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...