Oxtail Expenses

[liuzhou]

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Smithy]

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.

[liuzhou]

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

[gfweb]

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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]

38 minutes ago, gfweb said:

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

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?

[rotuts]

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

 

 

[gfweb]

37 minutes ago, 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?

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]

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. 

 

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.

Edited Sunday at 05:43 PM by blue_dolphin
To add photo (log)

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

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

 

Excellent !

[Tropicalsenior]

@blue_dolphin welcome back! You have been missed.

[blue_dolphin]

7 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@blue_dolphin

 

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

 

Excellent !

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. 

[FrogPrincesse]

Same around here. The best / meatiest and also cheapest oxtail can be found at the Mexican supermarket, about $9 / lb vs. double at the butcher shop where they tend to be very small.

[AAQuesada]

On 3/23/2025 at 10:25 AM, blue_dolphin said:

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

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

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin

 

those OT's you posted are the meatiest ones Ive seen in a long time.

 

most Ive seen are very fatty .

 

those pic'd are ones Id enjoy working with.

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, 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

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 3 hours ago by blue_dolphin (log)

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

@blue_dolphin

 

those OT's you posted are the meatiest ones Ive seen in a long time.

 

most Ive seen are very fatty .

 

those pic'd are ones Id enjoy working with.

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