Oxtail Soup

[glennbech]

I brought home some oxtail the last time I visited my butcher. The tail was cut in 1-2 inch pieces. I was very excited as I usually make my own stock for sauces and soups.

Following no recipe in particular (doh!) I browned the tail pieces all over in butter and oil. I then covered with water and added onions, a carrot, bayleaves and a clove or two of garlic. I let it sommer for about 90 minutes.

Compared to stocks Im used to getting from other meats and bones, this was very weak. The taste was okay, but I had to reduce to about 1/3 to get the right taste for a soup. That left me with about 3 DL. Barly enough for one person.

I imagined that the should have been excellent for stock, did I do something wrong?

[Swisskaese]

I have an excellent oxtail soup recipe. I will post it when I get home from work.

Although oxtail soup can be very rich, you have to add a number of things to it in order to bring out the flavour.

[PCL]

This is simple, not too complex, and works nicely.

brown up a mirepoix of celery, carrot and onion in a butter/olive oil blend

add a tablespoon of tomato paste

add beef or veal stock just cover

in a separate pan, brown off the oxtail chunks, then pop them into the pot with the veg

add bayleaf, rosemary, whatever herbs you have lying about

add more stock to cover the lot, maybe an inch over the oxtails

simmer for a couple of hours, skimming now and then to get rid of scum and fat, or better still, cover and cook in the oven slowly for a few hours.

[glennbech]

PCL; Your recipe sounds great, but it requires Veal or beef stock. I though that It was possible to make a meal from just the tail pieces. This is what puzzled me.

[Swisskaese]

I put my recipe for Oxtail Soup in RecipeGullet.

My recipe also calls for beef stock.

[glennbech]

I hereby conclude that Oxtail is not good for making a beef stock, and that It's too weak to make a soup on its own. I should have guessed really. The centre of the bones look a bit strange, very light in colour, hard, and not filled with marrow like regular bones.

Swisskaese: Thanks I'll try it out later!

[Joe Blowe]

I agree -- oxtails are made for eatin', not for soup makin'!

[Soup]

I agree -- oxtails are made for eatin', not for soup makin'!

←

I am not sure that I would agree. Nothing in the beef area gives me more body than oxtail. Problem is that they tend to be a bit pricey in my mind. I made oxtail stock a month ago and it gave me stock with a lot of body and mouth feel. Really great. When going for more beefy soup, I will add more oxtails or I also add things like short ribs, shank, or brisket.

The origional poster indicated that they went at it for 90 minutes. Unless it was in a pressure cooker, I'm not sure that is long enough. I usually use my crock pot to make stock and I just leave it on high over night. Gives me clear stock everytime because I don't have to worry about temp control. I've heard pressure cooker is also excellent because it never boils and yields good result but I've not yet made the investment (I'm out of cabinet space to store another pot).

Don't give up on oxtail. It is my favorite soup making ingredient.

Soup

[Joe Blowe]

Well, with a handle like "Soup", who am I to argue!

I suppose it comes down to personal preference. I would rather eat some good, sticky, gelatinous braised tails than have some beefy broth.

On the other hand, the owner of the pho place I frequent tells me that his secret ingredient is oxtails, so I can't badmouth oxtail soup too much!

[twobrain]

yeah ... 90 minutes... oxtail... the longer the better

try 4-8 hours

[Austin]

I think I would side with Soup. Thai-Muslims make an oxtail soup that is really liquid pleasure. Thais (Muslim or not) don't generally use stock when making these sorts of dishes, so I'm assuming the flavor is coming from the bones. On the other hand, like much Thai cooking, the oxtail flavor might actually be concealed by the copious use of lime juice, chilies, tamarind pulp and fish sauce, which may be what makes it taste so good! In any event, it's good, and the meat is virtually falling off the bones so I assume they're stewing it for a long time, probably several hours.

Austin

[christine007]

Growing up with my mom from England, we ate oxtail soup all the time and it is very good. I'd suggest giving it more taste and body by adding some stew beef to the initial broth.

[dougal]

I hereby conclude that Oxtail is not good for making a beef stock, and that It's too weak to make a soup on its own.  ...

←

Huh?

Its not exactly ideal for a quickly cooked snack.

But braise it in something interesting, low and slow, for *many* hours until its falling apart.

Then - as Swisskaese indicates - - Use the meat in the soup, don't discard it!

Don't hope to get the best out of this bit of meat by poaching for just 90 minutes in plain water and then straining off all the solids.

Oxtail *can* give you the very richest, deepest stews and soups - but please respect its particular qualities, and demands, *before* dismissing it!

[NYC Mike]

I've never tried Oxtail Soup but would love to!

Here is a shot of an Oxtail braise my wife makes using a Dominican prep they call Rabo Enciendio.

-mike

[handmc]

Swisskaese's receipe is very good. Mine differs slightly in that I fry in a little tomato paste with the onions and garlic and I throw in some red wine or port if I have it around.

My soup also cooks for at least 4 hours, just barely bubbling. Very rich stuff. With all the rain we are having I should make up a batch.

Try again. You won't be disappointed these are real good cheap eats.

[RyuShihan]

make oxtail soup frequently but i cook the tails for like 6 hours, because it takes longer for the calogen to break down. I did notice it doesn't have as meaty a flavor as using regular veal bones but roasting the vegitables and tomatoe paste helps alot. I also like to smoke my barley.

[fellowpeon]

Swisskaese's receipe is very good. Mine differs slightly in that I fry in a little tomato paste with the onions and garlic and I throw in some red wine or port if I have it around.

yes, swisskaese's recipe sounds quite good. the last minute parsley (and maybe some fresh tomato bits to boot) will really freshen up the broth flavor. oxtail and short rib soup are two of better reasons for aquiring a good pressure cooker. just follow the swisskease recipe, but instead of simmering for 4 hours, cook at high presure (15 psi) for 45 mins.

just have to figure out a way of removing fat from the broth that's easier than skimming and faster than an overnight cool. . .

[ellencho]

Here's some photographic evidence of what happens when you boil the living crap out of oxtail and then let it chill overnight in the fridge. The entire thing will gel up. There also was a 1.5 inch layer of fat on top that I removed beforehand. 4 hours of simmering is the bare minimum in my opinion. If you happen to see oxtails on sale in the future then I'd highly recommend trying it again.

[lindag]

Recently watched Ina Garten prepare this soup.  So I went to my nearby grocer looking for the oxtails (thinking forward to when it's cooled down enough to think about hot soup).

I was surprised to be told that they do not stock oxtails but that they could order them for me...it would take two weeks and they would be very expensive.  I know that I used to be able to buy them when I lived in Portland.

So, even if I can't use oxtails I thought I'd like to make a variation of this recipe, substituting another cut for the oxtails and replacing the barley (which I don't care for).  

Yeah, I know, it won't be the same recipe, but I thought it still might be worth a try.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Edited August 23, 2017 by lindag (log)

[dcarch]

I do it all the time.

Get neck bones. 1/4 the price. Same taste.

If you want to spend a little more, short ribs.

 

dcarch

[ElsieD]

Regional differences are interesting.  I see ox tails here all the time (but not chuck eye).  I love them.  My mother was a great soup maker and when she made ox tail soup she used beans, kidney beans as I recall, not barley and also used noodles, like spaghetti noodles.

[lindag]

9 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Regional differences are interesting.  I see ox tails here all the time (but not chuck eye).  I love them.  My mother was a great soup maker and when she made ox tail soup she used beans, kidney beans as I recall, not barley and also used noodles, like spaghetti noodles.

Thanks, I like the idea of using beans; way better than barley, I'll give that a try.

Also, when I'm in town I'll try a different store for the oxtails, that one has a better meat dept.

[jayt90]

You could look for a butcher shop with beef carcasses rather than boxed meat. Or contact local small abattoirs or farm-gates offering their own frozen beef. Asian stores usually have oxtails.

Edited August 23, 2017 by jayt90 (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

Shin might be a good option.

 

I love oxtail, but it's ludicrously expensive here too.  When you factor in how much you're paying for bone and fat, it works out more expensive than fillet or ribeye...  And that's without factoring in the 5 hours of cooking time 

[Shalmanese]

When they were cheap, oxtails were a neat substitute braising cut that would save a few bucks. But now that oxtails have gotten stupid expensive and I've never found them at a price worth it for what you get. Remember, whatever price per pound you see them at, multiply by ~3 for a similar yield to whole muscle meat. In almost all circumstances, chuck, brisket, shank or cheek is going to be better value.

 

The only time I ever absolutely have to have oxtail is for my oxtail ragu ravioli. They're braised in just a tiny bit of red wine + aromatics and there's nothing quite as unctuous, the texture is almost like an egg yolk. It takes all day to make but it's so intense that I only serve 3 - 4 per person so one batch can last for quite a few dinner parties when stored in the freezer.