What Are Oxtails and How Can I Use Them?
Oxtails rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 20 recipes to cook with them.
What are oxtails?
Oxtails weigh from 1 ½ to 2 pounds, with plenty of rich, flavorful meat. They require long slow cooking (slow and low); braising or cooking in a good amount of liquid.
| In Chinese: | 牛尾 | |
| British (UK) term: | ||
| en français: | queues de boeuf | |
| en español: | rabos |
Recipes using oxtails
There are 20 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Star Anise Beef-Rice Noodle Soup
A star anise beef and rice noodle soup in the style of Vietnamese pho: a long-simmered oxtail and shank broth scented with charred ginger, star anise, and cinnamon, over rice noodles, beef, and fresh herbs.
Pho Bac (Hanoi Beef & Rice-Noodle Soup)
A savory and hearty soup made with succulent beef, hot chili sauce and bean sprouts.
Hanoi Beef & Rice-Noodle Soup (Pho Bac)
Authentic Hanoi-style pho bo with slow-simmered oxtail and beef bone broth, star anise, charred ginger, rice noodles, and paper-thin sirloin. This traditional Vietnamese beef noodle soup recipe takes 5 hours but rewards you with deeply aromatic, soul-warming bowls.
Daube De Queue De Boeuf
Oxtail is one of the most economical and most flavorful cuts of meat, and one that takes well to marinating for days in a hearty mixture of red wine, herbs, and vegetables. The longer you marinate the mixture, the more flavorful it will be, but be sure it marinates at least 3 days. Oxtail is also a fatty cut -- give yourself plenty of time to allow the stew to cook and then cool, so all the fat can be skimmed off. Serve this with thick noodles in warmed soup bowls, accompanied by a tossed salad, and of course, a robust red wine.
Ochsenschwanzsuppe(Ox Tail Soup)
Ochsenschwanzsuppe, a classic German oxtail soup simmered for 5 hours with vegetables, thickened with browned flour and butter, and finished with Madeira wine. Deep, beefy, and velvety.
Hanoi Beef & Rice-Noodel Soup (Pho Bac)
Authentic Hanoi-style beef pho with charred aromatics, star anise, cinnamon, and a 6-hour broth. Crystal-clear, deeply savory, topped with paper-thin raw beef cooked by the hot soup.
Pho
Pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) with oxtail broth, charred onion, star anise, and fish sauce poured boiling over rice noodles and paper-thin raw beef that cooks in the hot broth. Garnish with cilantro, scallions, and lemon.
Favourite Ox Tail Soup
Oxtail soup simmered until the meat falls off the bone, then finished with potatoes, mixed vegetables, and tomato paste for a rich, hearty bowl. A classic stick-to-your-ribs soup served as is or ladled over white rice.
Easy Ox Tail Soup
Easy oxtail soup with onions, carrots, and turnip simmered together in one pot. The flour stirred in at the end gives the broth body without needing a roux or separate thickener.
Sep-Dinner: Oxtail Consomm
Oxtail consomme is a crystal-clear fine-dining broth made from slow-simmered oxtails, aromatics, and an egg-white raft clarification. The classic French technique gives a rich beef flavor in a see-through bowl.
Oxtails in Red Wine Sauce
Oxtails braised in red wine with celery, leeks, carrots, and a French-style sauce made from the reduced braising liquid. Rich, fork-tender, and worth every one of the 4 hours.
Braised Oxtails in Cabbage Leaves on Mashed Potatoes
Oxtails braised 4 hours in red wine with tomatoes and capers, then stripped, stuffed into cabbage rolls with Parmesan, and baked golden. Served on mashed potatoes for the ultimate comfort meal.
Loaded Vegetable Ox Tail Soup
Loaded vegetable oxtail soup with butter-browned tails, carrots, turnips or cabbage, celery, and a splash of sherry. A French-leaning broth fortified with thyme, bay, and beef stock for restaurant-style depth.
Aunt Rose Mc Call's Ox Tail Soup
Old-fashioned oxtail soup with rice, carrots, celery, and tomatoes simmered for hours until the meat falls off the bone. A make-ahead family recipe that develops deeper flavor on day two.
Hot Oxtail Stew
Hot oxtail stew simmered low and slow with garlic, bay leaves, and crushed red chili until the meat falls off the bone. A hearty one-pot stew finished with carrots, celery, and tomatoes.
Oxtail & Potato Stew in Tomato Sauce
Southern-style oxtail and potato stew in a thick tomato base loaded with corn, carrots, and celery. Optional macaroni or okra stretch the pot further, served with cornbread or saltines.
Ochsenschwanzsuppe or Ox Tail Soup
Ochsenschwanzsuppe is the classic German oxtail soup. Slowly simmered oxtails build a rich beef stock, then puree with root vegetables and finish with Madeira.
Oxtail Stew with Mixed Vegetables
Oxtail stew with mixed vegetables simmered low and slow until the meat falls off the bone. A simple braise built on browned oxtails, beef stew seasoning, and frozen mixed vegetables stirred in near the end.
Thick Oxtail & Lentil Stew
Thick oxtail and lentil stew with juniper berries, thyme, and root vegetables. Slow-simmered for 3 hours into deeply rich, fall-off-the-bone braised beef heaven.
Backyard Booyah
Backyard booyah, the giant slow-simmered meat-and-vegetable stew of the Upper Midwest. Beef, soup bones, and chicken cooked until they fall off the bone, then loaded with vegetables in a kettle.
