Hearty Oxtail Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak oxtail before cooking? ›

By soaking and blanching the oxtail before cooking any impurities are removed. To cook: Oxtail requires long, slow cooking to produce tender, succulent meat.

Browning your oxtails will not cook the meat. Instead, it will enhance its color and aroma by caramelizing its exterior. Browning beef oxtails in a hot skillet before braising will also add rich depth and flavor to the meat.

Braising makes for delicious and tender results, but there's no question that it takes time and patience. A good braised oxtail dish can take 3 hours or more to tenderize, and not everyone has the schedule for low-and-slow cooking.

Fill with enough water to cover oxtails and place over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook oxtails until tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

There is a good amount of fat and collagen that melt into your dishes as oxtail cooks, which will give a wonderful round texture to sauces and that slightly sticky feel to the meat. And the bonus flavor from the bone marrow that will cook into your dishes make this cut one to really get to know and not be afraid of!

Oxtail soup makes the best bone broth!

The oxtail meat will impart a crazy amount of beefy flavor to the broth—and you can shred it and add it to the soup!

Oxtail is rich in Collagen, a vital protein for our body's growth and repair. Oxtail is high in fat so an ideal energy source for a Ketogenic, Paleo, or Carnivore Diet. With over 70% fat, Oxtail is Ideal for anyone on a high fat / low carb or no-carb diet. Oxtail must be slow-cooked to break down the connective tissue.

Oxtail will be tough if you don't cook it for long enough. As mentioned above, you need to cook the meat low and slow for a few hours for the meat to soften sufficiently. How do you soften oxtail fast? Using a pressure cooker is the best way to cook oxtail quickly.

Why are oxtails so expensive? ›

Washington says that historical subsistence foods like oxtail, saltfish and callaloo were once considered poor man's food, and over time gained prestige and financial value. “They held a certain social richness in that it was a path forward, a map towards what our ancestors ate,” she explains.

Flour: to coat the oxtails for browning and to thicken the gravy. Worcestershire Sauce: adds depth and flavor to the oxtails.

If you don't clean your oxtails, that means your house, your ass, and your car are probably all dirty. So let me school you on how I clean oxtails. Salt, white vinegar, a few limited limes cut in half, and water. I soak them for about 15 minutes, then I scrub each one of them, pour the water out, then repeat.

Don't Stew the Stew Too Long Either

Your beef will be tough if you don't cook it enough and it will be tough if you cook it too much. It's just science, take it from us! We recommend doing a taste test or two throughout the cooking process to gauge the progress.

If the meat isn't that tender, it might need a little more cooking. Also use a thermometer to check the internal temperature which should be at 145 degrees Fahrenheit when it's fully cooked.

People talk so much about soaking meat in ice water to tenderize, remove gamey flavors, leech out blood, and other crazy reasons. This type of meat care is all a myth! Wet soggy meat is not what you want to cook with.

Soak the meat in cold water.

It will significantly reduce any gamey or irony taste from the meat.

In a large bowl filled halfway with cold water along with the oxtail add 1/4 salt, 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 3 lemon & limes cut in half. Soak them for 15-30 minutes undisturbed then scrub each one of them with the lemon or limes. Pour the water out and discard the lemon & limes.

Marinating is an effective way to enhance the flavor, add extra moisture, and tenderize meat before cooking. In addition, a good marinade can help make leaner cuts less dry and make tougher pieces of meat more succulent. People have been soaking their meats in seasoned liquid for centuries.