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.

Put the meat in the oil and sear each side for a couple of minutes. 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.

Alternate way to thicken stew gravy: Remove the oxtails/vegetables, leaving the liquid in the pot. Make a cornstarch slurry in a small bowl (1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water, mixed until combined). Stir mixture into stew liquid and simmer until gravy thickens, about 5 minutes.

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.

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.

Searing Method: Searing on the Stovetop with Flour

The idea behind coating meat with a sprinkling of flour before browning in a hot pan is pretty simple: Flour is full of starch that will caramelize quickly and give a deeper color and flavor.

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!

As the meat braises, the collagen inside the cut cooks down and becomes gelatin; as it dissolves, the meat's fibers relax and tenderize. However, if the cooking temperature is too high, these muscle fibers will shrink and seize up, toughening.

Once considered a cheaper cut, oxtail has gained popularity in recent years, leading to increased demand and consequently, higher prices. Each cow only yields a small amount of oxtail, and the overall supply cannot easily keep up with the rising demand.

What vegetables go with oxtails? ›

Combining braised oxtails with carrots, parsnips, and turnips makes for delicious soul food. Serve this recipe with rice or with mashed potatoes.

Approximately 40% of natural collagen found in Mammals is in their tail and feet so you get a massive blast of natural bioavailable Collagen from eating Oxtail. You also get the added benefit of a rich gelatinous bone broth when you slow cook Oxtail in nothing but water, some garlic cloves, and carrot and celery.

Cut off the fat from the oxtails (if you go to a butcher shop, you can usually ask them to do this!) - note: be careful!! Some of that white is TENDON and not fat!

In a large bowl, combine the paprika, black pepper, salt, oxtail seasoning, onion, garlic, scallions, 4 of the thyme sprigs, and the hot sauce. Add the oxtails and toss them with the spices until evenly coated. Cover the bowl and allow the oxtails to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

By removing the thin film of slime, seasoning will stick better. I sometimes put a thin film of oil on top of the seasoning to help hold it in better.

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.