# Oxtails, advice/help, please.



## blissful (Jan 8, 2012)

I was just given ox tails, are these really from an ox? I dropped off a spare computer at a girlfriend's house and she gave me ox tails. What do I make with them? (oh gosh, it turns out I bartered and just didn't realize I was getting ox tails!) Anything you make with them tried and true, I only have this one chance.


----------



## Katie H (Jan 8, 2012)

They're most likely from beef of some form.  I get mine at a local butcher.  Whatever they are, they're delicious.  Quite flavorful and very rich.

One of my favorite ways to prepare them is to make soup out of them.  The recipe in the link I'm sending you to is one I've had for too many years to count and it's always a winner with anyone who has eaten it.


----------



## Claire (Jan 8, 2012)

Given where you live, it is most likely beef (if you were in Europe or Asia, it might really be ox).  Put them on a baking sheet along with carrots, onions, celery, some garlic cloves, and sprinkle with S&P, thyme.  Spray or brush with some olive oil or butter.  Bake at about 350 until they turn brown (all of it).  This will make your house smell wonderful.  I cannot tell you how long it will take, just go with the flow.  Turn things once in awhile.  Then slide them all into a stock pot and cover with water.  Add a bay leaf or two, lots of ground black pepper.  If the "ox" tail is in one piece, take a big knife and see if you can separate the sections (think a poultry back or neck) before putting in the water to get the most protein into your stock.  Then bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and let it cook all day.  Strain.  You now have the most wonderful beef stock in the world.  You can make soups and stews, or just have a hearty cup of it (especially good if you or someone in your household is feeling puny).  great base for French onion soup, for bouef bourgonion, add a dollop of tomato paste at the end of the cooking to sweeten and thicken it a bit.

It is an all-day thing, but you'll have some of the best stock for many purposes.


----------



## Claire (Jan 8, 2012)

Or, alternatively, if you live in south western Wisconsin, give them to me!  LOL!


----------



## blissful (Jan 8, 2012)

Claire said:


> Or, alternatively, if you live in south western Wisconsin, give them to me!  LOL!


Ha ha.
What great suggestions both of you.
Her father raises beef so I'm going think they are cow tails......errr ox tails.
I'll give a try at cooking them.


----------



## Kayelle (Jan 8, 2012)

Bliss, in my opinion you were gifted with just about the most flavorful part of of beef!! I'm jealous as they sell for a fortune *IF *you can find them.

If you go to the search function here at DC, and type in Ox tails you will find loads of entries about them. 

Lucky you!!  

Let us know what you do with them!  I *LOVE *Ox tail stew!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 8, 2012)

Love Ox-tail soup!  Makes the best Beef and Barley soup, IMHO.  Katie's recipe looks divine.


----------



## Dadpage (Jan 9, 2012)

Real easy. Just brown in batches in Worcestershire and or low sodium soy sauce. Once done add onions garlic thyme salt and pep . Once you cook those down add the meat back and two- three cups-beef or  chick broth and simmer med to med low for 2 hrs and the meat will fall from the bone. Serve over rice and peas.... But that's another lesson.


----------



## Dadpage (Jan 9, 2012)

Oh and Oxtails are cows tails but sound better.


----------



## Katie H (Jan 9, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Love Ox-tail soup!  Makes the best Beef and Barley soup, IMHO.  Katie's recipe looks *divine*.



Trust me, it is and it's worthy of serving to the most discerning company.  And...don't be tempted to leave the parsnips out.  Big mistake.  They add another fantastic level of flavor.

Oh, crap.  Now I want oxtail soup.


----------



## vitauta (Jan 9, 2012)

oxtails - just that simple word, OXTAILS, gets my juices flowing overtime!!  oxtails do become available to me on occasion, marked down.  even on sale, they are quite expensive, but once i am face-to-face with that package of round little fat and bony chunks of beef, i immediately cave....


----------



## Ranchwifeg (Jan 9, 2012)

I made oxtail soup after Christmas.  A few days before Christmas, I browned the oxtail in butter, then added water, garlic cloves, shallots, rosemary, thyme, and peppercorns.  I boiled all this for about 6 hours, then drained off all the liquid and it turned into a heavenly beef stock.  I then combined the stock with more onions, garlic, left over prime rib (with two rib bones), the meat from the oxtails, tomato paste, and spices and made the best beef soup I've ever tasted.  The oxtail made such heavenly stock.


----------



## chayati (Jan 9, 2012)

I like to dust them with a little seasoned flour, brown them in a pot, add mirepoix vegetables, cover with veal stock and braise in the oven until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.  You can use the meat for a nice harty pasta, or my favorite is to make an ox tail hash with yukon gold potatoes, carrots, onions and serve it with a grilled ribeye.


----------



## joesfolk (Jan 9, 2012)

A long slow braise is definately the way to go.


----------



## Claire (Jan 10, 2012)

Anyone ever had real ox? (I have, but I was very young,  just seemed like beef to me!)


----------



## blissful (Jan 10, 2012)

Thank you to everyone for the advice, recipes and suggestions. I'm looking forward to making this ox tail into a meal.


----------



## taxlady (Jan 10, 2012)

Claire said:


> Anyone ever had real ox? (I have, but I was very young,  just seemed like beef to me!)



Oxen are just draft cattle. They might be beefier tasting because they use their muscles for work.


----------



## Claire (Jan 10, 2012)

Well, they are one heck of a lot larger than  your average American dairy or beef cattle!  I remember seeing a half of one on a spit in an Oktoberfest "tent" in Munich.  And in fields!  But, yeah, I just remember it tasting like any other beef.


----------



## taxlady (Jan 10, 2012)

Claire said:


> Well, they are one heck of a lot larger than  your average American dairy or beef cattle!  I remember seeing a half of one on a spit in an Oktoberfest "tent" in Munich.  And in fields!  But, yeah, I just remember it tasting like any other beef.



They are probably a bigger breed and they are allowed to get a lot older (and bigger).


----------



## luckytrim (Jan 10, 2012)

an ox is a a castrated steer, over seven years old...................


----------



## luckytrim (Jan 10, 2012)

check this out...........back when I had my first experience.......

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f57/oxtail-stew-over-buttered-noodles-73342.html


----------



## blissful (Apr 25, 2012)

neworleanscooking said:


> mm ox tails is the most tasty meat going! Best to have it with a stew cooking for hours!



Welcome to Discuss Cooking! I agree with you.

Oxtails are rather delicious slow cooked. I have another in the freezer--and I'm looking forward to getting some parsnips to go with them.


----------



## Margi Cintrano (Apr 25, 2012)

OXTAIL: 

@ Blissful, 

Cool post. Interesting. 

*** IN SPAIN: a bull is a toro AND weigh 500 kilos

and cattle are = ganado or buey ! 

Very popular in Andalusia, Spain ... 

*** RABO DE TORO = a bull stew ( sort of an Ossobucco with onion, garlic, white wine, tomato, carrot, celery, NOT too many potatoes in the pot --- the same items as a beef stew ) ... In Spain they use white wine or Sherry and cook stove top, SIMMER SLOW COOKING ... 
MELT IN YOUR MOUTH HEAVEN !!!  



Ox tail soup 

Kind regards.
Margi.


----------



## lyndalou (Apr 25, 2012)

Yesterday, I wathed a Barefoot Contessa show, and she made oxtail soup with barley.  It was essentially a beef vergetable soup and she browned the oxtails well, then added her veggies and 10 cups of beef broth from a can.  When the osup was finished she removed the oxtails and set them aside. She did not leave them in the soup? What would you have done with them?


----------



## Kayelle (Apr 25, 2012)

lyndalou said:


> Yesterday, I wathed a Barefoot Contessa show, and she made oxtail soup with barley.  It was essentially a beef vergetable soup and she browned the oxtails well, then added her veggies and 10 cups of beef broth from a can.  When the osup was finished she removed the oxtails and set them aside. She did not leave them in the soup? What would you have done with them?



The obvious answer is I would have eaten them. 

Although she may have set them aside, I can't imagine not striping the succulent meat off the bone to include it in the soup!   I enjoy mine included whole, but then I wouldn't want the sight of me eating them on youtube.


----------



## Andy M. (Apr 25, 2012)

The online version of the recipe says to serve the soup with or without the oxtails.

I can't imagine leaving all that delicious meat behind.

I've seen her do weird things in other recipes and don't watch her show or use her recipes as a result.


----------



## Barbara L (Apr 25, 2012)

Oxtails used to be one of those delicacies that only poor people ate. We had oxtail soup a lot (basically oxtails, water, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots, barley, and whatever vegetables we had on hand). We always said, in our family, that rich people didn't know what they were missing!  Then some rich people got a taste of them, and they suddenly became a gourmet food and most of us can no longer afford them unless there is a good sale!


----------



## Margi Cintrano (Apr 26, 2012)

*Traditional Andalusian Ox Tail Stew Recipe*

   Good Afternoon, 

Firstly, thanks so much for the interesting post and feedback.

Of course, we realise that RABO DE TORO is quite a bit different in Andalusia, Spain than it is in the USA ... The animal is a special Bull ( not an Ox or Water Buffalo nor considered cattle) and has been bred for centuries for strength and weight ( 500 kilos plus ). 

This slow cooked simmered for hours dish is prepared with the following ingredients :

1.5 Kilos of Oxtails or Andalusian Bulls´ tails
2 ounces  all purpose flour
salt and black pepper
parsley
Smoked chili pepper from La Vera called Pimentón Dulce ( sweet ) 
2 large carrots
2 small potatoes
4 cloves minced garlic
4 large tomatoes red, ripe and juicy 
2 tsps. tomato paste ( jar if available in your region verses can )
6 fl. oz. Sherry from Designation of Origin Jeréz de La Frontera 
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. thyme 
1 tsp. rosemary 

*** COOKING TIME: 3 hours slow cooking stove top 
*** Note: Sauté meat in dredged flour and shake off excess. 

Kind regards and look forward to hear about your melt in your mouth lunch. 

Margi Cintrano.


----------

