Oxtail Soup Recipe

The trick to cooking a good oxtail soup is to cook it long and slow. Braising the meat in this manner makes it very tender, and the bones make for a great broth in this hearty soup. This is the perfect food for the season.

Oxtail Soup

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat:

2 Tbsp Olive oil

Saute:

3 cloves garlic, whole
1/2 carrot

1 bunch green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

Brown in the pot on all sides:

2.75 lbs oxtail

Deglaze the pan with:

1 1/2 cup white wine

Add:

12 Cups warm water
5 large leaves of kale

1 tsp whole peppercorns
2 sticks celery, chopped

a rind of Parmesan (optional)

5 leaves fresh sage

3 tsp salt


Cook on a low simmer for several hours, skimming off any impurities on the surface, and stirring occasionally until the meat is very tender. When the soup is nearly done, remove the oxtails and strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve or some cheesecloth. Put the liquid and the oxtails back in the pot and heat to a simmer. Add:

1 bunch kale
3 potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch slices

1/2 carrot

2 cloves garlic

ground pepper to taste


Cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are done but still firm. Test the soup for seasonings. Garnish with your reserved green onions, and serve hot.

Comments

Linda said…
I have never ever cooked with oxtails and yours is the second recipe this week to use them. This sounds good, but I think I would have to take the meat off the bone before I served it or my family would think it was too weird. Thanks for linking up!
Brian said…
I had a Basque oxtail dish years ago that I didn't really care for. I may have to give it another try. Your soup looks delicious.
Babyfro said…
I, like Linda have never cooked with oxtail. I'm sure its simply because none have ever fallen out of the sky into my soup pot yet. :-)

You're soup looks delicious and certainly something I'd be willing to try.
Gina said…
It's true that whole oxtails aren't for everyone. They make a nice addition to any beef soup, however, because the bones and marrow add a lot of flavor. The broth gets nicely thickened by the natural gelatin from the bones. Even if you're using other meat for the soup or if you're cutting the meat off the bone afterward, oxtail is great for your soup.

Thanks for the comments everyone!
Whoa, fancy! I've never even had oxtails. I bet it was very rich!
jen scaffidi said…
I have been curious about oxtail... can you get it anywhere? Is it pricey?
Gina said…
The soup actually isn't too rich - I skim off the fat, and a lot of it gets filtered out in the straining process. The soup has a really hearty flavor, though. Oxtail is usually pretty inexpensive, but you can't find it everywhere. It's more bone than meat, which is why it's often used to flavor soups.
I love oxtail!! I just read a great recipe in Beard on Food - my husband doesn't do red meat and is not too keen on trying oxtail but it is such a great food.

I agree - long & slow makes a perfect dish.
This looks wonderful. I love, love, love, love...LOVE oxtails. The texture they impart in a soup or braise is so wonderful. The only other cut that resembles it is short ribs. They're so unbelievably rich and meaty and delicious when prepared correctly. Your soup makes me want to go get some ASAP.

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