Braised Oxtail Recipe

When is the last time you had braised oxtail? One of the first things someone eating a standard American diet will argue about with Paleo is the lack of variety or choice.

I never tasted cuts and organs like oxtail, marrow, homemade stock, tongue, kidneys, or heart before switching to a Paleo diet, and I probably never would have. Neither did I eat such a variety of animals like elk, bison, wild boar, squid, and rabbit.

Oxtail is one of those items that very few people keep in their repertoire, even in the Paleo circles. We often talk about the most popular organs, but rarely hear about eating the tail of animals.

Oxtail is the name commonly given to the preparation of beef tail.  It's tough meat, so it's often stewed or braised, and the bones will leave some of their great taste to the cooking liquid.

You can ask your butcher to cut it appropriately, or you can cut the tails yourself with a big knife. Try to get the tail ends so you can put them with the cooking liquid to give even more flavor and nutrients to the final dish.

The aromatic vegetables in the main braising ingredients are cut into large chunks, so they don't disintegrate in the sauce. The same vegetables are cut much more finely in the garnishing preparation because they are only slightly cooked.

Braised Oxtail recipe

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 oxtail, cut into 4 sections;
• ½ cup chopped carrots;
• ½ cup diced onions;
• ½ cup chopped celery;
• ½ cup chopped leeks;
• 4 tablespoon tallow, lard, or butter;
• 1 lb tomatoes;
• 8 sprigs of fresh thyme;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 4 crushed garlic cloves;
• 1 cup red wine (you can omit the wine if you want to);
• 4 ½ cups chicken or beef stock.

Ingredients for the vegetable garnish

• 1 finely diced carrot;
• 1 finely diced onion;
• 2 finely diced celery stalks;
• ½ leek, finely diced;
• 4 small tomatoes, finely diced;
• 2 tablespoon chopped parsley.

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Heat the lard, tallow, or butter in a pan and brown the oxtail pieces on each side.
3. Remove the oxtail and brown the vegetables for the main braising liquid (carrots, celery, onions, and leeks). Make sure you stir and scrape off any meat residue in the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic, and cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Put the oxtail and browned vegetables in an ovenproof casserole and add the wine, if using.
6. Boil the wine at high heat until almost evaporated, and add enough stock to cover the oxtail entirely.
7. Bring the whole preparation to a simmer, then cover and put it in the oven to braise for about 1.5 hours to 2 hours.
8. At this point, most chefs will strain the liquid to remove the small pieces of cooked and mushy vegetables, so it looks better. I personally like to leave them in, but it's up to you. You should definitely remove the bay leaves, though. Even cooking for several hours will not soften a bay leaf. We remove them because the edges can be sharp and can scratch your throat, stomach, or intestines if inadvertently swallowed.
9. Blanch the garnishing vegetables other than the tomatoes in boiling water for about 4 minutes.
10. Put the blanched vegetables in the oxtail preparation and simmer for about 2 minutes.
11. Enjoy this sophisticated but simple dish with family and friends!

Braised Oxtail Recipe

An amazingly satisfying dish of braised beef tail, called oxtail cooked with delicious aromatic vegetables for long enough for the meat to get tender and juicy.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 16 mins

Total Time 21 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Calories 300 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 oxtail cut into 4 sections;
• ½ cup chopped carrots;
• ½ cup diced onions;
• ½ cup chopped celery;
• ½ cup chopped leeks;
• 4 tablespoon tallow lard, or butter;
• 1 lb tomatoes;
• 8 sprigs of fresh thyme;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 4 crushed garlic cloves;
• 1 cup red wine you can omit the wine if you want to;
• 4 ½ cups chicken or beef stock.

Ingredients for the vegetable garnish

• 1 finely diced carrot;
• 1 finely diced onion;
• 2 finely diced celery stalks;
• ½ leek finely diced;
• 4 small tomatoes finely diced;
• 2 tablespoon chopped parsley.

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 350 F.
• Heat the lard, tallow, or butter in a pan and brown the oxtail pieces on each side.
• Remove the oxtail and brown the vegetables for the main braising liquid (carrots, celery, onions, and leeks). Make sure you stir and scrape off any meat residue in the bottom of the pan.
• Add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic, and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Put the oxtail and browned vegetables in an ovenproof casserole and add the wine, if using.
• Boil the wine at high heat until almost evaporated, and add enough stock to cover the oxtail entirely.
• Bring the whole preparation to a simmer, then cover and put it in the oven to braise for about 1.5 hours to 2 hours.
• At this point, most chefs will strain the liquid to remove the small pieces of cooked and mushy vegetables, so it looks better. I personally like to leave them in, but it’s up to you. You should definitely remove the bay leaves, though. Even cooking for several hours will not soften a bay leaf. We remove them because the edges can be sharp and can scratch your throat, stomach, or intestines if inadvertently swallowed.
• Blanch the garnishing vegetables other than the tomatoes in boiling water for about 4 minutes.
• Put the blanched vegetables in the oxtail preparation and simmer for about 2 minutes.
• Enjoy this sophisticated but simple dish with family and friends!

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 10gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 825mgPotassium: 1486mgFiber: 6gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 7544IUVitamin C: 43mgCalcium: 138mgIron: 4mg

Keyword braised, oxtail

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