May 31, 2004
Ox-Tail Soup
I first fell in love with oxtail soup as a child in the Alps. It is especially good on a chilly day, but works fine in warm weather as well. I have recreated it from memory and have arrived at the taste I remember. I am sure that my readers from Tirol will gasp with horror, finding this or that ingredient wrong, and I welcome suggestions, as I would love to have an authentic Tirolean recipe. But in the meantime, I challenge anyone to make it this way and to say that it actually tastes different than what one might find in some remote Alpine Gasthaus.
Today I made it with two beef ox-tails (from our adventure on the ranch - Amalia was quite fascinated with the fact that we were eating the bulls' tails. In fact, she has become quite into all things bovine. We had to read Ferdinand six times today), so if you want a smaller batch, use one tail and scale it back (or use the same ingredients and it will just have less of an oxtail taste and fewer bits of meat in it).
If your butcher stocks whole oxtails, or you killed a couple of bulls and have whole oxtails, they should be cut into approximately one inch rounds. I used a fairly dull cleaver (I have to remember to take it to the knife guy next week), and got through it with only minor aches afterwards (the trick is to use your wrist more than your arm).
On a dinner plate make a generous mound of flour, seasoned with fresh cracked pepper and salt. Flour the chunks of tail and brown them in a large pot with goose fat, lard, or butter (I suppose vegetable oil will work, but I consider it quite inferior). Do not crowd them or juices will prevent proper browning.
When they are all browned, wipe out burned flour bits and add more fat. Gently fry 4 peeled and smashed garlic cloves for about a minute. Add a finely diced onion and fry until it is translucent. Add a mixture of finely diced carrot and celery (about two large carrots and two celery stalks). Throw in the remaining flour from the plate. Fry for a couple of minutes to form a roux.
Add the browned oxtail pieces and stir to coat. Pour in a bottle and a half of sturdy, dry red wine (I used a bottle of Torres Sangre de Toros from Catalunia (the one with the little bull dangling from the foil) and a half bottle of a California Central Coast Sirah), a can (or box, if you use Pomi (highly recommended) strained tomatoes (then pour a splash of sherry in the box or can, swirl and pour in), two bay leaves, broken in quarters, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a pinch of dry thyme, two heaping teaspoons of Spanish pimenton dulce, a generous amount (a quart at least) of brown stock (I use my "leftover bone" stock, which is made from whatever bones are in the freezer - this one was a mix of lamb, beef (t-bones from barbecue (adds an interesting smokiness), and chicken) and let simmer, skimming every 15 to 30 minutes, for three or more hours. When it nears completion, add a cup of dry sherry and a generous splash of Worcester Sauce. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper (you want a slight warmth on the back of the throat after you have swallowed, not an up-front burn).
When it is right, remove the pieces of tail and, using a very sharp paring knife, remove the meat. Chop the meat (especially if there are tough bits) and set aside. Strain the soup through a chinois, crushing the vegetables so that they exude all that they can. You want a velvety texture.
Put the meat back in the pot, cover with the soup, and bring back to temperature. Finish with more sherry (if needed) and a few dashes of Angostura bitters. If it is too thick, you can cautiously thin with hot water, but be careful, because if you over thin, then you have no choice but to boil and wait (I would not add starch at this point, as it can become too sticky. It already will tend towards stickiness, due to the gelatinous meat and the flour in it, so be careful).
Serve with a salad and French bread. Although I think this is best served with Pilsner, I was out, so we opened a bottle of Sangre de Toro.
For lunch on a cold day, serve with slices of German bologna, schrottbrot, and Swiss Ementhal cheese.
Posted by erik at May 31, 2004 12:02 AM | TrackBackMy father could only cook 3 things but, his ox tail soup was fantastic. He told me the recipe was his german grandmother's and the key was long slow cooking. My first attempt was very similar to yours except I had no wine on hand but a couple of demi cubes from the larder rounded the dish out nice, one other thing for the authentic family experience I have to eat my meat off the bones. Sticky fingers forever. Bob
Posted by: Bob at April 1, 2008 9:24 AMI have literally just browned off the meat for a oxtail casserole. Can't get my head around the 'paring' of the meat. One of the best things about oxtail is the gnawing of the bones. ps please do as the person suggested, do some caribbean dumplings DELISH!!!
Posted by: at February 7, 2008 10:19 AMTrue island way to eat it, leave it on the bone and just pick it up with your fingers and go to town. I get so homesick this time of year and had to have something special, I do prefer the pressure cooker because it takes about 30 minutes and I add caribbean dumplins which are made of flour, cornmeal, salt and water. I just might go have a bowl for breakfast :) Great recipe!
Posted by: jennifer at December 30, 2007 5:57 AMi have made oxtail soup for many years but not like this ! i like the sound of the this recipe. and yes what is white wostershire? wish i could taste this right now!!
Posted by: nickieann at November 5, 2007 12:20 PMSandra,
They are just cattle tales: cows, steers, bulls. A whole tail makes a large pot of soup, certainly a good family size.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at September 24, 2007 9:02 PMAre ox tails really from an ox's tail? If so, how many tails does it take to make a good pot of soup? Many thanks, sandra
Posted by: at September 21, 2007 10:43 PMI remember when growing up in Michagan my mother would fix Oxtail soup. She would never remove the meat when it was cooked. We always sucked the tender, tasty meat off the bone.Sure brings back memories! Anyway. Thanks for this recipe! A little different from minek but sounds very tasty.
Daniel in Louisiana
Posted by: Daniel at August 8, 2007 9:52 AMI have made the dish several times over the years and always found it lacking in something. When I followed your recipe suggesting Worcestershire Sauce I suddenly remembered that MAGGI is what I wassing flavorwise. After a few dashes of Maggi and a little more red wine this dish turned out much better, and possibly as good as I remembered it from 40 years ago! Thank U.
Christa
Posted by: at July 30, 2007 12:30 PMI skip the wine and the sherry and the bone stock and even all the veggies and spices and cook it in straight ketchup stew. I also substitute the oxtail for hotdogs. Bam!
Posted by: Emeril at July 28, 2007 2:25 PMMy grandmother lived on a farm in Northern Canada in the early 1900's where she enjoyed oxtail soup. My ancestors were Irish and German. Later she brought the recipe to Chicago Illinois in the United States where she passed her recipe along to her children. Her favorite ingredient besides the favorful beef broth was a vegetable called Rutabaga.
Posted by: at July 8, 2007 6:17 PMAs far as I know, Knorr discontinued production of the Oxtail Soup mix. It can be purchased online from Europe, but is not available in the U.S.
Posted by: Sasha at March 2, 2007 6:25 AMThank you so much for such a great recipe. So many online recipes are awful. I have missed the flavor and richness of this soup for a very long time. It is so wonderful to come upon a recipe that in my opinion is beautifully old world with new world upgraded ingredients. I must admit, I did not follow it to the letter (I usually don't), but it DOES have the right stuff! Just gorgeous! Thanks again.
Posted by: at October 9, 2006 4:50 PMThis is the first time that i have ever heard of Ox-tail Stew or Soup. I am looking forward to trying this recipe. I'm sure that it will be very good. I can't wait until Winter or the Fall time to try it. DSR
Posted by: at August 9, 2006 1:21 PMI have been searching to locate a package of Oxtail dry soup & recipe mix for a venison Swedish meatball recipe I have. I can't find it anywhere in VA or on the Internet. Please help!
Sharon Swink
gswink1@juno.com
757-423-4079
I am trying this recipe to see if it is as I remember
Chris
white worcestershire is made by lea and perrins, it is now sold as being for chicken.
the barley pilaf is pretty simple - saute barley in some oil with fragrant veges and herbs of choice (onion, thyme, garlic, or whatever looks good), add in hot stock (2 parts stock to one part barley), bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook until the barley is cooked and has absorbed all the stock. It can be as quick as 25 minutes or as long as an hour depending on how old the barley is.
Some add mushrooms to the barley, and I have even thrown in a few lentils for a vegetarian main dish.
The idea of paring out the meat is good. I've made oxtail soup twice before, and simmered it a good, long time, but never have I been able to get the meat out of the tail (and neither have my polite but weirded-out diners).
My recipe is similar to yours, and I love, love, love it! Tom of Disputations uses white wine.
Posted by: KTC at June 1, 2004 6:11 AMAlicia,
What is white worcester? I only know of the standard stuff.
Lamb is probably our favorite meat, especially the flavorful shanks (well, we like leg and chops, but the cost keeps those rarer on our table).
Do you have a recipe for the pilaf? That sounds good.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at May 31, 2004 11:10 PMthat is amazingly similar to my recipe except that I have never chopped or strained the soup - I have simply picked the meat from the bones served it with big chunks of meat and vegetables. That makes ot more like a stew. I love oxtail soup, and I have a bunch of frozen 1 inch chunks of tail in the freezer, waiting for the right time.
Since bethany is in DC this weekend, John and I have been having a lambfest. last night we grilled 2 rib chops that had been marinated in garlic, olive oil, and white worcestershire. Served them with grilled fresh corn and steamed artichokes. it was a wonderful set of contrasts. Friday night I had made a mussel/shrimp and rice pilaf with sangria on the side, and we finished the sangria last night. Dessert ( a few hours later) was rhubarb crisp a la Sleepy Mommies.
Tonight will be braised lamb shanks with barley pilaf and an arugula/lettuce salad mixture.
I am hoping that bethany comes home from her trip to france with expanded tastes in food. she will be living with a french family in Montpellier for 4 weeks later this summer. I wish that I had had the sense you have with Amalia when my oldest was that age - although she was the only child I ever knew sho would daintily eat a green salad at the age of 9 months. You have to raise the first one right because the oldest child influences all the others.