Oxtail Stew - Simply Recipes

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Why Make This

  • Slow-cooked oxtails deliver a rich, savory stew thanks to red wine, stock, and marrow-filled meat.
  • Finish by simmering the oxtails and vegetables together for flavors that really meld.

Have you ever had oxtails?

Most people I know haven't even heard of them, which is really quite a shame.

What Are Oxtails?

Think braised beef short ribs, but with even more flavor, and you'll get a sense of why those of us who eat oxtail get dreamy-eyed when we think about them.

Yes, oxtails come from a steer's tail—a well-exercised muscle, marbled with fat. The segments are vertebrae so they have lots of iron-rich marrow as well.

A plate with two braised oxtails and sauce over mashed potatoes

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

My father, who grew up during the Depression, remembers oxtails as being food for people with little money, because they could be had so cheap. You could get them for pennies a pound.

These days, they're somewhat hard to come by and no longer cheap (though you can sometimes get a good deal on them at Costco and Asian markets).

Low and Slow Is Best

As with most tough cuts, oxtails are best slow cooked for several hours. They tend to be fatty, so we like to cook them a day ahead, so we can chill them overnight and scrape off the fat from the top the next day.

Close-up of a serving spoon with a braised oxtail scooped from a pot of oxtail stew

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Tag » How To Make Stewed Oxtails