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You are here: Home / Archives for grassfed beef

Farmer’s Oxtail Stew

02.10.2022 by Raelene Bradley // Leave a Comment

If you buy a whole or half beef in bulk directly from a farmer (shout-out to our loyal beef customers!), or butcher your own, you’ll likely end up with a few odd cuts of meat you’d never see in the grocery store and may not know what to do with.

One of those rare but delicious cuts is the oxtail.

The oxtail is the tail of any beef animal, no matter if your beef was a heifer or steer, Angus or Limousin

The tail is a well-used appendage and works overtime. Its muscles are strong, well-developed, and beautifully marbled (which means it’s also full of flavor). Because of that, it needs to be braised low and slow so that the meat melts off the bone, tender and succulent, rich and delicious.

The first time I was going to cook an oxtail, I turned to Darina Allen’s Forgotten Skills of Cooking.

This is one of my very favorite resources for traditional cooking skills and recipes. If I’m going to do anything old-school, or make something off the beaten path (liver, sweet breads, home dairy, a whole goose), I always open this cookbook first and Darina always has something insightful to teach me.

I’ve since adapted her recipe to make better use of the ingredients I have on hand and adjusted to my own method and preferences. The basic method is this: sauté the vegetables in lard, brown the meat in the drippings, add wine and deglaze the pan, add stock and tomato paste and herbs, return the vegetables and meat to the pan, cover, and braise all afternoon on low heat.

I use the same method to cook beef shanks (another rare cut whose praises I will sing all day long) with only a few variations.

For these cold midwinter days as I’m working my way through the freezer and looking for hearty, stick-to-your-ribs fare to warm cold fingers and toes after hours spent outside in the snow, you just can’t beat this hearty, delicious oxtail stew.

Print Recipe

Farmer’s Oxtail Stew

Thick, flavorful, and stick-to-your-ribs good, this oxtail stew braises in the oven for hours and is the perfect meal for cold midwinter days.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time4 hrs
Course: Main Course

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp beef drippings OR lard
  • 3-4 strips bacon (optional)*
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 3-4 celery ribs, diced
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 oxtail, cut into segments
  • 1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1.5" cubes
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 4 cups beef stock*
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325°F.
  • Heat beef drippings or lard a dutch oven or heavy oven-safe saucepan.
  • Add the bacon (if using) and sautéed 1-2 minutes.
  • Add onions, celery, and carrots and sautée 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove the bacon and vegetables and set aside.
  • Add oxtails to the hot drippings, turning every 2-3 minutes to brown each side. Remove and set aside. Add the beef stew and do the same. Remove and set aside.
  • Add the wine and 1 cup of beef stock to the dutch oven and bring to a gentle boil, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
  • Add the broth, herbs, and tomato paste. Season with salt & ground pepper.
  • Return oxtails, beef stew meat, and vegetables to the dutch oven. Stir to combine.
  • Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook gently for 3-4 hours until the vegetables are very tender and the meat is falling off the bones.
  • Use a fork to pull the meat from the bones, removing the bones. Taste & season if necessary with salt & freshly ground pepper.
  • Serve over buttered mashed potatoes or polenta.

Notes

*I didn’t have bacon on hand this week so just added an extra tablespoon of lard.
*It’s perfectly fine to use duck or chicken stock in place of beef. Granted, beef stock has a deeper, more complex flavor, but if I have chicken stock on hand, I don’t hesitate to use it instead.
* This oxtail stew has the consistency of a thick gravy. Serve it over buttered mashed potatoes, pasta, or polenta. Or with thick slices of crusty bread.
*Garnish with minced parsley, if desired.
*Leftover oxtail stew spread over thick buttered toast is ridiculously delicious. Just sayin’.
*Oxtail comes in an odd-shaped package – it really does have the shape of a tail, but the butcher should cut through the bone for you in segments. It’ll look a little like an old-fashioned phone coil. Just cut through the meat at each segment to separate them.
If by chance the butcher did not cut through the bone, it’ll be trickier to use, but still possible and no less delicious.
Just brown the whole tail curled around the bottom of your pan, turning over once to brown the underside. Remove and proceed with the rest of the recipe. Then return it to the pan before the vegetables, curling it around again. Add the remaining ingredients and you’ll be good to go.
Because you cook it low and slow, the meat will fall right off the bone and it won’t hurt the stew a bit to have the tail bone intact.

Categories // Blog Post, Recipes Tags // beef, eat like a farmer, grassfed beef

belvederefarms

This time of year I worry about too much grass gro This time of year I worry about too much grass growing too fast before I can get the cows over to eat it down and make the most of it.
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As a grass farmer, it’s the very best kind of problem to have: grass tall enough to get lost in.
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Speaking of which: can you find the baby? Comment with a 👍 when you do!
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#grassfarmer #grassfedbeef #iamyourfarmer #farmraisedkids #intensiverotationalgrazing #grassfed #grassfedbutter #farmlife #homesteadlife #supportlocalfarmers
That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩. . Those firs That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩.
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Those first few weeks hand milking can be disheartening. Dribbles and squirts, milk running down your wrist, sticky fingers, and sore forearms. 
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Milking is a skill. No one is good at it right away. It takes practice. The more you practice, the better you get. The faster you get, the more sure and even your squirts.
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And then one day, there will be foam in the bucket and you’ll know you’ve arrived. Your squirts are fast and firm and sure and the sustained pressure of all that milk hitting the pail makes the most gloriously frothy foam.
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Keep at it friend. Whatever skill you’re working on now. Just because you’re not that great at it right now doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing or that you won’t get better.
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Keep working. Keep trying. Keep learning. The foam will come.
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Transcript of a real-life conversation we had this Transcript of a real-life conversation we had this morning:

Me: Whaa? Why is there a frozen turkey on the counter?!

Seamus (4): Because I like turkey and chicken meat.

Me: So you went out to the barn…

S: …and got in the freezer. And brought in a turkey.

Me: Oh, love. We can’t cook a turkey until we have a stove [kitchen reno still on going 🤦‍♀️].

S: Well, then you can cut it up and cook it piece by piece in the microwave.

Me: Actually, that’s not going to work.

S: (looks outside) Well, it’s raining today but tomorrow when it’s not raining we can make a fire and cook it outside on the fire.
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Ever the problem solver, he was full of ideas. 🤣🤣
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I did finally convince him to put it back in the freezer and wait until we have a stove - with the caveat that we cook it for his birthday.
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#kidssaythedarndestthings
#farmkid #farmlife #homesteadmama #lifeonthefarm #farmraisedkids
We have two cows in milk right now: Sandy (old fai We have two cows in milk right now: Sandy (old faithful and best friend, there on the left) and Clara (new to our farm and momma to Ruby).
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How much work is two cows vs. one? I was so nervous about adding a second cow because the additional time/labor was an unknown, but when it comes right down to it, it’s about 20 mins more time milking. That’s it.
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Everything else is pretty well the same. It takes the same amount of time to bring them in to the milking shed. The same amount of time to move them to fresh grass. It still takes under an hour door to door to milk & do what needs done, and even less for evening milking.
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And since our oldest boy (14) helps milk the majority of the time, that extra 20 minutes doesn’t often figure in. Many hands (and even just one extra pair!) make light work.
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It does take a little more time to deal with the milk: more time straining, more time washing jars, more cream to skim, more butter to churn. But if more cream and butter are the cons, I’m here for it.
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What would you say is the biggest obstacle holding you back from getting a family cow?
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#familycow #milkcowlife #keepingafamilycow #milkcow #homesteadlife #rawmilk
Mud pie hearts. . Just because this day or month o Mud pie hearts.
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Just because this day or month or season or year is hard does not mean you are not heard or seen or loved. There is beauty all around, if we have eyes to see it, hearts open to feel it, and wild, barefoot, dirty, outdoor-loving farm kiddos to deliver it.
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#farmkids #wildandfree #mudpie #mudseason #springonthefarm #homesteadmama #farmmom
My cup - ahem. shirt - runneth over. Same same. . My cup - ahem. shirt - runneth over. Same same. 
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I gather eggs every morning and again every afternoon. Farm life is a constant reminder that there is #alwayssomethingtobethankfulfor 
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#farmfresheggs #farmeggs #rainboweggs #farmlifebestlife
Hello Friends! Jordan here, and it has been a hot Hello Friends! Jordan here, and it has been a hot minute. I went to Las Vegas last week to visit my brother and we made beef tongue tacos. I love using the whole animal and this was a fun process with a delicious outcome. You can check out the blog to get the recipe. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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#wholeanimalbutchery #wholeanimalcooking #beeftonguetacos #tacosdelengua  #cincodemayo #grassfedbeef #homesteadkitchen
T-minus 3 days until our first frost and we’re s T-minus 3 days until our first frost and we’re spending these lovely fall afternoons gathering in the last of the garden.
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Today: dried beans (Christmas Lima and Cherokee Trail of Tears), Reagan’s sunflowers and luffa, the last of the tomatoes (gah! they just won’t quit!), and the rhubarb.
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Tomorrow: chopping, freezing, cooking, and canning.
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Months from now: bellies full of homegrown garden goodness.
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#homegrown #gardenlife #farmlife #preservingtheharvest #garden #fallgarden #ohiogarden #growyourown #sunflower #familygarden #kidsinthegarden #gardeningwithkids #happyfall #harvesttime #harvest #fallharvest
Hello, fall. 👋 You’re long overdue and oh so Hello, fall. 👋 You’re long overdue and oh so welcome.
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This morning was the first I stayed in a long sleeve shirt to milk and didn’t have sweat dripping down my face.
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It’s the first the temperature has dipped below 60* (even though the humidity is a resilient 100% what with the rain, mist, and fog).
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Technically, our first frost date should have been this week, but Ohio’s holding out and it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen for another two weeks at least.
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In any case, it finally (finally!) feels like fall and oh am I ever so here for it. So much so that once the must-do chores are done (yogourt, butter, beans and laundry), I fully intend to curl up on the couch with a cuppa and read.
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#fallonthefarm #hellofall #fall #fallleaves #fallscene #farmlife #farm #ohiofarm #smallfarmcharm #simplehappycountrylife #homesteadmama #home #ilovefall #october
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