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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

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