Easy Oxtail Stew Recipe

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 Dutch oven full of oxtail stew on a counter — 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.

Other Cozy Stew Recipes to Try

Oxtail Stew

Cook Time 3 hrs

Total Time 3 hrs

Servings 4 to 6 servings

We serve the oxtails with the bone-in, though if you want you can easily remove the bones from the meat before serving.

3 pounds (1.3 kg) oxtails with separated joints
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting the vegetables
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 whole cloves garlic, peel still on
1 bay leaf
Pinch thyme
2 (475 ml) cups stock (chicken or beef)
2 cups (475 ml) red wine
2 carrots, cut into 1-inch segments, large pieces also cut lengthwise
2 parsnips, cut into 1-inch segments, large pieces also cut lengthwise
2 turnips or rutabagas, cut into 1-inch pieces
Parsley

Brown the oxtails:

Pat the oxtails dry with paper towels. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium to medium-high heat in a 6-quart Dutch oven.

Working in batches, and not crowding the pan, sear the oxtails in hot pan on all sides until golden brown. Use tongs to remove oxtails to a plate, setting aside.

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery:

Add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery to the pan. Cook for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Add the oxtails, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt, stock, wine, then simmer:

Add the oxtails back to the pan. Add the whole garlic cloves, the stock, and wine. Add bay leaf, thyme, and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring to simmer. Reduce the heat to low.

Cover and cook for 3 hours, until meat is fork tender.

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

About 1 hour before the meat is done, preheat the oven to roast the root vegetables.
Roast the root vegetables:

Toss carrots, parsnips, and turnips in olive oil in a roasting pan. Sprinkle well with salt and pepper.

Roast the vegetables for 1 hour, or until lightly browned and cooked through.

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Skim the fat:

When the meat is tender, remove oxtails from the cooking liquid. Either skim the fat off the top with a spoon, use a fat separator to remove the fat, or chill the cooking liquid for several hours so that the fat solidifies, making it easier to remove.

If you are making ahead, at this point you can just put the stew in the refrigerator (let come to room temp first), with the oxtails still in it, and let it chill overnight. The next day, scrape off the fat, reheat, and then remove the meat from the dish.
Strain the solids from the cooking liquid and reduce:

Pour the cooking liquid through a mesh strainer into a bowl, using a rubber spatula to press against the vegetable solids caught in the strainer.

Discard the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and simmer until reduced by half.

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Add back the oxtails and roasted vegetables:

Then add back in the oxtails, and add the roasted vegetables to the pan. Heat on low heat for half an hour for the flavors to meld.

Add some chopped parsley before serving.

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Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
727	Calories
36g	Fat
19g	Carbs
65g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	727
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 36g	46%
Saturated Fat 13g	67%
Cholesterol 211mg	70%
Sodium 336mg	15%
Total Carbohydrate 19g	7%
Dietary Fiber 4g	14%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 65g
Vitamin C 15mg	76%
Calcium 108mg	8%
Iron 5mg	28%
Potassium 1316mg	28%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.