Tender Braised Oxtail

As Wiki explains, “Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of an ox or steer, a castrated male. An oxtail typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs. (1-1.8 kg) and is skinned and cut into short lengths for sale.Oxtail is a bony, gelatinous meat, and is usually slow-cooked, often stewed or braised….”

I personally think that most meat near bones such as wings or ribs and oxtail of course are delicious. There are many people who are not adventurous and won’t try oxtail but I really wish they would because it is TASTY!

However, if you were looking for a quick meal, this is not the one because unless you have a pressure cooker, Oxtail takes about 3-4 hours to prepare and at the end you will get a well deserved delicious dish of tender juicy oxtail in a rich brown gravy. I serve this dish with steamed white rice and my family LOVES it.

I usually purchase Oxtail from Asian or Hispanic grocery stores. I look for big meaty pieces that are not too fatty but you can’t avoid fat or bone if you are going to eat oxtail. I developed this oxtail recipe after trying different recipes and eating oxtail from different restaurants. I used many recipes as my guidance before coming up with the one that is most suitable to my family’s taste and mine.

Here is the recipe I would like to share:

Ingredients:

2-2.5 LB oxtail pieces
1 TBS oil
3 bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TBS soy sauce
Dash cayenne pepper
¾ to 1 Cup water, (depending on how thick or thin you’d want your gravy to be)

Directions:

1. Wash and pat dry the oxtails with paper towels.
2. Season them with salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic pepper, and soy sauce.
3. Heat up the oil in a Dutch oven and when it is hot, add the seasoned oxtails to sear and brown them on all sides for about 5-7 min.
4. When the oxtails are brown, add bay leaves and chopped onions. Mix well and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the water, cover and cook on low for at least 2 hours or till tender.
6. Serve with rice.

Note: This step is not necessary but if you have time, let the oxtail pot cool in the fridge for several hours till all the fat floats to the top and solidifies. Remove the fat from the top, reheat and serve.