I find the recipe fascinating -- I've been toying with the idea of oxtails this week. But, could you give me some clarification on the amount? Three whole oxtails, joint to tuft? Three vertebrae of oxtail? Around here, they're sold cut up and skinned, in packages of one to two pounds.

I've found oxtails in specialty meat markets and, as you said, they are expensive. However, we have a new Korean market in an old warehouse grocery store that carries oxtails at a very reasonable price. I've found several other items like ducks and geese that are also priced more competitively.

Hi Aardvarknav, Tower Market in San Francisco often carries them, as well as Corti Brothers in Sacramento. Both stores will place special orders for them if they don't have them in stock. It's sad that most grocery stores don't have butchers anymore and that we have to rely on specialty grocers for items like this.

I've also seen them at Costco.

Oh yum. Oxtail Stew was one thing my mom COULD make. And all the kids I went to school with used to think it was gross. They didn't know what they were missing!

I have friends that prior to stewing the oxtail, they boil their oxtail three times,due to the fatty oils the oxtai releases.I have not tried this. What do you think about this.

Hi Silvia, actually the fat in the oxtail is what gives the stew its flavor. So I wouldn't boil the oxtails first for this stew.

Growing up with oxtail and dumpling soup, I can't help but squeal at it mentioning. I wonder when I'll learn how to cook it myself. 'Till then, there's Mum.

Can any one tell me the best things to serve with an Oxtail Stew?
I thought maybe rice or mashed potatoe or what else?

It's also pretty good served over egg noodles.

My stew dried out when I put it in the oven for 3 hrs even though I covered it with aluminium foil. How do I prevent it from drying out?

OMG, I love oxtails. My mom makes them with "love", she says because she still likes them with the fatty parts. We also get some from our local tropicana's. There is one place she won't let me get oxtails anymore from because they don't cook them with love she says :). This stew is going to be GREAT. I may surprise her by making some of my special cookies!

Melissa asked for some of the best things to serve with Oxtail stew. Thats easy - Beer. :)

Can Ox Tail Soup (stew) be cooked in a slow cooker? On hi or low?

Bobby Lees Smokehouse on Hayward has Oxtails + other fantastic meats. very fresh. smoked meats

Rick in Hayward

If you are able to get Ostrich neck, you can add some of this to the oxtail. Cook exactly as you would the oxtail at the same time.
It is a bonier meat but tastes almost exactly the same, although a lot less fatty.

Wow, an Ostrich variation. That's a first for me...I am hooked on pressure cookers as I am always starting dinner too late, this is an excellent way to get "falling-off-the-bone" tenderness in less than half the time.

I looked at your recipe, used most of your ingredients and added 1/2 cup of barley to soak up all the extra liquids that develop in cooking via this method.

Then, I perused the Leg of Lamb recipe (as it has about the same volume) in the pressure cooker cookbook to get an idea of how long. I opted to cook for 25 minutes with a cool down under the sink with just the browned meat, garlic and onion, tomato paste a bit of stock and red wine. Then on the second pressure cooking added turnip, celery and fresh rosemary for just 2 minutes, then let it cool (at room temperature) on its own.

Loaf of bread would be the idea side dish. Maybe a Puglise? Well, maybe tomorrow as I am a bit behind on my baking schedule.

We ate at 8:00 p.m., our usual hour.

Do your parents have one of these scary things (Pressure Cookers) in their kitchen? I never saw one until I married Tom. He learned from the best. His mother!

To Jack Gifford 1 Mar 2006

I cook my oxtail in a slow cooker and get excellent results. When you make a stew of it you need no side dish as it is a meal in itself.
Any crusty bread accompanies quite well.

Ox Tail stew is absolutely divine. As a variation, try adding dried apricots, or whole white button mushrooms, or canned butter beans, or even a combination of all three.

I just had oxtails at a tapas place in St. Pete, Fla. They were to die for. And then I found them in Walmart. So this is what we are having for dinner tonight. I haven't told him, yet, but he said something in the kitchen sure smells good. Mind over matter.
Linda in Tennessee
Ps, I love your blog

I found oxtail at the local Mexican meat market for $1/lb. I'm going to make stew in my slow cooker. Never cooked oxtail before. Looking forward to taste the result :-)

I love this recipe! It was a hit with my family, I made it in my crock pot and yummy!

"He figures that the "gourmandes" finally caught on"

He may be right - but I think he means "gourmet"

Gourmets are people who really like good food
Gourmandes are peole who eat too much

If you have difficulty with this idea, the contrast is that a gourmande would be happy at McDonalds. A gourmet would not be caught dead there

As a kid, my mom would make a variation of this for me all the time. The one difference in method is that after it had all cooked up, she would put the whole pot in the fridge overnight, and then skim the fat from the top the next morning. Oh, and she'd add bacon. :)

Well done, I tried this recipe and hey presto it worked out perfectly.
Man, that was one of the better dinners we have had in ages.
I have tried cooking oxtail before but can honestly say it nevere ended up being as tasty as this recipe.
I still have that yummy taste om my palate.
Will surely use this recipe again , over and over.

Oxtail is one of the most underated meats with the most incredible flavour when cooked correctly. One of the best ways to cook it is in what we call a Potjie Pot.This is a traditional method of South African cooking. It is basically a large and heavy cast iron pot which is placed over an open fire. The best way I have found is to cook the oxtail very slowly over a low heat. Anywhere up to 8 hours may be necessary but thats all part of the fun. I guarantee the best flavoured & most tender oxtail you have ever had. Enjoy!!