How to cook oxtails until tender: braising step by step

To cook oxtails, brown the pieces, then braise them covered in stock or water with onion, garlic and spices at about 300°F for three to four hours, until the meat falls from the bone. Oxtail is a bony, collagen-rich cut, so slow, moist heat is the only method that makes it tender.

What are oxtails?

Oxtails are the tail of cattle, cut into rounds at the joints, with a ring of bone at the center and meat and fat around it. The name stays the same even though the animal is beef and not an ox.

Oxtail contains a lot of connective tissue and marrow. That is why it is tough when raw and short-cooked, and silky and rich when braised for hours. The pieces vary in size, from wide, meaty rounds near the base to small pieces near the tip. Butchers usually cut the whole tail into sections of about two inches.

How do you prepare oxtails for cooking?

Pat the oxtails dry, trim loose fat, and season them with salt and pepper or a dry spice rub. Dry meat browns, and wet meat steams.

• Trim any hard, thick fat but leave a little for flavor.
• Season at least an hour ahead, or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Optional: rinse and soak in cold water for 30 minutes to remove blood, then dry thoroughly.
• Bring the meat out of the refrigerator for 20 minutes before browning.

A common marinade in Caribbean cooking uses thyme, garlic, allspice, pepper and a splash of soy sauce. Middle Eastern and North African cooks often use cumin, coriander, paprika and garlic.

How do you braise oxtails step by step?

Brown the meat, build a base of onion and garlic, add liquid to come two thirds up the meat, cover tightly and cook low until tender. The steps below suit about three pounds of oxtail.

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat.
2. Brown the oxtails in batches, about three to four minutes per side, and set them aside.
3. Cook one chopped onion, three garlic cloves and a spoonful of tomato paste in the same pot for five minutes.
4. Return the meat and add three to four cups of beef stock or water, plus a bay leaf and thyme.
5. Bring to a simmer, cover and move to a 300°F oven, or keep on the lowest burner setting.
6. Cook three to four hours, turning the pieces once halfway.
7. Remove the lid for the last 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Add carrots, potatoes or butter beans in the last hour if they are part of the dish.

How long do oxtails take to cook?

Oxtails take about three to four hours in a covered pot at 300°F, about an hour in a pressure cooker and about eight hours in a slow cooker on low.

The time depends on the thickness of the pieces and how gently the pot cooks. Test rather than trust the clock.

How do you know when oxtails are done?

Oxtails are done when the meat pulls easily from the bone with a fork and the connective tissue is soft and translucent. A piece that resists the fork needs more time.

• The meat slides off the bone and shreds without effort.
• The sauce looks glossy and slightly thick from the dissolved collagen.
• A knife slides in with no resistance.
• The pieces hold together until touched, then fall apart.

Food safety guidance for beef is a minimum of 145°F, but oxtail is cooked far past that for texture, to about 200°F in the thickest part.

How do you thicken and finish the sauce?

Skim the fat, remove the oxtails and reduce the liquid over medium heat until it coats a spoon. A braise of oxtail gives its own thickener, because the dissolved collagen makes the liquid silky.

1. Lift the oxtails out and keep them warm.
2. Skim the surface fat with a ladle.
3. Boil the liquid for 10 to 15 minutes until reduced by about a third.
4. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and a splash of vinegar or lemon juice.
5. Return the meat to the sauce and warm through.

Chilling the stew overnight is the easiest way to separate the fat. The fat sets into a layer that can be lifted off in one piece.

What do you serve with oxtails?

Oxtails go well with starches that soak up the sauce: rice, mashed potatoes, polenta, couscous or flatbread. Something sharp or fresh balances the richness.

• Steamed white rice or rice and peas.
• Mashed potatoes or soft polenta.
• Couscous or buttered noodles.
• Warm flatbread for scooping.
• A lemony cabbage or cucumber salad on the side.

A squeeze of lemon or a spoon of herbs at the end brightens the dish.

How do you store and reheat cooked oxtails?

Cool cooked oxtails quickly, store them in their sauce in a covered container and refrigerate within two hours. They keep three to four days in the refrigerator.

• Reheat gently over low heat in the sauce, with a splash of water if the sauce has set firm.
• Freeze in portions with sauce for about three months.
• Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
• Bring leftovers to a steaming 165°F before serving.

Oxtail stew often tastes better the next day, because the flavors settle and the fat can be lifted off the cold surface.

Does Al Dar Halal Market sell oxtails?

Oxtail is not recorded in the store’s listings. MapQuest lists steak, chicken and merguez sausage at the halal butcher counter of Al Dar Halal Market in Astoria, so this guide treats oxtails as a general technique and not as a product the store is known to stock.

The recorded range is on the menu page. A butcher counter can often order or cut a tail on request, but only the store can say. Call (347) 841-8333, the number on Google Maps, and ask. The imported whole spices and olive oil the listings do mention suit an oxtail braise, though stock, availability and prices are not recorded. See the hours and location page for the address. This guide takes no orders.

Common questions

For the address, opening hours and menu, see Al Dar Halal Market in Astoria.

This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Al Dar Halal Market itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.