Oxtail Stew
My Southern-style Oxtail Stew recipe is a slow-cooked, deeply flavorful dish that just feels like home in a bowl. It’s cooked low and slow with plenty of carrots and onions and served over hot, fluffy rice.
Okay, I know I’ve already lost some of you just based on the recipe title. Oxtail Stew. Yes, that’s right, I’m cooking with ox tail.
Now, I know it’s not every day that you see an oxtail recipe. But trust me. This is slow-cooked, browned meat deliciousness. Wipe your plate with a piece of bread deliciousness.
And I know that this is a less familiar cut of meat, but it is also one of the most flavorful. So what if it comes from the fly-flicking end of the cow?
I hadn’t cooked this old-fashioned stew in several years until just recently. Apparently, oxtail has increased in demand over the years! And, considering how little meat is on one tail (about 7-8 pounds per cow), you can see that there’s not that much available, therefore making it quite expensive.
I remember when oxtails used to be dirt cheap. Just about the cheapest thing in the meat case, but not now. Actually, there’s not really anything in the meat case that’s dirt cheap these days. But still, they’re a pretty good bargain.
They make great soups and stews but keep in mind that they need long, slow cooking to break down the connective tissue and become melt-in-your-mouth pure comfort food deliciousness. I like to serve this stew over rice, but egg noodles are great, too.
Recipe Snapshot
Cuisine: Southern Vintage
Cooking Method: Stovetop
Total Time: 3 Hours, 40 Minutes
Servings: 4
Primary Ingredient(s): Oxtails, garlic, tomatoes, onion, potatoes, carrots, seasonings
Skill Level: Easy
What I Like About This Recipe
- It’s hearty comfort food!
- It’s simple to make with easy-to-find ingredients.
- Great for cold weather!
- It’s not your ordinary, everyday stew.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
“Just made this recipe for my family; and followed it to the smallest detail. They absolutely LOVED it!!!”
— C Dickerson
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
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You’ll need a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven or a large stockpot for this recipe.
Don’t be intimidated by the lengthy ingredient list in the recipe card. Most of them are simple, everyday pantry items. In fact, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have all of them on hand right now, minus the oxtail.
- Oxtails — You should be able to find these in any grocery store’s meat counter. If you don’t see them, ask the butcher. I’m pretty sure they’ll have them on hand.
- Beef Broth — You can use canned, boxed, bouillon cubes, or your own homemade.
- Diced Tomatoes — I use canned for convenience. You can certainly use fresh.
- Flour — Plain, all-purpose, nothing fancy flour.
- Herbs — Note that you can substitute fresh herbs for any of the dried herbs called for in the recipe. The rule of thumb is to always use 1/3 as much dried as fresh.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook!
You can see this recipe on pages 364-365 of my cookbook, My Southern Table! Get your signed copy today.
How to Make Southern Oxtail Stew
- Season the oxtails liberally with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan. A Dutch oven works very well for this.
- Brown the oxtails very well on all sides and set aside. (Good, thorough browning equals luscious flavor.)
👉 Do you have to brown oxtails before cooking?
While it’s not absolutely necessary to brown the oxtails before stewing them, I do highly recommend it. Browning meat results in caramelization (the Maillard reaction), which greatly enhances the flavor of the finished stew. It also produces a beautiful color in the finished recipe. Adding the meat to the stew without browning first produces a kind of sickly grey color in the finished product.
- To the pan, add the beef broth, garlic cloves, basil, oregano, bay leaves, and diced tomatoes with their juice.
- Return the oxtails, along with any accumulated juices, to the pan.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a slow, steady simmer. Cover and cook for 2 ½ hours.
- Add the onion, potatoes, and carrots to the pan and continue cooking for an additional 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables and oxtails from the pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the butter and flour to create a smooth mixture.
- Increase the heat to medium and whisk the butter-flour mixture into the broth a spoonful at a time. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.
- Return the oxtails to the thickened broth, turning them to coat. Serve the vegetables and oxtails with thickened sauce over hot, steamed rice.
What to Serve with Oxtail Stew
This stew, with its tender, fall-off-the-bone meat, and flavorful gravy, will leave you with a beautifully warm and content feeling; you really don’t need much to make it into a full meal. I’d suggest steamed or roasted asparagus and, perhaps, hot rolls or bread with butter.
Keep the dessert light as well with something like my light and fluffy Angel Cake with strawberries or a fancy “you outdid yourself” style dessert like my Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
If you have any leftovers, you can store them both in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I do recommend keeping the stew and the rice in separate containers and reheating them separately to prevent overcooking the rice.
You may not want to freeze this recipe. Not only do potatoes tend to freeze poorly, but the thickening agent (flour and butter) may also separate while freezing. I would skip the freezer for this recipe.
To reheat the oxtail stew, place it in a saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat until it comes up to temperature. For the rice, place it in a pot, add a few tablespoons of water, break up any clumps you see and seal with a tight lid. Heat on medium-low, checking frequently to make sure the rice isn’t sticking to the pan.
Questions About Oxtail Stew
The word “oxtail” comes from the days when this cut was sourced specifically from oxen—draft animals used for farming and pulling heavy loads. Historically, only oxen were used, but today, oxtails are sourced from cows. The name has remained the same, even though the source has changed.
Oxtail is a fairly tough cut of meat. It has a lot of connective tissue and collagen, which requires long, slow cooking. Stewing the meat over low temperature breaks down the tissues and makes the meat tender and delicious.
You can serve any kind of rice you have on hand with oxtail stew. Steamed white rice or brown rice both work fine. My preference is basmati.
Questions? I’m happy to help!
If you have more questions about the recipe, or if you’ve made it and would like to leave a comment, scroll down to leave your thoughts, questions, and/or rating!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Recipe
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Oxtail Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef oxtails
- Kosher salt
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups beef broth
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 1 large yellow onion peeled and quartered
- 8 small potatoes halved
- 4 medium carrots cut into chunks
- 1 tablespoon butter room temperature
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Steamed rice for serving
Instructions
- Season the oxtails liberally with salt and pepper.3 pounds beef oxtails, Kosher salt, black pepper
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Brown the oxtails and set aside.
- To the pan, add the beef broth, garlic cloves, basil, oregano, bay leaves, and diced tomatoes with their juice.3 cups beef broth, 4 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 2 bay leaves, 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- Return the oxtails along with any accumulated juices to the pan.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours.
- Add the onion, potatoes, and carrots to the pan and continue cooking for an additional 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.1 large yellow onion, 8 small potatoes, 4 medium carrots
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables and oxtails from the pan. Set them aside in a bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the butter and flour to create a smooth mixture.1 tablespoon butter
- Increase the heat to medium and whisk the butter-flour mixture into the broth a spoonful at a time. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.1 tablespoon flour
- Return the oxtails to the thickened broth turning them to coat. Serve the vegetables and oxtails with sauce over hot, steamed rice.Steamed rice for serving
Notes
- While it’s not absolutely necessary to brown the oxtails before stewing them, it is highly recommended. Browning meat results in caramelization which greatly enhances the flavor of the finished stew. It also produces a beautiful color in the finished recipe.
- Store the stew and rice in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To reheat the stew, place it in a saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat until it comes up to temperature. For the rice, place it in a pot, add a few tablespoons of water, break up any clumps you see and seal with a tight lid. Heat on medium-low, and make sure you check often to avoid the rice sticking to the pan.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
— This post was originally published on December 11, 2014. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
Love It Thanks!
Just made this recipe for my family; and followed it to the smallest detail. They absolutely LOVED it!!! Thank you, Lana!
CD
Pittsburgh, PA
This was easy to make and very good! I doubled the recipe to be able to share and it’s all gone!
We had it over basmati rice which was a great pairing. Will surely make this again.
Turned out great. Flavorful and well seasoned.
Happy to know you liked it!
So delicious!! I will make this recipe again and again!!
Great! Glad you enjoyed it.
This was absolutely delicious! I had to skim off the fat and added a small can of tomato paste but hands down this is the best recipe ever!! I had never tried oxtails but I will definitely cook this many more times!!
I’m really glad to know you liked it!
I made this recipe, and it was something dewicious, thats how my granddaughter say delicious. But we ate it for 2 days, couldnt get enough of it. Thank you. God bless
I’m so glad you liked the recipe, Stephany! I agree – it is “dewicious”!!
I will make this following your recipe today. I’m quite amazed at the number of people who haven’t eaten oxtail. It’s delicious!
Yes, it is! Hope you enjoy the stew, Renee.
I made this and it was good.
I tried the oxtail stew recipe today and it was amazing!!! I followed it step by step and it came out perfect. Today was my first time cooking oxtails and I’m so glad I came across your recipe.
So glad it turned out good for you!
I LOVE oxtail stew. My favorite recipe has parsnips and port wine in it, but ANY oxtail stew is a good stew. Like you, I haven’t made it in a very long time. I’ll have to make some before winter is over.
I, too, recall when oxtails were cheap. That was around the same time that flank steak was a cheap cut of meat, and you made stock with chicken wings because they were so inexpensive.
If you want to carry on with “weird things people don’t usually eat,” how about a recipe for tongue? That’s another thing I have not had in eons…it makes great sandwiches.
Lana, do you remember the ox tail story that Gama used to tell? Your grandfather had a butcher shop in the grocery store and ox-tails were never in demand. In order to put them to use, they sent them to school with your daddy to be put in the stone soup that the teachers would make during the morning for the children’s lunch. Remember this was before central heating, in rural America, a wood heater had to suffice. All the children would bring something to be added to a soup pot on the wood heater. Sounds like I am talking about another world, and actually it was. This had to be around 1938 or 1939.
Awesome story” thanks so much for sharing” where I’m from”” the South Carolina GULLAH country” this stew is an all time favorite & staple of the low country. This article brings back so many warm memories” Thanks so much” I’ll cook a large pot this weekend” with pan fried cornbread””
Can I add red wine and if so how much
Sylvia, I haven’t tried this recipe with red wine added but I would think you could do so. If I was going to add it, I’d start with about 1/3 cup, taste, and adjust from there.
I love oxtails, so you had my attention! This looks amazing and I can’t imagine how good your house smelled. Plus you are right, even the cheap cuts aren’t cheap anymore!
Oxtail is delicious! They are so under used so I totally dig this recipe.
I absolutely adore oxtails – so rich and tender and total comfort food. Your stew sounds delicious!
Total comfort food for sure!
I’ve never had oxtail. I would love to try this stew!
I’ve never cooked oxtail but I’ve heard it’s quite delicious! I think I need to add it to my culinary bucket list!
Yes, they are really delicious, Martha. Definitely give them a try sometime.
Oh I am the pickiest eater but I would totally try this!!
These oxtails look amazing! I’ve never made them before, but now I have to!
Oh yes, Angie, you surely need to give them a try!
You know how many times I picked up oxtail only to put it back. I never mustered the courage to cook it though I really would like to. Your oxtail stew has so much depth to it, Lana, that I wish I could dig in right through the screen!
Don’t be afraid of the oxtails, Shulie! Give them a try and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them :-)
I absolutely LOVE Oxtail. A place in Quincy Florida fixes it sometimes at lunch. I will be making this. Thanks for this recipe. And to the haters, don’t knock it till you try it
It’s good stuff, isn’t it, Bill? I haven’t seen it on a restaurant menu in ages!
Wow I remember many, many years ago my mother would cook oxtail stew. My sibling and I would not eat them. Back then I did not know what I was missing out on. Thank You so much for the recipes.
(Any recipes on beef tips?)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years.
I’ve never had Oxtail, but I’ll try anything! Sounds delicious!
I do hope you’ll give it a try, Amy. If you like beef, you’ll really like oxtails.