Speckle Park Cook Book Glossary

Tail

Oxtail

Oxtail is the tail of the steer, cut into thick sections around the bone. It is very gelatinous, with a small amount of meat on each piece, and it produces one of the richest, most luxurious sauces in beef cookery.

Once a cheap offcut, it has grown more expensive as more cooks have discovered it, but it remains a bargain for the flavour. The pieces vary in size, with large rounds from the thick end and smaller ones from the tip. A mix of sizes is perfectly fine.

Buy about 400 to 500 g (¾ to 1 lb) per person, since much of the weight is bone.

Techniques

Oxtail needs long, moist cooking to turn its connective tissue into jelly. Brown the pieces well, then braise or stew them for three to four hours, until the meat falls from the bone and the sauce coats a spoon. Jamaican, Korean, Spanish and Italian cooks all rely on this approach.

Because the tail is so fatty, the finished dish will have a layer of grease on top. Chill it overnight so the fat sets solid and lift it off, or skim it carefully with a ladle. Oxtail is also excellent as a gentle simmer for soup, giving broth a lot of body.

A pressure cooker reduces the time to about an hour. Whichever method you choose, the tail is ready when the meat is yielding and the collagen has fully melted.

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