These are the Best Southern Oxtail Stew Recipe (Pressure Cooker) that you'll ever eat and will have your family licking their plates clean and demanding more! If you've never had an oxtail stew recipe you are in for a treat because I show you several ways to cook them and how to avoid common mistakes from pressure cooking to slow cooking and everything in between.
The Best Oxtails Recipe
Obviously, if you are going to take the time to make a southern style comfort food ox tail, you want the best southern oxtail recipe available and I believe this is the one!
This recipe is rich, flavorful, a tiny bit spicy and the perfect balance of rich gravy for a deep winter stew of tender oxtail (or to enjoy any time really).
What Are Oxtails
Oxtails are the tail of the cow. Sorry, was that too blunt? While an ox is a cow trained to do stuff, there isn't an ox on every corner ready to sacrifice his tail.
It's simply the easiest way to convey that this is the tail of a cow.
Where Do Oxtails Come From
Oxtails are the tail of cattle. Sorry, they aren't necessarily from an ox (which is a trained cow).
Where to Buy Oxtails
Oxtails can be found in the beef section of the local grocery store. If you don't see any, ask the butcher if they can get any.
The best place to always find oxtails is at an old time butcher shop. Check google for your closest city and see what you can find.
How to Clean Oxtails
In general, I never recommend to wash off your meat because if there were bacteria on the food, washing it can spray that bacteria all over your house and cooking at the temperatures we cook at kills bacteria. That's why we cook things.
That said, if you have ever seen a cow tail in real life, you might want to give it a small bath. DO NOT SPRAY IT WITH YOUR HARSH KITCHEN SINK SPRAYER! Instead, place 1 Tbs of white vinegar in 1 quart of water and soak the ox tails for 15 minutes. Then gently rinse and pat dry with paper towels or clean kitchen towels and set aside to finish drying.
Do I Remove the Fat from the Oxtails
Oxtails are naturally very fatty and will remind you of short ribs with the tender meat that results from southern oxtails.
To prepare the oxtail, use a very sharp kitchen knife and slice off as much of the thick hard fat you see covering the outside of the oxtail. Believe me, there will still be enough fat. You don't have to spend hours doing this. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
Once the oxtails are cooked, if you are noticing too much fat, you may want to use a fat separator to remove the excess fat.
How To Prepare Oxtails
To prepare oxtails, you'll need to consider if you want to wash them or not. If you do, follow the instructions above and soak in vinegar water and then cut off the extra fat from the outside edges.
After that, we are going to marinate the oxtails for an hour up to overnight.
Then we shall sear them over medium-high heat and cook them into a hearty stew of jamaican oxtails.
Oxtail Seasoning
Seasoning for these oxtails is a typical Jamaican blend featuring carrots, onions, scotch bonnet pepper, flavorful sauces, garlic and tomato as well as sugar.
You CAN purchase pre-made oxtail seasoning. I've seen such at the butcher shop, but there's really no need since this is all available readily and you probably already have it in your spice drawer and fridge.
Always offer hot sauce and a few sliced onions at the table.
Oxtails Price
One might think that such a lowly cut of beef would be cheap and affordable. Well, you might think that, but NO! They are as high as a giraffes tail!
You can see in the photo what I paid ($28 for 6 pieces of oxtail). That's why you want a good recipe from. a trusted source!
What to Serve with Oxtails
Oxtails are a thick, rich and hearty meal with homemade gravy (and a little fatty), so think along those lines.
They definitely need something starchy...
You will 100% need a bread for sopping up the leftover juices
This meal CALLS for a green veggie.
- Sautéd spinach
- Collards
- Green salad
- Collard Greens
- Black-eyed peas
How To Cook Oxtails in a Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
There are several very good ways to cook oxtails to produce fork tender results. This is a recipe where I prefer my instant pot.
This is a two stage recipe.
- Coat the oxtails in a mixture and sear well.
- Add the other ingredients to the instant pot, scrape the bottom, add the oxtails back and turn it on.
- Add a few more ingredients after cooking is complete to make the gravy (using a cornstarch slurry).
Slow Cooker Oxtail
1. Sear the oxtails as described in the recipe over medium heat.
2. Add the other ingredients like beef broth and season the oxtail pieces with your bell pepper, bay leaves, worcestershire sauce, olive oil or vegetable oil, tomato paste and soy sauce (and other seasonings you are using).
3. Cook on low for 12-16 hours until the connective tissue of the oxtail meat is falling apart.
How to Cook Oxtails on the Stove
This is also a two main stages process
- Coat the beef oxtails in a mixture and sear well.
- Add the other ingredients to the dutch oven, scrape the bottom, add the oxtails back and turn it on.
- Add a few more ingredients after cooking is complete.
How to Cook Oxtails in the Oven
This might seem like a repeat, and it kind of is, this is a mostly 2 stage process.
- Coat the oxtails in a mixture and sear well.
- Add the other ingredients to a dutch oven, scrape the bottom, place oxtails back and turn it on.
- Add a few more ingredients after cooking is complete.
Here's What You'll Need For the Best Oxtail Recipe
- Oxtails
- Broth
- Brown Sugar
- Spices (see recipe) like kosher salt
- White beans, butter beans or cannelloni beans
Special Equipment
For this recipe, you will either need an Instant pot or a Dutch Oven. Here are the ones I have. If you click the photo, it will take you to Amazon so that you can see prices and compare.
If you chose to buy, I do receive a commission and that's one of the ways Loaves and Dishes makes money to keep providing the recipes you find on this site. So, thank you! I am an Amazon Affiliate and this an Amazon Affiliate link.
Go ahead and pick up the rest of the stuff in your basket before coming back, you know you need and want it! Just don't forget to come back!
Dutch Oven
Instantpot
Here's How You Do It
Whether you are cooking in the instant pot or a dutch oven, the process is the same.
- Clean and remove the fats from the cut of meat
- marinate
- Sear
- Add the other ingredients and then cook until bone tender.
Tips and Tricks For The Best Results
The Oxtails
- After you've looked at several packages of oxtails (unless you are at an old fashioned butchery where you can see an entire tail), you'll notice that some of the pieces are larger than others. Usually those pieces are mixed up in the package and you get some large and some small. It's personal preference which to choose, but at my house, we prefer the larger ones.
- When choosing a package, I always choose the package with the most large pieces. The small pieces are a lot of gristle.
- I find it easiest to open the package of oxtails the day before I plan to use them and cut the extra fat from the pieces (as much as possible) and mix up the marinade and put them in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge. Then the next day, it is simply a dump and cook (mostly) - with the searing on the front end.
- I am not usually one to remove extra fat from a piece of meat. Generally, I think that the fat adds to the dish and in a meal that is such a treat like these oxtails, then leave it. We don't eat this every day. That said, even if you remove all the fat you can from the outer edge, the dish will still be very fatty. Believe me, that fat is IN there. Who knows why cows have such fat tails.
- The best way to get rich flavor is to use the browned oxtail to scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon while adding beef stock over medium-low heat on the stove top scraping up the brown bits to create a rich cooking liquid.
Other Ingredients
- When cutting up your carrots, go ahead and leave them in larger chunks, because t his cooks so long that they will break down easily. If you cut them very small, they may dissolve into nothing. The same goes for the onion.
- A single habanero pepper works great in this dish, but if the store doesn't have those, go for the scotch bonnet these are some of the hottest peppers sold at the usual grocery store and that is exactly what you want.
- You'll see that I serve my oxtails with a cannelloni bean in the stew. You can use any other bean you prefer or none. Instead, you could use a potato, that would work too. I like to serve my oxtails with rice and braised spinach and a cornbread. You definitely need a bread for sopping up whatever delicious juices are left in the bottom of the bowl.
Leftover Oxtails
- The leftovers can be kept in an airtight container or small bowl covered with plastic wrap and kept in the fridge for 3-4 days
- The oxtail bones and be made into a lovely oxtail soup with an onion gravy and topped with green onions! Yum!
Special Equipment
For this recipe, you really do need some special equipment. You will either need an Instant pot or a Dutch Oven. Here are the ones I have. If you click the photo, it will take you to Amazon so that you can see prices and compare.
If you chose to buy, I do receive a commission and that's one of the ways Loaves and Dishes makes money to keep providing the recipes you find on this site. So, thank you! I am an Amazon Affiliate and this an Amazon Affiliate link.
Go ahead and pick up the rest of the stuff in your basket before coming back, you know you need and want it! Just don't forget to come back!
Dutch Oven
Instantpot
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
You can freeze the raw or the cooked oxtails! Simply put in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 6 months.
Oxtails will last in the fridge, if kept covered for up to 5 eays
Watch Me Make Oxtails
Can You Give me a Hand
Please leave a 5 STAR comment in the comment section below. This helps others to find the recipes at Loaves and Dishes!
Best Southern Oxtail Stew Recipe (Pressure Cooker)
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2-3 lbs oxtails 5-6 larger pieces of oxtails
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
Oxtail Stew
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon browning
- 1 whole yellow onion chopped
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 whole carrots chopped chopped large
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 1 habanero or scotch bonnet pepper with the seeds and membrane removed and chopped
- 3 Tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Add After Cooking
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 16 oz Cannelloni Beans or butter beans or baby limas (1 can)
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Cleaning Oxtails
- (Optional Step) If you want to wash off the oxtails: In a large bowl place ½ gallon of water and ¼ cup vinegar. Soak the oxtails and swish around in the water for a few minutes. Then carefully rinse dry using care not to splash water out of the sink. Place oxtails onto paper towels and allow to dry very well.
Preparing Oxtails
- Using a sharp knife, remove as much of the fat as possible from the outside ring of the oxtails. Oxtails are very fatty when cooked and while usually you'll find that I leave fat in my recipes, for this one, it's best removed.
Marinade
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, all-spice powder and browning until well mixed. Pour mixture into a gallon sized plastic zip top bag. Place the dry oxtail pieces into the bag and mix well until all pieces are coated. Place bag into the refrigerator for 1 hour up to 24 hours.
Searing
- Set Pressure Cooker on Sauté and add vegetable oil. When the saute is hot inside your pressure cooker add your larger pieces of oxtails to the pot giving space between each for heat to circulate. Brown on both large flat sides and as much as possible on the outer edges.
- Remove oxtail after browning and place aside in a bowl or plate.
Cooking in Pressure Cooker (see notes for other types cooking instructions)
- Keeping the saute function going, deglaze the pressure cooker bowl by adding about ½ cup of beef broth to the insert. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the bits of cooked on goo from the bottom of the pot. Then add the yellow onions, green onions, carrots, garlic, and pepper.
- Add italian seasoning, bay leaf, remaining beef broth, remaining marinade from the marinade bag and ketchup to the pressure cooker insert.
- Add the oxtails back to the bowl of the pressure cooker with all of their accumulated juices.
- Press “Cancel” on your Instant Pot to stop the saute function. Check the seal on your pressure cooker to make sure it is in place and ensure that the little sliding button will go up and down well. Place the lid on your pressure cooker and set to cook for 45 minutes. Once timer is done, allow pressure cooker to fully naturally release.
After Cooking
- Once all pressure has released and the button has slid back down, open lid carefully to allow any extra steam to escape. Using tongs, carefully remove oxtails (they might be about fall apart stage) and any larger vegetables, leaving liquid in the bowl. Remove the Bay leaf and discard. Turn Pressure Cooker on sauté. Once liquid begins to simmer, mix together cold water and cornstarch in a separate small bowl. Slowly pour this mixture (should resemble milk) into simmering liquid and mix well as you do so. Add drained canned beans into pressure cooker and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, until liquid is slightly thickened and beans are warmed. Add lime juice and then salt and pepper to taste
- Gently Add the oxtails and veggies back to the pressure cooker back to the pressure cooker and spoon the stew over the oxtails. Serve and enjoy
Notes
-
- After you've looked at several packages of oxtails (unless you are at an old fashioned butchery where you can see an entire tail), you'll notice that some of the pieces are larger than others. Usually those pieces are mixed up in the package and you get some large and some small. It's personal preference which to choose, but at my house, we prefer the larger ones.
-
- When choosing a package, I always choose the package with the most large pieces. The small pieces are a lot of gristle.
-
- I find it easiest to open the package of oxtails the day before I plan to use them and cut the extra fat from the pieces (as much as possible) and mix up the marinade and put them in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge. Then the next day, it is simply a dump and cook (mostly) - with the searing on the front end.
-
- I am not usually one to remove extra fat from a piece of meat. Generally, I think that the fat adds to the dish and in a meal that is such a treat like these oxtails, then leave it. We don't eat this every day. That said, even if you remove all the fat you can from the outer edge, the dish will still be very fatty. Believe me, that fat is IN there. Who knows why cows have such fat tails.
-
- Ox tails are NOT from an ox, they are beef (cow).
- When cutting up your carrots, go ahead and leave them in larger chunks, because t his cooks so long that they will break down easily. If you cut them very small, they may dissolve into nothing. The same goes for the onion.
-
- A single habanero pepper works great in this dish, but if the store doesn't have those, go for the scotch bonnet these are some of the hottest peppers sold at the usual grocery store and that is exactly what you want. I use 2-3 to add the right amount of heat and flavor to my oxtails. You will have to discover for yourself what the right amount is for you.
- PRO TIP: If you are running short on time, skip the marinade step and follow the instructions I made for the video on YouTube, Simply brown the oxtails in the instantpot, deglaze the pan, add the chopped veggies and the oxtails back to the pan, add the marinade ingredients over the top of the browned oxtails and then set to cook. This gives a faster method that works about as well with all of the flavor included. Once cooked, thicken as usual.
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