Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the

culinary name Culinary names, menu names, or kitchen names are names of foods used in the preparation or selling of food, as opposed to their names in agriculture or in scientific nomenclature. The menu name may even be different from the kitchen name. For exa ...

for the

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

of cattle. While the word once meant only the tail of an ox, today it can also refer to the tails of other cattle. An oxtail typically weighs around and is skinned and cut into shorter lengths for sale. Oxtail is a

gelatin Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, coll ...

-rich meat, which is usually slow-cooked as a

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in Soup, liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for ...

or braised. It is a traditional

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

base for

oxtail soup Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. While the word once meant only the tail of an ox, today it can also refer to the tails of other cattle. An oxtail typically weighs around and is skinn ...

. Traditional preparations involve slow cooking, so some modern recipes take a shortcut using a

pressure cooker A pressure cooker is a sealed vessel for cooking food with the use of high pressure steam and water or a water-based liquid, a process called pressure cooking. The high pressure limits boiling and creates higher temperatures not possible at low ...

Versions

Oxtail is the main ingredient of the Italian dish '' coda alla vaccinara'' (a classic of Roman cuisine). It is a popular flavour for powdered, instant and premade canned soups in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Oxtails are also one of the popular bases for terrine-like , the Eastern European

aspic Aspic () or meat jelly is a savoury gelatin made with a meat stock (food), stock or broth, set in a mold to encase other ingredients. These often include pieces of meat, seafood, vegetable, or eggs. Aspic is also sometimes referred to as ''aspic ...

dish, also prepared from cows' knees, pig trotters or ears. Stewed oxtail cooked with

lima bean A lima bean (''Phaseolus lunatus''), also commonly known as butter bean, sieva bean, double bean or Madagascar bean, is a legume grown for its edible seeds or beans. Origin and uses ''Phaseolus lunatus'' is found in Meso- and South America. Tw ...

s or ''

lablab ''Lablab purpureus'' is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food.broad beans and traditionally served with plain white rice and latterly, with rice and peas is commonly eaten as a main dish in Jamaica as well as throughout the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Oxtail is also very popular in South Africa, where it is often cooked in a traditional skillet called a potjie, which is a three-legged cast iron pot placed over an open fire. Oxtail is also eaten in other southern parts of Africa like Zimbabwe and served with sadza and greens. In

Cuban cuisine Cuban cuisine is largely based on Spanish cuisine with influence from India, African and other Caribbean cuisines. Some Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish, Taino and African cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and ...

, a stew can be made from oxtail called ''rabo encendido''. In the Philippines, it is prepared in a peanut-based stew called

kare-kare Kare-kare is a Filipino cuisine featuring a thick savory peanut sauce. It is generally made from a base of stewed oxtail, beef tripe, pork hocks, calves' feet, pig's feet or trotters, various cuts of pork, beef stew meat, and occasiona ...

. In Iran, oxtail is slow-cooked and served as a substitute for shank in a main dish called ''baghla-poli-mahicheh'', which is prepared with rice, shank (or oxtail) and a mixture of herbs including dill, coriander, parsley and garlic. In India, it is known as ''dumghazah'' in the parts in and around

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, Uttar Pradesh and is considered a delicacy. Versions of

are popular traditional dishes in South America, West Africa, China, Spain, Korea and Indonesia. In Chinese cuisine, it is usually made into a soup called in zh, s=牛尾汤, p=niúwěi tāng, l=oxtail soup. In

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine is the set of foods and culinary styles which are associated with Korean culture. This cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient Prehistoric Korea, agricultural and nomad ...

, a type of (beef bone soup) made with oxtail is called (). It is a thick soup seasoned with salt and eaten with a bowl of rice. It can be used as a stock for making (

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten. Common variations include ...

soup). In the United States, oxtail has the meat-cutting classification NAMP 1791.

References

External links

{{beef Cuts of beef East Asian cuisine Jamaican cuisine Soul food Southeast Asian cuisine African-American cuisine