My favourite oxtail soup recipe
My friend and favorite butcher Wayne from Barker’s Butchery in Oberon stocks the sweetest little pieces of oxtail in his window. When the snow starts to fall it’s the perfect soup to tick away on the stove. The whole kitchen fills with a most comforting aroma and all the windows fog up.
(serves 4-6 )
YOU WILL NEED…
4 tablespoons olive oil
1.2 kg oxtail trimmed of as much fat as you can and dusted with seasoned flour.
1 large onion, diced.
2 sticks celery
2 large carrots
A few sprigs of thyme and rosemary
3 bay leaves
1 400g tin of tomatoes
2 liter of beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Heat half the oil in a heavy based saucepan or le Crueset. Gently fry the oxtail until each side is caramelized. Remove the oxtail from the pot and add the rest of the oil.
Add the onion, celery, carrot, and herbs and cook until soft.
Add the oxtail and any juices that may have accumulated back into the pot.
Cover with the tomatoes and the beef stock. Pop the lid on and cook slowly for a couple of hours or until the meat is falling off the bone.
Scoop the fat that rises to the top and discard. Season with salt and pepper and dig in with a good hand full of chopped parsley.
NOTE
Another great way to remove the fat (there will be a fair bit of it) is to chill the pot down in the fridge over night and then lift the fat off the following morning. The result will be a lovely clean and clear broth.
I like to freeze this soup in containers, so I can just pull and heat as need be with a big piece of hot buttered toast bumped along the side.