Oxtail Soup:

My dad was the soup-maker in the family and his favorite was Oxtail soup - a rich, hearty, beef/vegetable dish that we all loved for dinner with a salad and bread and butter.  Besides being delicious, oxtail soup is filled with bone marrow which provides collagen, along with protein and calcium.  When the soup is chilled, it takes on a gelatin texture with little to no grease.  Add a bunch of vegetables and beef bone broth and you’re treating yourself to a tasty bowl of goodness!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil 

2 pounds oxtails

1/2 cup flour - plus 2 Tablespoons

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium Vidalia or sweet yellow onion - chopped

1 leek - chopped

3 cups beef bone broth

6 cups water

3 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon

1 cup red wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon thyme

2 cloves garlic - minced

2 stalks celery - diced

2-3 medium carrots, cleaned and sliced

6 small new red potatoes - cleaned and cut in 2 to 4 pieces depending on size.

3 springs fresh parsley - chopped

4 ounces sliced mushrooms. (Optional)

Directions:

1. Rinse oxtails and pat dry.  Place 1/2 cup flour in large baggie, add meat and shake to cover meat in flour.

2. Heat canola oil (or bacon grease) in large, heavy pot and brown oxtails on all sides.  Remove meat to a separate plate.

3. Add butter to pot (and additional oil if needed) and add chopped onions and leeks.  Saute in pot until slightly translucent or beginning to brown.

4. Scatter 2 tablespoons flour over onion/leek mixture and stir.

5. Return oxtails to pot and slowly pour beef broth and water into pot to cover meat.

6. Add Better Than Bouillon, tomato paste, diced celery, bay leaf, thyme and garlic to pot.

7. Cover pot and simmer for 2-1/2 to 3 hours stirring occasionally. Meat should be fork tender and falling off the bone with gentle prodding.

8. Remove oxtails to a deep dish to separate meat from the bones and cut meat off the bone into small pieces.  This is tricky and requires skill of a surgeon using a fork, pointy knife and fingers.

9. Return meat to broth and add carrots, potatoes and parsley.  Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until carrots and potatoes are tender.  I also put bones back in to continue to get their goodness.  Some folks like to gnaw around the curves of the bones.

10. Serve with crusty bread.

Servings:

8 - 8oz Bowls

Time:

Prep: 1/2 Hour to 1 Hour

Cooking: 3 to 3- 1/2 Hours

Difficulty: