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Meat cuts · Czech cuisine

Oxtail

The tail of beef, on the bone and rich in gelatine – the base of very strong stocks and braised dishes.

AI illustration of Oxtail
AI illustration

At a glance

Cut
The tail of the animal, behind the sacrum.
Production
Sold on the bone, without the sacrum and remnants of hide.
Use
Strong stocks, soups and braises.
Cooking time
Braising about 3½ hours at 170 °C; at a low temperature (110 °C) up to around 10 hours.
Substitutes
Shin, or marrow bones and other soup bones for stock.

Where on the animal

Diagram: where the cut sits on beef – oxtailOxtail: Beef – Oxtail. An approximate diagram; butchers divide the carcass in slightly different ways from country to country.

Beef

  • Oxtail

An approximate diagram; butchers divide the carcass in slightly different ways from country to country.

Oxtail is the tail of the animal. It is sold on the bone, trimmed without the sacrum, remnants of hide and the smooth muscle of the rectum. The meat on the tail vertebrae is compact, sinewy and high in gelatine.

Oxtail is a somewhat neglected cut that makes very strong stocks with a distinctive flavour. It also suits braising; like shin it is sinewy and needs long, moist cooking. Its high gelatine content shows in both the stock and the sauce after long cooking.

In German cooking the tail, Ochsenschwanz, is braised as well as boiled for soup. The British trade guide lists it among the offal as ox tail.

Techniques and tips

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Sources