Oxtail Soup

[In the Kitchen]

Anyone make oxtail soup? I can't find oxtails in the store very much. Also does anyone make lentil soup? This is the favorite of our family and would like some new ideas instead of just regular soup I always fix. I mostly clean out the fridge when I fix soup. Would like some definite proportions. Thanks.

 

[mudbug]

Sausage is really good in lentil soup. Have you ever done that?

 

[In the Kitchen]

Ox Tail Soup

You talking Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage or some other kind? I have tried with Hillshire. You like it?

 

[mudbug]

yeah and yeah. But any kind would probably be fine.

 

[Konditor]

Mudbug: There’s a nice balance of flavors & nutrition in this Lentil Soup….

1 oz. butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp cumin
8 oz. red lentils
1 large tomato, concassé
1¾ pints chicken stock
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
A squeeze of lemon juice
Fresh parsley, minced, to garnish

Melt butter in pan; add onion & garlic and cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cumin and lentils, then add tomato & warm stock. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes – until lentils are quite soft.

Liquidize soup in blender. Return soup to the pan, reheat gently and season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, garnish with thin lemon slices & parsley.

 

[mudbug]

thanks, Konditor. Your recipe sounds real good. How do I concasse a tomato?

 

[Konditor]

Mudbug, concassé is French shorthand for "peeled, seeded, & chopped."

 

[mudbug]

Thanks again, Kon (may I call you Kon?). Umpty-ump years ago I was fluent in French, but not anymore. I will sneak your recipe upon unsuspecting family members who think they don't like lentils, tee hee.

 

[honeybee]

oxtail soup

I've never tried red lentils. I know the other (greenish/brown) lentils tast rather bland and I would think the spices with the other ingredients would make this recipe a tasty soup.

 

[Konditor]

Mudbug: Alright, you may call be 'Kon" -- but not "Konnie"! Anyway, "Konditor" is Ger. for pastry cook; and that's a quite decent handle, don't you agree? :-D

Always enjoying your contributions throughout these forums, I am,

Konditor
(but Lawrence to my acqaintances)

 

[mudbug]

Quite decent, indeed. I am learning so much from your posts. In about another week I will be able to actually try some of your suggestions and ideas.

 

[Otter]

My mother makes a dynamite oxtail soup in her pressure cooker. Oxtail is definitely hard to find - we drive (120 mile round trip) to a small butcher shop and buy 30# at a time.

 

[Lifter]

EEEK!

Oxtail is an easy "find" in Canada...maybe its just the issue that we ship off the tri-tip roasts to the USA market, and retain the cheaper cuts like oxtail for ourselves...

Anyways, an idea or two with this cut...

"Marinate"...untreated, it can be a bit tough, and a marinade adds flavours and tenderises, always a good idea...

"Braise"...brown it up in some fattiness or another, as there's virtually no fat there to work with, and browning accents its inredible flavour...

"Stew"...the old pressure cooker method is a fine one, but how many of us own one today? A crock pot or long and slow cooking of the meat, until its to "fall off the bones" state (get the bones out of there!) and stew this up in stock that you've already produced, some rutabaga chopped up, carrots, onion, celery (peas as a late addition) BBQ sauce to thicken...what a great stew!

Lifter

 

[SierraCook]

Lentil Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium-sized yellow onions, chopped (2 cups)
2 large leeks, white parts only, sliced (1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
½ teaspoon black pepper
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 cups cold water
1-pound lentils
12 oz. baked ham, cut into bite-sized pieces (2 cups)
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped (2 cups)
2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
1 bay leaf
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

In a six-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over moderately high heat. Add the onions, leeks, garlic, cumin, thyme, and pepper and sauté for ten minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in broth, water, lentils, ham, carrots, celery, and bay leaf. Raise heat to high and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until the lentils are tender. Discard bay leaf and stir in parsley, vinegar, and salt. Makes eight 1¼ cup servings.

 

[In the Kitchen]

Haven't been to this topic for few days but thank you for your suggestions. I even mentioned oxtails to the editor of our local newspaper and she said they aren't too popular. Possibly because of the name? Ox tails. Guess it isn't too appetizing but you guys sure sound like you fix them. At least I have them in common with you. Appreciate your responses and will be prepared to use them when I find the ox tails. I just wonder why they are so expensive if people don't really use them? Some things just don't make sense to me. I love it when the soup gets thick with gelatin. My mom used to say that is when the soup has 'strength stock'. Thanks and stay well.

 

[Otter]

I asked the local butcher why they didn't have oxtail. "Nobody wants them" is what he replied. I asked if he could special order them for me. He said "Sure, 5 bucks a pound, minimum order 30 pounds." I said THAT was probably why nobody wanted them. We paid $2.39 at the small butcher shop, but they cost a lot more than that when you figure in the 120 mile round trip we made to get them. I just refuse to pay $5 a pound for something that is predominantly bone, and we were in the mood to take a ride anyway.

 

[Lifter]

Otter, its time to separate the terms "butcher" and Meat market...

A "butcher" buys whole carcasses, and prcocesses them, getting his profits from volume and skill in handling...and thus is left with ox-tails as only one instance to be rid of...

In short, the "meat market" manager buys the popular cuts from a non-caring "butcher", who'd just as soon let the MM mgr do the "fine cutting" ...and is left with all the "ox-tails", briskets...well we all know the unpopular cuts that can be re-worked, but you get my point...these can be snapped up at bargain prices, and usually, the "butcher" will be moved to give you some of the "good stuff", thats better than he's dumping on the Meat Market Mgr, and usually at a better price...

Got a freezer?

Lifter

 

[Otter]

Right you are, Lifter. The guy who wanted 5 bucks was a supermarket. The cheaper one was a small operation that did their own butchering and had a retail operation also.

 

[SierraCook]

Here is a recipe for Oxtail Stew that I got from another foodie friend, Rachel. This is a recipe that has been handed down through her Italian family. I will also post this under the stews thread.

Oxtail Stew (Bonitatibus Style)

All amounts are approximate:

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 ½ lb. oxtails
Olive oil
2 (28 oz.) cans Italian plum tomatoes or 4 (14 oz.) cans ready-cut tomatoes
2 large onions
4 cups red wine (Gallo Hearty Burgundy is best)
1 can low sodium chicken broth
5 cloves garlic
Water
2-3 lbs. root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, etc.)
Basil to taste (Fresh is the best)
1-2 pinches crushed red pepper

Mix the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a bag. Put meat in bag and shake well. Brown floured meat at high temperatures in olive oil in heavy pan. Put in large pot with tomatoes, 1 onion quartered, 2 cups wine, chicken broth, garlic, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 hours. Add vegetables cut into large chunks plus other onion quartered. Add 1 cup of wine. Simmer until meat is tender (another 2 hours). Add water or wine if it gets too thick. Add basil, red pepper, and remaining 1 cup of wine. Simmer for half hour more. Meat should be falling off the bones. Remove bones from pot at this point. Salt and pepper to taste.