Is oxtail worth the high price?

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BAPyessir6

BAPyessir6

Sous Chef
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Seeing oxtail at my local store for $12 a pound made me wonder. If beef marrow bones/chuck are both $4 and $6 respectfully, (beef shanks are $7 right now) can't I just use the bones and chuck/shank instead of shelling out almost double for any dish that uses oxtail?

Or is oxtail really special? Like I get there's only 1 tail per animal, which (in addition to social media-fying) jacks up the price, but as I've never had oxtail I'm not sure if it's vastly superior to using bones and cheaper cuts of beef as a substitute.
 
Depends on what you value and what exactly do you mean by a substitute, for what exactly? Oxtail is hard to beat for it's intensity with the high amount of gelatin and beef flavor where shank will give you a lot more meat volume. Most people I suspect would go with meat volume at a lower cost.
 
I really like oxtail. The flavor has a richness that I can't quite describe. I primarily use oxtails to make a soup from a recipe I've had for ages, and it's always well received by those I've served it to. I have no clue where I got it but it's always a winner.

I've posted the recipe in the "soups" forum if anyone would like to try it.
 
pictonguy said:
Depends on what you value and what exactly do you mean by a substitute, for what exactly? Oxtail is hard to beat for it's intensity with the high amount of gelatin and beef flavor where shank will give you a lot more meat volume. Most people I suspect would go with meat volume at a lower cost.
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I was thinking of stuff like oxtail stew (Jamaican). . .Ragu Bolognese?
 
If you want to try it, go for it. We did. It was nice, but probably not something we'd buy again unless it was deeply on sale.
 
Oxtail should not cost 12 bucks a pound. It is not a prime cut. But, all beef is stupid expensive right now. If you want to spend that kind of money, go for it. I haven't bought any beef in the last two months.

I would not spend that kind of money for oxtail right now. It is worth buying, cooking and eating at some point in the future, but not while it I priced like that.

CD
 
In Sandy Eggo, oxtail is about $9.35 lb. I used to make a Pilipino dish called kare kare, which is oxtail in a peanut sauce, but I haven't done so in a long time, not because oxtail is too expensive, but because kare kare is too time consuming for me to make just for myself. Which is also why I don't make relyeno bangus (stuffed milk fish).
 
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I don't understand the high price of it, since it used to be a cheap, almost discarded scrap meat. I've made braised oxtail, but it's too full of not only bones, but collagen, which renders into gelatin. And so, when you go to eat it, far too many of your bites are of pure goop instead of meat. It's probably great for stocks, but for the same price, I will braise cubed chuck roast all day, and every day.
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Gone Hiking said:
I don't understand the high price of it, since it used to be a cheap, almost discarded scrap meat. I've made braised oxtail, but it's too full of not only bones, but collagen, which renders into gelatin. And so, when you go to eat it, far too many of your bites are of pure goop instead of meat. It's probably great for stocks, but for the same price, I will braise cubed chuck roast all day, and every day.
55058903158_c68b0bbf1f_b.jpg
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I'm curious by the picture. That's chuck roast, if I'm correct. Is that a bone I see in the bottom part of the bowl, and if so I didn't think chuck roast usually came with bones?
 
Maybe about 10-15 years ago, there was a big trend for using secondary cuts of meat to save money. We saw an influx of celebrity chefs extolling their virtues and preparing haute cuisine with those dirt cheap cuts.
Of course, the market caught on and cuts like oxtail, beef cheeks etc became far more expensive.
I used to buy a whole dressed beef cheek for about $2AUD and it now costs $9.
The other consideration, and ironically the other side of the coin, is that the more people gravitate towards a plant based diet, the more expensive meat becomes to be sustainable for farmers.
 
The cattle farmer needs to make a certain amount of money to make their farm profitable and sustainable. When less people are buying their product, they have little choice but to raise their prices. At least, that’s what I learned through the buying manager at our hotel.
 
Shining Wizard said:
The cattle farmer needs to make a certain amount of money to make their farm profitable and sustainable. When less people are buying their product, they have little choice but to raise their prices. At least, that’s what I learned through the buying manager at our hotel.
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The American market is different. There are four meat processors that own most of the market. They decide what farmers will get paid, and what consumers will pay. Farmers/ranchers are getting beaten down right now, even though beef prices are ridiculously high.

CD
 
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