Paula Dean's Country Oxtails

OK, this is not your typical Memorial Day fare . . . but my husband requested it.  To make a long story short, someone at his work had Oxtail soup last week and he thought it smelled so good.  He asked me if I could make it for him.  So off to the Internet I went in search of a recipe for Oxtail soup.  Oh so many recipes . . .then I happened upon Paula's recipe for Country Oxtails.  It isn't exactly soup, more like stew but, after I read the ingredients to him - he wanted it.  Of course, I didn't have oxtails sitting in my refrigerator so I had to make a visit to my local Krogers.  What luck - yes, they had Oxtails (though rather expensive!).    Plus I had to buy a package of carrots since I didn't have any.

Paula Dean's Country Oxtails

Ingredients

3 lbs oxtails
1 tsp olive oil
1 can beef broth
1 cup red wine (I used Merlot)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
6 cloves garlic, large ones cut in half (I forgot those - so I just used garlic powder)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 Vidala onion, cut into 6 wedges (didn't have that either, so I just used a white onion)
6 small new red potatoes, cut in half
4 medium carrots, cut in 1 inch lengths
cooked rice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F

Season the oxtails with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Using a heavy, oven proof Dutch oven, coat the bottom with olive oil.  Once heated, sear the oxtails on all sides.

Remove and set aside.


Add the beef broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and garlic cloves (or powder, in my case).  Stir to combine.

Add the basil and oregano, bay leaves, tomato sauce and oxtails. 

Cover and bake for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven and bring to a simmer on stove top.

Add the oven, carrots and potatoes to the pot.  Cover and simmer until the potatoes are soft - roughly 15 to 20 minutes.  Scrape the meat from the oxtail bones.

Serve over rice!

Entire Recipe:

Paula Dean's Country Oxtails

Ingredients

3 lbs oxtails
1 tsp olive oil
1 can beef broth
1 cup red wine (I used Merlot)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
6 cloves garlic, large ones cut in half (I forgot those - so I just used garlic powder)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 Vidala onion, cut into 6 wedges (didn't have that either, so I just used a white onion)
6 small new red potatoes, cut in half
4 medium carrots, cut in 1 inch lengths
cooked rice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F

Season the oxtails with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Using a heavy, oven proof Dutch oven, coat the bottom with olive oil.  Once heated, sear the oxtails on all sides.
 
Remove and set aside.

Add the beef broth, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and garlic cloves (or powder, in my case).  Stir to combine.

Add the basil and oregano, bay leaves, tomato sauce and oxtails. 

Cover and bake for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove from onion and bring to a simmer on stove top.

Add the onion, carrots and potatoes to the pot.  Cover and simmer until the potatoes are soft - roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
 
Scrape the meat from the oxtail bones.

Serve over rice!

Verdict:

OH MY!!  Was this ever good!!  This was most definitely a winner and I will be making this again.  Though I think you could easily replace the oxtails with stew beef and not notice any difference.  Everyone in our household enjoyed this meal - especially our dogs who got all the bones from the oxtails - so it was a winner all around!