Soups & Starters · London

Rich Oxtail Soup

Name: Rich Oxtail Soup
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 3 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 55 min
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1.5kg oxtail pieces; 2 tbsp flour, seasoned; 2 onions; 2 carrots; 2 celery sticks; 2 garlic cloves; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 200ml red wine; 1.5 litres beef stock; 2 bay leaves; few thyme sprigs; 1 tsp allspice berries; Splash of sherry, to finish; chopped parsley

Dark, glossy and deeply beefy — oxtails braised until they surrender into a soup once prescribed for invalids and now ordered purely for pleasure.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 210 min
Total: 235 min
Yield: Serves 4–6
Difficulty: Moderate
Era: Georgian

Ingredients

1.5kg oxtail pieces
2 tbsp flour, seasoned
2 onions; 2 carrots; 2 celery sticks; 2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp tomato purée; 200ml red wine; 1.5 litres beef stock
2 bay leaves; few thyme sprigs; 1 tsp allspice berries
Splash of sherry, to finish; chopped parsley

Method

Flour and brown the oxtail in dripping in batches until deeply coloured.
Soften the vegetables, add the tomato purée and wine, and reduce by half.
Add the stock, herbs and allspice; braise gently for 3 hours.
Lift out the oxtail, shred the meat, and strain the broth. Skim the fat.
Return meat to broth, sharpen with sherry, and serve scattered with parsley.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.