Slow Cooker Oxtail Soup – a hearty stew with rich broth and succulent tender meat that’s comforting and perfect anytime of the year cold and warm season.
Who says soups are only good during winter? I don’t know about you but anything that is hearty, and elicits mouthwatering, lip smacking gelatinous flavors… count me in. I can’t wait for a certain time of the year to indulge. Sorry, when it comes to food, patience is not one of strong suits.
I have had tons of request for a slow cooker oxtail soup/stew and since YOU my lovely readers have a space in this lady’s heart, I’m granting your request while I also satisfy my oxtail craving. Win win, right?
Slow cooking is THE absolutely best way of cooking oxtail. AND you are not going to get all sweaty from hours of cooking. You know why?
Slow cooker doesn’t heat up the house as much as a stove or oven would.
If you’ve never tried oxtail before then you are seriously missing out. YES. The cow’s tail is full of bones and connective tissues that when cooked for hours give off that rich, luscious, soupy flavor.
And don’t forget the bones, you really want to nibble down the bones and enjoy every flavor there is! No worries, I don’t judge.
This Oxtail Soup is seriously packed with flavor; with a tasty broth mixture along with variety of herbs and seasonings. The combination of beef broth and the tomato paste makes a flavorful and savory combination for this often neglected main dish. If they only knew! Well, I’d rather have it this way, if not the price would go through the roof. I don’t know if you’ve notice but oxtail prices have been creeping up lately.
I digress. Back to this oxtail soup, like most of my stew recipes, I preferred to brown the oxtail first on the stove rather than throwing everything in the slow cooker. The extra 10 minutes is for the oxtail caramelized surface which will lend rich flavor to the finished dish.
Oh, don’t forget to serve with a loaf of bread, preferably baguette. You’re definitely going to need it to soak up the soup.
Enjoy!
Notes
- If you can, get oxtails that are well trimmed, if not, remove as much visible fat as you can before cooking it.
- Oxtail soups tend to be too oily for some folks, so towards the end of the cooking process use a spoon to spoon off any extra fat at the top of the dish.
- Also another way is to cook the dish a day ahead, refrigerate and remove visible fat at the top.
Watch How To Make It
- 1-2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 - 3 pounds oxtail cut up medium pieces
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ketchup /tomato paste
- 1 Whole Scotch bonnet pepper
- 2 green onions chopped
- 5-6 Whole pimento seeds (allspice),
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1- teaspoon curry or more adjust to preference
- 1 pound carrots
- 1 Tablespoon bouillon powder or cube (optional)
- Salt to taste
- 15 oz Cannellini Beans , drained, rinsed
- 2 Large potatoes, cut into chunks
- Season oxtail with salt and pepper. Set aside
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In a large cast iron or sauce pan heat oil (about 2-3 Tablespoons) over medium heat, until hot. If using a cast iron , only use about a Tablespoon of oil.
Add the oxtail sauté stirring frequently any browned bits off the bottom of the pot, until oxtail is brown. Drain oil if necessary (leave about 1-2 tablespoons)
- Add onions, green onions, garlic, thyme, all spice, Worcestershire, smoked paprika and stir for about a minute. Throw in scotch bonnet pepper, tomato paste, bouillon, curry powder and stir for another minute.
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Then add to crockpot/slow cooker, together with carrots, beans and potatoes
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Deglaze pan with about 2 cups water, gently pour into slow cooker, add about 2-3 cups . You may adjust for with more or less water at the end .
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Cover and cook on Low for about 7 -8 hour, or until desired tenderness has been reached. Remove and serve with rice and or baguette.
How to Make Slow Cooker Oxtail Soup
Made this tonight with the oxtails I got from Costco. This was very yummy. I did add a few more cloves of garlic. I did not have a scotch bonnet pepper but had dehydrated Habenero from my garden and used a bit of that instead. I like my stew a bit thicker so I will cut back a tad on the stock or use some cornstarch towards the end. Yummy and will make this again.
Sadly, I couldn’t find oxtails at three different stores! So I used stew meat. I used two jalapeño peppers instead of scotch bonnet because we grow and freeze them over the summer, here in Virginia. I used less broth so it was more of a stew. Everyone who tasted it really liked it. I will keep looking for oxtails and plan to use this recipe again.It is very interestingly flavored.
I found oxtails at an Asian market.
Thanks for sharing!!!
I was just in Costco and they had them. I remembered this dish from my childhood and decided to get them. They were in the NY stores, don’t know about the VA stores.
This was my first time making oxtail and it turned out delicious!! I didn’t have the beans or carrots and used cayenne instead of the scotch bonnet and also deglazed the pan with chicken stock, but other than follow the recipe and was so happy with the results! Served with garlic bread, yum yum! Super tender and tasty!! Thanks for a great recipe!
I had leftover oxtail from stew last night so used this recipe to use up the rest. As it was spur of the moment I went with what I had so left out the chilli, replaced the beans with soup mix (dried barley, lentils, peas, etc) and added some rich gravy powder at the end to thicken it. It was really nice and will be on my regular recipe list. Thanks so much for sharing this. I was a bit wary of the curry powder but it does really add to it!
The reasons oxtail make such delicious soup is that they create a very rich broth … all the collagen cooks out of all those bones and tendons. Because of this, there is really no reason to use bullion in this recipe. The more bones you cook in a soup, the richer the broth and the less you need to use any kind of bullion. Just FYI.
I’ve never made this soup before, but WOW! It was absolutely devine, will definitely be keeping this recipe. The smells that take over the house, whilst cooking were just as good. This is my new favourite
This recipe was amazing! I have never had oxtail but had a couple in the freezer from one of our raised steers and found this recipe. The only thing I did different was that I used 1 tsp of allspice and a whole habenero. Will be saving this recipe for sure!
I’m looking forward to cooking this recipe is cooking on Thursday for a party on Sunday to soon and if not would you cook 1/2 way and finish on Sunday?
It tastes even better the next day. You can cook until tender then reheat the next day.
Beans in a Crock-Pot cook tender and firm at 3 hours. Butter beans or baby Lima beans are delicious. White fordhook blend well with oxtails.
I agree with browning the oxtails. Wash them well in water and lemon or lime juice. Clean them well. Dry with paper towels Mix olive oil and your herbs and spices in a
bowel, put in hour hand and rub and massage into oxtails. Let sit a few minutes then begin to brown in a skillet in little olive oil. This infuses flavor into the meat. Brown slowly then transfer to crock pot .Add vegetables. Everything should cook on low for 6 hours
I’m trying oxtail soup tonight for tomorrow’s dinner. Can’t wait . I’ve read some of the comments and now to follow your recipe to the latter is a bit confusing. But I’m going to stick to your for the first time and afterwards I’ll vary a little. Thanks for all the tips and I’ll let you know how it came out.
I have cooked this recipe 3 times and it has been delicious every single time. Thank you!
I made this recipe with beef neck bones instead of oxtail and it was delicious! Comforting, filling beef stew with warm spices and super rich flavor. Everyone loved it and it was a snap to make. Used the extra fat from the top to fry up some potato wedges that came out beautifully red and beefy and curry-flavored…. Mmmm…..!!!!!
I am curious. The oxtail in my grocery store has little meat attached. Can I supplement with another cut?
Also, I have always removed my whole allspice before serving? Does it cook down in the crockpot?
What would you serve with this besides bread? Any fruits or cheeses?
Hi Laura,
Yes you can supplement with another cut of beef, any tough cut of beef would work as well.
It’s best to crack the allspice before adding it to the pot . It’s barely noticeable when it’s cooked and you can equally omit in this recipe.
This soup is already on the heavy side, I usually include some vegetables on the side, or rice , plantains works as well if want something more substantial. Feel free to try it out with any other sides.
Seems like the beans, carrots and potatoes should be added later… Maybe give them 2 hours max. Even 1 hour for potato or you wind up with mush
Hi! How much ground allspice should I use instead of the seeds. This looks delish and I’m excited to try it!
Hello Kristin !
1 teaspoon would work.
Do you have a recipe for a pork roast to be cooked in the oven
You can check this Pork Tenderloin Roast here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/pork-loin-roast/ OR this Puerto Rican Roast Pork here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/pernil-puerto-rican-roast-pork/ Enjoy! =)
This is so good! I’m so glad I found your recipe. I used this recipe, but I borrowed from your Jamaican Oxtail recipe and added browning sauce. and For curry, I used a block segment of Japanese S & B Golden Curry, it added nice layer of depth. Thanks very much!
So good! This was way out of my wheelhouse but it was very easy and tastes great!
Hi. Do you leave the scoth bonnet whole during the complete cooking time.
Thanks
Hello Dale,
Yes I do. You can always smash it at the end of cooking , if you want more heat. I switch it up depending on who am cooking for.
hi! your recipe require bonnet pepper. how much cayenne pepper do i use as a subsitute? Can’t wait to make this oxtail stew…
Hello,
Start with 1/2 cayenne pepper and adjust to taste, towards the end of cooking . It all depends on your heat tolerance .
I boiled the oxtails first to clean them, then trim some of the fat. This was a great recipe , did not use cannellini bean or curry but my brother and son-in-law loved it. Thank
Thanks for dropping by, Lenise! Happy holidays!
Making this today!!..and like a lot of my recipe’s, of coarse I’m adding some craft beer in it!! 🙂 Thank you Imma for this great recipe along with your other recipes that I follow. At this point, just put it into the crockpot but it taste amazing so far! Cant wait! Kari!!! (Cheers in Okinawa hogan)
Bon Apetit!!!
Unusual delicious soup. I couldn’t cut the oxtails prior to cooking so I needed to separate the meat from the bones after cooking the next day when I skimmed the fat from that flavorful broth. I used a large jalapeño and it was too spicy for the grandkids so I added more beef stock and v-8 juice to tone it down a bit. The potato and slow long cooking made a rich thick broth. So glad I found this recipe. Don’t skip the browning step! It adds such flavor to the finished recipe. Yum.
Curry powder? Curry paste?
Curry powder
I season oxtails in flour to coat…add garlic &herb and spice .pepper
..toss and then brown in pan of garlic olive oil .take out and set aside fry a large onion till soft add chopped carrots potatoes red peppers…make up a litre of oxtail soup.with cold water (I used Maggi soup powder) add lea *perrin sauce…about tablespoon.add all to pot and summer for 3 hours.
Hi I added chicken stock because I didn’t have any beef stock. I hope it works
It will
What kind of bouillon cube did you use? Chicken? Beef? I’m assuming beef but wanted to make sure…
HI Lauren. Yes, I used beef cubes fore this recipe.
It tasted tangy, similar to a delicious Ethiopian beef stew by adding fenugreek seeds, cardamom pods, dried Italian herbs, fish sauce, chopped greens, bay leaf, Bailey Irish cream, cloves, fish sauce.
Oh Wow! Did you say Bailey Irish cream?
The all-spice REALLY gave my ox-tail stew what it was missing! Great easy recipe. Much better than standing over stove all day!
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
I boil the oxtails up and let simmer for 1 hour the night before ,let it cool then remove the jelly like fat from the top .Use the water it simmered in as the broth, if you want to brown them off do so then add to crockpot and do what you do.
Thanks for sharing!!!
Hi. If I were to use ground allspice instead of the seeds how much would i use?
What would you recommend in lieu of scotch bonnet, if I can’t find it in my local store? Would like to try this for me and my boo this week.
You can use habanero pepper or cayenne pepper to taste . Happy Cooking !!!!
Simply delicious! Kids loved it too ! Cant wait to try another one of your recepies. I will definitely be making this oxtail again!
That’s Wonderful to hear Michelle! Thank you so much!!!!
I added celery…thanks for the receipt
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
I made this a few weeks ago and cannot wait to make it again. I used jarred jalapenos instead of the Scotch Bonnet (couldn’t find it in the market and thought it might be too spicy for us) and it was so delicious that I can’t wait to make it again. Thanks for the great recipe.
M pleasure ! So happy to hear it worked out well for you.
I was out of Allspice so I threw in some cinnamon and a little nutmeg after browning meat but before adding water. Also, im slow cooking this recipe in an intant pot on the slow cooker setting. Hope it works!
It sure will! Bon Apetit!
I added Mushrooms to this, the dish was fabulous!
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!!!
I like adding different vegetables like corn, lima beans,okra, cabbage, potatoes,carrots,onion of course have you ever heard of using other vegetables than that of carrots. Also I like adding stewed tomatoes instead of catsup or tomato paste does either of those make a difference in taste. ( catsup in tomato paste).
Awesome! Thanks for sharing !!!
Does the scotch bonnet pepper add too much heat for some folks.
Not that much. You may throw it in the last hour of cooking .
Under cook time it says 3h 10m, but in the instructions it says 7-8 hours. Which is it?
If you are cooking on high , then it’s about 3 hours on low it’s double the amount of time.
Hello. I was wondering why you wouldn’t deglaze with red wine ore even beef stock.. I will be trying this recipe. Thanks!!!;
Hey Andrew ! You sure can! No particular reason why. Feel free to deglaze with stock or wine. Do let me know how it works out for you.
Nkwobi for the win!
Yeah, I presume the beans is added at the end to warm thru as well so they retain their texture. Nice dish and recipe. For me, I’d add a few BayLeafs and a littlebit of Cloves to up and add to the flavors with that long slow cooking.
Thanks for the ideas. Bayleaf sounds like a great addition.
I love your idea. I am making it tomorrow. Will add it.
I presume the beans are thrown in close to the end of cooking?
Will be trying this. Thank you.
You can throw it in the beginning or towards the end. It’s a matter of preference . It your like your beans with a slight chew then throw it at the end. Happy Cooking!!!
Imma,
When do you add the beans?
I add the beans together with the potatoes and carrots. And it works out just fine- like you see in the pictures. Slightly mushy but firm. You may add about 2 hrs before removing from the slow cooker if desired.
I’m trying it with lentils—will let you know how it turns out.
Awesome! Can’t wait!
Hi what curry powder do I use As we get a huge variety here in Australia? Thanks
Any variety would do just fine here. If you are making curry chicken then homemade is best . Check it out here https://www.africanbites.com/jamaican-curry-powder/