Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Rippin' Another Blog: Ox Tail Soup

The Lowdown:

As a kid I always wondered what ox tail soup was. Using an actual ox tail seemed more like a tall tale. Of course, now I've realized that ox tail soup is actually made of ox tails. A suiting name I suppose. Really, what else could you call a soup that is made of ox tail other than ox tail soup?

Up until now, I've passed by ox tails everytime I went to the grocery store since time began. Of course time began approximately 10 years ago. I'm going to refer to this era as PP, or the post-parental era. It was the beginning of this era when I started figuring out that grocery shopping wasn't as much fun as it used to be. When you were young, you could sneak whatever you wanted into the cart. This of course was assuming you were sly enough to avoid detection. The only consequence was that pseudo feeling of guilt when you got busted at the checkout line. But in all seriousness, who could blame us? Count Chocula was in fact a food group back then. Well, maybe not for me. I was forced to eat Harvest Crunch because it had less sugar.

The years from 0 PP to 5 PP were tough years. Learning the ropes in the grocery store was a new skill that I had to acquire... Budgeting. Damn you budgeting! They were tough lessons indeed. I mean really, how much Mr. Noodle can you eat before your sick of it. Actually, I still love it, but still. However, things have changed for the better, and now during 9 PP I am finally going to tackle ox tail soup. Well, perhaps it took Noelle from The Joyful Table to teach this not so ol' dog a new trick.





The Playlist:

1 kg Ox tails
2 cups Red wine
2 Onions, quartered
3 stalks Celery, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
2 tbsp Salt
3-5 Bay leaves
Pepper, to taste
Water

1/2 cup Barley (optional)


The Skinny:


  1. Add all the ingredients, except barley, into a large pot and cover with enough water to fully submerge all the ingredients, then some. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling lower heat and simmer for 6-8 hours.
  2. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, skim the layer of fat off of the surface then strain, saving the liquid broth and the ox tails. If desired, you may remove the meat from the ox tail bones. If not, put the ox tails back into the broth.
  3. Add barley and reheat. Simmer until barley is cooked. Serve warm. 


Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers33 Shades of GreenChef in TrainingFood Renegade

3 comments:

  1. I liked your description of shopping as a child - I never got away with the Count Chocula either! I've never been brave enough to try making Oxtail soup, but I've always enjoyed it when I have eaten it. Yours looks fantastic and I really like the sound of the recipe with the red wine in it. Thank you for sharing this post with the Hearth and Soul hop :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband and I still talk about how easy life was BC (before children). I loved shopping until I had children, now I hate it even though my youngest is 5. My son doesn't ask for junk food, but he does throw a fit if I don't buy every single color of pepper available. Ditto apples. And God forbid we go to Whole Foods where they have 4 colors of cauliflower, 3 colors of beets, and 5 colors of potatoes. And he seriously believes he neeeeds them all and makes a passionate case for each item. I look like the worst mother in the whole world for denying my son more veggies. If I were denying him a box of cereal,I would get nods of approval instead of glares.

    I don't think I have ever had ox tail soup, but my mother was the type who served us heart and called it roast or tongue and called it shredded beef, so I can't be certain. Your ox tail soup does sound delicious, but I would probably take a cue from my mom and call it something else before serving it to the family. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It actually made the best broth I've ever made before. I hope you get to try this with your family soon :)

      Delete