Dutch Oven Braised Oxtail Recipe

This is the best braised oxtail recipe in a Dutch Oven you’ll ever try. Fork tender beef in a rich gravy sauce paired with carrots and onions is great served over mashed potatoes or with rice. Easy Oxtails on the Stove for dinner.

Braised Oxtail

We have talked over the years about How to Cook Oxtails in a number of different ways. The most important thing is to understand how to make them tender and slow cooked in beef stock or a bit of red wine for the liquid is key. Whether you make oxtail stew or serve “plain” over potatoes it needs time to tenderize.

You can tweak this a number of different ways. Add heat with red pepper flakes on your meat before browning, or use our popular Oxtail Seasoning. Searing at the very beginning not only locks in the moisture and keeps them tender but adheres the flavors on to the outside nicely. This cut of beef has a strong flavor without anything, keep that in mind.

How to Braise Oxtails

If I had to explain the flavor of these I would say it is most similar to our Smoked Oxtail, but doesn’t take quite as long. Like short ribs you need quite a bit of time to really break this meat down. It is quite tough but with low heat over a longer period of time it will fall off of the bone and delicious to eat.

• 2 lbs oxtails
• 1 carrot peeled and chopped
• 1 onion sliced
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 2 c beef broth
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt, coriander and paprika (you might like a pinch of black pepper too)

Dutch Oven Oxtails

I think 1 dutch oven is the best way to make these. You can saute, braise, fry and boil all in the same pot without worrying about anything spilling over. Cast iron holds the heat evenly for a long period of time and when seasoned can add great additional flavors to any dish.

Oxtail Braised Recipe

If you wanted to add lots of vegetables I would make the same broth with seasonings listed below but the timing for our Oxtail Boil Recipe. In that one we add potatoes, corn and onion into the mix for more of a one pot meal.

To start you want to think of how you want to season the oxtails. You can use bold flavors or just simple salt and pepper on the outside. When you brown the oxtails those will bake on when browning. In a saucepan or large frying pan over medium high heat, pour 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the oxtail for 3-4 minutes on all sides, turning the pieces over.

• Then take the tail out of the pan and put it aside.
• Add the frying oil to the pan and start frying the vegetables on low heat.
• Stir. After 5 minutes, transfer the fried oxtail to the pan.
• Add beef broth, as well as salt and spices to the pan.
• You can add fresh sprigs of rosemary, thyme and bay leaf.
• Stir and cook covered for 2 1/2 hours. Check after 1.5 hours, if the liquid boils away during the process, add more broth or water.
  • for a faster method use these ingredients but make Instant Pot Oxtail instead
• After 3 hours, the meat will become very soft.
• You can serve whole pieces along with the sauce.
  • Or you can remove the oxtails, separate the meat from the bones, and use the pulled beef for cooking other dishes.

If I do have leftovers I will save in a freezer bag. Next day just pull the meat off of the bones and use in another dish like our Korean Oxtail Soup, probably my favorite way to use leftovers.

Dutch Oven Oxtails

If you would rather cook Oxtails in the Oven this same way you could. I would follow the same directions here but then preheat the oven to 300 degrees and transfer in there for a bit longer than this timing. You can read all the instructions by clicking the link above for that method.

In the event that you want to set it and forget it I would still sear at the beginning with seasonings. Then follow our Slow Cooker Oxtail recipe.

Ox Tail Recipe