Instant Pot Oxtail

Our easy Instant Pot oxtail recipe is literally the best way of how to cook oxtails for dinner. Cooked on high creates the most mouth watering fall-apart beef, done fast and ready to pull off the bone and enjoy.

You may have had these at a restaurant and thought they would be way to hard to make at home, not true. We started this journey with slow cooker oxtail and they were so great and versatile we just kept going from there……but this is much much faster!!

I will say it over and over again, it doesn’t matter what brand of pressure cooker you have. As long as it is an electric version with the saute and high pressure this will work just great. I have them all, a Mealthy, Crockpot Express, IP and Ninja Foodi. Only plus to the last is you can crisp at the end.

No matter which method you decide to use you have to add herbs and seasonings to the outside, otherwise it is a strong beef flavor. Not that that is bad but typically you’re going to want to offset it with at least some salt and pepper.

Ingredient Notes

You can cook about 4 – 6 oxtails frozen or defrosted, timing doesn’t really change at a time in this machine with the 6 quart size.

Some extra virgin Olive oil will allow you to saute and sear the outsides in the first step which will lock in the juices and make the meat as tender as possible.

Oxtail seasonings are important to add flavor to this dish, we use; Salt and pepper of course as the basics Garlic powder and dried thyme and some 1/4 tsp dry sriracha is optional for heat

Use Beef broth or just use water for the liquid but like I said, the more flavor the better.

Jamaican Seasonings

If you wanted the classic Jamaican flavorings that have a bolder spicy flavor to them you can buy a bottle of seasonings like this at the store. Alternatively you can mix your own jerk seasoning mix here.

This is definitely the best (and fastest) way to cook them. You can cook oxtail on the stove which we have done before but you can’t just set it and forget it like this one. It does get quite tender that way but takes quite a bit of time. Oxtail in the oven takes a bit less attention using a Dutch oven.

How Long to Cook Oxtail in Instant Pot (on High)

45 minutes is it!! If this is your first time working with beef tails at all I would highly suggest you pressure cook them. They aren’t only great in a broth either when they’re done. You can put on a plate with a bit of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce. Serve with small forks (like with crab) so every bit and piece can be picked out.

4-6 is typically all you’ll be able to fit in one single layer. If you overlap them I would say you’d want to increase that cook time. You want the meat to pull away from the bone so you can pull it off.

How Long to Cook Frozen Oxtails in Instant Pot

Surprisingly there isn’t really any difference whether they are straight out of the freezer or fresh or defrosted other than you won’t be able to sear or brown them and would skip the deglaze step entirely.

No matter what method you choose you should try to get each piece to be of similar sizes. Especially with smoked oxtails they will then be able to cook at the same rate and not have one undercooked while others are a bit over.

How do you know when oxtails are done?

It is all about the texture, you want the meat to literally fall off the bone in the center. If the meat doesn’t pull away from the bone easily with a fork, that means they haven’t cooked long enough.

What to Make with Oxtails

If you want to make Instant Pot oxtail soup just remove the trivet, drain liquid, add ingredients for the rest of the dish and cook for a few more min. The biggest difference with this is that you remove the meat and add more liquid with some vegetables to create a really hearty meal.

An other goodie we love is to add a side dish with the meat together like we did with our oxtails and rice. You could even integrate some veggies into the mix with this one to cook everything together which we love.

How do You Reheat Oxtails?

You’ll want a bit of steam again ideally. You can use this same machine but keep the lid off. Just add some broth or water into the pot with the same trivet inside. Set on top and set pot to saute. Allow the hot steam to surround the pcs. and warm up to your liking. The meat will pull off easier this way.