Best Slow Cooker Oxtail Recipe

Slow cooker oxtail turns out tender and delicious with a killer sauce that can be spicy or mild. Best way to cook oxtails with oxtail seasoning on the outside cooked low and slow all day until you’re ready to enjoy this beef dinner.

What animal does oxtail come from?

It actually is the tail of a cow, not an ox. Back in the day it was in fact from that animal but nowadays there are a lot more cows when processing beef so this is a cut they offer. Typically you’ll find it cut into smaller pieces, without the skin of course, and ready to tenderize.

Crockpot Oxtail Recipe

There are several ways you can make it tender, I prefer this the best when I am just out of energy. If you would prefer to cook oxtails on the stove that turns out quite good too.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

Easy Oxtail Recipe

This easy oxtail recipe starts off like this. You can see what they look like right here without any other ingredients added. When it comes to creating a sauce of sorts that is really up to you. You could make our onion gravy first and pour that right in, then follow our cook time below.

Where do you buy oxtail?

I mean if you don’t see them in the meat section of your local grocery store, check oxtail at Walmart. They sometimes have more of a variety of meats than our little butcher around here. Prices vary from month to month. Sometimes you can find them on sale (since they aren’t super popular), other times it’s expensive.

If you do find a deal on them and it is a favorite piece of yours I would grab as many as possible to freeze! Yes, just wrap each piece in foil, then slide into a gallon freezer bag and they will keep well for a good 3 months. Then you can make oxtail in a slow cooker as often as you like.

What does oxtail taste like?

It does have a stronger flavor than a filet or ground beef for example. I would compare it more to a pressure cooker arm roast that has a beefy flavor in of itself. Adding a really flavorful sauce is key to balancing this out. If you like bone marrow you will get some of that too here which means a two in one meal. 😉

If you have your own favorite Chinese or Jamaican mixture you like to include in this and just need the temp. and timing then go with that my friend. There is a simple mixture below in the recipe card you can follow too. If you like it spicy then add more buffalo sauce than listed below, this would be more mild/medium level as written.

How to Make Oxtail Sauce

1. Beef broth or beef stock, way better than using water
2. Soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce could be used instead
3. Oil of your choice, I almost always opt for olive oil
4. Brown sugar for a bit of sweetness
5. Vinegar for a tang
6. Salt and black pepper
7. Garlic powder we like
8. Franks Hot Sauce if you want heat
9. Scotch bonnet pepper you could chop to add in there
10. Crock pot of course if your vessel

Just whisk this together, pour it on, close and let it go!

How do you clean oxtails before cooking?

There isn’t too much to it. You can just rinse like we did here. If you want to tame the flavor a bit before starting you can rinse and then sit in a bowl full of cool water with a few slices of lemon. Some prefer this to add a bit of citrus flavor and tone down the beefiness of the meat. Your choice, either way works friends.

How to Cook Oxtails in Slow Cooker

• Place oxtails inside of your slow cooker.
• In a small dish combine broth, salt and pepper and all other ingredients together. Whisk together until combined well.
• Pour on top of contents.
  • could add a bay leaf if you want to add that flavor as well
• Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or until meat is as tender as you’d like them to be.

Do you have to brown oxtails before cooking?

When I bake them in the oven I typically will do this as the first step. In this case I feel like it isn’t necessary as the goal is to get the meat as fork tender as possible so I don’t want any crisp to them whatsoever. You could though!

Should you cook oxtails on high or low?

I do not recommend to cook on high ever. The only time I do this is if I have a very large hunk of meat and it is rock hard frozen like our beef chuck roast slow cooker recipe. Other than that low and slow is the way to go, always. You will get a much more tender piece of protein this way so the steam has a longer time to really break down fibers.

How long to cook oxtail in slow cooker on high

If you really insisted on using the high feature for time purposes I would suggest 4-6 hours depending on their size. Thicker will obviously take longer. What you are looking for is the meat pulling away from the middle bone easily with a fork. If you have to pull it needs more time.

Easy Slow Cooker Frozen Oxtail Recipe

Believe it or not the cook time doesn’t vary much or if at all whether you are using frozen, fresh or defrosted pieces of meat. Low and slow is recommended as it needs time to thaw. Just follow the directions below and nobody will even know you forgot to defrost ahead of time. 😉

How do you make Oxtail Gravy?

You’ll want to lick your plate after this sauce is cooked and thickened for 8-10 hours. It has a sweet and savory flavor to it and heat is up to you. The meat when slow cooked this way falls off the bone and is complete comfort food on a plate. If you want thicker you can whisk in some cornstarch but typically we serve right out of the pot.

You can see from raw to cooked and ready to eat here. If you need a gluten free version you can certainly do that. Make sure to check the back of all ingredients to ensure it is okay to use. What if you have leftovers? They save quite well actually.

How to store leftovers

If you wrap each one in plastic wrap once it cools completely and then into a thick storage baggie they will save well in the fridge for a few days. Then rewarm on a small trivet with water at the bottom of a pot to steam, microwave, or you could remove all the meat and make oxtail soup or oxtails and rice!

I do this often when I have meat that needs to be used up. I hate wasting!! Just like after Easter and Christmas I will always make some Crockpot potato soup with frozen hashbrowns with the ham I have left.

Jump to recipe below to see how much of each ingredient you need to get started. Very similar to what we used in our how to cook oxtails in the oven post too. I suggest that you mix all of the sauce things together and then taste it.

If you think it needs more spice then add some Franks Red Hot sauce or Sriracha. You can completely leave that out too so it is mild. Want it a bit sweeter, add more brown sugar.

My daughter has made this substituting Splenda instead and said she couldn’t taste the difference at all. That would be a great idea if you have a diabetic in the home who wants to still enjoy this. I mean there are so many choices to choose from.

If you have a special family handed down mixture you use to cook these that is out of this world, let me know. I love trying other sauces because it’s an easy way to change this recipe up.

Can you overcook oxtails in a slow cooker?

Of course, too much heat will make any food or meat dry out. I will say that some cuts do get more tender the longer they slow cook, this is one of them. Over time the liquid in the pot will evaporate though and at that point you need to add more or remove and enjoy or they will over-cook.

Side dishes we love to serve with these are roasted potatoes in air fryer or salad. Anything goes. If you want something lighter I might go with beets with this.