Hairy Bikers Oxtail Soup

A whole oxtail of about 1.3kg goes into Hairy Bikers oxtail soup, along with 300ml of red wine and two litres of beef stock. Meat Feasts publishes it as Oxtail Soup with Parsley Dumplings, and those dumplings are part of the recipe rather than a suggestion. It serves six and takes four hours from start to finish.

They write in Meat Feasts that oxtail fell out of favour for years and is coming back, and that it should be cheap. That was truer when nobody wanted it, though a whole tail still feeds six people, which few cuts manage. The dumplings are what take it from a soup to a meal.

Browning is where the flavour starts, and ten minutes is the number. Flour the pieces, then colour them deeply in batches rather than crowding the pan, because meat packed too tightly steams instead of browning. Everything that follows is built on that dark crust.

Hairy Bikers Oxtail Soup

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Braising Cuisine:British Courses:Soup

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 40 minutesCook time:3 hours 20 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:4 hours Servings:6 servingsCalories:680 kcal Best Season:Winter

Description

Eighteen suet dumplings steam on top of the pot for the last fifteen minutes. Under them is oxtail braised for three hours with red wine, beef stock and root vegetables, the meat pulled from the bones. A splash of cream sherry finishes this Hairy Bikers oxtail soup.

Ingredients

For the soup

• 1 whole oxtail, about 1.3kg, cut into chunky pieces
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 3 to 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 celery sticks, trimmed and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 300ml red wine
• 2 litres beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp cream sherry
• flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the parsley dumplings

• 200g self-raising flour
• 100g shredded suet
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• ½ tsp flaked sea salt

Instructions

1. Flour the oxtail: Heat the oven to 170°C, fan 150°C, gas 3 to 4. Wash the oxtail, pat it dry and trim off any excess fat. Season the flour in a food bag, then shake the pieces through it in two batches.
2. Brown the meat: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Brown the oxtail over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning it, until deeply coloured. Work in batches if the pan is crowded, then move it to a flameproof casserole.
3. Cook the vegetables: In the same pan, cook the onions, carrots and celery gently for 10 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic for a couple of minutes more.
4. Braise: Tip the vegetables into the casserole with the thyme and bay. Stir in the wine, stock and tomato purée, season, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours, turning the pieces halfway.
5. Strip the meat: Lift out the oxtail and let it cool a little. Skim the fat off the surface of the soup. Pull the meat from the bones, discard any gristle, chop it and return it to the pot with the sherry.
6. Make the dumplings: Mix the flour, suet, parsley and salt. Stir in 100 to 125ml of water to a soft, spongy dough, then roll it into 18 small balls.
7. Steam and serve: Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and season well. Drop the dumplings on top, cover tightly and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, until risen and fluffy. Ladle into deep bowls.

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FAQs

How do I stop it being greasy?

Take the fat out twice. Trim the raw pieces before you flour them, then skim the surface after the three hours in the oven, once the fat has risen and pooled on top.

There is an easier way if you have the time. Cook it a day ahead and chill it overnight, and the fat sets into a solid layer you lift off in one piece. Oxtail carries more fat than almost any cut on the animal, so neither skim is optional.

Why do the dumplings use suet?

Suet stays solid until the dumpling is already cooking, then melts and leaves pockets of steam behind. That is what makes them rise light rather than sit heavy, and butter cannot do it because it softens far too early.

The ratio is 200g flour to 100g suet, exactly two to one. Their minced beef and dumplings uses 250g to 125g, the same proportion scaled up, so the formula is deliberate rather than a guess.

Can I make it without the dumplings?

Yes, and you get a lighter soup that works as a starter. Stop once the sherry goes in and serve it with bread.

The book is clear that the dumplings are what make it substantial, though, and 18 across six people is three each. Without them this is a rich beef broth. With them it is dinner, and nothing else needs to go on the table.

What does the cream sherry do?

It goes in at the very end, after the meat is back in the pot, and it never gets boiled hard. Two tablespoons adds a sweet, nutty note that lifts three hours of beef stock and red wine.

Skip it and the soup tastes flatter than it should. Medium or dry sherry works, and Madeira too, though cream sherry is the sweetest of them and that sweetness is doing the job here.

Is oxtail actually cheap?

Less than it once was. The book says it should be cheap, which was true when nobody wanted it, though the price has climbed as more people started cooking it again.

It stretches further than most cuts, since 1.3kg feeds six with dumplings on top. If your butcher has none, shin of beef braises into something close, and their shin beef stew shows how that cut behaves over a long slow cook. Their beetroot soup is the cheap end of the same shelf.