Smoked Oxtail..please school me

[jjdbike]

I’ve never eaten oxtail and have only recently seen it on grocery stores. I’ve heard about it being a favorite of soul food and Island cuisine.

I recently have seen instagram posts w/ a certain pitmaster smoking them. He talks about them being candy red and asserts that they are tender and juicy. The truth is they did look delicious.

Can you folks who know please share some info about oxtail and smoking them ?
Thanks in advance!
JD

 

[Big George's BBQ]

I believe Stingerhook cooked some recently and I am sure you could find some in Cowgirls Blog. Have not had them in years. They are GOOD

 

[sudsandswine]

Oxtail, and most other offal, is indeed delicious - if I involve "barbecue" when cooking them, it's usually a smoke then braise type of a situation. I like to capture some of the juices and marrow when cooking them. They've become sort of "en vogue" around here again, the local grocer sells them for like $11/lb, which is more than steak cuts would cost me. I find that Mexican markets/grocers are a good place to buy offal and other cuts the typical American butcher may not carry.

 

[PnkPanther]

I've used them for barbacoa instead of beef cheek. Smoke until color I want than braise





Oxtail ragu is good, but not smoking related




I would think it would make good pulled beef for sammies as well

 

[bschoen]

Another vote for smoke then braise. But at the current price point I will go short rib over oxtail as they seem to be equally over priced at around $11/lb.

 

[PitRow]

The only time I've ever had oxtail (aside from ground up in hamburger mix) was in osso buco on a cruise ship once. It was amazing.



I have zero experience smoking (or even cooking) them, but have others have said it seems like a cut that's typically braised instead of dry heat.



Give it a shot, let us know how it turns out!

 

[jbounds286]

ive smoked them in the past, they are absolutely delicious! but $$$$$ right now!!!! got them on sale !

 

[jjdbike]

ive smoked them in the past, they are absolutely delicious! but $$$$$ right now!!!! got them on sale !

Thanks!
How do they compare w/ ribs or other cuts flavor or texture wise?
I live in an area in SoCal w/ Mexican markets and they are not that expensive.
I’ll give them a try.
JD

 

[Stingerhook]

Here are some I did all indoors recently JD

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=303688

I have also started them in the smoker and moved to an indoor braise

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302188

 

[jbounds286]

Thanks!
How do they compare w/ ribs or other cuts flavor or texture wise?
I live in an area in SoCal w/ Mexican markets and they are not that expensive.
I’ll give them a try.
JD

if you can get them cheap they are def worth it, i just smoked them until tender and then pulled the meat, as far as taste i cant remember what to compare them too, i just remember one of them didnt render all the way and i was irritant lol

 

[halfcocked]

One of my very favorite dishes. Never smoked them but they are excellent Cuban stile (rabo encendido) if that's spelled right. I see no reason why they would not be as good giving them a short stint in the smoker before initiating the process on the stove top.

 

[jjdbike]

if you can get them cheap they are def worth it, i just smoked them until tender and then pulled the meat, as far as taste i cant remember what to compare them too, i just remember one of them didnt render all the way and i was irritant lol

Great!
Good to know.
Any tips on rendering them? Would you have done them longer?
Would I treat them like beef ribs? Smoke till probe tender? Would that be around 200?
Thanks again!
JD

 

[jbounds286]

oh snap i actually found the video i followed when i did them! was in one of my bookmarks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmzErnIysV4
totally forgot i wrapped and braised, just got impatient

 

[SmokinAussie]

Thanks!
How do they compare w/ ribs or other cuts flavor or texture wise?
I live in an area in SoCal w/ Mexican markets and they are not that expensive.
I’ll give them a try.
JD

Ox-Tail is really amazing. Everyone is right here. Smoke and Braise. They take a long time. Ox-Tail is very gelatinous but the texture is somewhat like lamb neck (not sure that helps you much). It's a flavor bomb. The best bit is taking a peice and popping the disc cap off a tail bone piece and sucking it all up. It's not gross... really.

The best dish I ever did with it was a Korean stew which called for Brisket. I swapped the brisket for the Ox-Tail and it was sensational. Never put than one up as a thread.

Sadly a cow only has one tail, so the price goes up when everyone realises how good they are to eat. They are very expensive in here (like most things, but more).

 

[Itsdone]

Good, but as others have already mentioned not worth paying $$$ for them as you can get just as good results with beef cheeks or short ribs since you get more meat from them. If shredding go with beef cheeks. If your dish requires chunks of meat go with short ribs.

 

[Gnarlbecue]

A friend of mine tried this recipe from Chud several times, with a few tweaks and it's really nice.

https://youtu.be/PxV2uoL0x0Q

 

[jjdbike]

A friend of mine tried this recipe from Chud several times, with a few tweaks and it's really nice.

https://youtu.be/PxV2uoL0x0Q

OMG that looks amazing!
Thanks for sharing!
JD

 

[Smoking Piney]

I like to smoke and then braise in some butter and beef broth.

 

[edmonds]

I recently smoke roasted and then braised for oxtail soup.
Here is video of cook if you're interested to see what I did (recipe in description).