The word “oxtail” is probably a modern misnomer because, as far as I know, farmers no longer 'make' oxen' there being no need for ox-power.So what we eat in England is cattle tail. Or occasionally, in Madrid and Andalucia, bull's tail although even there nowadays it's usually the tail of a cow. Besides which, they taste about the same.Oxtail is a bit like oysters and mussels in that it was dirt cheap for centuries in London but is nowadays a more expensive luxury food. Quite right too. It's delicious when cooked properly – but not when delivered in a supermarket soup tin – the stuff that gave England a lousy name for cuisine post war.My mum had braised oxtail stew often in the 1920's/30's. Her father was a meat porter at Billingsgate – and they all knew the recipe that had been handed down for over a century by Spitalfield Huguenots (and the local Jewish community. I remember it as a boy. The glorious aroma and the delicious soft meat in dark juices. It's a four or five hour cook.The only improvement I know is the ox stew done in Guinness which forms a rich, dark thick sauce, crying out to be poured over a well made mash. Which itself is obviously based on the great Spanish dish Rabo de Toro – although that involves being slowly cooked down in a bottle of good rioja.Last time I had that was in bull-free Barcelona just before covid..Winter food of the gods.... hoping the OP gets what she's after...
Stuart Kerr ● 2051d