Pioneer
Oxtail Soup
Long-simmered thrift from a wartime kitchen
Oxtail was the butcher's economy cut — cheap, gelatinous, and deeply flavoured when given enough time. The 1941 IODE Fort Monckton cookbook understood that patience was the cook's greatest ingredient. This rich broth, dark with roasted vegetables and slow-rendered marrow, is one of the finest things a New Brunswick winter kitchen ever produced.
Source: IODE Fort Monckton Cook Book, Moncton NB, 1941
Ingredients
- 2 lbs oxtail, cut in sections
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, cut in chunks
- 2 stalks celery, cut in chunks
- 1 small turnip, peeled and diced
- 2 tbsp flour seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp fat or butter
- 6 cups beef broth or water
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Toss oxtail sections in seasoned flour. Heat fat in a heavy pot and brown oxtail well on all sides over high heat — take your time here, the colour is the flavour.
- Remove oxtail and set aside. Cook onion, carrot, and celery in the same pot until softened and lightly browned.
- Return oxtail to the pot. Add broth, Worcestershire, and enough water to cover everything well.
- Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover and cook for 3 hours until the meat falls from the bone.
- Remove oxtail and pull the meat from the bones. Discard bones.
- Strain the broth. Return broth, vegetables, and meat to the pot. Add diced turnip and simmer 20 minutes more.
- Season well and serve in deep bowls with thick bread.
✦ Kitchen Notes
- From the IODE Fort Monckton Cook Book, Moncton NB, 1941.
- This soup is even better the next day — chill it overnight, lift off the solidified fat, and reheat gently.