Oxtail Soup
Oxtail soup like at Paprika Csarda (at the border between Hungary and Austria), a place famous for the good food offered to hungry travelers. Although all the food looks great at the csarda, I managed the feat of eating only one thing: oxtail soup. And I think I've passed through there at least 20 times. And it's not just that, but I like to order a large portion (double) which comes served in a pot with a ladle... enough for 5 bowls of soup. The waiters look at my 157 cm and warn me, but they know I can eat the whole pot.
The recipe is similar to the beef soup recipe, but I wanted to post it separately to draw your attention to this particularly flavorful and also very cheap cut of beef (10 lei/kg). I added more cloves and a little nutmeg because oxtail has a very intense flavor and can handle stronger aromatics.
In my package I had 2 oxtails (from Metro), about 1.6 kg. From one kg I made this soup, and from the rest (the meatiest pieces) I'll show you tomorrow what wonderful dish I made.
Ingredients
1 kg oxtail
4 carrots
1 onion
1 parsley root
120 g celery root
1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 pinches ground nutmeg
4 cloves
2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper
chopped fresh parsley
Servings: 4-5
How to prepare oxtail soup
- Cut the oxtail into pieces (run your finger over it and where you feel soft indentations, that's where you can easily cut with a knife). Place the pieces in a baking pan and roast at 240°C for 45 minutes until nicely browned. This way the soup will have a more intense taste and darker (brown) color.
* This step can also be done faster by frying the oxtail pieces in a little oil until browned all over (about 3-4 minutes per side).
** You can skip this step, but the soup won't have the same color and the taste will be more subtle; in this case, cover the meat with boiling water and let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse; continue with step 2 - Pour the entire contents of the pan (oxtail and released juices) into a pot. Add 3.5 liters of cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, so the soup just gently simmers. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook for 2 hours. In the first half hour the soup will produce very little foam which should be skimmed and discarded.
- After 2 hours the meat is cooked but doesn't fall off the bone easily yet. Add the cleaned vegetables cut into larger pieces. Leave the onion whole and stud it with the 4 cloves. Add the salt, peppercorns, and nutmeg.
- Continue simmering at low heat, just gently bubbling (with the lid fully on if it seems to have reduced too much by now) for another hour. After this time the meat should be tender enough that if you pull it with a fork it comes off the bone easily.
- Strain the soup through cheesecloth (3-4 layers). Place the meat and some of the vegetables back in the soup.
- Separately, cook egg noodles in a pot of salted water (about 5 minutes for homemade; or according to package instructions for store-bought). Drain and add to the soup. I only cook noodles when serving the soup (about 25 g per portion). Serve the soup hot, sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper and chopped fresh parsley.
Oxtail cut into pieces in baking pan
Roasted meat
Skimming the soup when it starts to boil
After 2 hours add the vegetables
The soup just needs to be strained
