Oxtail Stew

This was fantastic, best beef based soup/stew I have ever made. So flavorful and very hearty. It was perfect for the day here yesterday..........which included snow, sleet, rain, and wind. I paired it up with some homemade and still hot from the oven bread and even ended up making an apple crisp with some apples found in the garage.

I know what your thinking.............you found apples in your garage? They were still good, I promise, I cut out all the bad spots and added them to the compost. It was delicious, I swear! Apples keep a while, these were freshly picked off a friends tree and since we moved, they got forgotten.


So, you will need........

2-3 lbs tail, cut
6 cups Beef Stock
Carrots
Potato's
Celery
Onion
Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper
*This makes A LOT of soup too. We froze some, and have some leftover in the fridge for meals this week. So if you have a smaller family, you may want to 1/2 the recipe*

Take your tail and brown it on all sides...........By the way, oxtail is actually beef tail. It sounds creepy and I know some are weirded out by it, but don't be. It'll be A-OK and worth the effort! Here is a pic.
And once it's browned. Not too appetizing yet, but bear with me!

After your done browning the meat, place it in a crock pot on low with your broth, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. I took 1/2 cup water and put it in the pan to break up all those little pieces left behind after you brown the meat and added that to the crock pot also. Just make sure all the tail, is under the broth.

Then add your seasonings, I used 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper, and your onions. Reserve the rest of your veggies until later.

Cook on low for about 8'ish hours (I did 8 hours, then another almost 2 hours with the veggies in it), it really does take this long also. The long time makes for the most tender meat and breaks down all the connective and fat tissues on the tail. Don't skimp on the long cook time, trust me!

After 8'ish hours (sorry if you like precise measurements and time frames, I don't' work that way 'ish is a perfectly good way to tell time!), add some chopped up carrots, potato's, and celery. Don't add these right away or they will turn to soggy mush. Who likes soggy mush in their soup?

Cook everything for another 2'ish hours or until the meat is falling off the bone and the veggies are done. You could easily cook it on the stove also, but I love my crock pot.

If you try it, you have to tell me how you liked it, because it was so good here, everyone ate seconds (or thirds).

**Adding this to the Nourishing Soups and Stew Carnival over at The Nourished Kitchen. Thanks Kimi!!