Sous Vide Oxtails

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Sous Vide Oxtails are fall-off-the-bone delicious with a rich red wine sauce and tender and juicy texture! The recipe is easy to make and the sous vide slowly cooks the oxtails for 48 hours until they just melt-in-your-mouth!

If you love sous vide beef cheeks, sous vide beef tongue or sous vide short ribs, you’ll love this oxtails recipe. They have the same meaty and tender texture and benefit from the lengthy cooking time in the sous vide water bath.

While we still love this Instant Pot oxtail recipe when we’re pressed for time (it’s ready in just an hour!), when I have time to plan ahead, I love cooking oxtails sous vide style!

This recipe may take 48 hours from start to finish, but most of the time is hands off. So, it’s a great option for entertaining. The oxtails cook while you run errands and prepare other dishes.

If you make these sous vide oxtails, you’ll definitely want to serve them over these creamy garlic mashed potatoes. So good!

Jump to:

• What is Sous Vide?
• More sous vide beef recipes
• What are oxtails?
• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients
• Step by step instructions
• Expert tips
• Common questions
• Make ahead instructions
• Storage and freezing instructions
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator (i.e. the sous vide machine). This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking and the benefits of sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use sous vide magnets) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum-seal bags

You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!

More sous vide beef recipes

• Sous Vide Flank Steak
• Sous Vide Picanha
• Sous Vide Brisket
• Sous Vide Sirloin

What are oxtails?

Oxtails are the tail of the cow and are normally cut into sections so each piece contains some bone and marrow. 

The meat is tough with lots of collagen, connective tissue, bones and cartilage so it typically needs to be slow cooked to yield rich and tender results. 

Oxtails used to be a budget friendly cut of beef, but now they’re more expensive and considered more of a gourmet dish and special treat (at least in our house)!

Why this recipe works

1. Oxtails are a tough cut of beef, so they’re well suited to sous vide cooking. After 40-48 hours of slow cooking in the water bath, they turn out juicy and fall-off-the-bone tender.
2. Since oxtails tend to be expensive, you want to make sure they’re cooked to perfection. The sous vide almost guarantees they turn out meaty and tender every time!
3. While it might seem like a big commitment of time, this recipe involves very little active time. Your sous vide will do most of the work for you! 

Ingredients

Below is an overview of some of the ingredients for this recipe. Please refer to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full list of ingredients and quantities.

You’ll need 2 pounds of oxtails for this recipe. They should be readily available at your local grocery store or butcher shop, but you can also buy them online.

The cooking liquid for the oxtails includes ¼ cup of red wine and ¼ cup of chicken broth.

Red wine adds flavor and also helps to tenderize the meat as it cooks. We prefer to use a Cabernet Sauvignon when cooking beef.

For the chicken broth, you can use store-bought or homemade. I normally use this crockpot chicken broth recipe or a low sodium broth so I have better control over the saltiness of the oxtails.

Step by step instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 175F degrees.

Season the oxtails with salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet to medium high heat and brown the oxtails in the avocado oil for 3 minutes a side.

Remove and let cool.

Add the oxtails to the bag with the remaining ingredients and vacuum seal.

Cook in the water bath for 40-48 hours.

Remove from the bag and pour the bag sauce in a small saucepan.

Simmer the sauce from the bag for 3-5 minutes, until reduced slightly. Adjust seasoning if needed. (If too salty, add additional red wine and simmer 5 minutes).

Serve the oxtails over polenta, mashed potatoes or rice with the bag sauce drizzled over the top.

**Optional: serve with the creamy horseradish sauce from this sous vide filet mignon recipe. 

Expert tips

1. For even cooking, try to use oxtail pieces that are similar in size. This may require cutting some pieces.
2. While some fat on oxtails adds flavor, you want to make sure they’re more meaty than fatty.
3. For maximum flavor, make sure the oxtails are well coated in the braising liquid before sealing the bag.
4. Removing the air from the bag is an important step that should not be skipped to avoid bacteria entering the bag.
5. Since we’re cooking these oxtails for up to 48 hours, you’ll want to keep an eye on the water level of the water bath. For food safety and even cooking, the bag of oxtails should be fully submerged in water.
6. Cover your water bath with foil to help prevent evaporation or add more water to the bath.
7. The bag may float in the water bath as the oxtails cook. To prevent floating, you can weigh the bag down with something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight. 
8. If air gets in the bag, just open the bag, let the air out and reseal it. This works for vacuum seal or ziplock bags.

Common questions

Make ahead instructions

You can cook the oxtails in advance and store them in the fridge.

To do this, once they come out of the water bath, cool them down quickly in an ice bath. Keep the oxtails sealed and transfer to the fridge to store for up to 5 days.

To reheat, place the bag of oxtails in a 175F degree water bath until warmed through. Then follow the recipe to simmer the bag sauce and serve.

Storage and freezing instructions

The cooked oxtails can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

You can also freeze them in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

To reheat, warm in the microwave or over low heat on the stove top until heated through. If the oxtails are frozen, you’ll need to defrost them before reheating.

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