Gordon Ramsay’s oxtail soup is a deep, brothy beef soup, made by simmering floured oxtail with red wine and root vegetables. The broth is strained clear, then the shredded meat goes back in. It takes about three hours.
This is Gordon’s oxtail soup from his Cooking for Friends book, a recipe he remembers from growing up. He calls it one of his favourite soups as a boy, and thinks it deserves to be more popular than it is. Oxtail suits it because the gelatine in the meat gives the broth real body.
The step that makes it a soup, not a stew, is straining. After the long simmer Gordon passes everything through a sieve, so the broth comes out clean and glossy. Only the shredded meat goes back in, and a little butter-and-flour paste thickens it to a silky finish.
Gordon Ramsay Oxtail Soup
Course: Soup, StarterCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
20
minutes3
minutes380
kcal3 hr 20 min
Gordon Ramsay’s oxtail soup from his Cooking for Friends book, a childhood favourite. Floured oxtail is browned and simmered with red wine, beef stock and root vegetables for three hours, then the broth is strained clear, thickened, and the shredded meat folded back in. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 oxtail, about 1.6kg, cut into pieces
4 tbsp plain flour
2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
1 turnip, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp tomato purée
300ml red wine
1.2 litres hot beef stock
30g butter, softened
Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Directions
- Brown the oxtail: Trim any excess fat. Season 2 tbsp of the flour with salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Heat half the oil in a large heavy or cast-iron pot, coat the oxtail in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess, and fry until browned all over, 2 to 2½ minutes each side. Remove to a plate.
- Soften the vegetables: Add the remaining oil to the pot with the carrot, turnip, celery, onion, bay and thyme, and the peppercorns. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes, then stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Deglaze and simmer: Pour in the red wine and scrape up the sediment from the bottom, then boil for a few minutes. Return the oxtail, pour in the stock to cover, and bring to a simmer, skimming off any scum.
- Cook low: Partially cover and simmer gently for about 3 hours, until the meat is very tender and comes off the bone easily. Lift out the oxtail and let it cool slightly.
- Strain and thicken: Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a clean pot, pressing the vegetables to extract the liquid. Mash the remaining 2 tbsp flour with the butter, then whisk into the simmering soup a little at a time and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finish: Pull the meat off the bones and shred it. Season the soup, return the shredded meat to warm through, and sprinkle with parsley to serve.
FAQs
How do you make oxtail soup?
You brown floured oxtail pieces, then simmer them with red wine, beef stock and root vegetables. Give it about three hours, until the meat falls off the bone. The flour coating gives the soup colour and body.
Then you strain the broth, thicken it lightly, and stir the shredded meat back through. Gordon finishes his with chopped parsley just before serving.
What is the difference between oxtail soup and oxtail stew?
A stew keeps the oxtail in big pieces in a thick sauce, while the soup is thinner and strained smooth. His Chinese braised oxtail from Ultimate Home Cooking is the stew style, served on the bone.
The soup, by contrast, is all about the broth. You take the meat off the bone, shred it, and return it to a clear, savoury liquid rather than a clinging sauce.
Why coat the oxtail in flour first?
The flour does two jobs. It helps the oxtail brown into a deep colour in the pan, and it also dissolves into the liquid to give the soup body.
Gordon also uses a second spoon of flour at the end, mashed into butter, to thicken the strained broth. That paste melts in smoothly without leaving lumps.
What vegetables go in Gordon’s oxtail soup?
He keeps it traditional with carrot, turnip, celery and onion, plus bay, thyme and a few black peppercorns. A little tomato purée goes in for depth and colour.
The vegetables are strained out at the end, so they are there to flavour the broth rather than to eat. That is why they are only roughly chopped.
What do you serve with oxtail soup?
It is rich and warming, so a hunk of bread is really all it needs. His soda bread is perfect for dipping into the broth.
For another deeply savoury bowl on a cold day, his French onion soup is worth a look. Both are the kind of soup you want simmering away on a grey afternoon.
Can you make oxtail soup ahead, and does it freeze?
Yes, and it improves overnight as the flavour settles. Cool it, chill it, and lift off any fat that sets on top before reheating gently.
It freezes well too, once the meat is shredded back in. For a smoother soup another day, his leek and potato soup blends silky and keeps just as happily.
