German Ox-Tail Soup – Ochsenshwanzsuppe to you

by Herb Senft

2 lb. of oxtails, disjointed
3 carrots, diced (2 cups)
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup parsnip, diced
1 Large onion, sliced and diced (mushrooms can be added*)
5 peppercorns
1/2-tsp.ea. thyme, and black pepper
1 tsp. salt, paprika (this is to taste)
2 Tb’s. unbleached flour
2 bay leaves
2 Tb’s. butter, some oil or shortening
1 can (cup) of tomato puree or Italian tomatoes — or fresh
4+ cups of boiling water with 2 beef or veg. bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp. Maggi

Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a bag. Shake and coat the oxtails a few at a time. Reserve the remaining flour. Melt shortening (Crisco) in a Large Dutch oven. Brown oxtails well, adding onions and garlic to cook until they soften. (Set the oxtails aside) add more shortening if needed. Drain off fat. Add boiling water, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Throw back the Oxtails. Cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hr. (Until tender — or overnight!) I add a chopped up carrot and celery to this mix. Add the rest of the vegetables, bouillon, tomato and rest of seasonings in a separate pot. Simmer 30 minutes more, or until the vegetables are tender. I remove excess fat from the oxtails. Strain the stock and cool in refrigerator for an hour. In a blender puree the edible meat and vegetables. Put aside. Brown leftover flour in the Dutch oven, adding butter. Retrieve the cooled stock, remove top fat and return the blended meat and stock to the Dutch oven, , then add the vegetables and heat all to boiling, stirring well. Add red wine or whatever seasonings are yet needed. Parsley on top is nice.

Same basic recipe, but I cooked the oxtails overnight, replenishing with water, added some garlic, carrot and celery, half a pepper. Be sure to bring it to a boil during the process.

The next day I cooked the vegetables in a stock pot with two bouillon cubes.

I cooked the onions down, but added about a lb. of brown mushrooms, simmered some 10-15 minutes, adding garlic at the end. Put the cooked onion/mushrooms back into the stock pot, adding a can of Italian tomatoes, 1 tsp. of brown mustard, and some leftover mushroom barley soup. Then the cooked meat, finely separated by now and the stock of the simmered oxtail soup, vegetables included. A teaspoon of Maggi … and it was GREAT! All in all it would have been about six cups of liquid. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Thick and substantial–one bowl will fill you up for a whole day. Serve hot to 4 people. This is an alternative recipe.

1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 lbs. meaty oxtails
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
8 cups water
1/2 cup barley
1 carrot, cut in paper thin rounds
1 cup watercress, chopped
In a Dutch oven, sauté the bones, onion, and garlic on high heat in the sesame oil, until the onions are very brown. Add the water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. When the meat is very tender, remove the bones from the broth. Shred the meat, chop the marrow, then return both to the pot, discarding the bones.

Add the barley, return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until it is very tender.
When ready to serve, toss in the sliced carrots and chopped watercress and cook on medium heat for 4-6 minutes. The watercress should turn dark, but not olive colored.