The oxtail must be trimmed of excess fat.
Members of every beef-eating culture have eaten oxtail in one form or another throughout the history of civilization, not content to let a valuable livelihood go to waste. Although considered to be part of the waste from the “guts” of animals, one of the most enduring and internationally acclaimed oxtail recipes in 2011 is Korean oxtail soup. Rich in beef-marrow flavor, a distinctive broth is peppered with extra-fat beef and just a few other simple ingredients like onions, radishes, garlic, and ginger.
Onion and garlic can be added to Korean oxtail soup.
Known in Korea as gori gomtang or simply gom gook, Korean oxtail soup requires only a few, usually inexpensive, ingredients to prepare. It also requires a careful attitude and up to five hours of preparation time. By then, the oxtails (usually beef tails in 2011) won’t be soft enough to fall off the bones. Some chefs remove the meat from the bones before serving, while others simply leave the meat attached to the bones and let diners decide how best to handle it.
Before Korean oxtail soup begins to form, the excess fat should be trimmed from the oxtail, then submerged in water and allowed to soak for about an hour, according to the Chowhound website. Then, according to the recipe on the website, the washed tails are placed in a pot of fresh water and cooked with salt, onion, ginger, and garlic for up to four hours. Several online recipes advise cooks to regularly wipe the top of the broth to remove bubbling fat.
Korean oxtail soup often includes not only chopped radish, but also a seasoned radish side dish known as ggak ddoogi. This seasons the radish with ingredients like red pepper powder, minced garlic, rice wine, ginger powder, and salt before adding it to the soup. A typical garnish for Korean oxtail soup is chopped green onions, which add perhaps the only color to the dish. Some also add noodles to make the soup a healthy meal.
On the other side of the world, another oxtail soup has become quite a different topic. Popular in Jamaica is an oxtail stew that blanches and then pan-fries the oxtail pieces in a pan with bacon before a period of sautéing topped with a tomato bath, white and green chives, garlic and carrots. To make the meat especially seared, a layer of flour or cornmeal can be spread before it reaches the pan. Towards the end of a four or five hour boil, some cooks add beans and herbs to turn the soup into a stew.