Oxtails are a type of beef that can be difficult to cook. With an air fryer, this is no longer the case.
How to cook oxtails in an air fryer?Cooking oxtails in the air fryer is very easy, and convenient, and makes the meat moist. And it takes cooking time from 60 to 90 minutes. You need to brown the meat first, then put some stock and cook until tender.
The best way to cook oxtails is in an air fryer because it’s convenient and makes the meat moist. It also uses less oil than pan-frying them, so you don’t have as much clean-up afterward.
The benefits of cooking oxtails in the air fryer are that it is moist and tender meat, the vegetables are cooked at the same time as well.
How do you cook Oxtails In An Air Fryer?
Cooking oxtail takes a lot of patience, so it’s best to cook them in an air fryer when you’re not pressed for time. If you don’t have one, try putting the oxtails on a rack over baking sheets and cooking at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they are browned around the edges.
You should cut up your beef tails into smaller pieces before cooking them if they don’t fit easily inside an air fryer basket. If there are still some larger areas of fat or gristle, you can cut them out before cooking.
What temperature do I set for my Air Fryer?
Try out different temperatures to see what works best for your oxtails. The lower the temperature, the longer it will take them to cook through and become tender oxtails.
You can set the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes or 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 60-90 minutes if you want a more gentle approach that won’t overcook your meat.
Cook time depends on the size of your cuts. For a whole, a large piece of meat like beef tails, you might have to go as high as 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes to get it nice and browned properly (but still moist), but if you’re cooking smaller, individual pieces, it might take less time with a lower temperature.
Oxtail Stew. Credit: canva
Cooking Jamaican Style Oxtails Stew Recipe with an Air Fryer
Let’s try to cook this Caribbean flavor oxtail recipe using an air fryer.
Usually, it’s known as an expensive dish, but this Jamaican Oxtail Stew is budget-friendly, yet still full of the rich beef flavor.
Ingredients
2.5 lbs oxtails
brown sugar
soy sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp salt garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp all-spice browning
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
4 green onions chopped
1 Tbsp cloves garlic chopped
2 whole carrots chopped
1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper seeds and membrane removed and chopped
1 cup beef broth
1 Tbsp ketchup or tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme or fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 16 oz can Butter Beans drained
Instructions
Rinse oxtails with water and vinegar and pat dry. Cover oxtails with brown sugar, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, season with salt, garlic powder, black pepper, all-spice, and browning, and rub into oxtails.
Brown oxtails by putting them into your Pyrex dish in the air fryer basket and spraying them with oil to prevent sticking. Cook at medium-high heat at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until brown on each side.
Remove the oxtail from the air fryer after browning.
Once the oxtail is browned, deglaze the Pyrex by adding 2 Tbsp of beef stock. Take a wooden spoon and deglaze your pot by removing the brown bits at the bottom.
Then add your yellow onions, green onions, carrots, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. Also add the dried thyme, oxtails, remaining beef broth, and ketchup to the dish.
Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 60-90 minutes or until they are cooked through and tender enough that the meat falls off easily when pulled with tongs.
30 minutes before finished, create a cornstarch slurry by combining cornstarch with water in a separate bowl. Stir into the Pyrex along with the drained butter beans.
(Source: Candice Bell/Canva)
How to Cook Oxtails in Air Fryer?
What ingredients do you need when cooking Oxtails in an air fryer?
For ingredients, you will need beef oxtails, oil for frying, and a garlic clove. You can also add herbs such as thyme or rosemary to enhance the flavor of your dish.
What spices do you need when cooking Oxtails in an air fryer?
Garlic powder is a must to give your oxtails a bit of flavor. You can also add salt and pepper if you want, but most people will find this dish flavorful enough without it.
By its design, a basic air fryer has a drip basket, and will not hold enough liquid to submerge an oxtail, which is an important component of successful cooking of a difficult joint.
Oxtails are often braised or simmered for a lengthy time to soften the meat fibers, allowing the stock or liquid to keep the meat moist. Air frying quickly dries out the flesh and most of the fat will be removed as part of the cooking process.
In order to solve that, you need a small Pyrex dish. Brown the meat without a lid on first. Then add some stock and put a lid on it or aluminum foil to seal it.
If you put at least one or two cups of stock in your soup, it would be the same as the traditional way. If you need more, just add it during cooking.
You should cut up your beef tails into smaller pieces before cooking them if they don’t fit easily inside the dish or basket. If there are still some larger areas of fat or gristle in your cuts of the beef tail, you can cut them out before cooking.
Put the oxtails into your air fryer basket and spray them with oil to prevent sticking. Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 60-90 minutes or until they are cooked through and tender enough that the meat falls off easily when pulled with tongs. You may need less time if you cut them into smaller pieces.
About Oxtails
What kind of meat is oxtail?
Oxtails are the tail of an ox. They come from cattle and they’re one of several types of beef that can be difficult to cook with conventional methods.
Where does oxtail meat come from?
The oxtail is the tail of cattle. Long ago, it came from the tail of an ox. Now it comes from the tail of either a male or female cow. They consist mainly of meat, fat, bone marrow, and connective tissue like gristle or tendon; this is what gives it flavor.
Your skin and cut up the tail into sections each one with a bone in the center that has some marrow inside and meat around it.
What does oxtail taste like?
Oxtails have a similar flavor and texture to pot roast. They’re very rich in beef flavor and many people enjoy them for this reason.
Why do you cook oxtails?
Many people use them now for their nutritional value and flavor because they provide nutrients like iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.
Where can you buy oxtails?
You can find them at any supermarket that offers a selection of beef cuts, but many people have to go to specialty stores or order online. When they’re cooked right, it makes for an excellent meal!
Is it safe to eat oxtail?
The spinal cord of a beef animal with Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) does not extend into the cow tail. Oxtails are not hazardous to cook.
It contains 70% of the daily recommended value for vitamin B12, 26 % of Vitamin B-six, and large amounts of iron. It’s also high in protein and low in fat, making it a great choice for healthy eating.
Why are oxtails so expensive?
A cow has about 750 pounds of meat. The tail is only a small amount of the meat on one cow, but it is still a lot. It is a specialized and expensive cut of beef. If you order an oxtail dish from a restaurant, it will cost more than other dishes because it has so much bone in it.
How Do You Usually Cook an Oxtail?
Cooking oxtails in a slow cooker. Credit: canva
How do you usually cook oxtails?
Oxtails are known as very difficult dishes to cook. They require many hours of braising for the meat and bones to become both tender and tasty, but no one has time for that these days.
Braised or stewed, oxtails are cooked for a long time until the meat fibers break down. You can cook it in stock to make it moist.
How long does it take for oxtails to get done?
Bring the oxtails to a boil in a pot that retains heat well, then reduce the heat to medium and put the lid on. Wait 2-3 hours until it is done and tender.
How do you know when oxtail is cooked?
Slow cookers and pressure cookers are good for cooking oxtail. Or you can use a casserole dish to braise the oxtail at a warm temperature in an oven overnight. The meat is cooked when it is soft, jelly-like, and falls off the bones easily.
Can you overcook oxtail?
In my experience, it is much more likely that you will slightly undercook the oxtail than overcook it. The worst that could happen is that the meat would fall off too easily from the bone. I would cook for 2 or 3 hours on a stovetop and up to 4 hours.
Why are my Oxtails tough?
A common cooking time for oxtails is 2-4 hours. Oxtails are tough pieces of meat that have a lot of collagen. If your oxtails have not become tender in the 5 hours you have already given them, your slow cooker might be set too low.
How do you know when Oxtails go bad?
If it looks like the oxtails are bad, then they are. Brown it in a pot. Some people might not want to eat this because it smells like real cows and not like filet beef.
What side dishes go with Oxtails?
Oxtail is best served over rice or egg noodles as an accompaniment for vegetables such as green beans, carrots, or corn.
What are some other ways to cook oxtails?
You can use oxtail to make oxtail soup, oxtail stew, and even braised dishes. Oxtail is also delicious in curries or roasted with vegetables for a much more filling meal.
Jamaican Oxtail Stew. Credit: canva
Tips
All your oxtails should be the same size. If you can’t get them this way, it’s okay. It will work either way.
If your oxtail is too fatty, use a knife to remove some of the fat. If it’s too fatty, your gravy will be too greasy.
If you can’t find a scotch bonnet, you could use habaneros or about 2 teaspoons of this scotch bonnet pepper sauce.
