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Oxtail

Oxtail is a bony, collagen-rich cut of cattle used mainly in slow-cooked stews, soups, and braises.

Oxtail — illustrative ingredient image

About Oxtail

Beef oxtail is the tail of cattle, cut crosswise into sections containing vertebrae, connective tissue, and a variable amount of meat and fat. Despite its name, the culinary ingredient comes from cattle generally rather than only from oxen, and it remains distinct from other beef tail or bone products that lack the attached tissue.

It is most often braised or simmered slowly in soups, stews, broths, and sauces. The raw sections have a central bone surrounded by meat and firm connective tissue. Prolonged cooking produces tender meat and a gelatinous body, with a deep savoury beef flavour.

It is sold fresh, frozen, whole, or portioned. Raw pieces appear as cross-cut sections centred on bone; slow cooking softens the meat and connective tissue and changes the texture to tender and gelatinous. Surface fat and the bone-to-meat ratio vary with trimming and cutting practice.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where oxtail appears

6 linked foods

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Showing 1–6 of 6

Main dishes

Soups

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for oxtail

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Beef Oxtail

English

oxtail

English

Oxtail, meat only, stewed with added salt

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Oxtail, meat only, stewed, weighed with fat and bones

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Oxtail, raw

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Oxtail nutrition & diet

Oxtail nutritional value

Oxtail, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the stated food form.

Calories
171kcal
Protein
20.0g
Carbs
0.0g
Fat
10.1g

Reference values apply to the named food form, not every preparation, variety or brand. CoFID 2021 food code 18-419. Carbohydrate follows the dataset’s available-carbohydrate convention. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.

Portions & preparation

Record oxtail as a bony cattle cut and identify whether the serving includes meat, connective tissue, rendered fat, and cooking liquid. Slow braising can yield a broth-based dish, while trimming, chilling, and skimming alter the edible portion considered.

Compare the right form: Match the reference to cooked or raw cattle oxtail, with bones, attached meat, trimmed fat, and preparation method specified.

Diet considerations

Oxtail is animal-derived beef. It is incompatible with vegetarian and vegan patterns, and preparation may add dairy, stock from other animals, alcohol, or cereal-containing thickeners. Soups and stews also require attention to noodles, grains, dumplings, coatings, and the portion of meat versus broth.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Typically incompatible
  • Vegetarian
    Typically incompatible
  • Pescatarian
    Typically incompatible
  • Keto
    May be compatible
  • Paleo
    May be compatible
  • Low-carb
    May be compatible
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Typically incompatible
The ingredient profile identifies an animal-derived food or derivative.
Vegetarian · Typically incompatible
The profile identifies animal flesh, seafood or a derivative excluded by a vegetarian diet.
Pescatarian · Typically incompatible
The profile identifies land-animal meat or a derivative, which is excluded by this pescatarian definition.
Keto · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Paleo · May be compatible
May fit a paleo pattern, depending on the cut or form, processing and added ingredients.
Low-carb · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID), 2021 — Oxtail, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .