Lola’s Oxtail Soup with Rice

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My mom, Lola (Dolores), and my mother-in-law Maria Dolores came to the U.S. from Chihuahua, Mexico and they commonly prepared Oxtail soup. Oxtails (Rabo de Rez/Cola de Rez} were an inexpensive item back in the day. Not now. lt’s been 50 years since my wife, Dolores, has prepared oxtails. So here is my reimagined version of the 3-Dolores’s recipe for Oxtail soup with rice This soup is so flavorsome, rich and comforting so I highly recommend you try it out. Let’s get started.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Because oxtails are fatty, I recommend preparing the meat and broth a day ahead. Once cooked I place them in the refrigerator overnight. The following day I remove the top layer of fat that has coagulated overnight.

1 Oxtail (Rabo de Rez/Cola de Rez} 1½-2 lbs.

½ small onion

1 large carrot split lengthwise

1 bay leaf

6 peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

Water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

¾ cup diced onion

1 cup diced carrots ¼ inch cubes

½ cup rice, short or long grain

Salt and pepper

½ pint cherry tomatoes cut in half lenthwise

2 tablespoons cilantro roughly chopped

Preparation

Oxtail broth

Before cooking, trim off excess fat. Add the oxtails, ½ onion, lengthwise cut carrot, peppercorns, bay leaf and teaspoon salt in a 4-6 quart stock pot. Cover the oxtails with water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 2 to 3 hours until meat is completely tender. Remove the oxtail pieces and put aside in a storage container. Pour the remaining broth ingredients into a bowl through a sieve. Discard vegetables.

Cool the broth and oxtails. Shred the meat off the big pieces.

Refrigerate the oxtails and broth overnight. Next day remove the layer of fat that has coagulated over the bowl of broth.

Soup

Add the 1 tablespoon cooking oil, chopped onion and carrots into the stockpot and sauté the mixture until the onions are transparent and soft, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the layer of fat that has coagulated over the bowl of broth. Add the degreased broth and add additional water to the broth to have sufficient liquid for 4 generous servings. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 15 minutes. Add the oxtail shredded meat, and other whole smaller pieces and rice. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Salt and pepper the soup to taste.

To add a brightness and freshness to this rich soup,top the oxtail soup with cut cherry tomato and cilantro.