Oxtail is beef ; it’s the culinary name for the tail of cattle (originally ox, now usually cow).

Quick Scoop

  • Oxtail comes from the tail section of a cow, where the rump meets the tail.
  • Each piece is a round cross‑cut of tailbone with rich marrow in the center and a ring of meat and connective tissue around it.
  • The meat is tough but very gelatinous and collagen‑rich, which makes it ideal for slow cooking like braising, stews, and soups.
  • When cooked low and slow, it becomes fall‑apart tender with an intensely beefy, slightly silky texture, similar to short ribs.

What kind of meat is oxtail?

  • In modern butchery, “oxtail” means the tail of beef cattle of any sex, not just working oxen.
  • It is classified as a beef cut, high in collagen and fat, and is used worldwide in traditional soups, stews, and braises.

How people use it today

  • Popular in Caribbean, African, Asian, and European comfort dishes, oxtail is often slow‑cooked for several hours until the meat slips off the bone.
  • Because it has more bone and less lean meat than many cuts, it’s prized more for flavor and body in broths than for big slices of meat.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.