Tail

The beef tail is part of the fifth quarter cuts. It is the basis of various soups and stews of Italian and European cuisine including Coda alla Vaccinara, British Oxtail Soup and Spanish Rabo de Toro. Outside of Europe, oxtail is the basis of Brazilian rabada and Philippine kare-kare.

During preparation, the vertebrae of which it is composed are usually separated and subjected to very high temperatures so that they can obtain the right level of caramelization (Maillard reaction). Subsequently, the pieces of meat are cooked for a long time or subjected to braising until the connective tissue becomes gelatinous and the meat becomes tender and easy to cut.

The cooking process forms the cooking base, which has a brown colour, an intense flavor and is an ideal culinary binder. Often during cooking this type of meat is sprinkled with red wine. Another tip: the tail is usually not used to make broth because it tends to make the color cloudy.