Oxtail soup recipe from M.V Hjaltland

Recently we received a message from a lady who travelled with NorthLink Ferries, requesting the recipe for oxtail soup that she had enjoyed on board M.V Hjaltland. She was keen to recreate it back home in America and we were happy to oblige. Now we share the recipe below for you to try as well!

This recipe makes a big batch of delicious and filling oxtail soup – perfect for a winter’s day. We’d recommend preparing the oxtails the day before for the best flavour!

This recipe, from David Hughes, Executive Chef on board M.V Hjaltland makes a big batch of delicious and filling oxtail soup – perfect for a winter’s day.

Prepare the oxtails the day before for the best flavour!

Ingredients

• 1kg – 1.5kg oxtail
• A bottle of red wine
• 1 pint beef stock
• Rosemary
• 2 or 3 onions
• 2 carrots
• 1 or 2 sticks of celery
• 50g butter
• 25g flour
• Parsley

Method

1. Cut the oxtails so that they are 1 to 1½ inches thick, then seal them off in a hot pan with a little bit of oil.
2. Once the oxtails are no longer red, cover them with the beef stock and red wine. We used around a pint of beef stock and two cups of wine.
3. Add 1 or 2 roughly chopped onions and rosemary, and then cover the pan.
4. Cook low and slow for around 8 hours.

5. The next day, break the meat off the oxtails. After 8 hours, the meat should fall off the bones. Keep the meat and the gravy to the side.

6. Chop 1 onion, 2 carrots and 1 or 2 sticks of celery and add them to a pot with 50g of butter. Sweat off the veg on a low heat for around 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Then add 25g of flour and 2 cups of red wine then stir out.

8. Add the oxtails and leftover gravy (add more beef stock if required) and simmer for 40 mins.
9. Serve with finely chopped parsley to garnish.

Tips: After preparing the oxtails, you could use them for a meal on their own, and use the leftovers for the soup.
The bones can also be browned off to make a delicious beef stock.
After separating the meat from the bones, use two forks to pull the meat apart (if you like your soup thick) or leave it as is (if you like your soup full of big chunks).

By David Hughes
Exec Chef from Stranraer who has served the islands for well over a decade and enjoys using local produce onboard. In his spare time he enjoys cooking and baking with his 3 daughters Darcy, Millie and Maisey.

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