Vibrant tacos meet the rich flavors of oxtail in this incredible oxtail tacos recipe! The meat is seasoned and then slowly braised in a luscious and flavorful sauce until it's fall-apart tender. The deeply savory and succulent oxtail is loaded up onto warm tortillas and contrasted with some simple slaw, crema, and cilantro for the most decadent taco!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the oxtails to a large pot and cover them with water. Bring the pot to a boil and continue to boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the oxtails.
4 lb bone-in oxtail
Add the dried peppers to a bowl and cover them with hot water. Drain after 10 minutes and then remove the stems and seeds.
3 dried peppers
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer to a blender, add the peppers, beef stock, and lime juice, and blend until smooth.
1 medium onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon EACH: chili powder, cumin, and oregano, 2 cups beef stock, 2 tablespoons lime juice
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a dutch oven or braising pot. Season the oxtail with salt and pepper and then sear themm until golden on both sides.
1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
Remove the oxtails and drain the fat from the pot. Put the oxtails back into the pot and pour the sauce over the top.
Cover the pot and put it into your oven to braise for 3-4 hours. The sauce will reduce substantially and become thick.
When the oxtail is tender, remove the bones an shred it using 2 forks.
Spoon the fat out of the braising pot and then add the pulled oxtail to the pot. Mix it around in the sauce.
Turn your oven to broil. Spread the oxtail out on a baking sheet and broil it for 5 minutes, or until parts of it becomes dark and crispy.
To assemble the tacos, pile the pulled oxtail on top of warm tortillas some cabbage, a little crema, and some cilantro.
Corn or flour tortillas, Crema or sour cream, Thinly sliced cabbage, Cilantro
Notes
We've made this recipe using a variety of dried Mexican peppers, and each time it turns out great. In the picture above are a guajillo, pasilla, and ancho pepper. Cascabel is another tasty variety. Just be sure not to use three chilis de arbol or it will be too spicy with not enough flavor.