Urgent help needed!!! Cooking oxtail

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Hi!

So I recently bought a slow cooker and it's great! And I got some oxtail to try to cook it because it's supposed to be really good and tender when slow cooked.

Important: I have never cooked it before!

I bought it yesterday and smelt perfectly fresh when I just opened the packages.

But when I seared in the pan it smelt a little funny...... like horse (I used to do horse riding). Is this normal? 😬😬 I'm more used to other cuts of meat....

Like I said, it smelt perfectly fine when raw and looked good.

Urgent help please! Food is in the slow cooker now for dinner. I don't want to make my family sick.... ☹️

Thank you

Yes it does smell stronger than other meat but is delicious when cooked

Make sure you cook it a day before you're eating, let cool, then skim the fat off the top. It's delicious.

@Frederica99 thank you ☺️☺️ I got worried

I do recall the stench when my Dad made oxtail soup so perhaps this is normal. If it doesn't expressly advise to sear the meat before adding to slow cooker I guess its OK!

Yes it does smell strong! I hate it bh loves it so cooks it sometimes.

Yes, this isn't strange. the only thing I'd say is that I bought two different bits of oxtail to pre-make gravy last Christmas. The one was from the butcher - big, fat pieces - and the other was just with my online shopping and came as quite thin pieces. The thin ones also smelt very strong. The gravy itself came out beautifully but while I enjoyed picking the bits of meat off the butcher oxtail, the taste of the other ones just weren't as nice and I landed up picking off what I could and giving it to the dog.

I still don't know why or what the difference was except that I'd never had Oxtrail in long/thin pieces before so assume it's a different part?

Look at a picture of a cow or bull.
The tail starts off thick & then tapers towards the end.

yes, I assumed that. I guess the fat bit at the top is tastier?!

I cook mine in a Le Creuset off with lots of veg but I cheat as I get the already preped from an online company called meatsmoke so this cuts out several hours.

You do need to sear it. It usually smells fine though, not like venison and nowhere near as rank as lamb mince.

I digress have a slow cooker, but do cook a big oxtail casserole nearly every new year. Delia Smith’s method is a good starting point, but season up and add paprika and spice