Limited Edition Collector Blades
How to Cut Oxtail: Separating the Joints and Trimming Fat
How do you cut oxtail? Find the soft cartilage joints between the vertebrae by flexing the tail and pressing with your thumb, then cut straight down through each joint with a sharp knife or a cleaver. You are cutting through cartilage, not bone, so you don't need to hack. Then trim off the thick outer fat cap and leave the meat around each section. Our pick is the Cleaver Knife 7", Gladiator Series, NSF Certified ($89): a 7" German-steel cleaver (German X50CrMoV15 steel, 54–56 HRC, 16–18° edge, NSF certified) with the weight to push cleanly through each joint.
Most oxtail in stores is already cut into rounds. If you buy a whole tail from a butcher, or your pieces are uneven, the method below gives you even sections that braise at the same pace.
What you need
| Tool | Job |
|---|---|
| Meat cleaver or heavy chef's knife | Cutting through joints |
| Boning knife | Trimming the fat cap and silverskin |
| Large, heavy cutting board | Takes the impact; set it on a damp towel |
| Paper towels | Drying the tail so it doesn't slip |
Step by step
1. Dry and orient the tail
Pat it dry and lay it flat with the thick end toward your knife hand. The thick end has the largest, meatiest sections; the narrow tip is mostly bone and tendon.
2. Find the joints
Bend the tail gently. You'll feel where it flexes, and you can press with your thumb to find the soft gap between each vertebra. Joints sit closer together toward the tip. Some cooks mark each one with a light score so they can see it.
3. Cut through each joint
Place the blade right in the gap and push straight down, using your palm on the spine of the blade if needed. If you hit hard bone, you've missed the joint; pull back and move a little up or down. Don't twist the blade in bone; that's how edges get damaged.
4. Trim the fat
Oxtail has a thick layer of outer fat. Use a boning knife to trim most of it, leaving a thin layer for flavor. Excess fat can also be skimmed off the braise later, or the braise can be chilled overnight so the fat sets on top.
5. Sort by size
Keep the large and small pieces separate. Small tip pieces are great for stock; the big ones are the stars of the plate.
Cooking oxtail
Oxtail is full of connective tissue, so it needs long, slow, moist cooking: brown it well, then braise it covered in liquid for several hours until the meat pulls easily from the bone. A pressure cooker shortens that a lot. Popular dishes include Jamaican oxtail stew, Korean oxtail soup and red-wine-braised oxtail.
Safety tips
- Keep your guiding hand flat and well behind the blade.
- Use a cleaver for joints, never a thin, hard Japanese blade, which can chip on bone.
- Work on a heavy board that won't bounce, and keep it from sliding.
- If the tail is partly frozen, let it thaw fully; frozen joints won't separate.
Our picks
Cleaver Knife 7", Gladiator Series, NSF Certified ($89). Spec sheet: German X50CrMoV15 steel, 54–56 HRC, 16–18° edge, NSF certified. Weight to push through oxtail joints.
Meat Cleaver 9", Ravager, Gladiator Series, NSF Certified, Dalstrong © ($99). Spec sheet: German X50CrMoV15 steel, 54–56 HRC, 16–18° edge, NSF certified. A heavier cleaver for bigger bone work.
Boning Knife 6", Shogun Series, ELITE ($119). A flexible boning knife for trimming fat and silverskin.
FAQ
What is the best knife for cutting oxtail?
A meat cleaver. The Dalstrong Gladiator Series 7" Cleaver ($89) has a German-steel blade with enough weight to push through each oxtail joint cleanly.
Do you cut oxtail through the bone?
No. Cut through the cartilage joints between the vertebrae. If you hit hard bone, move the blade to find the gap.
Should you trim fat off oxtail?
Trim most of the thick outer fat, leaving a thin layer. You can skim the rest from the braise.
How do you find the joints in oxtail?
Flex the tail and press with your thumb to feel the soft gap between each vertebra.
How long does oxtail take to cook?
Several hours of slow braising until the meat pulls from the bone; a pressure cooker is much faster.
