I'm Not Buying Oxtails Anymore —This Old HARLEM Butcher Trick Gets Twice the Meat for Half the Price

00:00 There's a butcher shop up in Harlem

00:01 that's been in the same family for three

00:03 generations, and the man who runs it now

00:06 learned to cut meat from his father, who

00:08 learned from his father before that. And

00:10 the first time I asked him why oxtail

00:12 prices had climbed the way they have

00:14 over the last several years, he didn't

00:16 just complain about it the way I

00:17 expected.

00:19 He walked [music] me straight to a

00:20 completely different case in the back of

00:22 his shop and said, "Come here. Let me

00:25 show you what we used to actually cook

00:26 >> [music]

00:27 >> before oxtail turned into a specialty

00:29 item everybody suddenly wanted." And

00:30 what he showed me changed how I shop for

00:32 that whole category of soul food cooking

00:34 [music] completely. Today, I want to

00:36 walk you through what he taught me,

00:38 why oxtail got so expensive in the first

00:40 place,

00:41 what the old alternative actually is,

00:43 why it generally gives you more usable

00:45 meat for less money, and exactly how to

00:47 cook it so it comes out every bit as

00:49 rich and tender as the oxtail dish you

00:51 grew [music] up eating.

00:53 Let's start with the oxtail situation

00:55 itself, because understanding why it got

00:57 expensive is really what makes the

01:00 alternative make sense in the first

01:01 place.

01:02 Oxtail used to be, and I mean this

01:05 literally, considered [music] a

01:06 throwaway cut.

01:08 It's the tail of the cow, a small amount

01:10 of actual meat wrapped around a series

01:12 of [music] bony vertebrae. And for most

01:14 of American culinary history, it was

01:16 priced accordingly, cheap, sometimes

01:19 nearly given away by butchers who had

01:21 more of it than anyone [music]

01:22 particularly wanted. Soul food cooking,

01:25 Caribbean cooking, a lot of global

01:27 culinary traditions built entirely

01:29 around [music] stretching tougher, less

01:30 desirable cuts into something incredible

01:33 through long, slow cooking, embraced

01:35 oxtail specifically because it was both

01:38 cheap and once you actually understood

01:40 how to [music] cook it, genuinely

01:41 delicious, loaded with collagen and

01:44 connective tissue that breaks down into

01:46 rich, [music] gelatinous goodness over

01:47 hours of low heat.

01:49 But over the last decade or so, oxtail

01:52 went through a real transformation in

01:54 the marketplace.

01:56 It got essentially discovered by a much

01:59 wider audience. [music] Restaurants

02:00 started featuring it prominently.

02:02 It started showing up on trendy menus,

02:04 [music]

02:05 and demand shot up dramatically.

02:07 While the actual supply, remember,

02:09 there's only one tail per cow,

02:11 stayed exactly [music]

02:13 as limited as it's always been.

02:15 Basic supply and demand did the rest.

02:17 What used to be a cheap, overlooked cut

02:19 is now, in [music] a lot of markets,

02:20 priced closer to a premium item,

02:22 sometimes rivaling or even exceeding the

02:24 price of actual steak cuts per pound,

02:27 which is genuinely wild when you think

02:29 about what it actually is anatomically.

02:31 So, the old Harlem butcher's point was

02:33 simple.

02:34 If the [music] entire appeal of oxtail,

02:36 for people who grew up loving it, was

02:37 never really about the specific bones

02:39 themselves,

02:40 >> [music]

02:40 >> it was about that rich, falling apart,

02:43 deeply gelatinous texture and flavor

02:45 that comes from long cooking a

02:47 collagen-heavy [music] cut,

02:49 then there are other parts of the cow

02:50 that deliver that exact same experience

02:53 at a fraction of the price, because they

02:56 haven't been discovered and marked up

02:57 the same way yet.

02:59 And the specific [music] cut he pointed

03:00 me toward was beef neck bones,

03:03 sometimes just called neck.

03:05 Occasionally, you'll see it labeled as

03:06 beef neck rings, [music]

03:08 depending on how the butcher's cut it.

03:10 This is one of those cuts that stayed

03:11 genuinely [music] cheap, still priced

03:13 the way oxtail used to be priced,

03:15 because it hasn't caught on with the

03:16 wider audience the same way.

03:18 It's still mostly known within the exact

03:21 same soul [music] food and traditional

03:22 cooking communities that have been using

03:24 it for generations,

03:26 quietly, without it ever becoming

03:28 trendy.

03:28 >> [music]

03:29 >> Let's talk about why neck bones work so

03:31 well as a genuine substitute, because

03:33 it's not just that they're [music]

03:35 cheap. There's a real structural and

03:37 culinary logic here.

03:39 Anatomically, the neck is [music] doing

03:41 an enormous amount of work on a living

03:42 animal,

03:43 supporting the head,

03:45 constantly moving,

03:46 >> [music]

03:46 >> which means it's absolutely loaded with

03:48 connective tissue and collagen,

03:51 the exact same category of tissue that

03:53 makes oxtail so rich when it's cooked

03:55 low and slow.

03:56 This isn't a lean, tender muscle like a

03:58 fillet. It's dense, tough, and full of

04:00 exactly the kind of tissue that needs

04:02 hours of gentle heat to transform, which

04:05 is precisely the profile you want for

04:07 this style of cooking.

04:08 You're not looking for tenderness

04:09 straight out of the package, you're

04:11 looking for the raw material that

04:12 becomes tender through the cooking

04:13 process itself.

04:15 And here's the detail that really got

04:17 me, the twice the meat part of what he

04:19 was telling me.

04:21 Oxtail, per pound, [music]

04:23 is mostly bone and connective tissue

04:25 relative to actual usable meat because

04:27 of how the tail is structured. Small

04:29 rings of vertebrae with a modest amount

04:31 of meat wrapped around each one.

04:34 Neck bones, per pound, [music] generally

04:36 carry a noticeably higher ratio of

04:37 actual meat to bone because the neck

04:40 itself is a thicker, more substantial

04:42 structure than the tail. So, you're not

04:43 just paying less per pound, [music]

04:45 you're also getting more actual usable

04:47 meat out of that same pound once it's

04:49 cooked down and you're picking it off

04:51 the bone, which is where that twice the

04:53 meat framing genuinely holds up.

04:55 >> [music]

04:55 >> It's not just a catchy way of putting

04:57 it, there's real substance behind that

04:59 comparison.

05:00 >> [music]

05:01 >> Now, let's get into how to actually cook

05:02 these because the old Harlem approach is

05:06 almost identical to how you'd approach

05:08 oxtail, [music]

05:09 just with a few adjustments worth

05:10 knowing about.

05:12 First, the trim and prep.

05:15 Neck bones sometimes come with a bit

05:16 more surface fat than you'd find on

05:18 oxtail,

05:19 so I trim any large, thick sections of

05:21 hard exterior fat, leaving smaller

05:23 pockets of it alone, since that's going

05:25 to render down and contribute to the

05:27 richness of the final dish.

05:29 Same logic as trimming a brisket.

05:30 [music]

05:31 I give them a good rinse and pat them

05:33 dry because a dry surface browns

05:35 properly. A wet one just steams.

05:38 Second, the sear.

05:40 And this step is not optional if you

05:41 actually want the depth of flavor this

05:43 dish is capable [music] of.

05:45 I season the neck bones generously,

05:47 salt, pepper, garlic [music] powder,

05:49 onion powder, and brown them in batches

05:51 in a heavy pot. Not crowding the pot.

05:55 The same Maillard principle I've talked

05:57 about across basically [music] every

05:58 video on this channel. That hard sear is

06:01 building a genuine flavor foundation you

06:03 simply [music] don't get if you skip

06:05 straight to simmering everything from

06:07 raw.

06:08 Third, [music] the aromatic base. And

06:10 this is where the dish really starts to

06:13 smell like the soul food kitchens a lot

06:15 of us grew up around.

06:16 >> [music]

06:16 >> Onion, bell pepper, celery, sometimes

06:19 referred to as the holy trinity in a lot

06:21 of southern and [music] soul food

06:23 cooking traditions. Sautéed in the same

06:25 pot, picking up all that fond left

06:28 behind from searing [music] the meat.

06:30 Garlic goes in after, along with bay

06:32 leaves, thyme, a good amount of black

06:34 pepper, and depending [music] on how I'm

06:36 feeling that day, a bit of smoked

06:37 paprika or even a touch of allspice,

06:41 which shows up in a lot of Caribbean

06:42 influenced versions [music] of this

06:44 style of cooking and adds a really

06:45 distinctive warmth.

06:47 Fourth, [music] the braising liquid, and

06:49 I keep this relatively simple, beef

06:51 stock. Sometimes a splash of

06:53 Worcestershire for depth.

06:55 Sometimes [music]

06:56 a bit of tomato paste stirred in for

06:58 body and a subtle acidity that helps

07:00 balance all [music] that richness. The

07:02 meat goes back in. Everything gets

07:05 brought up to a simmer, and then this is

07:07 the important part, it goes down to a

07:09 low gentle simmer, not a hard boil, and

07:12 it stays there. Covered for a real

07:14 stretch of time. Generally somewhere in

07:16 the 2 and 1/2 [music] to 3-hour range.

07:18 Sometimes longer depending on the exact

07:20 size of the pieces you're working with.

07:23 You're looking for the exact same visual

07:24 [music] and textural cues you use with

07:26 oxtail.

07:27 Meat that's pulling away from the bone

07:29 with almost no resistance. A rich,

07:32 slightly [music] thickened braising

07:33 liquid from all that collagen breaking

07:35 down and dissolving into it, and that

07:37 deep dark color that only comes from

07:39 hours of low, slow [music] cooking, not

07:41 something you can rush by cranking the

07:43 heat.

07:44 Fifth, and I think this is genuinely

07:46 important, don't [music] skip the

07:47 resting and settling time at the end.

07:49 I like to let the pot sit off the heat

07:52 for a good 20 or 30 minutes once it's

07:54 done cooking.

07:55 Sometimes even longer before serving.

07:58 Because [music] that gelatinous braising

08:00 liquid actually continues to develop and

08:02 settle a bit as it cools slightly. And

08:04 honestly, like a lot of the long cooked

08:06 dishes I've talked about on this

08:07 channel,

08:08 this whole thing is even better the next

08:10 day.

08:11 Once it's had a full night in the fridge

08:13 for everything to melt together

08:15 completely.

08:16 Serve it the exact same way you'd serve

08:18 oxtail over rice,

08:20 letting that rich braising liquid soak

08:22 down into it alongside whatever sides

08:24 you traditionally pair with oxtail in

08:26 your own household.

08:27 >> [music]

08:27 >> Because honestly, once this is done, the

08:30 final dish is remarkably close in

08:31 character, in richness, [music] and that

08:34 deep falling apart texture to what you

08:36 get from actual oxtail

08:38 at a genuine [music] fraction of the

08:39 cost.

08:40 I want to be honest about where the

08:42 differences actually are because I don't

08:44 want to oversell this as an identical

08:46 one-for-one [music] replacement in every

08:48 single way.

08:49 The specific bone shape is obviously

08:51 different. Oxtail has that distinctive

08:53 vertebral structure that some people

08:54 specifically enjoy working around while

08:56 eating. And neck [music] bones have

08:58 their own bone structure that's a bit

09:00 different to navigate.

09:02 There's a slightly different meat to

09:03 [music] fat ratio between the two cuts

09:05 as well.

09:06 Though I'd argue that's honestly part of

09:08 what makes neck bones give you more

09:09 usable meat in the first place.

09:11 >> [music]

09:11 >> But in terms of overall flavor profile,

09:14 richness,

09:15 and that deeply satisfying falling off

09:17 the bone texture that's really the whole

09:18 point of cooking a dish like [music]

09:20 this,

09:21 they're remarkably close. Close enough

09:23 that a lot of people, myself included

09:25 the first time [music] he had me taste

09:26 his version blind, genuinely can't tell

09:29 the difference without being told

09:30 beforehand.

09:31 The broader lesson here, and I think

09:33 this is really what stuck with me most

09:34 after that whole conversation in his

09:36 shop,

09:37 is one I keep [music] coming back to

09:39 across a lot of these videos that a huge

09:41 amount of what makes a cut special or

09:43 [music] expensive isn't really about the

09:45 meat itself. It's about what's currently

09:47 trendy, what's currently being featured

09:49 on menus and social media, [music]

09:51 and what's fallen out of everyday

09:52 household use over the last generation

09:54 or two.

09:55 >> [music]

09:55 >> The actual cooking techniques that make

09:57 a tough, collagen-heavy cut incredible,

10:00 the low and slow heat, the proper sear

10:02 beforehand, the aromatic base,

10:05 all of that transfers completely and

10:07 directly across a whole range of cuts

10:08 that most [music] people have simply

10:10 stopped thinking about because they've

10:12 been trained by rising prices and food

10:14 trends to reach [music] for one

10:16 specific, now expensive item instead of

10:18 understanding the actual underlying

10:20 principle behind why that item was good

10:22 to begin [music] with.

10:24 If you try this, and I genuinely hope

10:26 you do, look specifically for beef neck

10:28 bones at a real butcher counter rather

10:30 than a prepackaged supermarket shelf if

10:33 you can manage it, because that's

10:34 generally where you're going to find the

10:36 best price and the freshest product. The

10:39 same advice I'd give for basically any

10:41 of these less mainstream cuts I've

10:42 talked about across [music] this

10:43 channel. And don't be shy about asking

10:45 your butcher directly if oxtail feels

10:47 out of reach

10:49 price-wise these day. A lot of them,

10:51 like the man who taught me all of this,

10:53 are genuinely happy to point you toward

10:54 the older, cheaper cut that used to do

10:57 exactly the same job in kitchens for

10:58 generations before oxtail [music]

11:00 ever became what it is today.

11:03 Let me know in the comments if you grew

11:04 up eating neck bones in your own

11:06 household because I have a feeling

11:08 there's a real generational split in

11:10 this comment section.

11:12 Some of you have been doing this the

11:13 whole time [music] and are wondering

11:14 what took the rest of us so long to

11:16 catch up.

11:17 Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in

11:19 the next one.