Low-Carb Oxtail Soup

This recipe is the perfect example of a nutritious, real food meal using non-starchy vegetables, and my favourite cut of beef - oxtail. Apart from being delicious, oxtail is perfect for stews. It adds an amazing flavour, even if you use just a few pieces together with other meat cuts. I'm lucky enough to get quality meat from a local farmer who always keeps a few pounds of oxtail for me! I made this soup in my Dutch oven but you could also use your slow cooker, or a pressure cooker.

Oxtails are high in gelatine and that's why I often use them when making bone broth, one of the keto essentials in my house. I keep the meat and use it as filling in low-carb tacos wrapped in tortillas or simply on top of crispy lettuce leaves like I did in this autumn oxtail stew.

Step-by-step

1. Heat a large pot or a Dutch oven greased with ghee over a medium-high heat. Pat dry the oxtails with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the oxtails in the pot and brown on all sides for about 10 minutes.
   You can also use a slow cooker. After browning the meat, transfer it into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours and add the vegetables for the 60-90 minutes of the cooking process.

   

2. Add the rosemary, thyme, cloves, and bay leaves. You can make a bouquet garni by placing all the herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tying with an unwaxed kitchen string. This will make it easy to remove once cooked. Add the lemon juice and water (or broth). Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is soft and falls off the bones.

   

3. After about 3 hours, use kitchen tongs to remove the meat from the pot. Let the oxtails cool down on a plate and then shred the meat off.
   There's going to be lots of gelatine left on the bones - you can use them for making a batch of homemade bone broth!

   

4. While the meat is cooling down, prepare the vegetables. Peel and dice the rutabaga into about 1-inch pieces. Add it to the pot, cover with the lid and cook for about 10 minutes.

   

5. Add the tomatoes, chopped green beans, sliced leeks ...

   

6. ... and sliced celery stalks. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the rutabaga and green beans are tender.

   

7. Add the shredded meat and more water if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Enjoy!

   

Recipe

Low-Carb Oxtail Soup

★★★★★4.7 (158 ratings)

This recipe is the perfect example of a nutritious, real food meal using non-starchy vegetables, and my ...

Hands on

30m

Overall

4h

Servings

8

7.5 g

Net carbs

32.6 g

Protein

21.6 g

Fat

371

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings16 servings24 servings32 servings

US + metricMetricUS

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Ingredients makes 8 servings

• 1.6 kg oxtails (3.5 lb) - this will yield about 50% meat
• ¹/₄ cup ghee (55 g/ 1.9 oz)
• 1-2 sprigs each rosemary and thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• ¹/₄ tsp ground cloves
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 - 2 ¹/₂ litres / quarts water or bone broth - you can make your own
• 1 medium rutabaga, diced (300 g/ 10.6 oz)
• 1 large tin tomatoes, unsweetened (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
• 2 cups green beans, chopped (200 g/ 7.1 oz)
• 2 medium leeks, sliced (180 g/ 6.3 oz)
• 2 medium celery stalks, sliced (80 g/ 2.8 oz)
• salt and pepper to taste (I like pink Himalayan salt)

Instructions

1. Heat a large pot or a Dutch oven greased with ghee over a medium-high heat. Pat dry the oxtails with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the oxtails in the pot and brown on all sides for about 10 minutes.
   You can also use a slow cooker. After browning the meat, transfer it into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours and add the vegetables for the 60-90 minutes of the cooking process.

2. Add the rosemary, thyme, cloves, and bay leaves. You can make a bouquet garni by placing all the herbs in a piece of cheesecloth and tying with an unwaxed kitchen string. This will make it easy to remove once cooked. Add the lemon juice and water (or broth). Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is soft and falls off the bones.

3. After about 3 hours, use kitchen tongs to remove the meat from the pot. Let the oxtails cool down on a plate and then shred the meat off.
   There's going to be lots of gelatine left on the bones - you can use them for making a batch of homemade bone broth!

4. While the meat is cooling down, prepare the vegetables. Peel and dice the rutabaga into about 1-inch pieces. Add it to the pot, cover with the lid and cook for about 10 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes, chopped green beans, sliced leeks ...

6. ... and sliced celery stalks. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the rutabaga and green beans are tender.

7. Add the shredded meat and more water if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Enjoy!

Nutrition per serving

Carbs 8%Protein 37%Fat 55% of calories

Net carbs

7.5 g

Total carbs

10.6 g

Fiber

3.2 g

Sugars

4.8 g

Protein

32.6 g

Fat

21.6 g

Saturated fat

9.8 g

Calories

371 kcal

Sodium

268 mg · 11.6% RDA

Magnesium

85 mg · 21.2% RDA

Potassium

627 mg · 31.4% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per serving	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Oxtail, beef, raw, meat only	0 g	30.9 g	14.3 g	262
Ghee	0 g	0 g	6.9 g	62
Rosemary, fresh	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Thyme, fresh	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Bay leaf, dried	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	1
Cloves, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Lemon juice, fresh	0.2 g	0 g	0 g	1
Water, still	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Rutabagas, raw	2.4 g	0.4 g	0.1 g	14
Tomatoes, canned (unsweetened)	0.8 g	0.4 g	0.1 g	8
Green beans, fresh	1.1 g	0.5 g	0.1 g	8
Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), raw	2.7 g	0.3 g	0.1 g	14
Celery stalk, fresh	0.1 g	0.1 g	0 g	2
Total	7.5 g	32.6 g	21.6 g	371

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Egg free
• Nut free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Fish free
• Shellfish free
• Beef free