Sous Vide Oxtails

4.82 from 11 votes

Sous Vide Oxtails are fall-off-the-bone delicious with a rich red wine sauce and tender and juicy texture after slow cooking for 48 hours!

Prep Time10

Cook Time2

Total Time2 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 608kcal

Heat a sous vide water bath to 175F degrees.
Season the oxtails with salt and pepper.
Heat a skillet to medium high heat and brown the oxtails in the avocado oil for 3 minutes a side.
Remove and let cool.
Add the oxtails to the bag with the remaining ingredients and vacuum seal.
Cook in the water bath for 40-48 hours.
Remove from bag and pour the bag sauce in a small saucepan.
Simmer the sauce from the bag for 3-5 minutes, until reduced slightly. Adjust seasoning if needed. (If too salty, add additional red wine and simmer 5 minutes).
Serve the oxtails over polenta, mashed potatoes or rice with the bag sauce drizzled over the top.
Optional: serve with the creamy horseradish sauce from this sous vide filet mignon recipe.

For even cooking, try to use oxtail pieces that are similar in size. This may require cutting some pieces.
While some fat on oxtails adds flavor, you want to make sure they’re more meaty than fatty.
For maximum flavor, make sure the oxtails are well coated in the braising liquid before sealing the bag.
Removing the air from the bag is an important step that should not be skipped to avoid bacteria entering the bag.
Since we’re cooking these oxtails for up to 48 hours, you’ll want to keep an eye on the water level of the water bath. For food safety and even cooking, the bag of oxtails should be fully submerged in water.
Cover your water bath with foil to help prevent evaporation or add more water to the bath.
The bag may float in the water bath as the oxtails cook. To prevent floating, you can weigh the bag down with something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
If air gets in the bag, just open the bag, let the air out and reseal it. This works for vacuum seal or ziplock bags.