One of the most delicious cold-weather dishes in Spain is bull tail (nowadays oxtail) stew. This easy rabo de toro recipe is a Spanish classic, served in traditional restaurants throughout the country. You can make it at home with my mother-in-law’s traditional recipe.
Braised bull tail, oxtail stew, rabo de toro, braised oxtail… this famous Spanish dish goes by many names.
When you find rabo de toro in a restaurant in Spain, you aren’t guaranteed that it is actually bull tail. It’s highly unlikely, however. More likely it’s oxtail or cow tail, but without going into the differences between all of these animals, let’s just agree that it is nearly always delicious!
I first tried this dish in Cordoba, where rabo de toro is one of the city’s most famous dishes. It was served next to a heap of french fries and the plate was covered in a thick brown gravy. The meat melted in your mouth. I was hooked on this comforting stew!
Later, I learned my mother-in-law, Antonia, made an excellent version. Her rabo de toro recipe changes slightly each time, depending on the wine she might have open, and sometimes she’ll add pearl onions to the dish as well (a great idea!). But I’ve decided to share her classic version, which has kept me warm on many occasions.
The Origins of Rabo de Toro
Spanish bull tail stew (found on most menus as rabo de toro estofado) is one of Spain’s most typical stews.Â
It actually dates back to Roman times, and rabo de toro is actually an Andalusian creation, allegedly inspired in Córdoba. Traditionally made after the bullfights, the dish spread throughout the rest of Spain, and is especially popular in Madrid where bullfights are still popular today.
Many bars surrounding the Plaza de Toros (the bullring) in Madrid serve braised bull tail, although they are no longer able to use the tail of the just killed bull. Each restaurant has its own special recipe for Spanish bull tail stew, some using red wine, others opting for Andalusian sherry, or even a bit of brandy.
The bull tail needs to be braised (cooked slowly over low heat) because it is extremely bony, fatty, and tough. But once it cooks long enough, it becomes so tender that it nearly dissolves in your mouth (similar to my Spanish beef stew recipe).
Here is my favorite Spanish rabo de toro recipe, based on Antonia’s signature rabo de toro. I remind you, cooking rabo de toro takes a lot of patience, but if you wait long enough the rewards are delicious!
Key Ingredients
Key ingredients: oxtail, red wine, minced garlic, diced red pepper, beef stock, chopped carrots, diced onion, diced leeks, diced tomato, salt, pepper, ground ginger, cloves, bay leaves, and flour (not pictured).
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Flour: It’s not pictured above but it’s important. Dusting the oxtail with flour will help build a thick and delicious sauce, but you can omit if you prefer without an effect on flavor.
- Wine: Make sure you use decent red wine — nothing fancy, but it should be drinkable. It gives a lot of flavor to the stew! Antonia sometimes substitutes some of the red wine for sherry or brandy.
- Spices: Ginger is not a traditional ingredient, but I love it! Feel free to omit if you prefer. And if you like even more of a spiced flavor, add more cloves.
- Oxtail substitutions: Oxtail can easily be substituted for osso bucco, beef shanks, beef short ribs on the bone, veal neck, and veal shank.
- Additions: Antonia sometimes adds a little something extra to this dish, after puréeing the sauce. Options include mushrooms and pearl onions. Both are delicious.
Rabo de Toro: Step by Step
Steps 1-2: Start by seasoning the raw oxtail with plenty of salt and pepper and then lightly dusting each piece with flour. Sear the oxtail on all sides in a heavy skillet filled with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
Steps 3-4: Once browned, remove the oxtail and let it rest on a plate. Then add the diced vegetables to the skillet — you can add a bit more olive oil if necessary.
Steps 5-6: Let the vegetables cook for about ten minutes until tender. Stir every so often so they don’t burn or stick — but a little caramelization is wonderful for flavor. Next, add the carrots, bay leaves, ginger, and cloves and sautée for one minute. Then add the oxtail back to the pot and cover with the red wine and stock. Make sure everything is fully covered — add a bit more stock if necessary.
Steps 7-8: Bring everything to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer (covered) for about three to four hours. You’ll know it’s finished when the sauce has reduced, and the oxtail is super tender. It should be falling off the bone!
Take the oxtail, bay leaves, and cloves out of the pot and purée the sauce. Then add the oxtail back in. Ideally, enjoy this the next day once the flavors have had a chance to develop even more. When you do serve this dish, serve with potatoes or rice.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
Antonia shares the following tips:
- Time is your friend, it might need more than three hours. It should be tender and falling off the bone when finished. Keep going if in doubt!
- You can use a pressure cooker if you prefer, just adjust the time.
- Some people don’t purée the sauce, but I would really recommend it. It will give you a gorgeous thick gravy that is perfect with this dish.
- Like any great stew, it will taste better the day after you make it! So try to wait, or at least make enough to enjoy leftovers!
Oxtail currently comes from a cow (it is cow’s tail). In the past, it was the tail of an ox but today we use the term oxtail to mean cow’s tail.
Today rabo de toro (oxtail) is considered a delicacy in Spain. It used to be a cheap cut of meat, but nowadays can be quite expensive. It is served at many fine dining restaurants, but also at traditional taverns.
The rule is usually about 1lb. (half a kilo) of oxtail per serving. Remember that much of the oxtail is bone and fat, so you need a bit more than with other cuts of meat.
Oxtail is a very tough cut of meat, which is why it is best for stewing. When stewed for many hours the tough tissues break down and the meat becomes tender and delicious.
Serving Suggestions
Rabo de toro is traditionally served with homemade french fries at most casual restaurants. You’ll also find it served over delicious mashed potatoes (like my Manchego mashed potatoes). It would be perfect served with rice too.
Because this is such a rich dish, I would recommend pairing a crisp salad or green vegetable with it on the side. In Spain, we don’t usually serve anything as a side (apart from the potatoes!), but I always make a simple salad, sautéed spinach, or roasted asparagus.
Lastly — the wine! This is a rich, hearty dish so it’s perfect paired with a very full-bodied wine. You could serve a Spanish Rioja or Ribera del Duero, or even a Toro or more modern Andalusian red wine.
More Simple Spanish Stews
If you like this hearty stew, bookmark these recipes for next time!
- Pollo en Pepitoria: One of my favorite chicken stews, this is made with an addictive almond and saffron sauce.
- Fricando Stew: This incredible slow-cooked beef with mushrooms recipe is a winter favorite in my kitchen.
- Basque Tuna Stew: This recipe for marmitako is a super simple and healthy tuna stew I absolutely love.
- Chorizo and White Bean Stew: I am a huge fan of bean stews in the winter and this sausage and white bean combination doesn’t disappoint.
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Spanish Bull Tail Stew (Rabo de Toro)
Ingredients
- About 3-4 pounds of rabo de toro oxtail, cow tail, etc.
- 3 carrots sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 leek diced
- 2-3 ripe tomatoes diced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 cups of beef stock
- 3 cups of red wine a decent table wine like a Spanish rioja or tempranillo will do nicely.
- 2 bay leafs
- 4 cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Salt
- Pepper
- Flour to coat the meat
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Season the bull tail with salt and pepper.
- In a large, heavy pan (cast iron works great) heat a splash of olive oil to a medium high heat (not yet smoking).
- Lightly dust the rabo de toro with flour (shake away excess) and sear each piece in the hot oil until nicely browned, about 30 seconds per side.
- Remove the bull tail and let the pieces rest.
- In the pan's oil, saute the leek, onion, garlic, red pepper, and tomato for about 10 minutes.
- Add the carrots, bay leafs, ginger, and cloves and saute 1 minute.
- Add the bull tail back to the pan and cover with the wine and stock.
- Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a slow simmer.
- Cook the rabo de toro for 3 hours and then check to see if it is falling away from the bone. It may need another hour or so if the meat is very tough.
- If it is tender enough, remove the meat and then puree the sauce with a hand blender (not necessary but nice).
- Serve with the sauce and homemade french fries or mashed potatoes for an authentic Spanish meal!
Notes
Top Tips & Substitutions
Â- Flour: Dusting the oxtail with flour will help build a thick and delicious sauce, but you can omit if you prefer without an effect on flavor.
- Wine: Make sure you use decent red wine — nothing fancy, but it should be drinkable. It gives a lot of flavor to the stew! Antonia sometimes substitutes some of the red wine for sherry or brandy.Â
- Spices: Ginger is not a traditional ingredient, but I love it! Feel free to omit if you prefer. And if you like even more of a spiced flavor, add more cloves.
- Oxtail substitutions: Oxtail can easily be substituted for osso bucco, beef shanks, beef short ribs on the bone, veal neck, and veal shank.
- Additions: Antonia sometimes adds a little something extra to this dish, after puréeing the sauce. Options include mushrooms and pearl onions. Both are delicious.
- Time is your friend, it might need more than three hours. It should be tender and falling off the bone when finished. Keep going if in doubt!
- You can use a pressure cooker if you prefer, just adjust the time.
Update note: This recipe was originally published on January 22, 2013 and was republished with new photos and information on November 18, 2020.
Spanish bull tail stew is one of the most delicious winter dishes you can make. This recipe is guaranteed success, you just have to wait patiently with a glass of wine and a good movie while it cooks– and you must enjoy it with good company, as the Spanish do!
Have you ever tried rabo de toro before? How was it prepared?
Brigit
Hello, I made this last night (for dinner today) and it looks great. My Rabo de toro must have been tough as it took me 5+ hrs before it was falling from the bone. One quick question – the flavor from the wine is still very strong – stronger than I remember it when served in Spain. Do you have a recommendation for how I could tone it down?
Yury
Oh, the star rating do not seem to work, i mean to give it all the stars lol
Yury
Hi. Usually such dishes are cooked in the oven, no?
I’m making it now as per the recipe, but was just curious 🙂
Lauren Aloise
It’s a stew, so traditionally just in the pot. Some do start it in the oven, but not at all necessary!
Jerry
You mention using a cast iron WOK, do you mean just to brown the meat or to use for the whole recipe.
Really looking forward to gaming this recipe.
Jerry
Denia
Spain
Lauren Aloise
Either way (browning is the most important part) can also use a good heavy pan like stainless steel.
Yvonne russer
Just followed the recipe plus a dash of dry sherry and have never cooked tail before so my Barcelona man will try and await his response
JunU
…the first time I’ve tried Rabo de Toro was early May this year when I visited Cordoba. It was amazingly delicious and I was already thinking of finding a recipe so I can make my own when I get back home. Luckily, I found your recipe that really challenged me to prepare this dish for me and a friend who loved it as well. I will prepare them again sometime for more friends and family to taste.
Linda L
Had this in a restaurant on our last night Madrid and wanted to recreate when I got home. This recipe is wonderful! I followed it exactly with the addition of sautéed mushrooms to the puréed sauce cuz the one in Madrid had it. I will add pearl onions next time. Skimming off the fat is a must. I served with rice, but will try potatoes next time. My family liked this more than the Chinese style braised oxtail. Thank you for sharing!
the gold digger
I made this this weekend. My husband and I tried rabo de toro at three different restaurants when we were in Madrid last winter. I have since tried to make it at home (once I found oxtail that weren’t $7.95 a pound!) and this recipe is fabulous!
Lauren Aloise
So happy to hear this! It is really a delicious dish 🙂
Shari
Just so you know, in 2021 the oxtails are $12.99 a pound, so your $7.95 sounds like a dream.
Lizzie
I’m just in the process of making this.
I have made Rabo de Toro before to different recipe – one which I misread. I thought it said 1 bottle of Fino (sherry) , it didn’t, it said 1 cup. Oops. Still, never mind, it was cooked for hours and hours so not as bad as I thought it might be!
This recipe is in the slow cooker now and the kitchen smells wonderful. I’ve added a little Smoked Paprika instead of Ginger (because I haven’t got any). I haven’t put a whole bottle of sherry in, but I have added a generous slosh of Manzanilla and the red wine, of course.
We’ll have it with creamy mashed potato in about 6 hours….. crikey, 6 hours…better have a snack 🙂
Lauren Aloise
Oh yum… reading your comment made me VERY hungry haha! It’s been awhile since I’ve made this– need to change that asap!
Ana
Great recipe! I live in the U.K. And since I moved here I learnt how to make a lot of dishes that I otherwise would have taken for granted while I was in Spain (as a young woman you just don’t make croquetas, they’re fine in the bar round the corner), and this oxtail recipe is super easy to make and it really feels like a quick trip to Seville as it couldn’t be more authentic.
Lauren Aloise
Happy to hear this Ana!
Mark
I actually first tried this in Cordoba, Spain (my wife and I were visiting southern Spain with our daughter who was on assignment in Geneva). While I was enjoying this wonderful dish, our rental car was being broken into -and all of our possessions stolen, less those on our backs and in our pockets. Nevertheless, it was wonderful, and even my wife, very reluctant to even taste it, admitted that it was very, very good. It is unfortunate, but bovine tail is difficult to get here -some local butchers have a 6-month waiting list, and it is fairly expensive. (Likely because we have many Latino immigrants who fully appreciate rabo de toro.)
Lauren Aloise
Wow! I can’t believe there’s a waiting list for oxtail where you live! Where are you from? And so sorry to hear about the robbery, how awful! Where I used to live in Massachusetts you could find oxtail at most supermarkets, and it was definitely popular among the Latino and Brazilian communities.
Caseyjones
Tried this on my Spanish girlfriend’s relations in Madrid.
Couldn’t find ground ginger anywhere (the Spanish aren’t great ginger fans apparently) so dropped in a small bouquet garni of a couple of sprigs each of rosemary and thyme along with the bay leaves. Took 4 hours till I was happy that the meat was perfect.
I left it to sit overnight and the next day I skimmed off the excess oil (Loads!) Then pureed the sauce, re-heated and served with homemade straw chips.
The result? I actually got a round of applause!!
This is a great dish to prepare the day before as the flavours actually intensify overnight and, although it’s a relatively simple dish to make, the prep takes quite a while.
10/10 (I don’t often give full marks for recipes)
P. S. I ended up with about 4 tails for the same amount of veg and this was easily enough for 6/7 people.
Lauren Aloise
Good for you! Sounds like it came out awesome. I’ll bet you really impressed the in laws! Thanks for letting me know the results!
Joshua
Cheater!!! LOL. Pearl onions in picture with none in recipe.
Lauren Aloise
Pictured is actually my mother-in-law’s recipe! She makes hers a bit differently, but I agree that the onions are a nice touch!
Christopher Gordon Webb
Benefits from the addition of shallots. These are shown in the photograph but not in the receipe. Otherwise a great dish.
Lauren Aloise
Hi Christopher! Thanks for reading. They are actually pearl onions, and the picture is my mother-in-law’s version. I like the onions, but give me the bull tail in sauce with some potatoes and I am happy!
Michi
Mmmmm, I LOVE bull tail!! In fact, one of the best bull tail dishes I’ve ever had was in Seville!
Mmmmm, I’m really craving a good estofado right now!
Juan
Me too, Panatas restaurante over by the Mercarodona! I’m making some right now, I think it would probably go better with mashed potatoes! Yum