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Tender, slow-simmered soul food staples, seasoned with memory—this is the kind of soulful soup that holds you together.
Traditional oxtail stew, especially Jamaican style is served with root vegetables and often butter beans. However I decided to switch things up and go with some of my favorite soul food dishes.
The beef oxtail is slow-cooked until it is fall-off-the-bone tender, and the collard greens, black-eyed peas, and smoked turkey necks add a touch of soul food flavor. This recipe is easy to follow and can be made in advance. Simply reheat the soup before serving.
This beef oxtail soup is built the old way: time, patience, and layered flavor doing the work no shortcut ever could. Rich marrow melts into the broth while smoked turkey necks and sofrito deepen the base, turning humble ingredients into a pot that feeds both body and spirit. It’s the answer to cold nights, long weeks, and anyone asking what real soul food soup tastes like—expect about 3 hours of low, loving simmer.
If you're a fan of or intrigued by oxtail, explore these other flavorful ways of seasoning and cooking oxtail from local traditional to global styles.
Beats and Eats (music to pair with recipe)
“Who Can I Run To” – The Jones Girls
This song is a slow cry wrapped in harmony—just like this soup. While the oxtails ease into tenderness, the track carries that longing-for-comfort energy, the kind you feel when the pot’s been simmering long enough to smell like home. This is music you let play while you stir, tasting for salt and remembering who taught you how.
Flavor Profile (what makes the dish unique)
Deeply Beefy & Collagen-Rich
Oxtails release gelatin and marrow as they simmer, creating a silky broth that coats the spoon and lingers on the palate.
Smoky, Savory Backbone
Smoked turkey necks layer in woodsy depth, reinforcing the soul-food foundation without overpowering the beef.
Earthy Greens & Legume Comfort
Blackeyed peas and collard greens turn the soup into a full meal—hearty, grounding, and unmistakably Southern.
Wine-Balanced & Tomato-Rounded
Red wine and sofrito with San Marzano tomatoes add acidity and sweetness, balancing richness with elegance.
Key Flavor Ingredients
- Beef Oxtail: The star—rich, meaty, and collagen-heavy, delivering body, silkiness, and deep beef flavor.
- Blackeyed Peas: Creamy and earthy, adding substance and Southern tradition to the pot.
- Collard Greens: Slightly bitter cutting through the richness with big punches of soul.
- Sofrito with San Marzano Tomatoes: Aromatic base that brings sweetness, acidity, and slow-cooked complexity.
- Smoked Turkey Necks: Smoky flavor that reinforces depth and nods to classic soul food technique.
- Red Wine: Deglazes, brightens, and deepens—adding structure and warmth to the broth.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this soup as a main course. You really don't need any backup singers besides Grandma's hot water cornbread and a splash or two of homemade pepper sauce. Chase it all down with an ice cold glass of Southern sweet tea.
Recipe Variations & Ingredient Substitutions
- No Turkey Necks? Use smoked ham hocks or smoked beef shank.
- No Wine: Substitute beef stock with a splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar.
Test Kitchen Tips for Best Results
- Brown the Oxtails First: Color equals flavor—don’t rush this step.
- Trim the oxtail pieces of any excess fat with a sharp knife
- Slow and low cooking is perfect for cooking oxtail. It produces deep rich flavor and allows the connective tissue to breakdown basically dissolving
- Feel free to peel the tender meat away from the oxtail bone after cooking and then return meat back to the soup. Just be sure to discard bones.
- If you don't have time to make the sofrito then saute tomato paste in the pot as a substitute and flavor add.
- Reserve that leftover rich broth for later use. I like to use reduce to a gravy or use it in rice or grits dishes.
This oxtail soup is comfort you can lean on—slow, rich, and full of soul. A pot that listens back, humming harmonies while you decide who, exactly, you can run to.
See more cool ways of cooking oxtail recipes here.
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Beef Oxtail Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3 lbs Beef Oxtail
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 2 cups San Marzano Tomatoes
- 1 medium Yellow Onion roughly chopped
- 4 whole Garlic Cloves roughly chopped
- 1 medium Bell Pepper roughly chopped
- 1 cup Dry Blackeyed Peas
- 2 bunches Collard Greens chopped
- 3 Smoked Turkey Necks
- 4 cups Beef Broth
- 1 Bay Leaf
- ½ cup Dry Red Wine
- 2 Fresh Oregano stems with leaves
Method
- In a separate skillet heat the pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and peppers and saute 2-3 minutes before adding the tomatoes plus a ½ teaspoon of the spice mix. Allow to cook another 2 minutes then add the garlic for about 30 seconds. Place all ingredients from the skillet into a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.
- Place oxtail pieces in a large mixing bowl. Generously season with spice mix. Set aside
- Heat a large dutch oven pot or large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil then brown the oxtail on all sides.
- Add the smoked turkey pieces and saute a minute or so to render some fat.
- Add the wine and allow to cook 2-3 minutes so the alcohol is cooked off and the flavor is concentrated somewhat.
- Add the sofrito, beef stock, bay leaves, remaining spice mix, and fresh oregano to the browned oxtail pieces, bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- Add collard greens and black-eyed peas cooking for another 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and adjust for flavor as needed.
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