I checked my older cookbooks for ideas and soup or braising seems to be the two most common uses, which is what I've used them for in the past. I'll post another recipe for braising since it's different from yours. The thyme in your recipe sounds lovely.

-Grainlady

BRAISED OXTAIL
(source: The American Woman's Cook Book)

1 oxtail (cut into 2-inch pieces)
2 T. fat
2 small onions, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 T. chopped celery
2 T. flour
1 c. hot water
1 c. tomatoes
3 bay leaves
3 whole cloves
Salt and Pepper

Brown pieces of oxtail in fat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook until brown. Sprinkle with browned flour. Add hot water, tomatoes, bay leaves, cloves, salt and pepper. Place in casserole and cook in 350-degree F. oven until very tender. Serves 5 or 6

Variation - Use beef stock instead of tomatoes and water, and omit cloves and garlic. Serve with noodles. (Grainlady note: I'd add 1 T. vinegar to the recipe if using beef stock instead of tomatoes.)

Can also be served over butter noodles or mashed potatoes.

I love Oxtails. My favourite way to serve them is with spaetzle or over polenta.

Oxtails
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3 pounds oxtails (I Prefer the smaller ones)
1 onion chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled,
Salt
Pepper
Fresh rosemary minced
1 or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 cup red wine
Beef broth (enough to cover meat)

Brown oxtails in small batches so that they brown and don't steam.

Remove from pan and add chopped onions, carrots and celery. Brown vegetables and add the head of peeled garlic cloves,

Add red wine, beef broth, chopped fresh rosemary, salt, pepper and a squirt of tomato paste. Cover and simmer until the oxtails are tender. REmove oxtails. Skim off fat and then whisk using a stick blender to puree the liquid with the vegetables to thicken the sauce.

Oxtails make a wonderfully rich and comforting meal. Like the other responders, I braise with herbs, onions, tomatoes, wine and stock. There isn't a lot of meat on the bone, so you need more than you might think. There's a lot of cartilage which cooks down and makes a very rich sauce. I like it over rice or polenta to soak up the juices.

Cheryl

I've done them in the pressure cooker with great results. I don't have my Lorna Sass PC cookbook in front of me, but the recipe at the link sounds about right.

If you have the time, oxtails benefit from cooking ahead, chilling and reheating; it's then easy to remove the chilled fat before reheating.

However you cook them, it's great comfort food.

Here is a link that might be useful: pressure cooker oxtails

I also braise them and serve them with mashed potatoes or rice to soak up the thick sauce.

I've made them with Ann T's recipe, which is delicious, and I made them once using a recipe that included orange juice, also good but sweet.

Several years ago Carl asked me if I wanted the tail, he said that everyone had been asking for them and when I checked at the store they were $7 or $8 a pound. For oxtail. I was astounded.

I always got them but usually used them, along with the shortribs, to make stock or beef barley soup.

Annie

I've never cooked them, but for some unknown reason every time I consider it I think about Asian flavors. This recipe from Epicurious sounds good to me. It might just be What's for Dinner one night soon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Braised Oxtails with Star Anise and Chinese Greens

Gosh, FOAS, that does sound good. I have trouble finding baby bok choy - have to drive to WF in R.I., an hour drive. I'm going to try to include this in a week's meal plan before the season for long/slow braising is over. We don't eat that heavy once the weather warms up.

/tricia