Coda alla Vaccinara is a traditional dish of Roman cuisine made with slowly braised oxtail in tomato sauce. This rich and flavorful Roman oxtail stew is one of the most famous recipes of Rome’s popular cooking.
The origins of coda alla vaccinara date back to the 19th century, when oxtail was considered a leftover cut from the slaughterhouse and sold at a very low price. The Roman butchers, known as vaccinari, learned how to turn this humble ingredient into a hearty and delicious dish.
The preparation of coda alla vaccinara is simple but requires patience. Cook the oxtail slowly with celery, carrot, onion, and a little lard. Deglaze with white wine, then add tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. Let the meat simmer gently for about three hours, until it becomes tender and full of flavor.
One of the distinctive touches of authentic coda alla vaccinara is the addition of a small amount of dark chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder. This ingredient enhances the aroma of the sauce and gives the dish its characteristic richness.
Today coda alla vaccinara, together with dishes such as abbacchio a scottadito and saltimbocca alla romana, is considered an icon of traditional Roman cuisine, loved for its deep flavor and melt-in-the-mouth texture.
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What Is Oxtail?
Oxtail is the tail of cattle, cut into thick round pieces with a central bone and rich gelatinous meat. It's a traditional ingredient in many slow-cooked dishes because it becomes extremely tender after long cooking. In this coda alla vaccinara recipe, the oxtail slowly braises in tomato sauce and vegetables until the meat becomes soft and flavorful.
Where to Buy Oxtail
Oxtail is widely available in butcher shops and many supermarkets. It's usually sold cut into thick slices. If you cannot find it pre-cut, ask your butcher to slice the tail into pieces about 4–5 cm (1½–2 inches) thick.
Ingredients
Prep Time: 20 Min | Cook Time: 4 Hours | Servings: 4
- 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) oxtail
- 80 g (3 oz) lard or pancetta
- 1 small onion
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 medium carrot
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) dry white wine
- 300 g (1 ¼ cups) tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder or 20 g (0.7 oz) dark chocolate
- 2 garlic cloves
- 70 g (⅓ cup) extra virgin olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
How to Make Coda alla Vaccinara
Step 1) - To make this Roman oxtail stew, start by preparing the soffritto. Peel the carrot and cut it into small cubes. Dice just one celery stalk and the onion in the same way. Set aside two celery stalks, which you will add later in the cooking.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large, deep pan over high heat. Add the pieces of oxtail and brown them well on all sides.
Step 2) - Turn off the heat and remove the oxtail from the pan, keeping it aside.
Step 3) - Add the chopped celery, carrot and onion to the same pan and sauté them over low heat in the remaining oil.
Meanwhile cut the lard into cubes.
Step 4) - Add the cubed lard, chopped parsley, and peeled garlic to the pan. Let everything cook together for a few minutes so the flavors combine.
Step 5) - Then return the browned oxtail to the pan. Let the meat cook with the vegetables for a few minutes, then pour in the white wine.
Cook for Four Hours
Step 6) - When the alcohol has completely evaporated, add the tomato passata. Season with salt and black pepper.
Cover with a lid and cook over very low heat for at least 4 hours.
Check the pot about every 30 minutes to make sure the sauce does not dry out and the meat does not stick to the bottom. Stir occasionally and add a little hot water or broth if necessary.
Step 7) - After about two hours of cooking, add the two celery stalks you set aside earlier, cut into pieces that are not too thin.
Step 8) - When the cooking time is finished, remove the lid and add the unsweetened cocoa powder or the piece of dark chocolate. Let the chocolate melt, stir well, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Then turn off the heat. Your Coda alla Vaccinara is ready!
Storage
You can store Italian braised oxtail in the refrigerator in an airtight container, where it will keep for 2-3 days.
When ready to serve, you can reheat it in a saucepan, adding a little water to revive the cooking juices.
If you have used fresh meat, you can also freeze it.
Tips
To make perfect coda alla vaccinara, avoid piercing the meat while browning it. At the beginning, brown the oxtail quickly on all sides, just enough to seal the surface. Use wooden or silicone utensils and handle the meat gently. If you pierce or tear the surface, the juices will escape and the meat may become less tender.
An essential ingredient in this dish is celery. In this recipe the amount of celery is about three times that of carrots and onions. Some traditional recipes even add more. Since coda alla vaccinara contains a good amount of fat, celery helps balance the richness of the sauce. It adds aroma, freshness, and a pleasant texture to the dish.
Coda alla vaccinara should be served very hot, ideally with slices of homemade bread to soak up the rich sauce.
The sauce from coda alla vaccinara is also excellent for pasta, especially rigatoni or tonnarelli.
Variations
Coda alla vaccinara is traditionally prepared with oxtail, which requires a cooking time of about 4 hours.
Some recipes use veal tail, which is more tender and lean. In this case the cooking time is usually reduced to about two and a half or three hours.
One of the distinctive elements of many traditional recipes is the addition of a small amount of unsweetened cocoa powder dissolved in the cooking juices. This ingredient gives the sauce a deeper flavor and a richer texture.
However, not all versions include cocoa. Some traditional recipes add pine nuts and raisins toward the end of cooking, creating a slightly sweet contrast typical of Roman cuisine.
If you like, you can also add a couple of cloves to flavor the sauce.
Like many traditional dishes of popular origin, coda alla vaccinara has many family versions and small variations that change from household to household.
The Humble Origins of Coda alla Vaccinara
The origins of Italian oxtail recipe are humble. The dish is made with oxtail, a cut that belongs to what Romans call the “fifth quarter” (quinto quarto), the group of less prized parts of the animal that also includes offal.
The name of the dish comes from the vaccinari, the workers who handled cattle in old Rome. The word comes from vaccina, meaning beef or cattle meat. These workers were involved in slaughtering animals and processing their meat and hides.
As early as the 14th century, many vaccinari lived in the Rione Regola district of Rome. As part of their pay, they were often allowed to take home the parts of the animal that could not be sold to wealthy customers.
The tradition of cooking the quinto quarto spread even more in the late 19th century, when the large slaughterhouse of Testaccio was built. In this working-class neighborhood, many traditional dishes of Roman cuisine were born from the need to transform humble ingredients into flavorful meals.
Cuts that today might be considered scraps, such as tail and other offal, were once the daily food of the poorest Romans. For this reason they were nicknamed “magnacode,” meaning “tail eaters.”
Over time, however, this Roman Oxtail stew (coda alla vaccinara) changed its status. What began as a dish of necessity gradually became one of the most famous specialties of traditional Roman cuisine. Today it is served in many historic trattorias of Rome and prepared by anyone who loves authentic Roman cooking.
More Traditional Roman Recipes
- Traditional Carbonara Recipe
- Saltimbocca alla Romana Recipe
- Roman-Style Chicken (Pollo alla Romana)
- Carciofi alla Romana (Roman Style Artichokes)
- Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe Recipe
FAQ
Coda alla vaccinara is a traditional Roman dish made with oxtail slowly braised with tomato, celery, and aromatic vegetables.
A small amount of cocoa powder or dark chocolate enhances the flavor of the sauce and gives it a richer and more complex taste.
Yes. Some traditional versions omit cocoa and instead add pine nuts and raisins.
The name comes from the vaccinari, the workers who slaughtered cattle and processed beef in old Rome.
Oxtail usually comes from beef cattle. In traditional Roman cooking, however, some recipes use veal tail, which is more tender and cooks slightly faster.
Recipe Card
Coda alla Vaccinara Recipe (Traditional Roman Oxtail Stew)
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg oxtail - 3.3 lbs
- 80 g lard - 3 oz
- 1 small onion
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 medium carrot
- 150 ml dry white wine - ⅔ cup
- 300 g tomato passata - 1 ¼ cups (strained tomatoes)
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder - or 20 g (0.7 oz) dark chocolate
- 2 cloves garlic
- 70 g extra virgin olive oil - ⅓ cup
- salt - to taste
- black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- To make this Roman oxtail stew, start by preparing the soffritto. Peel the carrot and cut it into small cubes. Dice just one celery stalk and the onion in the same way. Set aside two celery stalks, which you will add later in the cooking.
- Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large, deep pan over high heat. Add the pieces of oxtail and brown them well on all sides.
- Turn off the heat and remove the oxtail from the pan, keeping it aside.
- Add the chopped celery, carrot and onion to the same pan and sauté them over low heat in the remaining oil.
- Meanwhile cut the lard into cubes.
- Add the cubed lard, chopped parsley, and peeled garlic to the pan. Let everything cook together for a few minutes so the flavors combine.
- Then return the browned oxtail to the pan. Let the meat cook with the vegetables for a few minutes, then pour in the white wine.
- When the alcohol has completely evaporated, add the tomato passata. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Cover with a lid and cook over very low heat for at least 4 hours.
- Check the pot about every 30 minutes to make sure the sauce does not dry out and the meat does not stick to the bottom. Stir occasionally and add a little hot water or broth if necessary.
- After about two hours of cooking, add the two celery stalks you set aside earlier, cut into pieces that are not too thin.
- When the cooking time is finished, remove the lid and add the unsweetened cocoa powder or the piece of dark chocolate. Let the chocolate melt, stir well, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Then turn off the heat. Your Coda alla Vaccinara is ready!
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