My Messy Sopas de Cola Adventure
Right, so I got this cunning idea today: learn to make that oxtail soup everyone talks about, sopa de cola. Looked easy enough online, yeah? Famous last words. Grabbed my keys and headed straight to the butcher.
First mission: find the actual ox tails. My local shop usually has everything. But nope, no tails. Ended up driving clear across town to a different butcher, feeling slightly foolish asking for just tails. Finally got two solid pounds of big, bony tail chunks. Next, scoured the veggie aisle. Needed:
- Carrots – easy find.
- Potatoes – got ’em.
- Onions – bagged.
- Garlic – always have some.
- Green beans? Found ’em at the back.
- Celery – grabbed a bunch.
Got home, time for the fun part. Washed those tails thoroughly – man, they look odd. Filled my biggest pot with water and plopped the tails straight in. Set it on high heat. Soon as it started boiling, that funky smell hit me. You know the one? Like meaty soup water mixed with… something weird. Panicked a bit, skimmed off all the bubbly grey foam floating up like it was my new job. Tossed that mess.
Dropped the heat right down, covered the pot. Now the long wait. Aimed for three hours according to the recipe online. Seriously, why does something cheap take so damn long? Got bored, chopped the veggies: diced onion, minced garlic, sliced carrots and celery, cubed potatoes. Fiddled on my phone for ages, checking the pot every half hour. Water went down, topped it off.
After about two and a half hours, couldn’t wait any longer. Threw all the chopped veggies right into the pot with the tails. Kept it bubbling away for another half hour. Started smelling actually good! Proper savoury. Potatoes softened, carrots got tender, beans looked cooked. Fished out a chunk of tail – meat felt super loose, almost falling off the bone. Time to season!
Grabbed the salt shaker. Big mistake. Poured in a heap, stirred it around, tasted… damn, salty like the sea! Panicked again. Added about two more cups of water, dumped in some extra chopped potatoes to soak it up. Simmered another 20 minutes feeling stressed. Tasted again. Phew, better. Not perfect, but edible. Needed some black pepper too, gave it a good shake.
Scooped out two big bowls, found the meatiest tail pieces. Called the wife over. She looked sceptical at first – it doesn’t win beauty contests. Took one bite of the tender meat, one sip of the broth… pure silence, then a nod. “Alright, this? This is actually good. Really rich.” High praise! Went back for seconds myself. So satisfying after all that time.
Final thoughts? Yeah, it’s dead simple to do – boil meat, skim gunk, throw in veg, simmer forever, season. But damn, takes way too long and that initial smell is rough. Patience is key. Totally worth it for the flavour bomb at the end. My kitchen smells like a farmyard now though!
