Neck bones are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with and this recipe proves how delicious they can beef. In terms of cuts of beef, they are just as flavorful as short ribs or oxtails but come at a fraction of the cost. In this recipe, they are seared before getting braised low and slow in a mix of beef stock, red wine, and tomato paste. They become fall off the bone tender and you’ll want to keep going back for more.
These are crazy times we live in. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that yet another mass shooting has taken place in our country; this just after the attack in New York less than a week ago. My heart aches for the brokenness of our country (and world), and my thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by all of the devastation. But more than mere thoughts and prayers, I hope that our lawmakers will one day take action on gun reform in this country. How many more lives must we lose before change will occur?
Given all of this, I felt like a nice pot of braised beef would be the perfect comfort food recipe to get you through the week. I broke in my Le Creuset Dutch oven (that I got at a nice discount from Marshall’s) and I’m glad that I finally took the plunge to purchase it for myself. This is now the second recipe I’ve shared for neck bones and I must say that I’m sold. Yes, they require a little time to make them tender and flavorful, but it’s definitely worth the effort—plus they’re much cheaper than many other cuts of meat.
This recipe turns a lesser-used cut of meat into a thing of beauty. First they get seared in batches to form a nice crust, and then the beef is braised in a mixture of red wine, stock, and other ingredients and comes out rich and extremely tender. This would be perfectly paired with a nice bowl of mashed potatoes.
Braised Beef Neck Bones Recipe
This recipe turns a lesser-used cut of meat into a thing of beauty. The beef is rich and tender after braising in a mixture of red wine and stock.
Ingredients
- Grapeseed oil, for searing (or any other neutral oil)
- 4 pounds beef neck bones
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 cup unsalted beef stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F.
- Heat some oil over medium to medium-high heat in a Dutch oven (or other large, oven-proof pot). Sprinkle all sides of the beef with some salt and sear, in batches, until browned; set aside. (You might need to add more oil as you go through the batches of meat.)
- In the same pot that you seared the meat in, add the onion (with more oil, if needed), sprinkle with some salt, and cook until the onion begins to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic cloves, tomato paste, thyme, and pepper, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Deglaze with the red wine by scraping up the stuff on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Add the reserved beef neck bones and beef stock to the pot, bring it to simmer, cover, and put in the oven to braise until fork tender, about 2 hours 30 minutes.
Your recipe does not tell when to add potatoes and carrots.C
I don’t have them listed in this recipe. But if you want to include potatoes and carrots, you can add them for about the last hour or so of cooking depending on how large you cut them.
what else can I use if I don’t have red wine
You can use additional stock with a splash of vinegar.
I have red wine vinegar. Can I use that?
Yes, that works.
If you want to go for the gusto, MadDog-20/20 works just as well. 🙂
You can try using Pomegranate juice, Cranberry juice or red grape juice. Use the ones with low sugar. Alternitevely Beef brothe mixed in with tomato juice is an option as well. I still think red wine gives better depth of flavor.
I really like this recipe for neck bone meat. I have never written anything about the topic of gun deaths in our country. I too am concerned. I know many people that own guns. None of which have shot and killed another human. Chicago has the strictest gun control laws of any city and yet has the highest rate of homicides . 6 times greater per capita than NYC. People that kill innocent people will continue to kill innocent people.
I believe you and I want the same thing concerning people killing people. All of the shootings seem to happen where it is publicly posted that guns are not allowed on those premises. Not allowing guns is gun control. It is not effective in preventing people from killing people with guns. It just tells them where it is safe for them to kill people. I too, hope we can stop the killing of innocent people.
I wish you all the best.
I like to combine recipes, cooking is not like baking, you still get to use your own ideas to tweak an idea for each time you serve it. The 1st time I made this I added mushrooms and poured over oven roasted potatoes, the second time the meat is being used in a chilli.
Was looking for short ribs and found beef neck at 1.99 a pound, used a similar method but with Guinness as the main liquid. Amazing will definitely look for more
Using the Guinness sounds like a great idea!
I am 65 years old and desperately trying to learn how to cook! I am trying your recipe so far so good! Thanks for sharing!!!
Hahaha. ..I love it. … 65 years young and just learning to cook. My goodness graciouse?
When you’re just learning to cook. Then some good cookware and electric appliances are your friends. Get a slower cooker, air fryer, instant pot and a deep fryer if needed and most importantly. Be sure to read recipes carefully and season everything! If you can read them you can cook.
Bon Apetit!!
No need for instant if you have a slow cooker.
Good cookware is essential as is a THERMOMETER to check cooking temps! Slow cooker is really great but other appliances are extraneous if you’re just a beginner cook. You’ll pick them up as you feel the need. Good luck along the way!!!
Absolutely correct! 💯☺️
No need for a deep fryer if you have an air fryer.
Diane, braising is the easiest thing! Just brown your meat, remove it and set aside, add a bit more oil to the pot and cook veggies (carrots, onion, leek, celery, fennel – whatever you like in the hard veggies). Pour in some liquid to deglaze (usually wine, and remember to scrape off the delicious browned stuff from the bottom of the pan), put back in your meat and cover 3/4 with chicken or beef broth and cover TIGHTLY and cook in 275 degree oven for 3 hours or so. Sounds a LOT more complicated than it really is.
I made this recipe last night. Didn’t have red wine but used white wine instead. It was DELICIOUS!!! Can’t wait to eat the left overs. Thanks for sharing ??
I’m happy to hear that!
Thanks for a great recipe,being winter time in Sputh Africa this is definitely a meal to prepare .
Hi LaTanya! I’m glad I ran across your post! I used white white too and it’s currently in the oven! I’m glad yours turned out well!
Do we need to cover it in the oven?
White white. Ha you must have drank half bottle.
Making this now for the first time, my poundage is half of the recipe. Do you know if that decreases baking time? I’m just putting it in the oven now. Thanks!
I’d start checking it after about 1 hour 30 minutes to see if it’s tender.
Amazing recipe! If I wanted to use a slow cooker, how long would I cook the beef for?
I’m not entirely sure. You want to cook it until it’s tender, so my best guess would be at least 4 to 6 hours.
Great. Thanks!
I’m very anxious in trying this recipe today. I’ll let you all know how it turns out.
I just made this for my family this evening and it was such a hit! I can never get everyone in the house to be happy with one dish but there was 100% satisfaction with this one.
This makes me so happy to hear!
Husband is recuperating from surgery- wanted to surprise him- he does all the fancy cooking of red meat- so far the house smells incredible!! Thanks for the recipe 🥰
I don’t like using red wine is there a substitute and tomato paste
It won’t taste the same as my recipe, of course, but you could use extra stock in place of the wine and just leave out the tomato paste.
What do you eat this with? It looks really good. Rice? Potatoes? Any recs?
Rice or mashed potatoes are both good options!
I would like to use a mixture of 1.5# oxtails and 2# of meaty bones. Do I need to par boil the oxtails first?
No, I don’t think you need to par boil the oxtails first.
Never par boil oxtails , sear them and they will be fine . Don’t forget to cut off the excess fat
I have made this recipe at least three times and it seems to come out better each time. Thank you for this deliciousness.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it so much!
In this time of covid-19 I am missing my mom.. This recipe brings her home. Thank you!
<3
I’m trying this recipe out tonight I can’t wait
I’m not a wine drinker so what type of wine should I use?
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Merlot are all good choices.
I used a crockpot
Added a 1/2 cup curry
1 can of tomato paste
Used Moscato instead of Red wine
Added water until it covered the meat and cooked it for 3 hours on high
Turned out great
Oops I stated what I wanted to say in the review. But I just wanted to state how amazing this recipe was and to thank you for sharing this with all of us. I did an oopsie and added sage (from another recipe I saw) had to add more liquid and made it a brown sauce. It’s so incredible and the house smells amazing. With sage it smells like thanksgiving although I don’t recommend changing this original!
Thanks once again for sharing and for letting us know about how delicious beef neck can be!
Can I use sweet red wine ?
That wouldn’t be my first choice. I’m not sure if the sweetness would be a good addition, but it might work.
hello!!! My uncle favors neck bones but none of us really enjoy his usual way of cooking it. Your recipe sounds tempting but would this work for pork neck bones as well? Would using Chianti alter the taste?
I haven’t tried this exact recipe with pork neck bones, but I think it should work. Also, I have a recipe that explicitly uses pork neck bones here: https://www.thehungryhutch.com/pork-neck-bones-tomatoes-recipe/.
thank you for the suggestion!! Will try the recipe explicitly for pork neck instead.
I used this recipe for oxtails and it was absolutely delightful! Thank you for sharing.
These were absolutely delicious. The most flavorful I’ve ever experienced.
That makes me so happy to hear!
I don’t have a Le creuset, so I intend to use a slow cooker instead, I wonder if it will have the same effect. Hopefully so, this recipe looks great!
It won’t be exactly the same, but similar. But also, you don’t need a Le Creuset or Dutch oven — anything you can put in the oven and cover will work.
Thank you so Mitch! Turns out my mom has a Dutch oven. Making the recipe tonight, can’t wait!
Thanks for a great recipe! I have to admit that I was skeptical based on the limited ingredients. This recipe worked out really well! It was my first time trying beef neck and this method is a winner. Thank you! ?
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen over the last 10 years so I really kind of honed; Arey skills in them willing to branch out and try all kinds of cool stuff. I always make bone broth for my husband and I and I had neck bones in the freezer… I decided instead of making a bone broth because I’d have to roast them first why not find a recipe… So it’s in the oven now and personally I don’t care for the tomato base so I made mine without tomato paste we shall see! I have some beautiful cauliflower mashed potatoes with heavy creamParmesan cheese and horseradish. It looks amazing! I’m gonna add a handful of mushrooms in in the last 30 minutes. I’ll finish with some parsley.
I was after an air fryer way to do neck bones but I am happy to bake it . I am suddenly very interested in this cut of inexpensive beef! Thanks you.
Will cooking at this temperature and time render the cartilage and fibers either tender or dissolved? I enjoy the gelatin that I get with beef broth.
The collagen should transform into gelatin when braising, which is the goal in this recipe.
THANK YOU HUNGRYHUTCH YOUR THE BEST AFTER HAVING A RECIPE TO PORK NECK BONES LIFE HAVE CHANGED MY WAY OF COOKING. HUNGRYHUTCH HAVE YET AGAIN MADE ME MAKING MY DREAM’S REALITY IN FINDING DIFFERENT WAY’S TO MAKE CHILI WITH VARIES OF DIFFERENT HEALTHY MEAT’S AND I HAVE DID JUST THAT WITH PORK NECK BONES WAS ALSO A MEAT ADDED WHEN MAKING A SUPERNATURAL CHILI AND I THANK YOU A MILLION HUNGRYHUTCH G YOUR THE BEST.
Just got some beef necks bones don’t have any red wine but I do has some sherry wine will that’s be okay instead of red wine ?
It will have a slightly different flavor, but it is okay to use.
Im making this right now. I saw the price of beef neck bones at my local halal market and I couldn’t pass them up, so here I am. They smell sooo good in the oven right now. I know my family is going to love this dish. I used homemade red wine that my hubby makes. And I didn’t have tomato paste so I used tomato sauce. Not as rich but I think it’ll still be good. Thank you for a simple yet fancy recipe. Anything with red wine makes me feel like I’m really cooking! Haha!
Since finding and cooking this recipe, it is now a popular dinner request. Love how easy it is to prepare and how tender the neck bones come out. Thanks.
That makes me so happy to hear!
I love to cook, so I’m headed to the grocery store to purchase a second pack of Beef Neck bones. I will let you know how everything turns out. I’m Soooooo excited lol
I plan on making this in the next couple of days. Never had neck bones before but was on sale at my local grocery store…would the taste be similar to oxtails? I was hoping it would. Thanks
Yes, they do!
Hello! Very interested ro try this recipe. Can i just cook this on a stove?
You’ll have to keep a watchful eye on it, but yes, you can braised the neck bones on the stove.
First time making beef neck bones; they were delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Yum! I didn’t have any tomato paste, so I used an 8 Oz can of tomato sauce, but otherwise no changes, and it turned out perfect! Thanks for the recipe, it was awesome..
What is this recipe best to serve over/with?
This goes great with mashed potatoes and some roasted green beans!
Should the Dutch oven be covered when it goes in the oven? Thanks, looking forward to making this tonight.
Yes.
I bought beef neck bones for the first time because it’s inexpensive and we’re trying to save money these days and I just so happen to have a bottle of red wine.
To top it off it rained all night last night so I’m really looking forward to making this for dinner tonight?
Enjoy!
As many noted above, I tound bef nexk bones t the market and had never seen them before but thought that for the price I could give them a shot. Beginning pre-colonoscopy fast tomorrow and figured this would be a hearty, protein and iron rich meal to have this evening before I moved on to water and mild herbal teas. I am looking forward to a satisfying dinner that should see me through until Monday morning. I did have all the ingredients and put an extra slosh of red wine for good luck. Thank you for providing a simple recipe with lots of potential.
I’m late to this thread but it sounds amazing!! Any suggestions on recipe alteration for a pressure cooker or ninja foodi?
I’ve never actually used a pressure cooker before, so I’m not the best person to advise you on how to adjust recipes for them.
I followed the recipe all the way until you put it in the oven. Instead I put it in my instant pot for an HR. It came out amazing 🤩. I used Guinness instead of red wine
I picked up some beef neck bones the other day. I was just browsing the net for a beef barley recipe and found this. Sounds great! I’m going to follow the recipe, and then throw some barley in towards the end.
I noticed that you posted this just after a school shooting and you asked “How many more?” Well, today is July 7, 2022 just three days after another mass shooting at a 4th of July parade. ‘How many more’ is a good question that too many people are refusing to ask themselves..
I’m going to try your recipe, I almost stopped reading it as soon as I realized you don’t know anything about gun laws. But more importantly all the people that I know with guns, and that’s most everyone. None of there guns has killed or shot a person. Please stick to cooking
Enjoy the recipe!
Hello…
I was looking through the comments to see if anyone else asked first, i saw that people were asking about wine substitutions. Will the taste change very much if i use everything except the red wine?
You can use more stock instead of the red wine along with a splash of vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar.
This looked like an amazing recipe…
just didn’t need dragging in the left wing BS.
But it’s your page.. guess I’ll never know if was good… didn’t get past your political ideolog
To each their own.
It’s sad that as I searched for recipes I got ones opinions and political views on the current events of the time. What’s upsetting is that in the same paragraph they mention the mass murder of an event
with high jacking of a planes killings countless people and a mass shooting killing a hand full but then goes directly to talking about banning firearms the very things that was set up to keep this country protected from domestic and foreign attacks. The very thing set in place for law abiden citizens inorder to protect their loved ones from the dark and distorted evil that rest in so many.
Anyway it is clear , that one wicked and evil person can takes lives anyway they see fit, at anytime, with any item they pick up or get behind, just as it’s fact that criminals can get your banned “firearm’ anytime they want! just look at the crime rate in those places that had already banned them and tell me it keeps people from the act of murder or Violence!?
This comment has no place on a cooking page period.
You’re entitle to your view, and I’m entitled to mine, especially since this is my “cooking page.”
This braised beef neck bones is the bomb.
Thank you , thank you. The next, day left over neck bones Was absolutely delicious.