difference between ox and beef

What’s the Difference Between Ox and Beef?

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

There are many different cuts of meat that you will come across in the butcher or grocery store. You might be familiar with oxtail, ox tongue, and even ox liver, but that seems to be all the ox cuts you will find. All the other similar cuts of meat are called beef.

What’s the difference between ox and beef?

Both ox and beef refer to meat from cattle, and the two names come from farming history, where castrated bulls became working bulls called oxen. However, today, beef and meat referred to as ox can come from both male and female cattle.

This can seem quite confusing, so we are going to go through everything you need to know about the differences between ox and beef, so you can better understand where your meat comes from!

The Different Names for Cattle

It can understandably become quite confusing knowing what meat comes from where when there are so many different names to refer to cattle. Cattle, oxen, cows, bulls, all these names are often used interchangeably, but they really shouldn’t be.

Firstly, cattle refers to domestic bovines which are kept for various purposes, such as for milk, or meat. Female cattle are referred to as heifers, and once they have their first calf, they are then called cows.

Male cattle are called bulls. Male cattle, or bulls, were often used as working animals, as they were strong and could perform many heavy tasks on the farm, whether it was pulling carts or plows. 

The problem however was that bulls could often be aggressive, and this posed a problem with getting them to work properly. To solve this, the bulls were castrated. These castrated bulls were then called oxen.

Once the oxen could not work or when cows no longer produced milk, they would be slaughtered for their meat. If an ox was slaughtered, the meat would be called an ox. If a cow was slaughtered, it would be called beef.

Ox meat was often tough and stringy, so it was important to differentiate between the two types of meat. 

When Did Ox Meat Become Popular?

After a while, farmers realized that meat from young oxen had a much better flavor and texture compared to meat from bulls. Due to this, farmers began castrating young bulls, but now to farm them for meat, and not to be used as working animals.

difference between ox and beef

Now, as the young oxen were being farmed for their meat, the meat was popularly referred to as beef, as there was no need to differentiate between beef and oxen anymore, as the quality was much the same.

The only traces of oxen meat you will find at the butcher would be oxtail, ox tongue, and ox liver, but this is more for tradition than anything else.

Does Beef Refer to Meat from an Ox or a Cattle?

One would think that finding oxtail, ox tongue, or ox liver, would mean that there is separate meat that comes from an ox.

This isn’t true. Almost all the meat you will find that comes from cattle would be referred to as beef. Even if it is called ox, it would come from the same animal as beef. This could be a male or female cattle, and the bull could be castrated or not.

Really, the only reason the names oxtail or ox tongue are used any longer is that they are a familiar name given to specific cuts of meat, and not because these cuts necessarily come from an ox.

The only time you would need to pay attention to the name given to meat from cattle is if it is referred to as veal. Veal is from cattle, but it is different from beef (or ox). Veal refers to the meat from calves, which are between six and eight months old. This is thought to be more tender than beef.

However, when buying beef from your butcher or grocery store, it could be from any cattle, male or female, ox or bull, as there isn’t much of a difference between the meat, as there aren’t many working cattle anymore.

Does Ox and Beef Taste the Same?

Today, beef and ox taste very much the same. This is because ox is simply a castrated bull, and as it isn’t set to work on the farm for years, the meat tastes the same as meat from other cattle, such as cows or bulls.

There is however a slight difference in flavor dependent on the age of the animal. The tenderness of the meat, the amount of marbling it has, and how flavorful the beef is, will depend more on how old the cattle is, rather than whether it was from an ox, cow, or bull.

Older cattle tend to be tougher and drier, but the meat does tend to be more flavorful as the meat has had more time to develop better flavor. 

beef

Most often, the meat we purchase from the butcher is from younger cattle, as the meat is tender and softer, and it is more cost-effective to only raise the cattle for a few years, rather than more.

While you likely won’t be able to tell the difference with where your beef comes from, meat from a cow tends to have more fat, so it would be moist and juicy. Oxen also have lower testosterone levels, so their meat is similar to cows, being tender and juicy.

Meat from bulls, especially those that are older, tends to be more muscular and leaner, so a little chewier. At the end of the day, you more than likely will not be able to tell where your meat has come from!

Does Any Meat Come From an Ox?

It would be very easy to assume that oxtail, ox tongue, or ox liver, would come from an ox, as it is heavily suggested by the name. However, this isn’t necessarily true.

There is a very good chance that the ox product has come from an ox, but it could also have come from a cow or a bull. 

Oxen are now farmed for their meat, rather than for their labor, so their meat is just as good to use as cows or bulls. You would use the same parts of an ox that you would other cattle, such as the sirloin, loin, chuck, rump, kidneys, heart, and more.

So, there very well might be beef at the store or butcher that comes from ox, but it is not going to be labeled as ox. The ox tail, ox liver, or ox tongue you purchase will also not only be from an ox.

Beef can come from ox, and ox is sold as beef, as well as other types of cattle too.

What Is Oxtail?

The most popular type of ox-labeled product you will find at the butcher, and where most confusion between ox and beef comes from, is oxtail.

Oxtail comes from the tail of the ox, or now from cattle. This might not seem so appetizing, but meals made from braising oxtail, such as oxtail stew, have an incredibly rich flavor and soft meat. This is because the gelatin cooks out from the bone and cartilage.

Oxtail is the tail of the cattle chopped into smaller pieces, with the bone running through the center. It is meant to be cooked on a low heat for a long period, to make it beautifully tender and flavorful. 

It used to be considered an off-cut, but with the delicacy that it is now, the price has increased quite substantially.

Oxtail originally came from old oxen who were no longer strong enough to work, but now oxtail can be from cows, oxen, or bulls, and it helps make the most of all parts of the cattle.

What Does the Word Ox Refer to Now?

The word ox is now not really used to refer to meat or a type of beef, but instead, it is mostly used to refer to the animal.

An ox is adult male cattle that has been castrated. Previously, these oxen were domesticated and used to plow fields, pull carts, and help transport goods, but now with the enhancement of farm equipment, working oxen are not all that popular.

ox

Male cattle are still castrated commonly, as it helps to lessen their aggression. Castrating male cattle also lowers testosterone production, which in turn helps to create tender, juicier meat. The meat from these oxen are referred to as beef, and not ox.

So if you hear the word ox today, it is likely referring to the animal, a domesticated male cattle which has been castrated, rather than a cut of meat or a type of meat, as ox meat is now sold as simply beef, and not ox.

What Is Beef?

Now that we have established that ox doesn’t necessarily come from oxen, it helps to cover what beef is a little more.

Beef is the flesh from an adult cattle, whether it be a cow, bull, or ox. Due to the color, as well as the nutrient content and make-up, beef is considered red meat. It is high in protein and iron and can be healthy when eaten in moderation.

The problem with beef is that raising the cattle to produce beef requires a large portion of land, as well as water and feed, which isn’t great for the environment. It is the third most consumed meat all over the world, so the farming industry is obviously huge for beef.

If the meat comes from an adult cattle, then it will be referred to as beef, unless it is oxtail, ox tongue, or ox liver, which also come from any type of adult cattle, but which have kept the same name through tradition.

What Are the Different Cuts of Beef

People are now trying to use as much of an animal as possible, to prevent any parts or pieces from going to waste. This means that most of the time, cattle are used from head to tail.

beef cuts

This allows there to be so many different cuts of beef to find, and these cuts of beef can come from cows, bulls, or ox. 

To make it simpler, beef is divided into eight primal cuts. These are the cuts that butchers break meat down into, and then they can be cut down and processed further into smaller pieces.

These are the eight parts of beef that are initially cut:

  1. Brisket (chest)
  2. Chuck (shoulder)
  3. Rib
  4. Loin
  5. Plate (belly)
  6. Round (back end)
  7. Flank (abdomen) 
  8. Shank (thigh)

While these are the main primal cuts that butchers cut from beef, there are some other parts of cattle that don’t fit into these categories, which you can find at the butcher shop or grocery store:

  • Cheeks – these are tough and need to be cooked down over low heat for long periods.
  • Tongue – the tongue is fatty and mild-tasting, best cooked when tenderized with slow cooking.
  • Neck – best when braised and used for a stew, similar taste, and texture to oxtail.
  • Oxtail – cut from the tail of cattle, the gelatin in the bones melts down when cooked, making it tender and soft.
  • Liver – the liver is soft when cooked right, and cooks well with onions and butter.
  • Heart – while not as popular, the heart has a chewy texture and is good when sliced thin and marinated before cooking.
  • Tripe – there are four different types of tripe, but they are mostly used in soup and stew, or deep-fried. Tripe needs to be cleaned properly before being cooked.
  • Sweetbreads – sweetbreads are from the pancreas or thymus of a calf and need to be simmered for the membrane to be removed before being seared.

When choosing beef, it is better to look for the grade of meat, and the cut, to determine what the beef will taste like when it is cooked, and the texture it will have. There are many things to consider when picking out the best cut of meat, such as marbling.

What’s the Difference Between Ox and Beef?

If you are referring to the cuts of meat you find at the butcher, there really is no difference between ox and meat. Back when animals were used as farm labor, meat referred to as ox was from old oxen, but this is not the case nowadays.

Beef at the butcher can be from a cow, ox, or bull, and it refers to meat from a cattle rather than the type of cattle it is from. Even meat that is labeled as ox, such as oxtail or ox tongue, does not only come from an ox.

These names have just been kept for these specific types of meat as it is what the cuts have been known as for so long, and the names have just stuck.

Nowadays, ox refers to an adult male cattle which has been castrated, but instead of being used to work, they are farmed for their meat.

Related Questions

Does Ox Taste Like Beef?

Ox, which is meat specifically cut from oxen, tastes pretty much the same as other beef cuts. If the ox is older, it can be tougher and chewier than younger cuts of meat, but it can be more flavorful.

Why Did People Stop Using Oxen?

Oxen used as farm labor became less popular as farm machinery advanced, as there was no need to keep oxen for labor if you had a low-maintenance machine that could get the job done faster and easier.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *