Shop That French Onion Soup

Everything you need to make French Onion and Oxtail Soup, with links!

Hate to break it to all my 90s kids, but today’s release for French Onion-Oxtail Soup will warm you up more than that copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul ever could. Luscious, umami-rich bone broth with oxtails for flavor and collagen, caramelized onions with structural integrity, and crispy-gone-soggy toast smothered in heaps of mozzarella and gruyère … this recipe has it all. (Wait until you see the cheese pull.)

We want nothing to get in the way of you and this soup, which is why we’ve assembled Everything You Need For Carla’s French Onion and Oxtail Soup.

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Ingredients

The Stock Seasonings

• Dried shiitake mushrooms ($14.99 per 8-oz bag), soy sauce ($5.99 per 10-oz bottle), fish sauce ($3.49 per 25-oz bottle), and MSG ($5.88 per bottle) can all be found at Asian markets and specialty grocers, like H-Mart and Hong Kong Supermarket. And that’s just if you aren’t having luck at your local supermarket.

• For specialty spices, like the Urfa chile ($8 per 2-oz bag) and star anise pods ($8 per 1-oz bag), Carla makes the trek to SOS Chefs or Kalustyans. Both purveyors have online shops. Carla co-signs Diaspora Co. and Burlap and Barrel brand spices, too.

Useful Equipment for Making and Storing Stock

Roast, Simmer, Sweat

For roasting bones, it’s the Goldilocks 12-Inch Skillet ($60). Cast-iron works, of course, as does a rimmed baking sheet. For simmering broth, the Goldilocks 8-Quart Stock Pot ($75) was filled to the brim! And Carla also used the Goldilocks Dutch Oven for the soup; it’s generous surface area makes cooking down the onions go quickly.

Large Bowl

The 5-quart stainless steel bowl ($27) that Carla uses in the video has very legible quart markings on the inside, which makes it easy to check the total yield of the stock. It’s also a great size and shape to use as an ice bath, roomy enough to whip a ton of cream, or to make voluminous cake batter.

Small Skimmer

• Carla splurged on this one during the pandemic, but at the time she 100% thought it was 8 inches in diameter. Imagine the shock when she opened the box. It has become a high-use item, though!

• Here’s a more affordable option.

Soup Crocks

You can’t put any old bowl under the broiler. Carla has a pair of Bennington Potter soup crocks that were her grandmother’s, and for the video she found vintage matches on eBay. To peruse other makers/styles, use the keywords “soup crock” or “oven-safe soup bowls” on eBay and Etsy.