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Ox Tail Soup

A historical recipe from Margaret Brown's French Cookery Book, by Margaret Brown (1886).

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A historical recipe

Margaret Brown's French Cookery Book, by Margaret Brown (1886). Project Gutenberg eBook #44915.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

France

Known as a French recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

Ingredients 5 ingredients

  1. 1 teaspoonful each of allspice
  2. 2 tablespoonfuls of
  3. a tablespoonful of mushroom catsup
  4. a glass of wine
  5. 2 onions

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Soak 3 tails in warm water.
  2. Put into a gallon stewpan 8 cloves, 2 onions, 1 teaspoonful each of allspice and black pepper, and the tails cover with cold water.
  3. Skim often and carefully.
  4. Let simmer gently until the meat is tender and leaves the bones easily.
  5. This will take 2 hours.
  6. When done take out the meat and cut it off the bones.
  7. Skim the broth and strain it through a sieve.
  8. To thicken it put in flour and butter, or 2 tablespoonfuls of the fat you have taken off the broth into a clean stewpan, with as much flour as will make a paste.
  9. Stir well over the fire;
  10. then pour in the broth slowly while stirring.
  11. Let it simmer for one-half hour;
  12. skim, and strain through a sieve.
  13. Put in the meat with a tablespoonful of mushroom catsup, a glass of wine;
  14. season with salt.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
  • Chef's knife
  • Wooden spoon
  • Slotted spoon
  • Sieve
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From Margaret Brown's French Cookery Book, by Margaret Brown (1886). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #44915 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44915). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.