Ox-Tail Soup

Ingredients

• 3 ox-tails
• 1 gallon cold water
• 1.5 oz salt
• 4 carrots
• 2–4 onions
• 2 turnips
• 1 head of celery
• 8 cloves
• 0.5 teaspoonful peppercorns
• 1 faggot savoury herbs
• ham or knuckle of bacon
• arrow-root or rice flour
• cayenne

Instructions

1. Wash and soak the three ox-tails.
2. Pour a gallon of cold water over them and bring gradually to a boil.
3. Add one and a half ounces of salt, and carefully skim off the scum as it forms on the surface.
4. When the scum ceases to rise, add the four carrots, two to four onions, two turnips, one head of celery, eight cloves, half a teaspoonful of peppercorns, and a large faggot of savoury herbs.
5. Stew gently for three to three and a half hours if the tails are very large.
6. Lift out the tails and strain the liquor, then skim off all the fat.
7. Divide the tails into joints and put them into a couple of quarts or more of the stock.
8. When the tails begin to boil, stir in a thickening of arrow-root or rice flour mixed with cayenne and salt as required to flavour the soup well.
9. Serve very hot.