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Ox Tail, Stewed
Take a fine ox tail, disjoint it, cut it into pieces about one inch and a half long, and divide the thick parts into quarters. Throw these pieces into boiling water, and let them remain for a quarter of an hour; then drain them, and soak them in cold water for an hour. Take them up, wipe them with a soft cloth, and put them into a stewpan with two quarts of stock or water, a large onion stuck with three cloves, three carrots, a bunch of savoury herbs, and a little salt and pepper. Simmer gently until the meat will part easily from the bones, then put the pieces on a hot dish, reduce the gravy, strain it over them, and garnish with toasted sippets. A little lemon-juice is by some persons considered an improvement. Time, three hours and a half to stew the tail. Probable cost, 1s. 6d. to 4s. Sufficient for three or four persons.
A straightforward braise that needs little translation, though a few of its habits are Victorian rather than useful.
- The blanch and soakFifteen minutes in boiling water followed by an hour in cold water was meant to draw out blood and leave the meat pale for a clear gravy. It also washes away flavour. Modern practice is to brown the pieces in a little fat instead, which gives a deeper stew, or to blanch for five minutes and skip the soak entirely.
- StewpanA heavy lidded pot or Dutch oven. Two quarts of liquid to one tail is generous; use enough to cover by an inch, and top up only if it drops below the meat.
- TimingThree and a half hours at a bare simmer is realistic for oxtail, which needs long, slow heat to convert its collagen. Judge by the stated test rather than the clock: the meat should slip from the bone without resistance. An oven at 300F with the lid on works as well as the stovetop and needs less watching.
- Bunch of savoury herbsA bouquet garni: parsley stalks, thyme, a bay leaf, tied with string so it can be lifted out. Tie it, since a boneless herb will end up in the reduced gravy.
- Reduce the gravyOxtail throws a great deal of fat. Let the cooking liquid settle for a few minutes and skim before reducing, or the sauce will be greasy rather than glossy. Reducing several cups of stock takes twenty minutes or more at a hard boil.
- Toasted sippetsSmall triangles or fingers of bread, toasted or fried, arranged round the edge of the dish. Fried in a little of the skimmed beef fat they are better than plain toast.
- Cost and yieldThe 1s. 6d. to 4s. is the book's own estimate for a cut long treated as a cheap one and now often priced as a specialty. One large tail serves three or four as written, though a whole tail for two is a more likely modern portion if it is the centre of the meal.
- Lemon juiceWorth taking up. A teaspoon or two stirred into the reduced sauce cuts the richness of the gelatine, which is otherwise heavy on the palate.
Oxtail belongs to the long English tradition of cooking the parts of the animal that could not be sold as joints, and it appears in English cookery books as both a stew and the base of a soup well before Cassell's. Its virtue is chemical rather than economic: the tail carries a high proportion of bone, cartilage and connective tissue, and hours of gentle simmering turn that collagen to gelatine, which is why the reduced gravy of this recipe sets to a jelly when cold. The blanch-and-soak step at the beginning reflects a preference for pale meat and clear, untroubled sauces, an aesthetic that has largely been abandoned in favour of browning and deeper colour.