Oxtail
Mr. Punch not long ago gave a revised list of the thirty-nine articles of an Englishman's faith. I have forgotten whether the first was Oxtail soup or Shakespeare, and whether the second was Shakespeare or Oxtail soup ; but at all events these were the first two. This oxtail, in which we now take a national pride, was originally Huguenot, and we learned the taste for it from the poor Protestant refugees who settled about Bermondsey. In this region of the tanners there is or was a place known as The Borgeney-Petty Burgundy. The Huguenots, when they saw oxhides abounding about them, thought they could make something of the tails, which were then sold with the hides. They made an excellent soup. A philanthropist who happened to be a lover of good cheer was in the habit of visiting the homes of the poor Frenchmen here at Spitalfields and there at Petty Burgundy. In Petty Burgundy Oysters he came upon the oxtail soup; he opened his eyes, and he made such a proclamation of the goodness of the tanners' soup that it became at once fashionable, and now Mr. Punch can speak of it as among the first and foremost of an Englishman's thirty-nine articles of faith.
Oxtail Soup. Take two large or three small oxtails, divided at the joints, and soak them well in lukewarm water. Then put them into a stewpan with a pound of ham or knuckle of bacon, three quarts of cold water, an ounce and a half of salt; set them on the fire to boil, and remove the scum. When the scum ceases to rise add three carrots, three onions, two turnips, a head of celery, a faggot of sweet-herbs, six cloves, and a dozen peppercorns. Stew all gently for three hours, and then take out the oxtails. Strain the broth, get rid of the fat, put back the tails, thicken the soup with arrowroot or rice-flour, and finish it to taste with cayenne, salt, a spoonful of ketchup, and it may be a glassful of Marsala. If the oxtails are stewed longer they will yield an extremely gelatinous soup, but the meat will be in rags and unfit for presentation. Stewed Oxtail. Take an oxtail disjointed, and soak it well in lukewarm water. Then put with it in a stewpan a couple of onions, a couple of carrots, a faggot of sweetherbs, and broth enough to cover it. Or for another combination put it into the stewpan with a Mirepoix of white wine, and with broth enough, as before, to cover all. Simmer it very gently for two or three hours. The oxtail may then be dished, and it may be sauced and garnished in a variety of ways. If surrounded with its gravy (strained), and garnished with lettuce brazed in the French way and intermingled with carrots, it is called Queue de Bœuf en hochepot. It may also be garnished with a Macedon of vegetables, with a purée of lentils, or with either the Soubise or the Breton purée of onions.