No. 332

Oxtail Soup a la Soyer

Portage de Queue de Boeuf a la Soyer

Cut three oxtails into small pieces from the thin end, stopping at the third joint from the thick end, and keep this large piece aside for braising (No. 1324). Put four ounces of butter into a saucepan; cut four ounces of the red part of a carrot, and the same quantity of turnip into quarter inch squares, add these to the butter after it is hot, also a bunch of parsley, garnished with one bay leaf, and fry without letting attain a color, then add three tablespoonfuls of flour and the tails; cook all together to a light brown, afterward moistening with four quarts of broth, and adding a quarter of a pound of blanched onions, cut in squares. Season with salt and Worcestershire sauce, boil slowly and continuously until the meat is done. Have cooked separately for three hours in some white broth, two ounces of pearl barley, add this to the soup, also one gill of sherry when serving. If clear oxtail be needed, suppress the flour and barley, and thicken with three spoonfuls of arrowroot diluted in a little cold water.

← No. 331 Onion Soup with Parmesan Cheese Browned, and Soups & Broths No. 333 Oyster Soup, American Style →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's version of a soup Alexis Soyer made famous in London. The method is sound as written; the main adjustments are units, timing and the fact that oxtail today comes cut and packaged rather than whole.

A gill of sherryHalf a cup, added off the heat at service so the aroma survives. Use a dry amontillado or oloroso rather than cream sherry.
Four quarts of brothAbout 3.8 litres. This yields a large tureen, roughly 12 to 14 servings; the recipe scales down cleanly by thirds or quarters.
Buying the tailsThree oxtails is a good deal of bone-heavy meat, upwards of 6 lb and possibly a fair bit more depending on the size of the tails. Butchers now sell it pre-cut into rounds, so the instruction to reserve the thick end for braising is optional; simply pick out the largest pieces if you want them for another dish.
Cooking time"Boil slowly until the meat is done" means three to four hours at a bare simmer, never a rolling boil. Oxtail is collagen-rich and needs that time to become tender; it is done when the meat slips off the bone under a fork.
Degrease before servingFour ounces of butter plus oxtail fat renders a great deal of grease. Chill the soup overnight and lift the solid cap, or skim repeatedly during simmering. This is the difference between a fine soup and a heavy one.
The barleyTwo ounces of pearl barley cooked three hours in white broth is longer than modern barley requires; 45 minutes to an hour gives tender grains that still hold shape. Cooking it separately keeps the soup from clouding.
The clear versionFor clear oxtail, omit flour and barley and finish with the arrowroot slaked in cold water; the recipe says three spoonfuls without specifying the size of spoon. Add it at the end and do not boil hard afterward, or arrowroot thins out and loses its gloss.
Worcestershire as seasoningSeason lightly and taste at the end. Worcestershire carries salt and anchovy, and a reduced four-quart pot concentrates both.

A Little History

Alexis Soyer (1810-1858), chef at London's Reform Club, is the Soyer of the title. Oxtail was long a cheap offcut, and a much-repeated tradition links its rise as a soup to the tanning trade, where hides were said to be sold with the tails still attached and the tails passed on to the poor; the story is traditional rather than documented. By the mid-nineteenth century the soup appeared on club and hotel menus, helped by its rich gelatine. Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's in New York, compiled The Epicurean (1894) as a working reference for a French-trained brigade, and his inclusion of a named English preparation, with its Worcestershire sauce and pearl barley, shows how readily that kitchen absorbed British dishes alongside its classical repertoire. The cross-reference to No. 1324 for the braised thick end is characteristic of the book's numbered, cross-referenced organisation.