Ox-head Soup

The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's ... · Kitchiner, William · 1817

Source: The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual
Yield: 12.0 people
Status: success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (19)

half an ox-cheek
one head of celery ↝ Celery, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
a couple of carrots ↝ Carrots, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
a turnip ↝ Turnips, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
two large onions ↝ Onions, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
two dozen berries of black pepper ↝ Spices, pepper, black [Spices and Herbs]
same of allspice
a bundle of sweet herbs, such as marjoram, lemon-thyme, savoury, and a handful of parsley
a handful of parsley ↝ Parsley, raw [Not included in a food category]
two quarts of it ↝ Soup, broth [Soups, broth-based]
two ounces of butter ↝ Butter, stick, unsalted [Dairy and Egg Products]
as much flour as will dry it up ↝ Flour, 00 [Cereal Grains and Pasta]
Cayenne pepper ↝ Spices, pepper, red or cayenne [Spices and Herbs]
salt ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
a glass of good wine ↝ Wine, rice [Wine]
a table-spoonful of brandy ↝ Brandy [Liquor and cocktails]

For thickening (optional)

two ounces of butter ↝ Butter, stick, unsalted [Dairy and Egg Products]
as much flour as will dry it up ↝ Flour, 00 [Cereal Grains and Pasta]

For serving as clear gravy soup

some of the carrots and turnips shredded, or cut into shapes ↝ Carrots, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]

Instructions (20)

Soak half an ox-cheek in cold water for a couple of hours the day before.
Break any unbroken bones, wash the cheek very well in warm water.
Put the cheek into a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, skim clean.
Add one head of celery, two carrots, one turnip, two large onions, two dozen berries of black pepper, two dozen berries of allspice, and a bundle of sweet herbs (marjoram, lemon-thyme, savoury) and a handful of parsley.
Cover the pot, set on a slow fire, skim off rising scum.
Let it stew very gently for about three hours.
Take out the head, lay it on a dish.
Pour the soup through a fine sieve into a stone-ware pan.
Set the soup and the head aside in a cool place until the next day.
Cut the meat into neat mouthfuls.
Skim and strain off the broth.
Put two quarts of broth and the meat into a clean stew-pan.
Let it simmer very gently for half an hour.
If thickening is desired: melt two ounces of butter in a stew-pan, add flour to dry it up, mix and brown well.
Pour the soup to the butter and flour mixture, stir well, and let it simmer for half an hour.
Strain the thickened soup through a hair-sieve into a clean stew-pan.
Add the meat of the head to the thickened soup.
Let it stew for half an hour longer.
Season with Cayenne pepper, salt, and a glass of good wine or a tablespoonful of brandy.
Serve.

Original Text

Ox-head Soup,—(No. 239.)

Should be prepared the day before it is to be eaten, as you cannot cut the meat off the head into neat mouthfuls unless it is cold: therefore, the day before you want this soup, put half an ox-cheek into a tub of cold water to soak for a couple of hours; then break the bones that have not been broken at the butcher’s, and wash it very well in warm water; put it into a pot, and cover it with cold water; when it boils, skim it very clean, and then put in one head of celery, a couple of carrots, a turnip, two large onions, two dozen berries of black pepper, same of allspice, and a bundle of sweet herbs, such as marjoram, lemon-thyme, savoury, and a handful of parsley; cover the soup-pot close, and set it on a slow fire; take off the scum, which will rise when it is coming to a boil, and set it by the fireside to stew very gently for about three hours; take out the head, lay it on a dish, pour the soup through a fine sieve into a stone-ware pan, and set it and the head by in a cool place till the next day: then cut the meat into neat mouthfuls, skim and strain off the broth, put two quarts of it and the meat into a clean stew-pan, let it simmer very gently for half an hour longer, and it is ready. If you wish it thickened (which we do not recommend, for the reasons given in the 7th chapter of the Rudiments of Cookery), put two ounces of butter into a stew-pan; when it is melted, throw in as much flour as will dry it up; when they are all well mixed together, and browned by degrees, pour to this your soup, and stir it well together; let it simmer for half an hour longer; strain it through a hair-sieve into a clean stew-pan, and put to it the meat of the head; let it stew half an hour longer, and season it with Cayenne pepper, salt, and a glass of good wine, or a table-spoonful of brandy. See Ox-cheek stewed, No. 507.

Obs.—Those who wish this soup still more savoury, &c. for the means of making it so, we refer to No. 247.

N.B. This is an excellent and economical soup. See also Nos. 204 and 229.

If you serve it as soup for a dozen people, thicken one tureen, and send up the meat in that; and send up the other as a clear gravy soup, with some of the carrots and turnips shredded, or cut into shapes.

[214]

Notes

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