_Ingredients._—2 ox-tails, 2 slices of ham, 1 oz. of butter, 2 carrots,
2 turnips, 3 onions, 1 leek, 1 head of celery, 1 bunch of savoury
herbs, 1 bay-leaf, 12 whole peppercorns, 4 cloves, a tablespoonful of
salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of ketchup, ½ glass of port wine, 3 quarts of
water. _Mode._—Cut up the tails, separating them at the joints; wash
them, and put them in a stewpan, with the butter. Cut the vegetables
in slices, and add them, with the peppercorns and herbs. Put in ½ pint
of water, and stir it over a sharp fire till the juices are drawn.
Fill up the stewpan with the water, and, when boiling, add the salt.
Skim well, and simmer very gently for 4 hours, or until the tails are
tender. Take them out, skim and strain the soup, thicken with flour,
and flavour with the ketchup and port wine. Put back the tails, simmer
for 5 minutes, and serve. _Time._—4½ hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._
per quart. _Seasonable_ in winter. _Sufficient_ for 10 persons.
OX-TAILS, Stewed.
_Ingredients._—2 ox-tails, 1 onion, 3 cloves, 1 blade of mace, ¼
teaspoonful of whole black pepper, ¼ teaspoonful of allspice, ½ a
teaspoonful of salt, a small bunch of savoury herbs, thickening of
butter and flour, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1 tablespoonful
of mushroom ketchup. _Mode._—Divide the tails at the joints, wash,
and put them into a stewpan with sufficient water to cover them, and
set them on the fire; when the water boils, remove the scum, and add
the onion cut into rings, the spice, seasoning, and herbs. Cover the
stewpan closely, and let the tails simmer very gently until tender,
which will be in about 2½ hours. Take them out, make a thickening of
butter and flour, add it to the gravy, and let it boil for ¼ hour.
Strain it through a sieve into a saucepan, put back the tails, add the
lemon-juice and ketchup; let the whole just boil up, and serve. Garnish
with croûtons or sippets of toasted bread. _Time._—2½ hours to stew the
tails. _Average cost_, 9_d._ to 1_s._ 6_d._, according to the season.
_Sufficient_ for 8 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year.
OYSTER, Forcemeat for Roast or Boiled Turkey.
_Ingredients._—½ pint of bread-crumbs, 1½ oz. of chopped suet or
butter, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, ¼ saltspoonful of grated nutmeg,
salt and pepper to taste, 2 eggs, 18 oysters. _Mode._—Grate the bread
very fine, and be careful that no large lumps remain; put it into
a basin with the suet, which must be very finely minced, or, when
butter is used, that must be cut up into small pieces. Add the herbs,
also chopped as small as possible, and seasoning; mix all these well
together, until the ingredients are thoroughly mingled. Open and beard
the oysters, chop them, but not too small, and add them to the other
ingredients. Beat up the eggs, and, with the hand, work altogether,
until it is smoothly mixed. The turkey should not be stuffed too full:
if there should be too much forcemeat, roll it into balls, fry them,
and use them as a garnish. _Sufficient_ for 1 turkey.