Ox-tail Soup. Time—4 hours.
1 ox-tail, 2 oz. dripping, 1 carrot, 1 small turnip, 2 onions, 2 shalots, 1 tooth garlic or 1 leek, a bunch of herbs, a few sticks celery, a little mace, cinnamon, and 2 cloves, 2 quarts water or pot-liquor, salt, 2 or 3 mushrooms, 1 gill sherry or chablis.
Prepare the vegetables, cut them up, wash and wipe the ox-tail, cut it in pieces and fry all in hot dripping in a large stew pan. Add the herbs, spice, seasoning and water. When boiling skim off the fat and then stew gently for 3 hours; strain it into a basin, putting the pieces of ox-tail into the tureen with the sherry or chablis. Pour the soup into a stew-pan, stir till it boils. Add the mushrooms, and cook from 10 to 15 minutes, skimming off any scum; strain the soup and pour over the ox-tail.