No. 1.
OX TAIL SOUP.
Soak 3 tails in warm water. Put into a gallon stewpan 8 cloves, 2 onions, 1 teaspoonful each of allspice and black pepper, and the tails cover with cold water. Skim often and carefully. Let simmer gently until the meat is tender and leaves the bones easily. This will take 2 hours. When done take out the meat and cut it off the bones. Skim the broth and strain it through a sieve. To thicken it put in flour and butter, or 2 tablespoonfuls of the fat you have taken off the broth into a clean stewpan, with as much flour as will make a paste. Stir well over the fire; then pour in the broth slowly while stirring. Let it simmer for one-half hour; skim, and strain through a sieve. Put in the meat with a tablespoonful of mushroom catsup, a glass of wine; season with salt.
No. 2.
MOCK TURTLE.
Get a calf's head with skin on, take out the brains, wash the head several times in cold water, let it soak one hour in spring water, then lay in a stewpan, and cover with cold water, and half a gallon over. Take off the scum that rises as it warms. Let it boil for one hour, take it up and, when almost cold, cut the head into pieces one and a half inches, and the tongue into mouthfuls, or make a side dish of tongue and brains. When the head is taken out put in the stock meat, about 3 pounds of knuckle of veal, and as much beef, add all the trimmings and bones of the head, skim it well, cover close, let it boil 5 hours (save 2 quarts of this for gravy sauce), strain it off and let stand until morning; then take off the fat; set a large stewpan on the fire, with half a pound of fresh butter, 12 ounces of sliced onions, 4 ounces of green sage; chop it a little; let these fry 1 hour, then rub in one pound of flour, then add the broth by degrees until it is as thick as cream. Season with ¼ ounce of ground allspice, ½ ounce of black pepper ground fine, salt to your taste the rind of a lemon peeled thin. Let it simmer gently for 1½ hours, strain through a hair sieve. If it does not go through easily press a wooden spoon against the sides of the sieve. Put it in a clean stewpan with the head, and season it by putting to each gallon of soup ½ pint of wine, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon juice. Let it simmer until the meat is tender (from ½ hour to 1 hour). Take care it is not overdone. Stir often to keep the meat from sticking to the pan. When the meat is quite tender the soup is ready. A head of 20 pounds and 10 pounds of stock-meat will make 10 quarts of soup, besides the 2 quarts of stock-meat set aside for side dishes. If there is more meat on the head than you wish to use make a ragout pie of some of it.
No. 3.
MOCK MOCK TURTLE.
Line the bottom of a 5-pint stewpan with 1 ounce of lean bacon or ham, 1½ pounds lean gravy beef, a cow's heel, inner rind of a carrot, a sprig of lemon thyme, winter savory, 3 sprigs of parsley, a few green leaves of sweet basil, 2 onions, a large onion with 4 cloves stuck in it, 18 grains of allspice, 18 grains of pepper. Pour on these 1 pint of cold water, cover the stewpan and set it on a slow fire to boil gently ¼ hour. Watch it carefully, if need be, with the cover off, until it gets a good brown color; then fill up the stewpan with boiling water, and let it simmer for 2 hours. If you wish you can cut up some of the meat into mouthfuls and put into the soup. To thicken it take 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, a ladleful of gravy, mix them and pour it into the stewpan where the gravy is, let it simmer ½ hour longer. Skim it and strain through a fine sieve. Cut the cow's heel in pieces 1 inch square. Squeeze the juice of a lemon, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom catsup, 1 teaspoonful of salt, ½ teaspoonful of black pepper, a pinch of grated nutmeg, a glass of Madeira or sherry wine, through a sieve into the stewpan of soup; let simmer 5 minutes longer.
No. 4.
SOUTHERN MOCK TURTLE SOUP.
Wash a calf's head clean, put 2 gallons of water on it, set it to boil; put in a hock of ham (smoked), weighing about 2 pounds, also thyme, 3 onions, 1 bunch of celery tops, 1 tablespoonful each of allspice cloves, not ground; let it boil down slowly to 1½ gallons. When the head is done take it out, being careful to remove the brains and tongue, then cut the meat into small pieces. Strain the soup; brown ½ pound of flour and make a batter of it to thicken the soup; grate ½ of a nutmeg in it, put in pepper and salt to taste; take a portion of the brain and make it into small cakes, as you would fritters, fry them in lard; take ½ pound of veal cutlets, and a small part of the ham, chop up with a little parsley and onion, season with pepper and salt; make small forcemeat balls, frying them in lard, having first rolled them in eggs, then in breadcrumbs; put the forcemeat ball in the soup just before dishing up, together with ½ pint of wine.
No. 5.
CELERY SOUP.
After splitting 6 heads of celery into pieces about 2 inches long, wash them well, lay them on a hair sieve to drain, and put them in 3 quarts of clear gravy soup in a gallon soup-pot; let it stew just enough to make the celery tender, say about 1 hour; take off the scum if any should rise, season with a little salt. Should you wish to make this soup at a season when you could not get celery, use the celery seed, say about ½ pint, put this in the soup ¼ hour before it is done, with a little sugar.