f 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.

_Ox-tail Soup._--(No. 240.)

Three tails, costing about 7_d._ each, will make a tureen of soup
(desire the butcher to divide them at the joints); lay them to soak in
warm water, while you get ready the vegetables.

Put into a gallon stew-pan eight cloves, two or three onions, half a
drachm of allspice, and the same of black pepper, and the tails;[214-*]
cover them with cold water; skim it carefully, when and as long as you
see any scum rise; then cover the pot as close as possible, and set it
on the side of the fire to keep gently simmering till the meat becomes
tender and will leave the bones easily, because it is to be eaten with a
spoon, without the assistance of a knife or fork; see N.B. to No. 244;
this will require about two hours: mind it is not