Foxgloves and Oxtail

There was a mystery series, Sgt. Cribb, on public television that I loved when I was a teen. We taped it and that was one of the things I could watch in Arabia. There’s an episode where an older gentleman is in danger of being poisoned by his much younger wife. Oxtail soup figures prominently in the story. Oxtail soup does not figure prominently in American cuisine, so both my mom and I were tickled to find canned oxtail soup in the grocery store in Saudi Arabia. Curious we tried it and it was quite good. Of course half the fun was just the connection to a favorite show.

I copied an oxtail soup recipe into the margins of my cookbook as soon as I could, sans digitalis. I haven’t made it very often, but I still enjoy it. It’s not common, I’ve never seen it for sale in a can in the states, and yet you do see oxtails in the stores here and I really don’t know what else you would do with them. I have decided however, that oxtail soup is one of those foods best eaten without thinking too much. There’s something about those tails boiling that is a little creepy. I like my meat prepacked in Styrofoam with no visible reference to ever having been part of a living creature.

Oxtail soup

2 small oxtails

2 T butter

2 onions, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 leeks, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 t salt

10 peppercorns

2 garlic cloves

Bouquet garni

10 c water

1 T lemon juice

1 T Worcestershire sauce

Have tails cut in 1 inch sections. Wash and dry well and brown in butter. Add next ten ingredients. Boil 5 minutes, skim froth off, lower heat, cover and simmer 3 hours. Remove meat and chill. Remove bouquet garni and puree or strain liquid and vegetables. Remove fat from meat, dice, and add to reheated broth when ready to serve. Top with grated parmesan or swiss. 


Or foxgloves to speed your inheritance.