Oxtail Soup

About the dish

Clear oxtail soup was among the fine soups in Erken's cookbook, and the French term "potage de queue de boeuf, clair" shows how closely Norwegian bourgeois cookery around 1914 followed the French kitchen. The soup is clarified with egg white and lean meat forcemeat, a technique that yields a crystal-clear consommé.

How to make it

1. 1

   Divide and brown the oxtails

   Cut the oxtails into pieces so that each piece contains one tail vertebra. Brown the pieces in butter, then brown the cut-up carrot and onion the same way.

2. 2

   Boil the stock

   Place the oxtail pieces, the beef shank, the root vegetables, parsley, and bay leaf in a large pot with 3½ liters of water. Let everything boil about 4½ hours; the stock should be reduced to about 2½ liters.

3. 3

   Strain and keep the tails warm

   Strain the stock. Lift out the tail pieces, cover them with a little of the soup, and keep them warm in it.

4. 4

   Clarify the soup

   Finely chop the lean meat and mix it well with the white part of a leek and the egg white in a pot. Pour on the strained, skimmed soup and let it boil for 1 hour while stirring often.

5. 5

   Strain through a cloth

   Strain the soup carefully through a napkin or thin cloth so it becomes completely clear.

6. 6

   Garnish and serving

   Boil carrot dice tender in quite a little water with butter and sugar. Season the soup with salt and, if desired, a little port or sherry. Serve the carrot dice and tail pieces in the soup.