Soup's on! but not for long?, By Jeremy Goodwin

There is a lot of fuss made about childhood memories and the adverse effects they can have on the behavior of the resulting adult. Not being one to focus on the negative aspects of growing up (there were many of them, as I recall), I try to focus on the positive.

Which memories trigger the warmth of nostalgia, that feeling of hugging something precious to yourself, a private sigh of deep satisfaction? Well, most of my better memories have to do with the back end of a cow-the rich and overwhelming aromas of oxtail soup.

I can remember the joy welling up in me as I realized that to get the goodness of gelatin I did not have to eat a sickly sweet dessert but instead could partake of any dish that involved boiled bones, be they from fish, fowl or four-legged creatures. My favorite is the richest of soups made from the tail vertebrae of a cow.

This dish, long favored in Europe, is about to disappear from the whole continent. The European Union agricultural controllers are anticipated to ban the sale of any meat product containing spinal cord, possibly ending the sale of T-bone chops from any animal, but certainly sealing the fate of the oxtail. Other potentially contaminated cuts include porterhouse, standing rib roast, prime rib with bone, bone-in rib steak and (if they contain bone) chuck blade roast and loin. These cuts may include spinal cord tissue and/or so-called dorsal root ganglia, swellings of nerve roots coming into the meat from the spinal cord-locations that have been proven to be infected in some animals with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease). In North America, even the method of cutting the carcass down the middle with high-speed bone saws tends to turn spinal tissue into an aerosol that spreads over normally safe meat. The other irony is that the bloodless stunners that dispense a shock to the head before the carcass is bled disperse nervous system tissue into the blood and through the body. Not a pleasant subject, but one too often hidden by the foam trays, shrink-wrap and bloodless butcher shops of the supermarket world.

Any ban on nervous tissue will also increase the price of gelatin, mainly by removing from the marketplace many of the bones that produce prodigious amounts of this substance when boiled. Many edible products-such as beef stock, beef extract and beef flavoring-are frequently made by boiling the skeletal remains (including the vertebral column) of the carcass. Spinal cord contamination may also be found in US hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza toppings and taco fillings.
There are a few ways of avoiding the consequences of factory beef production. Halal, or kosher, methods of slaughtering are quite effective in preventing blood-transmitted nervous tissue. The best way is to buy local meat. Much of the beef in Mexico is imported from the United States, where standards and testing for contamination with mad cow disease are minimal at best. However, Mexican beef production does not commonly use animal by-products for cattle feed, and the beef is safe and tasty.

Now, on the oxtail soup. Buy the oxtail whole if possible. Meat cut with a bone saw is more difficult to brown evenly, and it loses a lot of gelatin. If you feel along the thickest part of the vertebrae to the first dip, usually just over two inches, you will be cutting through the cartilaginous discs that separate the bones.

The bones are roughly the same length but vary in diameter, so you can find the next joint very easily by placing the cut one next to the end of the tail.

Oxtail soup

1 oxtail
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 potato, diced
3 tablespoons cumin
5 allspice berries
2 serrano chiles, diced
2 bay leaves
8-10 peppercorns
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 cup bulgur wheat
1 cup sweet red vermouth
2 sprigs parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
beef stock or water to cover

In a heavy skillet, heat half the oil until it smokes. Add the oxtail sections and brown on all sides, about four minutes between rotations.

In a large pot, add wheat, parsley, coriander, cumin, thyme, bay leaves, chiles, allspice, carrots, onions, celery and peppercorns to the remaining oil and sauté, stirring until fragrant. Add the browned oxtails and continue to stir for two or three minutes.

Meanwhile, deglaze the skillet with the vermouth, making sure to scrape up all the caramelized encrustations. Add the skillet juice to the pot and fill with either stock or water to cover the meat.

Simmer for about 1½ hours. If you want to remove the fat, allow the pot to cool, then place it in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. The fat will congeal and can be removed in one piece.
Garnish with chopped parsley for presentation.

Jeremy Goodwin is an author, freelance food writer and owner of The Best Kept Secret. He may be contacted at Jeremy@dcnet2000.com