of mammals are generally thin and bony and seem unpromising material, but have their uses. In European cookery, the most highly considered is the meaty, well-flavoured oxtail.
Pigs' tails, which are mostly gristle, are less popular. One use for them, at an old-fashioned pig-killing (see pig), was to bake the tail in the oven and give it to the children as a crunchy snack. The tails can also be used to enrich gelatinous stews or stocks; or, if available in quantity, used as a main ingredient. As with other pig offal, dishes have polarized into the fine and the robust. An elaborate example is stuffed pigs' tails, in which the skin is carefully removed to form a long bag, providing a container for fine pork forcemeat; conversely, an example of subsistence food is the Caribbean stew of pigs' tails and salt cod known as Megatee.
Sheep's tails or, more specifically, the tails of fat-tailed sheep are important in the cookery of the Middle East and C. Asia, where they are valued as a source of cooking fat. European sheep have thin tails, but, at least in the past, these were used enthusiastically. Lambs' tails were available in sheep-farming communities during the late spring, when certain breeds had their tails removed. Simon (1952) emphasized that the tails must be those docked from live lambs, as ‘when stewed, they are very gelatinous and delicious; if cut from killed lambs they are shrivelled and useless.’ One dish, which must have been fairly popular in Britain, as several recipes exist, was ‘Lamb's Tail Pie’. Dorothy Hartley (1954) gave directions for making this: ‘Instruct the shepherd to keep the docked tails warm, packing them in a sack, and let him bring them straight to the kitchen. Scald, removing the wool, joint the tails and stew.’ The stewed tails, with root vegetables, barley, green peas, and hard-boiled egg, were covered with shortcrust pastry and baked. A more urbane dish was quoted by Florence White (1932) for stewing lambs' tails in clear gravy, to be garnished with capers and chopped shallot. Alternatively, the meatier parts of the tails could be fried, and the remainder used for stock.
Other mammals whose tails have been, or are still, valued are beavers and kangaroos. Of cold-blooded creatures, lobsters and crayfish are particularly prized for their delicious ‘tail’ meat.
Laura Mason has written about several aspects of British food in books including Sugar Plums and Sherbet (1998), Farmhouse Cookery (2005), and Traditional Foods of Britain (1999), which she co-authored with Catherine Brown.
Hartley, Dorothy (1954), Food in England, London: Macdonald.
White, Florence (1932), Good Things in England, London: Jonathan Cape.
