Good Calf's Head Soup (not expensive)

This recipe was taken from an Eliza Acton book published in 1845. It’s origins are thought to be possibly British.

Ingredients
6 – 7lbs shin of beef
1 slice of lean ham
5 quarts of water
1oz salt
large bunch of savoury herbs
1 large onion
1 head celery
3 carrots
2 or 3 turnips
2 small blades of mace
8 – 10 whole cloves
few white or black peppercorns
½ boned calf’s head
1 tongue
6 – 8oz rice flour
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ wineglass mushroom catsup
2 wineglasses sherry
20 – 30 forcemeat balls

Method
1 Stew down the shin with the lean ham (fat removed) or a slice of hung beef, or of Jewish beef trimmed free from smoky edges in water until reduced by nearly half then add the salt, herbs and all vegetables.
2 Let it boil gently that it may be not too much reduced for 6 or 7 hours, then strain it into a clean pan and set it by to set.
3 Take out the bone from the calf’s head and the skin on it (the butcher will do this for you), wash, roll and bind it with a bit of tape or of twine and lay it into a stewpan, with the bones and tongue.
4 Cover the whole with the beef stock, and stew it for one hour and a half.
5 Lift it into a deep earthen pan and let it cool in the liquor; as this will prevent the edges from becoming dry and discoloured.
6 Take it our before it is quite cold, strain and skim all the fat carefully from the stock.
7 Heat 5 pints of stock in a clean saucepan, with the head cut into small thick slices or into 1 inch squares.
8 As quite the whole will not be needed, leave a portion of the fat but add every morsel of the skin to the soup and of the tongue. Should the first of these not be perfectly tender it must be simmered gently till it is so.
9 Then stir into the soup the rice flour and cayenne mixed together with the mace, catsup and sufficient cold broth or water to render it the consistency of batter.
10 Boil the whole from 8 – 10 minutes; take off the scum and thrown in the sherry.
11 Dish the soup and put into the tureen some delicately and well fried forcemeat balls.

Notes
A quart is an old measure of 2 pints.
A small quantity of lemon juice or other acid can be added at pleasure.
The wine and forcemeat balls may be omitted and the other seasonings of the soup be a little heightened.
As much salt as may be required should be added to the stock when the head first befins to boil.
The cook must regulate also by the taste the exact proportion of cayenne, mace and catsup which will flavour the soup agreeably.
The fragments of the head, with the bones and the residue of the beef used for the stock, if stewed down together with some water and a few fresh vegetables, will afford some excellent broth, such as would be highly acceptable, especially if well thickened with rice, to a medium and poor family dining.