ANST - Stargate Steak Feast

Decker, Terry D. TerryD at Health.State.OK.US
Tue Sep 8 14:44:30 PDT 1998


> I am not familiar with the medieval cooking technique for
> beef in period.  However, I can enlighten some on why
> grilling steak in the modern way is not strictly period. 
> "Barbecuing" is a Caribbean technique of lashing green
> branches together to form a "grill" and then placing it over
> hot coals to cook meet.  It is know that the term Buccaneer
> came from that cooking.  Sea faring individuals saw the
> technique, used by the natives, and used it as a way to cook
> food.  I cannot find where it becomes used in Europe,
> however, it did travel north to what we now call the United
> States.  Where the backyard barbecue is a national pastime,
> and much more widely used as a cooking technique today.  
> 
Grilling is perfectly period for broiling meat, predating the European
ventures into the New World.  The grill or gridiron was a latticework of
iron straps or bars placed over or near the fire for this purpose. The meat
would probably have been marinaded differently from modern steak and served
with sauces which do not resemble modern steak sauce.

The boucan or barbecue rack is a makeshift method of grilling.  Boucan is
probably derived from Arawak via the French.  While barbecue (barbacoa) is
derived from Taino by the Spanish.  The buccaneers made their living selling
smoked meat and logs, before they found Spanish loot more profitable.

The spicing of true barbecue is different from European grilling.   

> The question then takes us back to Gunnora's original
> statement and request.  Should our feasts strive to be
> period, or should we feed our guests as a matter of courtesy
> for their journey?  I would prefer the feast to be period,
> and a further extension of the learning process, our
> tourneys are supposed to spark.  However, if it is 102
> degrees in the shade, and I am dying to eat, I am not really
> going to complain if someone sticks a steak in front of me. 
> The one argument for doing a feast like Stargate is doing at
> Baronial is that it can be cooked in large quantities
> without any fear of food poisoning, or other preparation
> worries.  I have eaten feasts that have sent me to the
> doctor on Monday morning.  This should be a concern as
> well.  As I am well know for not cooking even at home, how
> do the cooks of the kingdom feel about this topic.
> 
> Béatrix d'Angoulême
> 
I am for period food, properly prepared.  However, I have been known to slip
in the medievalish rather then the truly medieval to be able to feed people
and to minimize cooking problems.

Bear
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