[Ansteorra] BBQ? (a little on the long side...)

[Chelsea Durham]

Or maybe BBQ was short for "medieval roasted on a spit pig and cow."?? =) The initial message about the competition was TLDR. OMGWTFBBQ, -Lady Grainne Kathleen NicPadraig MacDaniel> Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:19:32 -0600> From: cat at rocks4brains.com> To: ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> Subject: [Ansteorra] BBQ? (a little on the long side...)> > I suppose that any arguments one might make as to the period-ness of BBQ > would depend on one's definition of BBQ.  If BBQ were defined in the > strictest Southern Food sense, then no, BBQ is not at all period.  The > OED has the origin of the word itself dating back to late 17th century > Haiti, a real hot bed of medieval culture (not!).   My food history > sources indicate that Southern BBQ has its origins in the 18th southern > American colonies (what became the "The South" (tm)).  You might argue > that spitted meat on a hearth or meat roasted in a medieval muffle oven > is sufficiently close to meat slow-smoked in a Southern-style BBQ pit, > but personally I think they are quite different methods and result in > different textures and flavors.  Spitted meat comes closest but to my > eyes, it still lacks the essential slow-smoked nature of true Southern > BBQ that takes the collogen in the meat and transforms it from gristle > to something chewable and tender.  I did a brief review of medieval pork > and beef recipes during this all-too-short lunch break of mine and > really saw nothing that really fit the slow-smoked Southern method of > cooking barbeque.  (Note that I am making a distinction here between > "barbeque" and meats grilled or roasted without the slow-smoking > technique.  Also note that "BBQ" means different things in different > places as exemplified by the two "barbeques" I was invited to in > Australia a few months ago, where I watched in awe as Viscount Kane > "barbequed" a dozen eggs along with the sausages, prawns, beef and real > rashered bacon.)  > > (By the way, have you noticed that in The South, barbeque is a noun but > everywhere else it's a verb?)> > Let's move on...> > Now about sauces.  I would maintain that there is no medieval equivalent > of modern American BBQ sauce in all of its variations (which are > substantial).  I suppose one could make a case that the vinegar and > mustard style BBQ sauces that you find in the Carolinas is are > descendents of the ubiquitous late Gothic cameline (variant: gamelyne) > sauces but there is one essential ingredient of all cameline sauces that > is absent from the modern American BBQ sauce line up, even it its huge > variety - and that is cinnamon/cassia.  Depending on year and country, > your cameline sauces from the period sources can take or leave sugar, > clove, mustard seed or ginger. They can be sweet, tangy or both. Some > have a wine base, some have verjus and some use vinegar.  But all of > them use bread crumbs and cinnamon.  I really can't make a case that > cameline is equivalent to American BBQ sauces in any permutation.  > Essentially, there is a distinct disconnect between the taste of sauces > used for meats, medieval vs. modern.  The same can safely be said for > condiments and spices.  Would you consider doing your pot roast at home > with a hard cheese, gallingale, ginger and cinnamon/cassia?  A late > Gothic cook, however, would think that spice mix rather normal for a > medieval dish.> > Do I really need to say anything about the periodicity of outlaw chili?> > So, onwards and downwards...> > [[[ Outrageous Opinion Alert!  Don't say I didn't warn you in advance! ]]]> > Consider for a moment what our founders were trying to do that May > afternoon so long ago now in 1966.  They were trying their best to > experience the essence of the medieval romance of knight errantry, > championship and chivalry as embodied in the rite of the marshaled > tourney.  By the year AS 2, they were including the medieval feast with > dancing and music in their efforts to reach out and explore the medieval > experience. The first laurel in the SCA was given for period consort > music. The second laurel, given a minute later, was for a man whose > entire "kit" was all handmade or handsewn using period material and > methods, all supported by scholar-level research. The SCA was all of a > year and a half old.  Later in the year 2, Duke Henrik came to crown > tourney wearing the sprangenhelm and hand-riveted chain mail haulberk > that took him a year to make, the first to bring real armour onto the > list field.  How many of us can claim to doing anything even close to > that in as short a time period?> > Given that a BBQ contest can be a lot of fun, and I'm certainly all in > favor of fun, I am still left wondering what in the world people are > thinking here. Why is it a BBQ contest is something that can be > preferable to a competition based on medieval foods?  Is placating the > modern pallette more important than exploring the taste of period food?  > What happened to attempting to explore the medieval experience of the > High to Late Gothic?  Just where did the pursuit of the medieval romance > of knight errantry go that our founders were so keen on rediscovering?  > Granted, the SCA is full of compromises and many of those are necessary > ones if we want to maintain the inclusive nature of the Society.  It is > this inclusive culture in the SCA that makes us distinct and a > friendlier place to play than the narrowly-defined reenactment groups > trapped in just one little slice of historical time (I know this first > hand, having spent a fair bit of time in reenactment groups before I met > the SCA).  So, yeah, sure, there's some plastic in my armour but not > where anyone could see it.  Yes, there are compromises in most > everything we do in the SCA.  We're not perfect historically and we will > never be perfect.  But there is a flip side and it can be ugly in that > we lose sight of trying to pursue that medieval experience "as it should > have been."> > So, I ask you to take a minute to ponder the following question, not > because I think everyone is doing everything wrong, but because it is > good to give some thought, now and then, on how and why we play this SCA > game that we have made for ourselves.  Here it is:> > Just where is the line between doing "living history" and being in a > live-action role-playing game?> > Mind you, this is all just my poor opinion - and let me take this > opportunity to point out that opinions are like sphincters - everybody's > got one...  As always, YMMV!  ;-)> > ttfn> Therasia's grumpy evil twin> > brief references:> Oxford English Dictionary> Oxford Companion to Food (Davidson, 1999)> Fast and Feast (Henisch, 1986)> www.medievalcookery.com> www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks> HL Sean Clierech's Medieval Food Database (2001-2008)> "There are No Scrolls" T. von Tux, TI 144 (2002)> history.westkingdom.org> _______________________________________________> Ansteorra mailing list> Ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/ansteorra-ansteorra.org
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