Re- SC - chicken on string

[Mark Harris]

> 
> To bake a Tench with a Pudding in her belly
> Let your Fish blood in the Tayle, then scalde it, and scowre it: wash it
> cleane and drye it with a cloth.  Then take grated Bread, sweet Creame, the
> yolkes of two or three new laid Egges, a few parboyled Currins, a few sweet
> Hearbes, chope fine.  Season it with Nutmeg, and pepper, an make it into a
> stiffe Pudding, and put it into your Tenches belly.  Season your Fish on th
> eourside with a little Pepper, Salt and Nutmeg, and so put him in a deepe
> Coffin, with a piece of sweet Butter, and so close your Pye, and bake it.
>  Then take it out of the oven, and open it, and cast in a piece of a
> preserved Orenge Minct.  Then take Vinegar, Nutmeg, Butter, Sugar, and the
> yolke of a new layd Egge, and boyle it on a Chafindish of coales, always
> stirring it into your Pye, shogge it well together, and serve it in.
 
I saw the other redactions coming in and immediately put them in the "Keeper"
file unread.  Here goes.

I don't know exactly what a "Tench" is but I would guess it to be a medium sized
fish between the Perche and a Pike.  

 "Let your Fish blood in the Tayle"  Um...no clue. I would guess to hang it by
the gills and let the blood drain to the tail section and then cut off the tail.
I could be totally wrong on that.

"then scalde it, and scowre it: wash it cleane and drye it with a cloth."
Okay, a little clearer. Drop the fish in boiling water for a few seconds (either
to loosen the scales or to remove the mucus if it's a fleshy fish) and scrub
it, wash it off and dry it with towels.

Take bread crumbs, cream, 2 or 3 egg yolks, a few reconstituted currants, some
marjoram, mint, sweet basil, etc... chopped fine.  Mix this with nutmeg and 
pepper until well mixed and stiff.  Insert into the slit in the fish's belly
cavity.

Sprinkle the outside of the fish with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Make a heavy piecrust (maybe in a deep-dish lasagne pan?) and put in the fish
with a good amount of sweet butter.  Put a lid made of the piecrust on top and
seal.

Heat the oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. (Note: Absolute guess on the temp
and time here)

Take out of the oven and remove the top.  Add some dried orange peel.

Mix vinegar (wine or cider), nutmeg, butter, sugar and one egg yolk in a small
saucepan and boil, stirring constantly.  Once everything has blended together
and pour the sauce over the fish in the pie. 

Serve hot.

I would probably make some changes to this recipe were I to be actually serving
it.  First I would want to remove the fish onto a platter once it has baked 
since I feel the heavy coffyn would be used to steam/bake the fish than to be
eaten.

I also wonder how this would be served.  Is the fish to be a single serving or
for many people? It just sounds like it would be messy to eat.  I would also
probably serve the sauce on the side.

Without knowing just what a "Tench" is and not seeing the actual finished dish
I can't make too many predictions on what this would turn out looking like.

It sounds tasty though.

Yers,

Gunthar

PS  When I first looked at this recipe it looked very difficult, but going 
step-by-step helped. Now I want to make it for real.
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