SC - Roasting Methods

[L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt]

>> >>You roll it copiously in salt and herbs to form a crust.
>>
>> Any suggested as to which herbs?
>
>Sadly, I remembered parts of two recipes on the same page.   The Apicius
>herb roasted meat on  page 88-89  recommends 6 scruples each of
>parsley,  siphilium [Greek name for laser],  ginger, siphilium root,
>oregano, cyperus & celery seeds; 3 scruples of pyrethrum, 5 bay berries,
>a bit of costusroot, 12 scruples of pepper, and suffiicient garum and
>oil. (1)
>
>Due to scarcity of several of the ingredients, the author recommends
>this marinade: 2 Tbs total fresh minced parsley, oregano, mint, and
>chervil; 1 1/2 tsp ginger; 5 coarsely crushed bay berries;1 1/2 tsp
>celery seeds; 1 Tbs pepper; 3 garlic loves, pressed for their juice; 1
>Tbs garum; 2 Tbs olive oil.  Mix well and brush onto meat intended to
>roast.  Let stand 2 hours.  She gives directions for use as a baste as
>well.
>

Celery seeds?

Try this mixture: Finely chopped Cilantro, Fennel seeds, Salt, Pepper,
crushed garlic, crushed or very well minced onion, tossed with a little oil,
ingredients in order of quantity, but to taste.

The meat should be "green" with spices, should sit with the spices in a cold
place over night, and then roasted as usual. It's not documentably period,
but I have been gathering that what we know about roasted meat is only
marginally better than what we know about bread recipes in period. This
mixture is similar to the Apecian one, and works well with pork, lamb, beef,
etc... Incidentally, it's a local favorite, commercially available in this
tiny area of the world.

BTW I have read a little about the dredging process to form a crisp crust on
a roast with flour and fat and some flavoring. Does anyone have any sources
for this practice? I can only find secondary sources.


Aoife...who once again worked backwards from what I wanted to make, then on
to "can we document it?" Baaaaaaad Aoife. They sent the bones back to the
kitchen shaped like a little dinosaur fossil in a museum. Picked clean.