SC - Pot Luck Part two....

[Maureen Martin]

>>(And, it does have a sheep´s head recipe.)
>
>I just found it, and it looks good, but is it period? If we can find one
>that is period, I'd likely do that myself unless someone else REALLY wants
>to do it, but I want ALL the things we do with the lamb to be as done in
>period, and I don't mean borderline-up-to-1650.


I haven´t found any pre-1600 recipe (although I seem to remember having seen
at least one a long time ago, can´t remember where). A mention of a Roman
sheep´s head roasted with apples and with peaches marinated in Albanian
spirits, yes - but not an actual recipe. Quite a few 18th century recipes.

The traditional Icelandic and Norwegian method - certainly pre-1600 - is to
drive a stake into the head and hold it over an open fire to burn the wool
off, then scrape the skin with a knife. (This used to be a job for us kids
back on the farm, from the age of six onwards.) This is repeated until all
the wool has burned off and the skin is blackened. Then you split the head
in two and remove the brain, and wash the head in cold running water,
scraping it with a knife until the skin is brown and clean. Then the head is
boiled for an hour or so (or until meat begins to come off the bone) and
served hot or cold. In the 18th century and perhaps earlier, the head was
sometimes dipped in melted butter when cooked, then breaded and grilled.
This was done all over Scandinavia but I´m not sure how old that method is.

We serve the head with the eyeballs intact, and yes, we eat them. And until
maybe a few years ago, particular care was always taken to leave the ears
intact. There was a special reason for this. The ears of young lambs are cut
with special markings - every sheep farmer has his own distinct set of
markings and by looking at the ears of a sheep, you can instantly see whom
it belongs to (or look it up in a printed book if you don´t recognize the
markings). This has been done for hundreds of years. And if sheep´s heads
were served, or found in a farm kitchen, with the ears cut off, the farmer
and his wife were instantly suspected of having stolen the sheep and removed
the ears to hide the evidence. So, everybody served the heads with the ears
intact so that the markings would show that the animal indeed belonged to
them. This custom has survived, even though most people now buy their heads
in a supermarket and have no idea whom the markings on its ears belong to.

I am currently searching for old sheep´s head recipes and will let you know
if I find any pre-1600.

Nanna

Nanna

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