SC - Bukkenade challenge

[Jane Williams]

Looks like something I could learn a lot from trying (and maybe give 
the rest of you a laugh).

I don't tend to use precise measurements when I'm doing any sort of 
cooking, modern, period, or whatever, so I'm not even going to try to 
provide any. If I get the basic process right, that'll be a start.

Ok. "Bukkenade". No doubt this word means something, in some 
ancient language. But not to me. Instruction would be welcome.

"tak veel & boyle it"
"Nym god fresch flesch, wat maner so yt be, & hew it in smale 
morselys, & seth yt wy(th) gode fresch buf"

To me this translates as "take minced veal, and boil it in stock". 
Unfortunately in practise around here, the instruction before that should 
be "take out second mortgage". Veal is expensive. So I won't be trying 
this one for real unless I'm convinced it's going to be wonderful.

But back at the plot: how finely should it be minced, I wonder? What I'd 
actually do is buy it ready-minced, as that's the cheapest source, but 
this may well be wrong. Dunno. Again, advice welcome.

"gode fresch buf": and the first recipe doesn't even mention using broth 
at all. Chicken stock, I think. Or vegetable. Nothing stronger, veal is a 
delicate taste and I don't want to lose it. Quantities? Well, enough 
liquid that the veal (and other bits, to be discussed later) can boil 
without sticking... sorry, this really is the way I measure things!

One recipe has onions, the other does not. Finely chopped, and added 
to the boiling stock after the veal. Hmmm. To my mind, either the veal 
will be overcooked or the onion under-cooked: at least, to my tastes.  
OTOH, the onion would bulk out the expensive meat... this would be a 
case of trying it and seeing. And I don't feel inclined to experiment with 
expensive ingredients. Chop the onion VERY finely, if I decide to use 
it. It'll cook faster that way.

"& gode spicerye"
Well, that's nice and specific.
"Tak macis & powdre of gyngyuer & powdere of peper"
That's better!
Ground mace, ginger, and pepper. And here I realise that I lack another 
bit of information: white or black pepper? Does it matter? Which is 
period? Would going away and looking it up (and looking up other 
people's redactions) be cheating?

Amount? Not much, I think. Don't want to over-spice this one. Precise 
amounts would depend on the quality and age of the jars sitting in the 
cupboard (yes, I know, it should be freshly ground. But it won't be).

"& alyth wy(th) eyryn"
"Tak (y)olkys of eggys & mak hem (th)ykke"
Oh, drat. The "thicken with egg yolk" technique. I confess, I cannot get 
this to work. I end up with broth enlivened with strands of scrambled 
egg: rather like that soup you get in Chinese restaurants, and 
presumably not what was intended. Another reason not to try this one 
until I've improved my technique on cheaper ingredients. 

So my first stab at this, as a "try it and see what happens", would 
involve a half-pound pack of minced pork or chicken (well, one version 
just says "god fresch flesch" without specifying the animal), a medium-
sized onion, a chicken stock cube, and some mace, ginger, and 
(black) pepper. Also an egg yolk, and some rude words. And a very 
patient husband who will try just about anything once.

(Possibly if it really didn't work, I'd drain off the broth and turn it all into 
Charlet, from the Forme of Cury: I know I can do that, and at least the 
end result would be edible. But that's disaster recovery, not redaction.).

Once I'd got that working, I'd try again with minced veal, real chicken 
stock, and freshly ground spices.

Right, you can stop rolling around on the floor now. I will put on my 
Thick Skin. What would you like to teach me?

(I may have time to actually try to cook this over the weekend, but I'm 
in the middle of trying to move house, so feeding on takeaways while 
putting pans into boxes is more likely).

Having written that lot, I notice that the Forme of Cury also has a 
recipe for Bukkenade, which looks a great deal easier and cheaper. In 
fact, so different I'm amazed it has the same name. But that wasn't the 
challenge, was it?