SC - duck broth/soup

[Christine A Seelye-King]

I have adapted an adaptation of a French recipe from "Le Cvisinier francois", by
Francois La Varenne (1654).  I don't speak (or read) French, so I went under the
assumption that the adaptation given in the book "Savoring the Past, The French
Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789", by Barbara Ketcham Wheaton was not too far
off the mark.  Here is the recipe in French (hopefully without too many typos):

Poulet d'Inde a la framboise farcy (I know that this translated is something
like Indian chicken (turkey) stuffed with raspberries)
Apres qu'il est habille levez en le brichet et tirez la chair, que vous hacherez
avec graisse, et peu de chair de veau, que vous meslerez ensemble avec des
jaunes d'oeufs et de pigeonneaux et le tout bien assaisonne, vous remplirez
vostre poulet-d'Inde, avec sel, poivre, clou battu, et capres, puis le mettez a
la broche, et le ferez tourner bien doucement, estant presque cuit tirez-le et
let mettez dans une terrine avec de bon bouillon, champignons et un bouquet.
Pour lier la sauce, prenez un peu de lard coupe, le faites passer par la poesle,
lequel estant fondu vous tirerez, et y meslerez un peu de farine, que vous
laisserez bien roussir et delayerez avec peu de bouillon et de vinaigre; la
mettez ensuite dans vostre terrine avec jus de citron, et servez; si c'est en
temps des framboises, vous y mettrez une poignee par dessus.

The recipe translation calls for removing the meat from the skeleton while
leaving the skin intact.  The skeleton is also removed from the skin.  Then the
forcemeat is made and put back into the skin and the whole thing is roasted on a
spit.  We are planning on making this for a feast for 150 people, and could not
imagine doing that process on that scale.  So, I have adapted it to a terrine.
Here is my adaptation:

Turkey terrine (serves 12, makes 2 loaves)
3 lbs. Boneless turkey
1.5 lbs. Boneless chicken (thighs are good)
.75 lbs. Boneless veal
1 lb. Bacon
4 egg yolks
2 tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Ground cloves
3 tbsp. Capers
2 quarts chicken stock
1.5 lbs. Mushrooms (24 oz.), sliced
2 tsp. Rosemary
1/2 tsp. Thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. Butter
1/4 c. flour
1 tbsp. Wine vinegar
1 tbsp. Lemon juice
1 pint fresh or frozen raspberries

Grind turkey, chicken, veal and 1/2 lb. of the bacon.  Add egg yolks, salt,
pepper, cloves and capers and mix thoroughly.  Divide between 2 loaf pans and
cover with remaining 1/2 lb. bacon.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms in the butter until limp.  Add the flour to make
a roux.  Slowly add the chicken stock, stirring constantly (I also add the
drippings from the loaf pan).  Add the rosemary, thyme and bay leaf and simmer
over medium heat until it becomes a thick sauce.  Remove from heat and add the
vinegar & lemon juice just before serving.  Slice the terrine and place on a
platter.  Spoon the sauce over and garnish with the raspberries.

We are precooking the feast, so we made this last weekend and froze it.  We
ended up using canned mushrooms (I was horrified when the person who did the
shopping opted for this over fresh), but it worked out pretty well.  The fresh
mushrooms made the sauce very dark, whereas the canned kept it a beautiful
creamy gold color.  We also made all of the terrines on one day and drained
their juices into a large pot before freezing them.  We let this juice separate
and used the fat instead of butter to make the roux.  We used the broth from
this juice instead of the chicken stock, and added the canned mushrooms with
their liquid.  The result was better tasting than the original adaptation.

This dish will be served as part of the feast for K&Q Bardic Championship in
Concordia of the Snows (Albany, NY) in the Kingdom of the East on March 11.

Faoiltighearna
(waiting for the bashing on it being slightly out of period and served at a SCA
feast)