SC - Lady Seaton's Project

[Diana]

Since I have _The Medieval Kitchen_ open before me in order to answer a
different post, here are some lamb comments from it:

Recipes for lamb shoulder roasts on the spit, cooked until most of the
fat is released, then stuck with parsley, served with verjuice.

Recipe 40.  Haricot of Lamb.                     from the Menagier.
Cut it into small pieces, then boil it for a moment, and fry it in lard,
and fry with it some onions finely cut up and cooked, and moisten with
beef broth, and add mace, parsely, hyssop, and sage, and boil it
together.  (Certainly does not imply 'mush' or 'strings')
Their comment: "So what is the meaning of these terms--'hericot',
'haricot', or even 'hericoq'--found in the titles of a whole series of
medieval recipes for lamb or mutton stew?  The most common theory is that
'haricot' is derived from the verb 'aricoter'--to cut into little
pieces--which is apt for a stew made with small chunks of meat."

41.  Lamb 'Ausoerre'.       from the Menagier.
Cut the mutton into pieces, then wash it and cook it in water, then crush
parsley and bread, and strain, and put it into a pot with spices.

42. 'Sardamone': Lamb Saute.     Libro della cucina del secolo XIV
Take flesh of mutton, from the breast; cut it small and boil it well; and
when it is boiled so that it no longer has a high odor, remove the water
and fry the meat with pork fat; then add enough of that water so that
little remains of the broth; and when this is cooked, add coriander and
chopped carrots, with spices and sufficient saffron.  If you have no
coriander, add cumin; and eat it.

Here are 3 examples from one book that prove you right, Kateryn.  Let's
hope the judging Laurel has continued to learn, too.

This last recipe, calling for the carrots and the coriander leaves (as
the authors suggest it does) is beginning to look a lot like stew, isn't
it?

Regards,
Allison,     allilyn at juno.com


On Tue, 14 Mar 2000 10:09:07 -0600 "Debra Hense" <DHense at ifmc.org>
writes:
>Almost a year ago I entered a cooking competition - with a lamb stew 
>dish from Menagier.  I cut up the lamb into bite-sized chunks and 
>cooked and then served the dish.  I didn't 'stew' the dish until the 
>lamb was in stringing shreds.  I was marked down by the judges because 
>it wasn't shredded - "as that is how lamb and mutton are supposed to 
>be served. " Her words - not mine.   I know its being picky, but this 
>was the only area where my marks were lowered.  And it has bothered me 
>ever since.  
>
>I disagreed then, and I disagree now that all mutton and lamb when 
>served in a sauce or stew/soup must be cooked to mushy strings.  IMO, 
>the chunks had a nice texture and were extremely tender and tasty. 
>
>Am I wrong about this?  Has lamb and mutton always been cooked to 
>mush? Or, is this a case where modern tastes and preferences of the 
>judge are taking precedence over what was medieval?  
>
>Kateryn de Develyn
>nickiandme at worldnet.att.net

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