[Sca-cooks] Beef stew- redaction question

[Philippa Alderton]

About a week ago, I made beef y-stewed from Cindy's
1000 eggs- pps 126-127, second edition, volume one.
The recipe follows- I used my own redaction, rather
than hers- where she used bread crumbs, we followed
the original, and boiled the bread and strained it
through a strainer, as the recipe suggests.

Beef y-stwed. Take fair beef of the ribs of the fore
quarters, and smite in fair pieces, and wash the beef
in a fair pot: then take the water that the beef was
seethed in, and strain it through a strainer, and
seethe the same beef in a pot, and let them boil
together: then take cinnamon, cloves, maces, grains of
paradise, cubebs and onions minced, parsley, and sage,
and cast thereto, and let them boil together; and then
take a loaf of bread, and steep it with broth and
vinegar, and then draw it through a strainer, and let
it be still; and when it is near enough, cast the
liquor thereto, but not too much, and then let it boil
once, and cast saffron thereto a quantity: then take
salt and vinegar, and cast thereto, and look that it
be poignant enough, & serve forth.

Don't remember the beef cut, but it was moderately
fatty as most rib meat is, and I cut it into slightly
small stew size chunks (small compared to grocery
sizes- about 3/4 of an inch on a side) and parboiled
it, them skimmed the scum and put the beef back in.
and added the spices (they varied a bit as to what we
had available, but none of the substitutions cause
textural differences, so onions and fresh parsley were
used. Flavor is not an issue).

Steeped and strained the bread as mentioned, and let
it rest. Used about 1/2 loaf of commercial whole wheat
bread- was what we had. Added more broth, boiled it,
added a bit of saffron, tasted the mix, then mixed the
meat and bread well.

The question I have relates to the texture. While the
flavor was fine, the texture, provided by the bread,
was rather a gelatious mass, and not as pleasant as we
preferred. Would a different type of bread, or perhaps
different quantities and proprtions of bread and
liquid have prevented this or changed this? Perhaps,
more or less vinegar? Or, is this the expected
texture, just different from what we're used to? Or
perhaps, rather than being mixed, the meat and the
bread should be served differently, one atop the
other?

Your input and advice would be very much appreciated.

Phlip



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Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....

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