[Sca-cooks] Fwd: request for information

[Louise Smithson]

SubjectTri-tip is a portion of the Bottom Sirloin of
beef. It's quite tender and quite flavorful, and runs
about two pounds, maybe three. Apart from a recent
 trend of using it for barbecuing, with various dry
seasoning rubs used, I don't know why anyone would
marinate such a cut, and seriously doubt it
would have been done in the Middle Ages.

Adamantius

Scappi uses a marinade in the recipe for meat chunks
roasted on a spit:
Recipe from Scappi, Cap XIII, folio 20, 2nd book.
To make meat balls in roman style of loin of beef or
of cow.
Take the leanest part of the loin, without bones and
skin and nerves and cut it  against the grain in large
pieces of six ounces each.  Powder them with rubbed
salt and fennel flowers or a little bit of ground
common spices and take four lardons of ham salted for
each piece.  Let them stay marinating with this
mixture, a little red vinegar and concentrated grape
must (saba) for three hours.  And then put on the spit
with a piece of pork fat between each and also pieces
of sage leaves or bay leaves.  Let them cook on a
temperate fire.  Then they are cooked they should be
served as such, hot with a sauce above, made from that
juice which falls from them, and mixed with this
mixture, that is made from the things in the marinade.
 This sauce wants to have little body and give to it
the color of saffron.   In this way one can cook the
loins of young lambs, mutton and of other quadruped
animals.

I redacted the marinade as follows:
12 oz sirloin cubed (2 inch)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon strong spice blend consisting of: 1 part
ground cloves, 16 part ground black pepper, 4 parts
long pepper, 8 parts nutmeg.
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grape molasses
Marinate the cubed beef in the remaining ingredients
for three hours.  Thread onto skewers that have been
soaked in water.  Grill over a medium high flame until
cooked to your preference or at the peak of perfection
(i.e. medium rare).  Serve hot, serves 4.



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