[Sca-cooks] Sausage Stuffers

[Stefan li Rous]

Daniel replied to my question with:
<<< Were these horn stuffers based on something in period? Were they  
made
out of actual horn?

Think upon a notorious English regicide which occurred in period and the
answer to your question will be revealed. ;-) >>>

To which izofgold at aol.com (sorry, you didn't sign your message) replied:

<<< Thanks for adding that Daniel. It would be nice to see someone  
finally saying something nice on this list about me trying it and  
having the guts to try it since all I am getting privately from  
Laurels and such are put downs for even attempting something this  
"dangerous". >>>

The sausage stuffing or the regicide?

<<< We took the idea, and made it as mundanely sound and safe as  
possible including something on the inside of the horns that was food  
grade safe. I took the idea from some pictures I had seen in a German  
castle and I quickly drew sketches of along with some notes in  
various period references about how they did it.  Hey - give a girl a  
break you guys - I tried it!  How many cooks in the SCA actually have  
to come up with their own amounts for stuff because the amounts are  
NOT given, come up with the period utensils AND came up with the idea  
to create as much of it as you can including using the bits that most  
people mundanely wouldn't use?  Part of the reason we do this is to  
learn how they did things and why and
  with what.  Unless I have missed something in which case I am  
sorry.>>>

Well, if it makes any difference, I asked my question not with  
criticism in mind, but to ascertain whether the use of horn in this  
way was indeed a period technique and then if this was the case, then  
how you went about creating and using these horn based sausage  
stuffers.  I was interested in seeing if this then might form the  
basis for an article for the Florilegium. Not only from a scholarly  
perspective, but also one of "practical archeology". I'm not sure if  
we want to start stuffing all the sausages for a feast of 300 using  
these horn sausage stuffers, but it would be nice to know how it is/ 
was done and how it compares/differs from using a modern plastic  
funnel or the sausage stuffing attachments on a mixer.

I don't see any reason to coat the inside of the horns with anything  
if they are properly prepared and treated. See this Florilegium file  
in the CRAFTS section for more details on working with and cleaning  
horn:

horn-msg         (105K)  6/ 7/04    Working with horn. drinking horns.

It would be interesting to know if the Laurels with the putdowns have  
any background in working with horn or cooking. Raising  safety  
concerns is legitimate when reproducing period techniques, but saying  
something shouldn't be done without checking into the concerns to see  
whether they are valid is just as foolish as ignoring the concerns.

And I'm still interested in an article on your work. I can handle  
photographs and diagrams as well as text. I think a public article  
with supporting evidence would be a excellent counterpoint to the  
private naysayers.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****