[Sca-cooks] Stuffed camel, anyone

[Kathleen Madsen]

Ah, yes.  Aurelia's camel was quite good!  It was
interesting too how her recipe changed over time. 
Originally the camel was supposed to be pit-roasted
but it eventually transmuted into a type of stew.  I
would have liked to try the roasted version so you
could get a true taste of the meat, as a stew the meat
ended up being more of a fallen apart/shredded
consistence like you would find in a bbq dish.

Eibhlin, former Baroness of that wild and crazy group.

> 
> There was a feast last fall that i just could not
> miss, because real 
> camel meat was on the menu and i'd never had camel
> before. So i can 
> say from experience that it didn't taste or smell
> anything like any 
> sort of beef i've ever had.
> 
> I chatted with the cook afterwards. She's a
> terrifically enthusiastic 
> person who does most of her research on period uses
> of... mmm... pee 
> and poo, and other materials and processes unusual
> in most of the 
> modern US. Talk about recycling! And her classes are
> NOT to be missed 
> since she imparts an amazing amount of well
> organized information in 
> a thoroughly engaging, intriguing, and entertaining
> manner. And since 
> she's always gathering more info, there's always
> something new, so 
> they're worth going to more than once.
> 
> Anyway, Aurelia told me that the recipe directed the
> cooks to brown 
> the meat first, and she said that minute the camel
> meat hit the pan, 
> it smelled like caramelized, even burnt, sugar. It
> did have a rather 
> burnt odor when it was served, but i dug in anyway,
> and it did not in 
> the slightest taste burnt.
> 
> The texture was rather more tender than the usual
> muscle meat, since 
> the hump is not hard working muscle, but it was not
> unpleasant. It 
> was a interesting flavor, quite different from any
> other animal meat 
> i've eaten. No, it did not taste like chicken :-)
> But it didn't taste 
> like beef either. It was much milder than goat, and
> to me more 
> pleasant than lamb or kid. I assume it was from a
> young camel, as it 
> wasn't gamy. I'd certainly be willing to eat it
> again.
> 
> -- 
> Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
> the persona formerly known as Anahita