[Sca-cooks] Venison, baked or roasted

Alex Clark alexbclark at pennswoods.net
Wed Aug 19 22:38:47 PDT 2009


I have a few questions about the recipe "To bake venison" in the new TI. 
Unfortunately, for such a short recipe a few questions put almost 
everything into question.

Firstly, in its original context the recipe is between recipes for pie 
and roast venison. The recipes in general are not well sorted, so I 
would certainly not suppose just from this that the baked venison has 
something to do with pie, but it is clear that a distinction is being 
made between baking and roasting. It is my understanding that the usual 
way to bake would have been in a crust, and not in what modern people 
call a roasting pan. Perhaps that is why the pan is still said to be for 
roasting, even though it is used in an oven?

In addition, there are references to venison pasties at least since the 
15th century. Might this baked venison have been otherwise known as a pasty?

Finally, the original recipe says "if the Venison be lene lard it 
through with bakon." The modern interpretation calls for the bacon to be 
laid on top, but doesn't "lard it through" mean to thread lardons 
through the meat?

While I have doubts about the recipe, I don't mean to deprecate it from 
a position of certain knowledge. Can anyone here bring some better 
proven facts to bear on these questions?

-- 
Henry of Maldon/Alex Clark



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