[Sca-cooks] Hello, Intorducing myself

Robin Carroll-Mann rcarrollmann at gmail.com
Wed Dec 9 11:51:13 PST 2009


On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 2:18 PM,  <edoard at medievalcookery.com> wrote:
> I haven't seen any medieval sources that have a recipe even remotely
> similar to what you're describing.  Turkey is of course problematic in
> that it's a new-world animal (perhaps swan or goose could be used as a
> substitute), but even putting that aside, none of the recipes I recall
> used a *whole* animal as a stuffing for another.  Chopped or ground meat
> was sometimes used.
>
> Given that my focus of research is England and France from about 1000 to
> 1500, there may be something from other regions or time periods.

*buzz*  Alex, I'll take medieval Spanish cuisine for $800, please.

I don't know if this is in the Florilegium, but I posted a message a
while back to this list about instructions in an early 15th c. carving
manual for stuffing a roast, gilded calf with whole roasted fowls,
also a sheep or goat stuffed with small birds.
http://lists.whatwg.org/pipermail/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org/2006-August/002357.html

The Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook, which is from 13th c. Muslim Spain,
has some similar recipes, including the only recipe I've seen that is
close to a turducken (ie., with multiple beasts each inside the next,
like Russian nesting dolls).

Roast Calf, which was made for the Sayyid Abu al-'Ala in Ceuta[6]

Take a young, plump lamb, skinned and cleaned. Make a narrow opening
between the thighs and carefully take out everything inside of it of
its entrails. Then put in the interior a roasted goose and into its
belly a roasted hen and in the belly of the hen a roasted pigeon and
in the belly of the pigeon a roasted starling and in the belly of this
a small bird, roasted or fried, all this roasted and greased with the
sauce described for roasting. Sew up this opening and place the ram in
a hot tannur and leave it until it is done and browned. Paint it with
that sauce and then place it in the body cavity of a calf which has
been prepared clean; sew it up and place it in the hot tannur and
leave it until it is done and browned; then take it out and present
it.
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian1.htm#Heading25

I don't know why the recipe title says "Roast Calf", but the recipe
itself begins with a lamb.  Scribal error?

Brighid ni Chiarain


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