[Sca-cooks] Whale meat

edoard at medievalcookery.com edoard at medievalcookery.com
Tue Jan 19 08:21:50 PST 2010



> -------- Original Message --------
> From: "Vandy J. Simpson" 
> 
> Greetings.
>  So tell me, does anyone have any favoured recipes for whale? I'm primarily interested in early period/Norse food,
> but realize that in that case I could probably just throw bits in kettle over the fire. I think I'd like to optimize
> this one time experience!
> 
>  I understand there are probably some 'traditional' Norwegian recipes, but thus far I'm only finding vague hints.
> 
>  Has anyone tried this already? Suggestions, clues, caveats?


No favorite recipes or the like, but I am rather envious.


A quick medieval cookbook search turned up only two references to whale:

On a fish day, when the peas are cooked, you should have onions which
have been cooked as long as the peas in a pot and like the bacon cooked
separately in another pot, and as with the bacon water you may nourish
and serve the peas, in the same way; on fish days, when you have put
your peas on the fire in a pot, you must put aside your minced onions in
another pot, and with onion water serve and nourish the peas; and when
all is cooked fry the onions and put half of them in the peas, and the
other half in the liquid from the peas of which I spoke above, and then
add salt, And if on this fish day or in Lent there is salted whale-meat,
you must do with the whale-meat as with the bacon on a meat day.
[Le Menagier de Paris]

GRASPOIS This is salted whale, and should be sliced raw and cooked in
water like bacon; and serve with peas.
[Le Menagier de Paris]


Maybe if you have enough you can salt some of it.  ;-)

- Doc




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