[Sca-cooks] Beaver meat recipes

[Daniel Myers]

> -------- Original Message --------
> From: Christiane <christianetrue at earthlink.net>
> 
> Elinor Strangewayes on the East Kingdom list was asking about any
> existing medieval or Renaissance recipes for beaver meat or beaver
> tail. She's been having to trap them (nuisance on her property) and
> she's got lots of them in her freezer now.
> 
> I figured I'd ask here on the list, also out of my own curiousity;
> the Florilegium doesn't seem to have anything in the meats section. 


I didn't find any recipes in a quick search.  The closest thing I know
of are the recipes below for sea otter (probably the European otter,
/Lutra lutra/).

Source [La Varenne's Cookery, T. Scully (trans.)]:
Sea-Otter in a Court-Bouillon. Dress a sea-otter and prepare it for
putting into court-bouillon, which you make up in the same way as for
the brill. When it has cooked, serve it dry, with parsley in a napkin on
top.

Source [La Varenne's Cookery, T. Scully (trans.)]:
Sea-Otter on the Grill. Dress the sea-otter and roast it. When it is
done, make whatever sauce you like for it, provided it tastes strong
and, because those large chunks don't readily take on a flavoring, split
it or slice it on top. Simmer it in its sauce until it has soaked up
almost all of it. Then serve it, garnished with whatever you have on
hand.

- Doc