[Sca-cooks] Cooked Fried Chicken

[Stefan li Rous]

Galefridus mentioned:
<<< I attended an event yesterday at which I spent all of my time in the artisans row area. My particular station was "cooking with period heat sources and cookware." I set up several braziers and a bunch of soapstone and earthenware pots, provided a selection of spices, herbs, and other basic ingredients, and invited folks to bring food try their hand at cooking medievally. Sadly, nobody took up the invitation, but I still had a blast. >>>

I would love the chance to try out soapstone pots and earthenware pots. There have been some opportunities at recent Pennsics, but they started after I was unable to go to Pennsic.

However, without some preparation or at least some recipes to go by, I’d have trouble making use of the pots provided. Some of you may have favorite period recipes memorized. I don’t. I suspect many of the folks at your event might be in the same situation.

<<< I cooked one my favorite recipes (Cooked Fried Chicken, from the Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook, http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian1.htm#Heading24), handed out samples, talked with lots of folks, and chatted with a number of the other artisans.

One of the things I like about the recipe I demonstrated is that it's extraordinarily easy. It has become my go-to recipe for showing folks how simple it can be to cook a tasty, historically accurate main course with relatively little specialized equipment. I've cooked this recipe at least six times, every one them at an SCA event using period equipment and ingredients. >>>

The original recipe that you linked to is:
<<< Cooked Fried Chicken

Cut up the chicken, making two pieces from each limb; fry it with plenty of fresh oil; then take a pot and throw in four spoonfuls of vinegar and two of murri naqî' and the same amount of oil, pepper, cilantro, cumin, a little garlic and saffron. Put the pot on the fire and when it has boiled, put in the fried chicken spoken of before, and when it is done, then empty it out and present it. >>>

It talks about cutting up the limbs into handy pieces, but what about the rest of the chicken. Galefridus did you use a whole chicken or perhaps breast chunks or chicken limbs (which can be bought as just that in a package). The whole chicken doesn’t seem to work so well for demos.

What did you use for “murri naqi”?

Am I correct in thinking that the frying in oil just browns the outside of the chicken pieces and it needs to finish cooking in vinegar/murri/oil and spice mixture to finish cooking?

 Yes, although “fried chicken” to me os fried in breading of some sort, it does sound interesting.

Stefan
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THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****