That said, the following 15th century recipe for
Stuffed Capon is actually quite unusual for already using the verb to stuff
[stuife]. In some kitchens the term must already have been in use. Otherwise it
is an exemplary recipe for a stuffed bird at the time.
|
Capoun or gos farced. Take Percely, & Swynys grece, or Sewet of a
schepe, & parboyle hem to-gederys til þey ben tendyr; þan
take harde ȝolkys of Eyroun, & choppe for-with; caste þer-to
Pouder Pepir, Gyngere, Canel, Safroun, & Salt, & grapis in tyme of ȝere,
& clowys y-nowe ; & for defawte of grapis, Oynons, fyrst wil
y-boylid, & afterward alle to-choppyd, & so stuife hym & roste
hym, & serue hym forth. And ȝif þe lust, take a litil Porke y-sode,
& al to-choppe hit smal a-mong þat oþer; for it wol be þe
better, & namely for þe Capoun.[1] |
Capon or goose stuffed. Take parsley, & swine’s grease, or suet
of a sheep, & parboil them together until they are tender; then take hard
yolks of eggs, & chop into the mix; cast thereto pepper powder, ginger, cinnamon,
saffron, & salt, & grapes in season, & cloves enough; & for
default [lack] of grapes, onions, previously boiled, & and afterwards all
chopped together, & so stuff them & roast them & serve them
forth. And if you lust, take a little sodden pork, & chop it small to add
to that other; for it will be better, & namely for the capon. |
The “hard yolks of eggs” would seem to take the place of
bread in this recipe and others. Presumably, the hard yolks would roast in such
a way as to provide bulk and absorb the more liquid elements.
The same manuscript gives a recipe for Stuffed Pig. The
recipe gives an excellent description of how the hole to the cavity was closed.
This would have been especially necessary because the pig was cooked on a spit.
|
Pigge ffarced. Take rawe egges, and drawe hem þorgh a streynour, And þen
grate faire brede; And take saffron, salt, pouder ginger, And suet of Shepe,
And do medle al togidre into a faire vessell and put hit in þe
pigge wombe Whan he is on þe brocche, And fen sowe the hole togidre; or take a
prik, and prik him togidur, And lete him roste.[2] |
Pig stuffed. Take raw eggs, and draw them through a strainer, and
then great white bread; and take saffron, salt, powdered ginger, and suet of
sheep, and do mix all together into a fair vessel and put it in the pig womb
when he is on the spit, and then sew the hole together; or take a skewer, and
skewer him together, and let him roast. |
Next is a late 16th century “receipt” for another
favorite stuffed bird. Fowling pieces had just been invented and woodcock was
now the hunters’ prey. The bird is said to be more delicious than any other if
properly prepared.
To roast Woodcocks.
FIrst pluck them, and draw out the guts, leaue the Liuer still in
them, then stuffe them with lard chopped small, and Ienoper [juniper] beryes,
with his bill put into his brest and his feet as the Snite [snipe], and so
roast him on a spit, and set vnder it a faire large pan with white wine in it,
and chopped Percely [parsley], Vinagre, salt and ginger, then make tostes of white
bread, and toste thē vpon a
grediron, so that they be not brent, thē put these tosts in a dish, and lay
your woodcoks vpon them and put your sauce ye same broth vpon thē, and so serue
them forth.[3]
The reference to positioning the bird as per the snipe is explained in the next recipe.
Roast a Snite.
With his Bill put into his brest, and his Legs turned vpward vpon
his brest.
The hunter, it seems, liked his bird better properly posed.
The late 16th century cookbook speaks often of stuff,
most of which includes the animal’s (or vegetable’s) own innards as the
dominant ingredient. Blood and/or liver, most particularly, for animals. For carrots and
cucumbers, etc., the stuff was made of the core of the featured item
extracted and mashed and mixed with animal liver and many of the same spices and other ingredients
as meat and then laid back inside and the whole cooked. These recipes,
including the dishes' own innards (together with liver and/or blood in the case of vegetables) as they
do, are all properly defined as puddings and the titles of most call
them such.
At least by the mid-17th century, Kenelme Digbie
had a recipe that used stuff as a verb; “stuff the Mutton.”[4]
But, by previous standards, the stuffing material featuring sheep’s blood means the recipe would have been a pudding. By the 1734 second edition of Mary
Kettilby’s Three Hundred Receipts of Cookery, I find the actual noun stuffing:
“Save some of the Stuffing, for Forc’d-meat”.[5]
[1] Austin,
Thomas. Two fifteenth-century cookery-books (1888). Harleian MS 279. 41.
[2]
Ibid, 82.
[3] A
book of cookrye Very necessary for all such as delight therin. Gathered by A.W
(1591). 27.
[4] Closet
of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie, Knight (1669). 163.
[5] “To
Collar a Breast of Veal,” 29.
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