| previous | next |
Title: Beef Steaks England, 15th Century
Categories: Ethnic Medieval Beef Meat Main
Yield: 4 Servings
| 1/2 | c | Parsley, finely chopped |
| 1/2 | c | Onion, finely minced |
| 4 | Hardboiled egg yolks | |
| 4 | tb | Raw beef marrow, minced OR- shredded suet |
| 1/2 | ts | Powdered ginger |
| 1/2 | ts | Powdered cinnamon |
| 1 | ts | Pepper |
| 1 | ts | Salt |
| 4 | Steaks, thinly sliced | |
| Butter for basting | ||
| SAUCE | ||
| 4 | tb | Butter |
| 1 | tb | Wine vinegar |
| 1 | tb | Verjuice (see rec.) or cider |
| 1/2 | ts | Powdered ginger |
| 1/2 | ts | Powdered cinnamon |
| 2 | Hardboiled egg yolks, mashed | |
Mash together the parsley, onion, egg yolks, marrow, ginger, cinnamon, and salt & pepper and spread on one side of the steaks, pressing down firmly. Roll the steaks like pancakes and secure with skewers. Put them in an oiled pan under the grill and grill on both sides, basting with the butter. Reserve the pan drippings. When they are done arrange them on a serving dish and keep warm while you prepare the sauce.
SAUCE Pour the butter and drippings from the grill pan into a small saucepan and add the butter, the vinegar and the verjuice or cider. Stir in the spices and thicken the sauce with the mashed egg yolks. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few seconds. Add the salt and pepper to taste and pour the sauce over the steaks through a strainer. Serve very hot.
From "Two Fifteenth-century Cookery Books" "Alows de Beef or de Mouton: "Take fayre Bef of the quyschons, & mouton of the bottes, & kytte in the manner of Stekys; than take raw Percely, and Oynyonys smal y-scredee, and yolkys of Eyroun sothe hard, and Marow or swette, and hew alle thes to-geder smal; than caste ther-on poudre of Gyngere and Saffroun tolle hem to-gederys with thin hond, and lay hem on the stekys al a-brode; and caste Salt ther-to; then rolle togederys, and put hem on a round spete, and roste hem til they ben y-now; than lay hem in a dysshe, and pore ther-on Vynegre and a lityl verious, and pouder Pepir ther-on y-now, and Gyngere, and Canelle, and a fewe yolkys of hard Eyroun."
_Seven Centuries of English Cooking_ Grove Press, London, 1992 Compiled and updated by Maxime de la Falaise. Typos by Jeff Pruett (except in the original).
| previous | next |