Search Results

This is an excerpt from The Prince of Transylvania's Court Cookbook
(Hungary, 16th c.)
The original source can be found at MedievalCookery.com

Boar with carnation sauce. Scorch the boar really well like we did before, same with its tusk. Once done, wash it a few tames in warm water so that its skin will be white; do the same with cutting the head and burning the hair. But slice its nose up to its forehead. Take out its sides, back and other meats as well. Once cutting the meat, cook them in salted water. Once half cooked, wash it on a clean table or pot; mix the water with blood, wine and vinegar if cooking for a lord. If you're cooking for a prince, don't use water; if you have water from boiling beef, then pour that instead, it will have a better taste. Make sauce according to how much meat you are going to cook. Put black bread into the sauce and cook them together, add some honey while it's being cooked. Meanwhile, boil the meat until tender and prepare the sauce; pass through a strainer the boiling water and put it on the fire. Add some spices, honey and vinegar while it's on the fire. Do the same with the pears, boil some almonds and raisins, you can add pine nuts too, add some spices to the boar meat; then add carnation, black pepper and let it cook with the spices, add a bit of saffron, but don't let it be too black, it should have a bit of a color. And don't cut the boar's neck meat, let it stay in its hard skin. If you toast it on a skewer, it will be even better. Slice some apples if you want; add spices the way your lord likes it. If cooking for someone that doesn't eat bloody animals, then do what I told you, except don't pour blood on the water, sauce. Break some walnuts, then slice some apples, onions. Pour clean water on top in a pot and cook it; add black pepper and carnation to the meat. Pour the cooked apple and walnuts to the meat. Once it's spiced up and cooked, let it stand for a little while, for it will give it a better taste, but don't let it linger for too long. When serving it, choose the meats. Give princes the meat they deserve, the hunter meat is the rabbit, so remember this if your lord asks for it. If you want to cook the boar's head and sides for the prince. It is a bit different. After the boxwood: Put sweet, honey scones next to it, but you can do so without. Make the sauce according to this. Add black pepper to really good vinegar and pour it underneath it. If you've learned how to, you can cover its teeth in gold. Cut out its tongue and cover it in gold if you want and put it in its nose. This is how I saw it with Christian princes, I've cooked them in sweet wine as well. If cooking for a simple lord, you may cook it in sour wine or vinegar; if for a noble, you may cook it in watered wine. When serving it, pour some vinegar on top because lords want it, if cooking for the poor just use salted water. For in the courts of princes, they don't disturb the chef or the butler, if the prince wants something, his steward will bring it. If you cook the boar with black sauce, add water, vinegar and some black pepper. From this note, you can cook for princes, lords and nobles. If you want to make pate out of the boar's meat. Whether warm or cold, do it like so: if you want to make an old pate, leave the meat as old as you want; for they make the old pate for weddings and such. Prepare the roast meat like so: clean it, put it in hot water; but don't cook it, wash it, add some bacon then cook it. Put it on a skewer, roast it, then remove the skewer, put it in a clean pot, add some carnation and black pepper. Prepare the dough from bread flour, prepare it with sage or pine nuts, or marjoram, all of them are good. Cover it like I told you to, don't let the roast meat's broth drain. Do the same with the spices; for there are lots of pates, cover it with pasta dough, and your lord won't know what's inside. Give it color: if cooking stag in pate, draw its picture on the cover with your knife. Your lord is to recognize it. If you can't, cut the stag's nail and put it on top and your lord shall recognize it. Do the same with the deer and hare pate. Once done, cook it in a furnace or baking sheet; but don't burn it, it needs no other cooking, cook only its dough, for the roast boar will cook inside then as well. When serving it, cut it open so your lord doesn't have to. And if you want your lord to have a good time, put lemon in a plate, and lemon broth and cook it so it will be hot when serving. Cut open its cover like I told you to so that its smell will surround the house. If you want to cook the meat further, poach it, add some bacon, cook it on a roast, warm up the plate, add some black pepper and serve it to your lord.