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| rare, medium or done? black & blue or Pittsburgh style? 'A Chicken in Every Pot' airline chicken | chicken cacciatora chicken chasseur chicken Cordon Bleu chicken Francese chicken franks chicken fried steak chicken Kiev chicken Marengo chicken nuggets chicken parm chicken salad chicken sandwich (fast food) chicken Tartare chicken tikka masala chicken Vesuvio chicken Wellington Christmas goose city chicken confit coq au vin corn dogs & Pronto Pups corned beef | coronation chicken country captain chicken crab croquettes cube steak deep fried turkey deer donkers dormice duck duck a l'orange finger steaks foie gras frankfurters fried chicken goats gravy Guinea fowl ham head cheese horsemeat | hot dogs Irish stew Jamaican Jerk jambalaya jerky kebabs King Ranch chicken Kobe beef lamb lamb & mint Lebanon balogna lobster London broil marrow bones meatloaf & meatballs minced meats & hash mincemeat pies mole poblano mutton mutton birds New England Boiled Dinner osso buco pastrami paupiettes | Peking duck pemmican picnic ham pigeon pigs in Blankets porcupines pork & applesauce pork & beans pork & sauerkraut pork steak pot roast pulled pork Salisbury steak sausages of Italy scallops shark steaks sheep shrimp Sloppy joes SPAM | spiral carved ham squab squirrel steak au Poivre steak Diane steak Tartare Swedish meatballs sweetbreads Swiss steak tempura Tetrazzini Toad-in-the-hole tri-tip steak Turducken Turkey & cranberry sauce turkey & dressing turkey bacon unturkey venison wiener schnitzel zoo animals |
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'rare,' counterbalancing 'done' describing the doneness of meat, descendsfrom the word 'rear,' meaning imperfectly cooked or underdone. The original culinary use described eggs. The earliest printreference to the word 'rare' relating to meat cookery is circa 1615. This early reference notes this stage is unwholesome [Markam].
Late 19th century food scientists examined meat doneness, offering temperature/time recommendations according to type of meat, cut, and method of cooking. Like their 17th century predecessors, early 20th cooking texts warn against rare meat. Rare vs.Underdone (opposite of Done?) are noted [Rorer 1902]. Medium/medium rare were introduced about this time. Meat thermometers (1930s) took the guesswork out of judging doneness. Black and blue (aka'Pittsburgh style' steak surfaces in print in the 1970s.
Oxford English Dictionary
RARE
Etymology: Originally a variant of rear adj.1 As a result of the lowering influence of r on preceding vowels in southern varieties of English, rear remained homophonous with rare adj.1 at least as late as the 17th cent. and remains so in some regional varieties. This gave rise to the variant rare, which retained the early modern pronunciation in standard English (compare the current pronunciation of e.g. wear v.1 and pear n. and the variants at these entries). Compare also rare v.REAR
a. Originally only of eggs: slightly or imperfectly cooked, underdone. Also in extended use. Cf. rare adj.2 Now regional.In quot. a1450: (of sins) unconfessed (obs.).b. As complement with verbs. Obs.c1150 (OE) Peri Didaxeon 23 Sule hym supan ?ebrddan hrere ?eran and huni? to. 1528 T. Paynell tr. Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. F j b, Poched egges are better than egges rosted hard or rere. 1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth (1870) xii. 264 Let the egge be newe, and roste hym reare. 1607 J. Harington tr. J. de Mediolano Englishmans Docter sig. A7, Egges newly laid, are nutritiue to eat, And rosted Reere are easie to digest. 1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis viii. 167 Coole endiffe, radish, new egs rosted reare, And late-prest cheese; which earthen dishes beare. 1700 Dryden tr. Ovid Baucis & Philemon in Fables 159 New-laid Eggs, which Baucis busie Care Turn'd by a gentle Fire, and roasted rear. With participial adjectives, as rear-boiled, rear-brede (see brede v.1), rear-dressed, rear-poached, rear-roasted, etc. Obs.lOEHrerenbrden [see sense a]. c1150Hrere brd [see sense a]. 1542 A. Boorde Compend. Regyment Helth xiii. sig. G.iii, Newe reare rosted egges be good in the mornynge. 1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliot (rev. ed.) at Ouum, Sorbile ouum, a reere rosted egge. 1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health ii. f. 54v, The hearbe [Eiebright]?eaten euerie day in a reare potched Egge. 1586 T. Bright Treat. Melancholie xxxix. 261 Eggs?reare dressed somwhat. 1626 Bacon Sylva Sylvarum 53 Eggs (so they be Potched, or Reare boyled). 1656 P. Heylyn Surv. Estate France 260 A dish of Egges, rear-roasted by the flame. 1722 D. Turner Art of Surg. I. v. 384 Let him be fed with thin Panada, Water and Barly-grewels, Chicken or other small Broath, Harts-horn Jelly, sometimes a rear poach'd or a new laid Egg. 1754 A. Berthelson Eng. & Danish Dict. at Rere A rere-boiled egg.
RARE
Of meat, esp. beef: lightly cooked; underdone. Cf. medium rare at medium adj. 3d.Formerly often regarded as an Americanism (see quot. 1861), although it was current in English writing from the 18th cent. and in many English dialects (cf. rear adj.1).1615[implied in: G. Markham Eng. Hus-wife in Countrey Contentments ii. 54 To know when meate is rosted enough, for as too much rareness is vnwholsome, so too much drinesse is not nourishing. [at rareness n.2] 1776 G. Colman Spleen ii. 26 For which reason they leave the food without any juices at all. Without them, Sir, instead of beef or mutton, you might as well eat mahogany?. Eat your meat as rare as possible, Sir. 1823 C. Lamb Christ's Hosp. in Elia 28 The same flesh, rotten-roasted or rare, on the Tuesdays. 1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. II. v. 289 The meat was in all cases a little rare at its centre. 1861 G. F. Berkeley Eng. Sportsman 26 The wood-cock and snipe?should be underdone or what the Americans call rare. 1904 N.Y. Sun 6 Aug. 5 The waiter took his order for a sirloin rare. 1911 E. Ferber Dawn O'Hara ii. 20 I've devoured rare porterhouse and roast beef day after day for weeks.
MEDIUM
d. Of meat: cooked to a degree between well done and rare. Also in extended use. Also in medium done, medium rare (cf. rare adj.2 1).1901 G. Ade 40 Mod. Fables 267 He was accustomed to Bolt his Food,and let the Fried Sweets come along with the Medium Sirline. 1939 P. K. Newill Good Food iv. 72 Beef?medium?2225 [minutes per pound].
20th century USA 'working' definitons
[1919]
'-And when you sit down to a big, thick, juicy, medium rare steak, flanked by some delicately browned potatoes...'
---display ad, Wilson's Certified Catsup and Chili Sauce, Wall Street Journal, May 19, 1919 (p. 8)
[1932]
'Stage to Which Meat is Cooked, Rare, Medium and Well Done. The longer a piece of meat is cooked the more the interior colorchanges from pink or red to gray,and the greater the cooking losses. Some meats like veal and pork are cooked well done, while beefmay be cooked rare. There is no definate stage between a rare and meidum-done piece of meat or between a medium well-done one and a well-done one. The meat passes from one stage to another gradually, so that there is no definite end point. Heat penetrates slowlyintp the minterior of a large piece of meat, and the center of the meat, unless very much over-cooked, never attains as high a temperature as the meat near the surface. Rare meat. Grindly and Sprague have suggested, for convenience, that meat with an interior temperatue at its center of 60 degrees C. or below be called rare. Such meats are juicier than meats cooked well done. Nearly allthe interior may be a bright red color or only a small portion around the center of the meat may be red. The extent oruniformity of the red color depends upon the cooking temprature...Rare meat also has more of the original meat flavor than well-donemeat, for not so much of the fluids and extractives giving flavor to the meat have been lost. Medium well-done meat. Grindleyand Sprague have suggested that meat that has reached an inner temprature of 60 to 70 degrees C. be called medium welldone. There the color also varies with the temperature of cooking, the degree to which the meat has been ripened, and in someinstances with the age of the animal and the kind of meat. Rare and medium well-done meats are probably more often associated with the color of the cooked meat. Since the color of the cooked meat varies with different conditions, the division into rare, medium well-donevaries on the basis of inner temperature of the meat is only an arbitrary one and not always satisfactory. Most people wouldbe agreed that medium well-done meat should ot be a deep red or pink, but should show some pink color. Well-done meat. Meat that has a uniform gray color throughout the enteire interior of the meat is usually called well done. With veal, this stage of cookery issometimes reached before or by the time the inner temperature has reached 71 degrees C. This may also be true of beef thathas ripened sufficiently...But to some persons the term well done is associated with the degree of cookery, that is, the separation of the muscle fibers due to formation of gelatin from the connective tissue. It may also refer to the dryness of the meat and theloss of juices. The meat may be cooked until it reaches a temperature far above 71 degrees C., often from 80 to 85 degreesC. for roasts and from 95 to 99 degrees for braised meat.'
---Experimental Cookery, Bell Lowe [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1932 (p. 198-199)
[1936]
'Chart for roasting meat by the modern method...Thermometer readings: Beef, rare, 140 degrees; medium, 160 degrees; well done, 170 degrees.'---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs Merrill:Indianapolis IN] 1936 (p. 201)
[NOTE: this chart is not included in the original 1931 edition.]
[1939]
Prudence Penny's Cookbook's chapter on cooking meat offers broiling chart (p. 55) specifying length of time to achieverare/medium/well done beefsteaks (by steak thickness). Medium and well done times for lamb chops. Well done times (only) for veal cutlets, veal chops, mutton chops, ham, pork chops and bacon.
[1942]
'To obtain the epicure's rare beef, the internal temprature of the cut during roasting should be only 123 degreesFahrenheit. For medium-done it is 132 degrees and for well-done it is 148 to 154. These figures are readings of thermometers placedat the center of the cut and read while the neat is cooking. The temperature there is lower than in the oven.'
---'Cook Meat Slowly, Say Texas Experts,' New York Times, December 22, 1942 (p. 29)
Black & Blue steak
Hot crusty sear (black) on the outside, cold (blue) on the inside, this steak 'doneness' results from cooking over intense heat for a brief period. When and where did this method of cooking steak occur? James Beard's notes on steak 'doneness' [1954, 1961] do not reference 'black and blue.' Chef Paul Proudhomme's 'blackened' craze circa mid-1980s may have gently mentored the 'black and blue' steak. The difference, of course,is that Proudhomme's 'blackened' resulted from fiery flavors in addition to cooking methods. While print evidence confirms the phrase was used in mid-1970s USA, the actual practice became popular twenty years later. Some folks call thisPittsburgh-style steak.
What is blue?
The term 'bleu' (blue) takes two meanings regarding protein cookery:
'Bleu (to cook au bleu).--Method applied to freshwater fish, mainly to trout. This method consists of plunging the fish, absolutelyfresh, if not actually alive, into a boiling court-bouillon...cooked in this way, the skin of the fish, eslecially of trout, takes on a slightly bluish color.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961 (p. 151)
'Bleu meat, cooked at the surface but just warmed within, remains relatively unchanged--soft to the touch, like the muscle between thumband forefinger when it's completely relaxed, with little or no colored juice (some colorless fat may melt out).'
---On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Harold McGee, completely revised and updated [Scribner:New York] 2004 (p. 154)
Black & blue steak
[1975]
'...The Steer Palace restaurant in Madison Square Garden...you simply have to be a glutton for the best steaks in town, charcoal broiled over hot coals to black and blue perfection.'
---'New In New York,' New York Times, October 31, 1975 (p. 66)
[NOTES: (1) Cooking method for 'black and blue' steak may approximate contemporary definition. (2)The Steer Palace, a Longchamps restaurant, opened November 20, 1968. (3) Madison Square Garden was/is famous for indoor sports events (ice hockey, boxing, wrestling) where competitors came out 'black and blue.' (4) Raw steak compresses are 'home remedies' for treating 'black' eyes (bruised, black & blue).]
[1991]
'THAT burned, crusty taste of my Dad's grilling was one of my first taste memories,' says Chris Schlesinger, owner of the East Coast Grill in Cambridge, Mass. 'And Southern barbecue - that's really unique outdoor cooking. It's a kind of smoked-braising, slow-cooking method. No other country in the world has the same way of doing barbecue.'...The menu ranges from a Thai-inspired dish like Steamed Clams with Lemongrass and Chilies de Arbol to Grilled Big Black-and-Blue Steak for Two and many kinds of grilled fish.'
---'America Gathers 'Round The Grill,' Phyllis Hanes, Christian Science Montitor, June 27, 1991 (p. 14)
[1998]
'Crustiness is a culinary come-on. Its latest incarnationmay have begunwith blackend and grilled food, though its reputation was sealed the moment the word crust became the only acceptable modifier for the word bread. There is a certain thrill to working through the difficult to find something tender and pliant. It makes eating---among other things---worth the effort. Contrast, of coruse, is also part of a crust's charm. Depending on the heft of the crust, the encounter begins with a crackle. The subsequent taste is an intimate melding of teeth and tongue, brittle and soft. A tough epidermis both insulates and protects the life it surrounds. Crusted things tolerate hight heat--a boon for those seeking juiceat first slice. A black-and-blue streak forms a primitive crust. Subjected to a blast of heat, the meat caramelizes into a crunchy surface, which, in turn, encases thedrippings. Self-containment invites respect, or at least adds to the mystery...you feel the need to bread the barrier...'
---'The Upper Crust,' Molly O'Neill, New York Times, September 27, 1998 (p. SM95)
This famous USA political campaign slogan originated in 16th century France. It is attributed to Henri IV. The promise remains constant. Prosperity means having the pleasure of good food in sufficient quantity. This phrase was revived in the 1928 USA presidential campaign. Although it is attributed to Herbert Hoover, this candidate never made this specific promise. It was a slogan created and promoted by his party.
Why the chicken?
In Henri IV's time, any kind of a meat was considered luxury. Before modern poultry methods raising rendered fowl inexpensive, chickens were prized for their eggs. Tough old hens were consumed when they ceased production. Only the wealthiest people could afford the luxury of consuming tender young chickens. A survey of historic USA prices confirms chickens were generally more expensive than beef and pork through World War II. A Sunday Chicken Dinner was very much a prized family event.
Phrase origin & evolution
'King Henry IV of France (1553-1610) was the champion phrasemaker of his era...as a result of his statement 'Je vieux qu'il n'y ait si pauvre paysan en mon royaume qui'il n'ait tous les diamances sa poule au pot' ('I wish that there would not be as peasant so poor in ally my realm who would not have a chicken in his pot every Sunday'), he was given the sobriquet of le Roi de al poule au pot ('King of the chicken in the pot'). Herbert Hoover never said or quoted it. What he did say, on October 22, 1928, was 'The slogan of progress is changing from the 'Full Dinner Pail' to the full garage.' The former president's secretary wrote to quotation-etymologist George Seldes in 1958: 'No one has ever been able to find, in Mr. Hoover's speeches or writings, of which a very careful file has been kept over the years, the expression 'a chicken in every pot.' Mr. Hoover also never promised or even expressed his hope of two cars in every garage.' The repopularization of the phrase, and Hoover's supposed connection with it, can be traced to a republican campaign flyer of 1928 titled 'A Chicken in Every Pot.' Democratic candidate Al Smith, in a Boston campaign speech, held up the flyer and quoted from it: 'Republican prosperity has reduced hours and increased earning capacity.' And then it goes on to say Republican prosperity has put a chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard to boot...'By 1932, reminders of promises of prosperity were particularly embarrassing to Republicans...FDR loved the misquotation and never let it go...In 1960 John F. Kennedy misquoted the phony quotation in Bristol, Tennessee...'Two chickens for every pot.'
---Safire's Political Dictionary, William Safire, updated and expanded edition [Oxford University Press:New York] 2008 (p. 115)
[NOTE: The Hoover Presidential Archives and Museum confirms this quote is erroneously attributed to candidate Hoover ] ?
'Full Dinner Pail'
'Full dinner pail. Symbol of prosperity, turn-of-the century equivalent of a cornucopia, or horn of plenty; slogan of the 1900 William McKinley campaign...The dinner pail had long been a symbol in the growing labor movement. Thomas Nast used it in an 1880 Harper's Weekly cartoon, and Theodore Roosevelt wrote a friend in 1894: 'I hear all around that the working men intend to vote for 'the policy of the full dinner pail'...'. In 1928 Herbert Hoover tried to update the phrase, holding the symbol for the 'party of prosperity' : 'The slogan of progress is changing from the full dinner pail to the full garage.'..Since the Depression, most Republicans have stayed away from the symbols of prosperity in campaigning, though they have used the word prosperity itself; Democrats have hammered away at the 'Chicken in every pot' (which Hoover never said), denying Republicans the full dinner pail as a symbol. Since dinner pails are blue-collar rather than white-collar, and the packaging of food has changed, the symbol may be expected to reappear as nutritious, portable snack.'
---Safire's Political Dictionary, William Safire, updated and expanded edition [Oxford University Press:New York] 2008 (p. 268)
In the news...
[1900]
'Editor Post: I have learned that the Republican National Committee has adopted as its campaign button the idea sprung by that funny paper, Judge, stating 'Four Years More of the Full Dinner Pail,'...It only goes to show that the Republican party is making its appeal to the stomach instead of the minds and hearts of the voter...They do not seek to preserve liberty or to promote the interests of mankind; but instead they promise to fill his stomach with a full dinner pail.'
[1928]
'If prohibition and religion are made the issues in the coming presidential campaign it will not be the fault of the Republicans. Prosperity, or the old 'full dinner pail' cry of McKinley, is to be the Republican bid for victory.'
---'Full Dinner Pail is Urged by Work as G.O.P. Slogan,' Washington Post, July 7, 1928 (p. 1)
'A Chicken for Every Pot...Republican prosperity has reduced hours and increased earning capacity, silenced discontent, put the proverbial 'chicken in every pot.' And a car in every backyard, to boot. It has raised living standards and lowered living costs...Vote for Hoover.'
---display ad, Republican National Committee, New York Times, October 30, 1928 (p. 23)
'Let us look at that page ad inserted by the Republican National Committee entitled 'A Chicken For Every Pot,...I wonder what idea the man who invented a thing like this had in his mind?...Can you imagine in your mind's eye a man at $17.30 a week going out to a chicken dinner in his own automobile?'
---Stenographic Report of Smith's Boston Speech Answering Hoover on 'State Socialism',' New York Times, October 25, 1928 (p. 2)
[NOTE: Al Smith was the Democratic candidate for president in 1928.]
[1932]
'Hoover performance' in time of distress in a place of the 'prosperity' chorus of four years ago, with its variations on 'two chickens for every pot and two cars in every garage.'
---'Republicans Move for Plank on Gold,' New York Times, January 13, 1932 (p. 1)
'The Republican and Democratic conventions have met and made history. Men and women made long frothy speeches minimizing the vices and magnifying the virtues of favorite son. There were the same old promises of a job for every man; a chicken in every pot; and an automobile in every back yard.'
---'Men & Things,' Elijah Hodges, Philadelphia Tribune, July 7, 1932 (p. 9)
'If no plank of the Democratic platform can ever be carried out, such failure could not bring as much disaster upon the country as has the 1928 Republican promise of two cars in every garage, a chicken in every pot and poverty abolished forever.'
---'Letters to the Editor: Slogans and Promises,' W. P. Meaken, New York Times, October 27, 1932 (p. 18)
'Some of the statements and prophesies which President Herbert Hoover made in 1928 during his Presidential campaign are now being recalled by his opponents, and contrasts are being drawn between the promises of his administration and the fulfillment. The Republican assurance of 'a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage' is repeated often in sarcastic Democratic speeches. This promise is usually attributed to President Hoover himself. It was not made by him, however, in any of his campaign speeches. But is was displayed prominently in a paid advertisement which the Republican campaign committee inserted in a number of newspapers. In large letters at the top of this advertisement were the words 'A Chicken for Every Pot.' This idea was expanded in the body of the advertisement, one paragraph of which read, 'Republican prosperity has reduced hours and increased earning capacity, silenced discontent, put the proverbial 'chicken in every pot.' And a car in every backyard, to boot' Though President Hoover made optimistic statements, such as 'The slogan of progress is changing from the full dinner pail to the full garage,' he was not personally responsible for that other Republican password, 'A Chicken in every pot. And a car in every backyard, to boot.'
---'Chicken-in-Every-Pot' Slogan Used by Republican Committee,' New York Times, October 30, 1932 (p. XX12)
[1970]
'Plentiful foods for March include peanuts, canned pears, rice and broiler-fryers. The fact that plentiful poultry is reasonably priced is a boon to budget-conscious homemakers. But you know it hasn't been too many years ago when chicken was considered quite a luxury, to be served for 'company' or Sunday family dinners. Chicken was used as a symbol of prosperity in Herbert Hoover's presidential campaign. A 'chicken in every pot and a car in every garage' was the slogan.'
---'Chicken Has Long and Noble Heritage,' Elinor Lee, Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1970 (p. J30)
Airline chicken can be several things, depending upon who you talk to. It can be a fancy cut, aspecialpresentation, or a negative appelation directed at inflight foodservice. The airline connection?Again, severaltheories. These range from practical (chicken travels well, this cut of chicken fits neatly into an airline tray/dishcompartments) toartistic (it looks like it's about to take off).
Culinary professionals generally agree modern 'Airline Chicken' descends from traditional European cuts. Most notably'Hotel Cut,' 'French Cut,' and 'Supreme.' The airline version leaves the meat on the first joint of the wing. Traditional European cuts are bone only. All version are skin-on.
'Chicken had been a mainstay forinflight foodservice since foods were first offered to passengers in the 1930s. Fried chicken was one of the few foods that could be held hot over long time periods and still be of an acceptable quality. Prepared other ways, chicken still heldup much better than many other protein products such as beef or pork. It could be cooked, held, chilled, frozen, rethermalizedand still be tender and moist if properly cooked and plated. Idle Wild farms' development of the oven-ready stuffed rock cornishgame hen brought product consistency and a gourmet quality to the use of poultry products for inflight meals.'
---Inflight Catering Management, Audrey C. McCool [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1995 (p. 36)
According to the National Chicken Council 'The term 'airline chicken breast' first becamepopular in the1960s when major commercial airlines included full service meals on air flights that were ofsufficientlength/time to serve such meals. Airlines required a relatively small breast portion for a numberofreasonsand kept part of the wing on to give a presentation that made the serving portion appear to bebigger than itactually was and also to give it a certain differentiation from the non-airline breast. It was andstillis arelatively costly product. My guess is a chef on PanAm or similar top airline developed theconcept andother airlines quickly followed. Few, if any, domestic airlines still have 'meals' that include'airline chickenbreasts.' Some caterers have this type of product for special occasion events. The Council adds:'Theterm 'airline chicken' goes back a long way. It used to be called a 'hotel cut.'
OTHER OBSERVATIONS:
'Country music fans, take note: Statler chicken has nothing to do with those singing brothersfrom Virginia, who retired in 2002. This Statler a term for a boneless chicken breast with thedrumette attached is decidedly urban, with its roots in Boston's Hotel Statler, built in 1927 byE.M. Statler.'
---STATLER CHICKEN,' JOE YONAN, Boston Globe, Nov 2, 2005, pg. G.3
[NOTE: Perhaps the Boston Statler Hilton is the 'hotel' referenced by the National ChickenCouncil?]
'Judging from the friendly and casual atmosphere, I suspect that no one ever is allowed to feelembarrassed for notknowing that airline chicken is the European way of preparing chicken breast. On the plate, thechicken might lookpoised for flight, with its wing drum bone left intact for extra flavor.'
---'A family restaurant, different breed,' Catherine Quillman, Philadelphia Inquirer,February 22, 2004 ( p. L2)
'We were expecting it to come on a little plastic tray if it's airline chicken,' one of mycompanionstold thewaitress.'Do you see how the chicken breast is spread out to look like wings?' the waitressasked. 'That's whythey call it airline chicken.'
---'Dining With Dennis Getto Simple steakhouse approach works well for Jimmy D's,' Dennis Getto,Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 14, 1997, Cue (Pg. 16)
As for 'airline' chicken . . . well, its not quite what you'd find in United's friendly skies. We'rethankful forthat. The sobriquet describes the way the chicken breast is displayed. Sliced down the middle, thebreast issplayed out with the 'drumstick' ends of the wings poised for takeoff.
---'Creole Cafe a Welcome Additin to Monroe Street,' Michael Muckian,CapitalTimes (Madison, WI.), September 27, 1997, (p. 4D).
About inflight catering.
BaconAncient Romans gave us ham. Anglo-Saxons gave us bacon. It is the food of kings andcommon folk. Tasty, versatile, economical and ubiquitous.Brown N' Serve (precooked) bacon was introduced to the American public in the 1960s. USA consumption plummeted in when cholesterol was 'discovered' and nitrates caused a stir. Turkey bacon surfaced in the 1990s. People today are redisovering the joys of bacon. In moderation. Bacon pairs perfectly with sweet(chocolate, cookies, ice cream)and to savory (potato chips, salad dressings, Bloody Marys). The possibilities areinfinite!
What is bacon?
'Bacon. The side of a pig cured with salt in a single piece. The word originally meant pork of anytype, freshor cured, but this older usage had died out by the 17th century. Bacon, in the modern sense, ispeculiarly aproduct fo the British Isles, or is produced abroad to British methods...Preserved pork, includingsides saltedto make bacon, held a place of primary importance in the British diet in past centuries....Britishpigs for bothfresh and salted meat had been much improved in the 18th century. The first large-scale baconcuringbusiness was set up in the 1770s by John Harris in Wiltshire...Wiltshire remains the mainbacon-producingarea of Britain...'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.47)
Why call it 'bacon?'
'Bacon. Etyomologically, bacon means meat from the 'back of an animal'. The word appears tocome froma prehistoric Germanic base *bak-, which was also the source of English back. Germanic bakkonpassedinto Frankish bako, whcih French borrowed as bacon. English acquired the word in the twelfthcentury, andseems at first to have used it as a synonym for the native term flitch, 'side of cured pig meat'. Bythefourteenth century, however, we find it being applied to the cured meat itself...'
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.14-5)
British bacon
'Hams and bacon were either dry-salted or barrelled in their own brine. The Romans recognizedham (perna) and shoulder bacon (petaso) as two separate meats, and different recipes forpreparing them for the table. According to Apicius both were to be first boiled with dried figs,butham could then be baked in a flour with paste, while bacon was to be browned and served with awine and pepper sauce...Bacon fat or lard was in particular favour among the Anglo-Saxons whoused it for cooking and also as a dressing for vegetables...[Medieval] Country folk ate their baconwith pease or bean pottage or with 'joutes'.'
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson[Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 74, 77 & 88)
'...the most important products from the pig were bacon and ham. Once the pig was ready to bebutchered,the tueur skillfully cut the larger joints to be put aside for salting, or more commmonly in France,drying intohams and sides of 'lard' (bacon). Bacon was the cheapest, most popular pork product, and amainstay ofthe European peasant diet for centuries. William Ellis, one of many sixteenth andseventeeth-centuryEnglish rural gentlemen who produced books on agricultural and domestic improvements, wrotein 1750that 'Where there is Bread and Bacon enough, there is no Want....In the Northern Parts ofEngland,thousands of families eat little other Meat than Bacon; and indeed, in the southern parts, morethan everlive on Bacon, or Pickled Pork.' Some flitches of bacon were salted and then plain dried whilethebestbacon was hung in the chimney breast to smoke. Sliced bacon collops were a special English cutof baconthat was fried with eggs, the forerunner of our 'greasy breakfasts' of bacon and eggs. In the past,as wehave seen, most home-cured bacon was cooked into a pease or bean pottage. Commercial baconproduction was started as early as 1770, when it is said that John Harris of Clane in Wiltshire,watching pigsresting there on their way from Ireland to London, had the idea of curing them on the spot.Special huge, fatbacon pigs, were bred to be killed at any time of year. The meat was cured quickly, and meantthat it taintedquickly as well. As the quality was not so good, this bacon was sold quickly and cheaply to thepoor incountry markets. In spite of this, William Ellis considered bacon to be a 'seviceable, palatable,profitable,and clean meat, for ready Use in a Country house;...' Bacon could also be spiced. A recipe from1864, inThe Art and Mystery of Curing, Preserving, and Potting all kinds of Meats, Game and Fish byaWholesale Curer of Comestibles, for 'superior spiced bacon,' suggested taking some piecesof pork'suitable for your salting tub,' rubbing them well with warmed treacle, and adding salt, saltpeter,groundallspice, and pepper, rubbing and turning them every day for a week. The meat was thensuspended in acurrent of air and later coated with bran or pollard and smoked.'
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed theWorld,Sue Shephard [Simon and Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 68-9)
What about turkey bacon?
BearFeared, revered, hunted & consumed. Bears have played a key role in the human diet from prehistoric times to present.Bear as human food is complicated because it prowls outside the realm of domesticity. Native takings are a functionof necessity. Civilized plates are the provenance of kings. Bear lumbers comfortably on all sides of this historical table.
[Prehistory]
'Ancient bear hunters considered the strong, majestic animals both humanlike and godlike, Bears stand erect, as people do, yet they exhibit suchtremendous strength that they appear to have supernatural powers. This strength elevated the bear to revered status among early hunters, and it led towidespread rituals accompanying the killing and eating of the animal...Many North American hunters killed and ate bear, most of them apologized to the animalspirit before taking its life.'
---Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in Mythology, Tamra Andrews [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara CA] 2000 (p. 27-30)
[Ancient Greece]
'Even bear...and lion...were eaten; bear tasted worse, needing ot boiled twice, said a later source (Galen, On the Properties of Foods 3.1.10).'
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:New York] 1996, 1997 (p. 62)
[1886:USA]
'Bear-meat in good condition is not unlike beef, and it may be cooked in the same way.'
Miss Corson's Practical Cookery, Juliet Corson:
[1899:UK]
'A consignment of frozen Russian bears arrived at Leahenhall market a day or two ago...sixty pounds of ursine joints, steaks and cutlets...The salesman...said the six bears had gone to restauranteurs up West...They brought two shillings per pound in London. While hanging in the marketthe vears attracted bigger crowds of curious spectators than ever gathered around a bear pit at the Zoo.'
---'Bear Meat for Londoners,' Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1899 (p. 6)
[1903:USA]
'A small, black bear, weighing about 50 pounds in his skin, hung from a butcher's stall in West Washington Market yesterday. Half a dozen buyers connectedwith uptown restaurants who had heard of the bruin's arrival from the mountians of North Carolina, went down to take a look at him. He was bought by the highest bidder for $15. 'The nany who bought it will get very nearly that amount for his skin,' said the butcher. 'In addition he will have about25 pounds of prime bear meat--stakes, chops, etc.--which he will have no difficulty in selling for $1 a pound. In fact, tat may be said to be thestandard price for bear meat in New York. He wil also have seeral pounds of bear meat no good enough for the prime cuts, but which will make mostsavory stews. 'Quite a number of bears come to the New York market each year during the holiday season. Butchers have regular customers for them amongrestaurant men and private families. In West Forty-second street there is a club whose members get together once a week for a game of cards and a littledinner. The members of it are very fond of bear stew, and any butcher who had bear meat he cannot sell elsewhere knows he can find a market there. The stew iscooked on a gas stoeve in the club by a coachman of one of the members...I have never, eaten bear stew, but I knwo that men thow are partial to itwould rather have it than the finest canvasback ever served. Bear steak tastes very much like beefsteak, except that has a stronger flavor.'
---'Bear Meat at One Dollar a Pound,' Los Angeles Times, December 21, 1903 (p. 10)
[1907:USA]
'...a bear dead or alive is a rare sight in a New York market...So rare, indee, are these animals anywhere in this country that they are not mentioned on the game lists, and there seems to be no particular season when they may not be killed or tracked. Prices for these animals, wherever sold, are something enormous. The bear in the Fourteenth Street provision house was sold to a way downtown restaurateur for $150...Simplicity is the rule which must be observed in cooking ear meat. Any attempt at doctoring this wild meat with wines or high-flavored sauces destroys its natural favor and renders it unfit to eat. Bear meat is cooked in perfection in the northern part of Canada, where the natives let the carcass of a bear hang outdoors until it freezes before it is cut up. The freezing process makes the flesh tender. It is cut while frozen a piece at a time as wanted, then put into cold water to thaw out. It is then roasted or grilled, seasoned only with salt and pepper, and served with roasted apples or with wild grape jelly. Cooked like this bear meat is delicious, tasting very much like young cornfed pork when roasted as farmers roast it.'
---'Market Delicacies,' New York Times, November 10, 1907 (p. X6)
[1920: USA]
'2946. Bear Steaks Broiled (Tranches d'Ours Grillees).Bear's meat when young can be broiled and after it is cooked, has much the same flavor as beef. Cut some slices from off the thigh, season with salt and coat over withoil, then broil; when done dress on a sharp sauce (No 538) with grated horseradish added.'
---The Epicurean, Charles Ranhofer, facsimile 1920 edition [Martino Publishing:Mansfield Centre CT] 2011 (p. 637)
[NOTE. There are two 'Sharp Sauce' recipes 538 (1) Sharp Sauce composed of vinegar shallots, sauce espagnole and (2) Sharp sauce with capers and onion puree. (p. 316), happy to share.]
[1927: USA]
'Venison. Moose, elk, reindeer, bear meat, or any tough or dry meat (As frequently cooked by mountain folk)
Fashion into small cutlets; dip in olive oil; fry in deep fat exactly like doughnuts until done as you like (perhaps 5 minutes, but you had better experiment with a small bit first). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve instantly. (The cutlet may first be rolled in bread crumbs, cornmeal orbatter. But this make them much greasier.'--Mrs. Herbert C. Hoover, Wife of the Secretary of Commerce.'
---The Congressional Club Cook Book, [compiled and published by The Congressional Club, Washington D.C.] 1927 (p. 384)
[1942: USA]
'Bear meat. Bears, once so plentiful in Florida that before 1792 William Bartram wrote, 'there are still far too many bears in Florica,' are becomingscarce. I see no reason for destroying the remaining ones...But I must admit that bear meat at the proper season, and properly cooked, is a delicious meat...'
---Cross Creek Cookery, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 1942 (p. 110)
[NOTE: This book offers recipes for Pot Roast of Bear and Bear Steak.]
[1952:UK]
'Bear steak should be treated like beef, but it should be marinated for two days. Treat it precisely like stewed beef...but with the marinade it has lain in.Thickn the sauce with starch or arrowroot, add paprika pepper, and serve on a bed of sweet corn and butter.'...The flesh of the Grizzly Bear...is also edible but coarser...L.R. Brightwell...praises particularly the smoked [bear] hams which could be purchased occasionaly in pre-war times in England.'
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 399-400)
[1961:France]
'Bear.--A perfectly edible animal but rarely used in the kitchen. Bear meat can be used only after it has been marinated for a long time. This meat, which is not particularly tasty and is often tough, can be prepared in any way suitable for wild boar or venison...Bear ham. --This ham, which is common in Russia and some European countries, is cured in exactly the same way as pork ham.'
---Larousse Gastronomique [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961 (p. 115)
[1963:UK]
'Bear...A large, heavy-furred, partly carnivous quadruped which inhabits parts of Europe...America...and the Arcticregions. Bear steak is enjoyed by the trappers and hunters of all regions, and it is cooked like beef steak, but as it is somewhattougher it should be marinated in oil, vinegar, or wine for about two days beforehand. The Arctic explorer, Nansen, and hiscolleagues ate it every day for many months without tiring of it. They found the breast of polar bear cubs to be extremelydelicious. Smoked bear hams were avialable in London and New York until the outbreak of the 1939 war. Unless the animal is young andvery freshly killed it is essential to remove all vestige of fat. It turns rancid quickly and affects the flavour of the meat.'
---Game Cooking, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Andre Deutsch:London] 1963 (p. 26)
[NOTE: this book offers recipes for Roast Saddle of Bear, Marinade for Roast Bear, To Roast a Saddle of Bear Meat, Bear Steaks, Bear Hash, Baked Bear's Paws and Russian Braised Bear Steaks.]
Food historians generally agree that cows, as we know them today, descended from prehistoric aurochs. Domestication occured approximately 10,000 years ago and this process produced smaller animals. Cross-breeding and limited gene pools also resulted in different species with unique characteristics.
About cattle domestication
'European domestic cattle and the Indian zebu are thought to share an ancestor in the shape of Bos primigenius, the wild cattle or auochs common in Eurasia between about 30 degrees and 60 degrees N. At the end of the last ice age. ..Domestication of cattle probably started because wild cattle were attracted to the fields of grain grown by early farmers and robbed these abundant supplies of food. Cross-breeding with wild stock no doubt continued for some time. Exactly when domestication took place is uncertain, but by 3000BC there is evidence for several well-defined breed in representations of cattle from both Mesopotamia and Egypt...'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 145)
[NOTE: This book references two major works regarding the history and domestication of cattle. Your librarian can help you obtain them.]
'Although cattle have been domesticated for less than 10,000 years, they are the world's most important animal, as judged by their multiple contributions of draft power, meat, milk, hides, and dung...Evidence for the domestication of cattle dates from between 8,000 and 7,000 years ago in southwestern Asia. Such dating suggests that cattle were not domesticated until cereal domestication had taken place, whereas sheep and goats entered the barnyard of humans with the beginning of agriculture...As with sheep and goats, the process of domesticating cattle resulted in animals smaller than the wild progenitor. Dated osteological material from Neolithic sites establishes the transition from wild to domesticated...The Fertile Crescent has long been considered the place of initial cattle domestication, but that view tends to reflect the large number of excavations made there. Early signs of Neolithic cattle keeping have also been found in Anatolia (Turkey), where the osteological material at Catal Huyuk provides evidence of the transition from the auruchs of 8,400 years ago to cattle by 7,800 years ago. In short, it is still premature to specify where the first cattle were domesticated... 'The extraordinary usefulness of cattle would superficially seem to have been the motivation for their domestication. In other words, given all the benefits that cattle impart, it was logical that the aurochs would come under human control, which is an extension of a deeply rooted Western concept that nature exists to serve the practical needs of people and that necessity has always elicited human ingenuity to provide technical solutions...Such a practice [domestication] would have required a supply of animals that was initially met by capturing them from the wild. But in the holding pens, some captive bulls and cows (both having long horns) bred, and from these matings, calves occasionally were born that had physical different from their parents. Their overall size was smaller, their temperament more docile, and their markings and hide color had unusual variations. Viewed a special, these aurochs born in captivity were also kept as objects of sacrifice but were allowed to breed, and phenotype distinctiveness enhanced their sacred status. Some of the next generation to follow may have reinforced the characteristics of the parents, and a gene pool that distinguished these bovines from their wild forebears gradually formed. No longer were they aurochs, but rather cattle...Their milk was perceived to be a ritual gift from the goddess, and the most docile cows let themselves be milked by a priest in the presence of their calves.'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 490-1)
[NOTE: This book contains an extensive bibliography for further study.]
European cattle
'Westward diffusion of cattle throughout Europe was tied to the invention of the wooden plow. The harnessing of a powerful animal to that device made it possible to greatly extend cultivation without a corresponding increase in human population...' Farther north in Europe, where wet summers provided abundant forage, cattle had a bigger role to play in livestock husbandry...The relative isolation of each region resulted in locally limited gene pools for Bos Taurus (European cattle), which led to different cattle phenotypes. Three of these, Aberdeen Angus, Shorthorn, and Hereford, have diffused overseas to become modern ranching stock in the Americas...Characteristic of British livestock tradition was the close management and selective breeding that imparted a generally docile behavior to the animal.'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 492)
Viking era cattle
Medieval Cattle Remains from a Scandinavian Settlement in Dublin
New World cattle
Cows were not indigenous to America. Dairy cows were introduced to by English settlers in the early 1700s. Meat cows were introduced by Spanish settlers.
'We have noted that for English yeomen of the seventeenth centiry, their own pigs were the principal source of the meat in their diet. Cattle were kept primarily fordairy production and were slaughtered and eaten only when they could no longer be maintained through the winter. This pattern was long established...As early as 1638 live cattlewere driven to Boston, where they commanded high prices...By the nineteenth century, the United States was famous for meat-eating as England had already become by theseventeenth century...'
---America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking, Keith Stavely & Kathleen Fitzgerald [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 2004 (p. 178-180)
'Americans have been great meat eaters from the beginning of their history and still are...Americans have no doubt always preferred beef, but what they actually ate was necessarilythat which was available, and for the first three centuries of white history in America, what was most readily available was pork. Nevertheless as early as 1854, Harper's Weekly reported thatthe commonest meal in America, from coast to coast, was steak; and at the beginning of the Civil War, Anthony Trollope...reported that Americans ate twice as much beef asEnglishmen...At the beginning supplying this demand presented no problem, Each settlement was capable of raising for itself as much beef as it needed...But thepopulation of the East Coast increased rapdily; its inhabitants discovered they were not quite as rich in space as they had thought; and much of the land could bebetter employed for other purposes than grazing. If Americans were to eat beef in the quantities to which they wanted to become accustomed, more spaciousgrazing lands had to be found. They were found, on a scale which once again seemed unlimited, in the Far West...There is a story which attributes the discovery thatthe West was ideal for cattle raising to the mishap of a heavily loaded governmental ox train which was blocked by blizzards in Wyoming toward the end of theCivil War. To save themselves, the drivers abandoned wagons and oxen. Returning in the spring to salvage anything that might be salvageable, they were amazed to find therioxen not only still alive, but well fed and healthy...it wasn't to a question of climate, it was a question of grass...Texas not only had food for cattle, it had the cattle, waitingto be taken, whose ancestors had been imported by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century and abandoned in Texas, where they had drown wild and become 'more dangeriousto footmen than the fiercest buffalo.'..The first Texas herds were thus composed of wild cattle, captured at considerable risk to life and limb, which in the next generationwould become domesticated as the famous Texas Longhorns. They were very far from being the best beef critters in the world...The original Spanish stock had come from dryparched country and their descendants had retained, in another dry parched country, the ability to stand up to hot Texas summers and to make do with a minimumof water...Taken in hand by the Western cattlemen, the herds multiplied and prospered...The legendary epoch of the cattle trails, the routes over which herds ofLonghorns were driven north to the markets, dates back to before the Civil War. These movements occurred on a prodigious scale, hardly comparable to theplacid processions of fifty or a hundred head which had earlier moved north from Georgia or east from Ohio...'
---Eating in America: A History, Waverley Root & Richard de Rochemont [William Morrow:New York] 1976 (p. 192-195)
'The opening up of the American plains transformed cattle farming in the United States. Until the early 1870s Texas ranchers had held great cattle drives of hundreds of thousands of lanky longhorns, urging them along a 700-mile Chisolm Trail from San Antonio direct to the stockyards of Abilene, at a rate of about a dozen miles a day.From Abilene they were taken by rail to the new meat processing plants in Chicago and Kansas City. But when the Great Plains were cleared of bison and the Indians whohad depended upon them, the new land was opened to range cattle. What happened then was that the land Texans sent their cattle to the plains on the hoof to rest and fattenup before the last, easy journey to the stockyards, while new ranchers went into business on a massive scale, financed by the capital poured into the industry byAmerican and foreign investors. The profits were substantial...In 1880 Kansas had sixteen times as many cattle as twenty years earlier.'
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 316-7)
Related notes: Steak houses, as we Americans know them today, originated in the USA. 19th century New York, to be specific. & Beef tea, a heathful concoction.
Beef StroganoffThe origin and history of Beef Stroganoff is an excellent lesson in food lore. While foodhistoriansgenerally agree the dish takes its name from Count Stroganoff, a 19th century Russian noble,there are conflicting theories regarding the genesis of this 'classic' dish. Certainly, there isevidence confirming the recipe predate the good Count and his esteemed chef. USAintroduction dates in print to the 1930s. In the 1950s-1960s Beef Stroganoff was considered a trendy dish. Shortcut versions promoted by food companies proliferated.
'Despite the allusion of the name 'stroganoff' to Count Paul Stroganoff, a 19th century Russiandiplomat, the origins of the dish have never been confirmed. Larousse Gastronomiquenotes that similar dishes were known since the 18th century but insists the dish by this specificname was the creation of chef Charles Briere who was working in St. Petersburg when hesubmitted the recipe to L 'Art Culinaire in 1891, but the dish seems much older. It did not appearin English cookbooks until 1932, and it was not until the 1940s that beef stroganoff becamepopular for elegant dinner parties in America.'
---Restaurant Hospitality, John Mariani,January 1999 (p. 76).
'Unlike the French, who name dishes after the chefs who devised them, the Russians haveusuallyattached the names of famous households to their cuisine--the cooks were usually serfs. Forexample, we have Beef Stroganoff, Veal Orlov, and Bagration Soup. One of the few exceptionsisa cutlet of poultry of real named after Pozharskii, a famous tavern keeper...The last prominentscion of the dynasty, Count Pavel Stroganoff, was a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, a dignitary at the court of Alexander III, a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts,and a gourmet. It is doubtful that Beef Stroganoff was his or his chef's invention since the recipewas included in the 1871 edition of the Molokhovets cookbook...which predates his fame as agourmet. Not a new recipe, by the way, but a refined version of an even older Russian recipe, ithad probably been in the family for some years and became well known through PavelStroganoff'slove of entertaining.'
---The Art of Russian Cuisine, Anne Volokh with Mavis Manus [Macmillan:New York]1983 (p. 266)
'Beef stroganoff is a dish consisting of strips of lean beef sauteed and served in a sour-creamsauce with onions and mushrooms. The recipe, which is of Russian origin, has been known sincethe eighteenth century, but its name appears to come from County Paul Stroganoff, anineteeth-century Russian diplomat. Legend has it that when he was stationed in deepest Siberia,his chefdiscovered that the beef was frozen so solid that it could only be coped with by cutting it intoverythin strips. The first English cookery book to include it seems to have been Ambrose Heath'sGood Food (1932).'
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.326-7)
'Count Pavel Stroganov, a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, was a noted gourmetas well as a friend of Alexander III. He is frequently credited with creating Beef Stroganoff orhaving a chef who did so, but in fact a recipe by that name appears in a cookbook published in1871, well ahead of the heyday of the genial count. In all probability the dish had been in thefamily for some years and came to more general notice throughout Pavel's love ofentertaining.'
--Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [OhioUniversity Press:Athens] 1998 (p.103).
Elena Molokhovets' Beef Strogonoff:
(Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju)
Two hours before service, cut a tender piece of raw beef into small cubes and sprinkle with saltand some allspice. Before dinner, mix together 1/16 lb (polos mushka) butter and 1spoon flour, fry lightly, and dilute with 2 glasses bouillon, 1 teaspoon of preparedSareptskaja mustard, and a little pepper. Mix, bring to a boil, and strain. Add 2tablespoons very fresh sour cream before serving. Then fry the beef in butter, add it to the sauce,bring once to boil, and serve.
Ingredients:
2 lbs tender beef
10-15 allspice
1/4 lb butter
salt
2 spoons flour
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon Sareptskaja mustard'
---A Gift to Young Housewives, Elena Molokhovets, [Moscow, 1861], recipe #635
translated and introduced by Joyce Thomas [Indiana Press:Bloomington] 1992 (p.213-214). Ms.Thomas addsthis note: 'Molokhovets' simple recipe did not endure. Already by 1912, Aleksandrrova-Ignat'evawas teaching the students in her cooking classes to add finely chopped sauteed onions and tomatopaste to the sauce, a practice which still turns up in modern Soviet and American recipes, with orwithout the addition of mushrooms. It is worth noting that Aleksandrova-Ignat'eva served thisdish with potato straws, which have become the standard modern garnish for Beef Stroganov.'
We also find this interesting piece of information regarding the possible 15th century Hungarianorigins of this dish:
'One of the most interesting versions of tokany is the ancient dish of sour cream vetrece (savanyuvetrece), which was already mentioned as a part of the dinners of King Matthias in the fifteenthcentury. In this type of ragout, beef is cooked with smoked bacon, garlic and black pepper; laterbay leaves, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and grated lemon rind are added, and finallysourcream. The only flavors lost over the centuries are mace, ginger and saffron. In the dining roomsof the Transylvanian gentry, paper-thin slices of peeled lemon were served on top of this moresweet than sour dish.'
---The Cuisine of Hungary, George Lang [Atheneum:New York] 1982 (p. 272)[NOTE: this recipe does not specify a starch accompaniment.]
Beef Stroganoff, American-style
Beef Stroganoff resurfaced as a popular dish in the United States during the second half of the20th century. Recipes varied from classic cuisine to ersatz Americana. Iterations found in popular American cookbooks tout this dish as quick and easy. Canned soups were readily exchanged for traditional sauces. Ground beef was even quicker. The addition of tomatoes (tomato soup, tomato soup mix, tomato paste, tomato catsup) appears to be an uniquely American variation. We are a nation devoted to packaged condiments. The earliest print references we find including tomatoes are from the early 1960s. Celebritiesshared their special versions. Think:Mitch MillerJames Beard & Alice's restaurant.
'Although considered a 50s dish, Beef Stroganoff began appearing in American cookbooks atleast two decades earlier. The first recipe I find for it is in John MacPherson's Mystery Chef'sOwn Cook Book, (1934). Two Stroganoffs appear in Dinah Ashley's Where to dine in '39, a 1939 guide to New York Cityrestaurants, one from the defunct Russian Kretchma...the second from The Russian Tea Room...Both recipes seem to meAmericanized: both contain Worcestershire sauce, both are made with sweet cream rather thansour, and both contain mushrooms, which a Russian friend told me is not authentic. Indeed, theydo not appear in Alexander Kropotkin's recipe in The Best of Russian Cooking,(1964)...Beef Stroganoff--with mushrooms and sour cream--shows up in The Joy ofCooking, (1943 edition). Unfortunately, America was then immersed in World War II, redmeat was strictly rationed, and few cooks could afford the luxury of Beef Stroganoff. Once thewar was over...Beef Stroganoff became the signature dish of 'gourmet' cooks across thecountry.'
--The American Century Cookbook, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p.125).
'Boef a la Krokanoff [sic]
Two pounds of fillet of steak or rump steak must be cut into thin, longish strips. Then put them on the frying pan with salt andpepper, 1 onion chopped fine and 1 tablespoonful of butter, anbd fru the meat until it is a good brown color. In the meattime make the followingsauce: Melt 1 tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan. Add 1 tablespoonful fo flour and mix thorougly not to hae any lumps(the fire must not be too great), then add 2 tumblers of hot stock, mixing all the time till the sauce gets brown. Then add 1teaspoonful of ready-made mustard, a little Worcester sauce, 2 tablespoonfuls of sour cream and 1 tablespoonful of pureetpomato. When this sauce is ready, ptu the meat which has been fried into it and let it stand, covered with a lid, for half an hourin the oven. Then it is ready to serve. This serves 6 persons.'---Princess Cantacuziene, granddaughter of the late President U.S.Grant, and given to her by Madame Woltroff, wife of Admiral Woltroff, who was the Aide-de-Camp to the Emperor of Russia. Since theRevolution she and her husband have made a great success in business, running a restaurant in London at 50 Harrington Roade
---The Congressional Club Cook Book: Favorite National and International Recipes, with a forward by Mrs. Herbet C. Hoover...Popular edition [Congressional Club:Washington DC] 1927 (p. 708-709)
[1934]
'Beef Stroganoff.
To 2 teaspoons butter add 1 sliced medium onion. Fry until golden brwon. Add a teaspoon tomato paste and 1/2 pound blanched and chopped mushrooms, Fry together, add 1 tablespoon flour, 1/2 cup sweet cream and 1/2 cup sour cream. Lastly add 1 teaspoon Worcestershiresauce. Cut 2 pounds tenderloin, from which fat and skin have been removed, in long oblong strips. Fry in butter and drain. Mix well with suace, simmer5 minutes and serve.'
---'Chefs of Other Nationalities Praise Old Russia's Cooking,' Susan Mills, Washington Post, July 19. 1934 (p. 11)
'Beef a la Stroganoff
[National Dish of Russia]
[Serves 4]
1 1/2 lbs lean beef (No fat). Any cut of beef can be used, but, of course, the better the beef, the better the Beef a laStroganoff. Well hung top round steak is very good. For best, use the lean of the thin Delmonico steaks.
1/2 lb. or 1 can mushrooms
2 tablespoons beef drippings or butter
1/2 pt. sour cream
--If you have no sour cream, then you can use sweet cream, or a cream sauce made from milk. The Russians always use sour cream.If gives a little snap not obtained with sweet cream. (To make sweet cream sour, add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to each 1/2 pint cream, or, for evaporated milk, add 1 teaspoon of vinegar to each 1/2 pint of milk.)
1 tablespoon flour
salt and paprika
Cut the beef across the grain; now that is very important--across the grain of the meat. If you cut with the grain you will have your meat stringy, and it will be tough, whereas if you cut across the grain, meat will be tender. First stretch the meat an you cansee which way the grain runs--then cut across the grain. Cut the beef into little pieces about 1 inch long and about half the width of apencil. Into a frying pan, place 2 tablespoons beef drippings, butter or other fat, and when hot put in the cut up beef; allowto cook slowly with a lid on the frying pan for 15 minutes, turning the meat over occasionally. At the end of 15 minutes add the mushrooms cut into fairly small pieces and allow to cook with the beef for 10 minutes. If the pan becomes dry, add a little fator butter, but do not have a lot of fat. Just enough to keep the frying pan from becoming dry. When the mushrooms and meat havecooked (first the meat 15 minutes, then the mushrooms added and cooked another 10 minutes, making 25 minutes in all), then place the meat and mushrooms in to the top pot of a double boiler. Put in frying pan 1 tablespoon of butter, melt, and mix theflour with this. Then add the sour cream. (Sweet cream, or cream sauce made from milk can be used, but does not compare with sourcream, which is always used by Russians.) If cream is too thick, add a little sweet milk. Place pan over fire and stir around witha fork to get the meat juices of the pan mixed with the cream mixture. Then pour this into the beef and mushrooms in thedouble boiler and cook for 5 or 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve on large biscuits slit in half and toasted on the cut sideonly. The Russians usually serve with Julienne Potatoes...NOTE: For more gravy, add a little sweet cream or top of milk. To reheat:This dish reheats perfectly and can be kept in refrigerator or ice box, then reheated by placing in saucepan over slow fire andadding a little sweet cream. Stir until it boils, then serve. For dinner parties, can be prepared the day before.'
---The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, John McPherson [Blakiston Company:Philadelphia PA] 1934, reprinted 1945(p 165-6)
[NOTE: Who was John McPherson?]
The history of Beef Wellington is a matter of historic contention. Food historians generally agreethe dish is named for Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, the man who crushedNapoleon at Waterloo. Recipes surface in 1940s USA. We find no mention of this dish in British or French period cookbooks. American-style Chicken Wellington debuts in the 1970s.
'Volumes have been written about Wellington the soldier, but the dish that bears his name issurprisingly elusive. Almost certainly the pastry covering was at first a mere paste of flour andwater, wrapped around the uncooked tenderloin so that it would roast without browning, aculinary fad of the era. In time the covering became puff pastry and an integral part of the dish.Then the chefs on the continent, with their oft-noted penchant for lily-gilding, inserted a layer oftruffles and pate de foie gras, today often simplified to mushrooms and chicken livers...In IrelandBeef Wellington, sometimes called Wellington Steak, remains a simple combination of excellentrare beef and flaky pastry. The dish is also known in France, where, not surprisingly, it is simplycalled filet de boeuf in croute.'
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [OhioUniversity Press:Athens] 1998(p. 95-6)
'I am persuaded that beef Wellington is of Irish origin. In Irish Traditional Food,Theodora FitzGibbon offers a recipe for Steig Wellington, using the Irish spelling for steak. Sheprefaces the recipe with the statement that 'this was said to be a favorite of the Duke ofWellington, and it is sometimes also known as beef Wellington.'
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman [TimesBooks:New York] 1985 (p. 34-5)
'Jane Garmey includes it [Beef Wellington] in Great British Cooking: A Well KeptSecret,(1981), but admits that the recipe's origin is a mystery. 'I have never been able to find a referenceto Beef Wellington in any British cookery book, old or new,' she writes in her recipe headnote.'However, since...cooking meat in a pastry case was fairly common at the end of the eighteenthcentury and since this is a rather special way to prepare a beef fillet, it would seem unfair to omitBeef Wellington for its dubious heritage.' Strangely, Adrian Baily makes no mention of BeefWellington in The Cooking of the British Isles, (1969), a time when this fussy recipe wasin vogue in this country (it was said to be President Nixon's favorite). Beef Wellington...became a showpiece of ambitious 60s hostesses...Before long there wereshortcut versions with canned liver paste substituting for foie gras, canned mushrooms forduxelles, and refrigerator crescent rolls or any frozen pastry shells for puff pastry. There wasevenHamburger a la Wellington (House Beautiful Magazine, January 1970). By the 80s,however, it was over. Beef Wellington had lost its cachet.'
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, JeanAnderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 126)
'Beef Wellington was the premier party dish of the 1960s...it was rich, dramatic, expensive, andseemed difficult and time-consuming to prepare. In short, it was everything a gourmet dishshouldbe. In Masters of American Cookery, Betty Fussell credited beef Wellington'sphenomenalpopularity in the Sixties to 'the discovery that anybody, with a little care, could make an ediblecrust.'...Exactly who invented beef Wellington is not known, but there is a longAnglo-Irish-French tradition of meat cooked in pastry. Undoubtedly what we in the Unted Statescall beefWellington is based on the Wellington steak of England and the steig Wellington of Ireland...InFrance the dish is known as filet de boeuf en croute, but whether it originated on the west of theeast side of the English Channel is unkown.'
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:NewYork] 1995 (p. 232)
'Despite such ethnic fervor, one of the most popular dishes of the day was the very classic, veryBritish Beef Wellington a fillet of beef tenderloin coated with pate de foie gras and a duxelles ofmushrooms that are then all wrapped in a puff pastry crust. Some believe that Wellington's popularity had more to do with America's competitive spirit than with any deep passion forBritishcuisine. It began in the '60s when couples started dabbling in a bit of culinary one-upmanship. Dinnerparties with friends became elaborate as complicated recipes appeared on tables with greaterregularity. Beef Wellington was considered the height of difficulty and expense because of thepreparation of the puff pastry and the price of the pate de foie gras. Kudos and furtive jealousglances went to the cook who mastered such a bear of a recipe. Although Beef Wellington went the way of Beef Stroganoff and Boeuf Bourguignon, it didstage a comeback in magazines such as Gourmet in the '90s, when prepackaged puff pastry anddomestic foie gras made it much easier and less expense to make.'
--- Leites Culinaria, DiningThrough the Decades: Food of the 1970s
'Tenderloin of Beef Wellington: Lard 4 pounds of beef tenderloin, roast for 15 minutes, let cook. and spread with cold brown fine herb sauce. Roll out a piece of puff paste B. Place the tenderloin on top and seal the meat with this dough. Paint with yellow of egg. Bake for 20 minutes in moderate oven (350 degrees F.). Serve with hot brown fine herb sauce.'
---Palmer House Cook Book, Ernest E. Amiet [John Willy:Chicago IL] 1940 (p. 121)
[Note: Brown Fine Herb Sauce & Puff Paste B recipes are included in this book. We can send if you like.]
[1958]
'Filet of Beef Wellington From the Palmer House, Chicago
Have filet of beef trimmed (5 pounds after trimming), ready to roast. Cut off tail part. Season with salt and pepper; spread with good fat. Roast in a hot oven for about 35 minutes; set aside; let cool.
Duxelles Palmer House
3 cups chopped mushrooms
6 chopped shallots
4 oz chopped York ham
2 tablesp. chopped parsley
2 tablesp. rich Madeira Sauce
Cook mushrooms in butter until all moisture is cooked away, stirring occasionally. Add shallots, ham, parsley, and Madeira sauce.
Season to taste
Dough
1 lb. flour
12 oz. butter
pinch of salt
9 oz. water
Blend flour and bitter until sandy mass is obtained; add salt diluted in the water, mixing slowly. Place in refrigerator for 1/2 hour. Roll in a rectangular shape, 14' X 9'. Spread duxelles over dough, and place roast filet in center. Fold dough over filet so that meal is completely enclosed. Place seam down on pan; cover top and sides with one well-beaten egg (to give a good color after it is cooked). Make criss-cross design with fork. Bake in 400 degrees F. oven for about 30 minutes. Serve truffle sauce separately. Serves 10.'
---'James Beard's Selection of Famous Hilton Recipes,' Los Angeles Times, May 25, 1958 (p. K6)
[1965]
'Filet of Beef Wellington. Trim a good-sized filet of beef, smear it generously with butter, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Put it in a flat pan with scraps of celery, onion, and parsley, 1 bay leaf, and a pinch of rosemary and roast it in a very hot oven (450 degrees F.) for about 25 minutes. Remove it and let it cool. When the filet is cold, spread it with a substantial layer of pate de foie gras and wrap it in pie pastry, rolled about 1/8 inch thick. Trim the edges of the pastry, moisten them with a little cold water, and press firmly together. Bake the rolled filet on a baking sheet in a hot oven (450 degrees F.) for about 15 minutes, or until the cdrust is delicately browned. For a shiny crust, brush the surface with beaten egg yolk before baking. Add 1 cup veal stock 1/4 cup pate de foie gras, and 1 large truffle, chopped, to the roasting pan. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes and serve it separately.'
---The Gourmet Cookbook, Volume II [Gourmet Books:New York] revised edition, 1965 (p. 282-283)
[1966]
'Beef Wellington 4 to 6 servings
Pastry:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup ice water, approximately
Filling:
1 fillet of beef (2 1/2-3 pounds)
2 tablespoons cognac
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices of bacon
8 ounces pate de foie gras or Chicken Liver Pate
3 or 4 truffles
1 egg, lightly beaten
1. Place the flour, salt, butter and shortening in a bowl and blend with the tips of the fingers or with a pastry blender. Add the egg and enough ice water to make a dough. Wrap in wax paper and chill.
2. Preheat oven to hot (450 degrees F.).
3. Rub the fillet all over with the cognac and season with salt and pepper. Lay the bacon over the top, securing with stringif necessary.
4. Place the meat on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for fifteen minutes for rare, for twenty to twenty-five minutes formedium. Remove from the oven; remove the bacon. Cool to room temperature before proceeding.
5. Spread the pate all over the top and sides of the beef. Cut the truffles into halves and sink the pieces in a line alongthe top.
6. Preheat the oven to hot (425 degrees F.).
7. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle (about 18 X 12 inches) one-quarter inch thick. Place the fillet, top down, in the middle.Draw the long sides up to overlap on the bottom of the fillet; brush with egg to seal.
8. Trim the ends of the pastry and make an envelope fold, brushing again with egg to seal the closure. Transfer the pastry-wrappedmeat to a baking sheet, seam side down.
9. Brush all over with egg. Cut out decorative shapes from the pastry trimmings and arrange the pieces down the center of thepastry. Brush the shapes with remaining egg. Bake for about thirty minutes, or until the pastry is cooked. Serve the dish hot with Sauce Madere...or serve cold on a buffet table.
Note: Puff pastry may be used to wrap the beef, but care should be taken to roll it very thin. Brioche dough may also be used.'
---The New York Times Menu Cookbook, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1966 (p. 176-7)
[1967]
'Filet of Beef Wellington (12 to 15 servings)
I Pastry to Cover Beef
4 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound butter
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup cold water
1. Sift the flour and salt onto a marble slab or pastry board. Make a little hole in center, add half of the butter, the egg yolks and the water; mix to make the dough. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
2. Roll into a square and put the other half of the butter in the center. Fold all 4 sides of the dough over the butter to enclose it completely. Roll the dough out into a rectangle 3 times as long as it is wide. Fold the left-hand third over the middle and the right-hand third over the left, thus making 3 layers. This process of rolling and folding is called a 'turn.' Make another turn and chill the dough for 20 minutes. Make 2 more turns and chill for 30 minutes before using. The dough will keep in the refrigerator, wrapped in a dry cloth and a wet towel, for several days.
II Three Pounds Beef Tenderloin, Trimmed
1. Have the butcher trim a beef tenderloin and tie it to keep it in shape.
2. Roast the meat in a buttered pan in very hot preheated oven (475 degrees F.) for 7 minutes and remove it at once from the oven to cool.
III D'Uxelles' of Mushrooms
1/2 pound mushrooms
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces goose livers, diced.
1. Grind mushrooms with fine plate of meat grinder. Sprinkle immediately with lemon juice to maintain musrhooms' light color.
2. Cook in small amount of melted butter (2 tablespoons) and add salt and pepper to taste. Cool completely and add diced goose livers; mix well.
IV Final Steps
1. Roll the pastry into a rectangle 3/8 inch thick and large enough to envelop the filet of beef.
2. Cover the center of the rectangle with a portion of the D'Uxelles' of mushrooms.
3. Place the filet, which should be cold, on the center of the pastry. Coat the filet with the remaining mushroom mixture. Wrap the beef carefully with the pastry to make a loaf. Trim pastry and save trimmings.
4. Place loaf in a greased pan, seam side down. Roll out pastry trimmings and cut out shapes (i.e., leaf). Garnish the top of the loaf with cutouts. Brush with beaten egg to ensure a high gloss. Let meat stand for 1 hour, refrigerated. Bake in preheated 400 degree F. oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until pastry is nicely browned. Serve hot. To be served with Madeira Sauce mixed with chopped truffles'
---The White House Chef Cookbook, Rene Verdon [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1967 (p. 153-154)
[NOTE: Madeira Sauce recipe appears on p. 186.]
[Tenderolin of Beef Baked in Pastry--Beef Wellington Brioche]
Whether the English, the Irish or the French baked the first filet of beef in a crust we shall probably never know, but it iscertain that the French would not have named it after Wellington. It is a remarkably handsome, sumptuous dish when properly made. Most good recipes speicfy a whole piece of tenderlion that is preroasted 25 minutes, cooled, surrounded with a mushroom and foie gras stuffing, then wrapped in French puff pastry and baked. We think it is a great improvement to substitutebrioche dough for puff pastry: fully risen brioche dough is deflated, thoroughly chilled, then rolled thin, draped over the meat and baked immediately before the dough has a chance to rise again. The resulting crust is beautiful to look at as well as being light, thin, cooked all the way through and delicious to eat; this is never the case with puff pastry, which cannotbake properly under such circumstances and is always damply dumpling under its handsome exterior. Another improvement is to bakethe tenderloin in slices with stuffing in between, as in the preceding recipe [Filet de Boeuf en Feuilletons, Duxelles]:the serving is easy and the taste is vastly improved.
Vegetable and Wine Suggestions
An important dish like this should be surrounded with few distractions; we would suggest only something green and fresh likebuttered new peas, broccoli flowerettes, or, in season, sliced, fresh, green asparagus spears tossed in butter. Again, a fine red Bordeaux-Medoc would be an excellent choice of wine.
The Sauce
Anything as extravagant as this filet de boeuf demands an unusally good sauce. We suggest 2 to 3 cups of the brown sauce or thesauce ragout in Volume 1, pages 67 and 69, simmered several hours for maximum flavor; it will then be further enriched withthe cooking juices and deglazing wine from the beef, Step 1 in the following recipe.
For 16 slices of beef 1.2 inch thick, serving 8 to 10
1. Preliminaries--to do in the morning or the day before serving
1/2 the recipe for pain brioche dough, page 83 (1/2 lb. flour)
One of the brown sauces described in the preceding paragraph
2 1.2 to 3 lbs. of the heart of the tenderloin, sliced, stuffed, wrapped and tied (filet de boeuf en feuilletons, page 180,Steps 1 and 2)
Rendered goose of pork fat, or cooking oil
A shallow roasting pan
1/2 cup dry port wine or Sercial Madeira
Prepare the dough as described, letting it finish its second rising in the refrigerator. The deflate it, cover with plastic wrap, a plate, and a 5-pound weight (piece of meat grinder) so that it will not rise again; refrigerate. Make the brown-sauce and refrigerate. Prepare the stuffed filet as described, baste well with fat or oil, and place in roasting pan. Preheat oven to425 degrees, and set rack in upper-third level. Roast the beef for 25 minutes, basting and turning it several times. Transferbeef to a platter or tray (reserve roasting pan) and let meat cool to room temperature. (If you are preroasting a dayahead, cover and refrigerate the meat after it has cooled, but set at room temperature for 2 hours before final baking inStep 3, for accurate timing.) Spoon fat out of roasting pan, pour in wine and boil down by half, scraping up any roastingjuices with a wooden spoon; scrape liquid into sauce base.
2. Enclosing beef in brioche--1 to 1/2 hours before serving, and just before roasting
The cool, room temperature, preroasted beef
Heavy shears
The chilled brioche dough
Flour, a rolling surface, a rolling pin, a ravioli wheel, a small knife
An oiled jelly-roll pan or pizza tray (raised edges needed to catch roasting juices)
Egg glaze (1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water in a small bowl)
A pastry brush
Optional: a meat thermometer
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and slide rack onto lower-middle level. Set out all the equipment and ingredients listed. Cutwrapping and string from beef. Working rapidly from now on so that brioche dough softens as little as possible, roll 1/4of the dough into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick and the length and width of the beef. Roll it up on your pin and unroll it ontothe oiled pan.
Roll the remaining dough into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick and large enough to enclose the beef (probably 18 by 8 inches), roll it upon your pin and unfoll over the beef.
Trim off any excess dough and reserve for decorations. Tuck the covering dough against the bottom rectangle of dough and underbottom of meat, sealing edges with your fingers. Paint dough covering with egg glaze; in a moment paint with a second coat.
So that any decorations on the crust will show after baking, they must be either deep cuts with raised edges, or dough paste-ons.For instance, you may wish to lay strips of leftover dough in a design, and paint with egg glaze. Decorate blank spacesby cutting into surface of dough with scissors, a knife, or the metal end of a pastry tube, making definite edges that stick up. (Cuts are made after glazing, so that the cut portion of the dough will remain pale, accenting the design whendough is baked.) Immediately [sic] the decorations are complete, set beef in oven. The object here is to make sure the doughremains a crust, a think and crisp covering; if it rises, it will be thick and bready.
3. Baking--30 to 40 minutes
Bake in lower-middle level of preheated 425-degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until pastry has browned nicely. Lower thermostat to350 degrees for rest of baking, and cover crust loosely with a sheet of foil or brown paper if it seems to be browning toomuch. Indications that the meat is done are that you can begin to smell the beef and the stuffing, and that juices beginto escape into the pan; meat thermometer reading for rare beef is 125 degrees.
4. Serving and ahead-of-time notes
A hot platter or a board wide enough to hold beef and removed top crust
A flexible-blade spatula
A hot sauce in a warmed bowl
The hot accompanying vegetable
Serving implements: a sharp knife for cutting the crust, and a serving spoon and fork
When beef is done, remove from oven and slidfe onto platter or board. Beef will stay warm for 20 minutes; if you cannotserve it, set in a warm oven no hotter than 120 degrees. To serve, cut all around the crust and half an inch up from itsbottom. Lift the top crust off onto the platter, and cut into serving portions. Separate the slices of meat with spoon andfork and cut down through the bottom crust so that each slice is served with a portion of stuffing and crust. Spoon a littlesauce around the meat, and add a piece of the top crust.'
---Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child and Simone Beck, Volume Two [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1970 (p. 181-185)
Recipes for beef encased in decorative flaky crust may be found in some 18th and 19th centuryBritish cookbooks. They typically employ onions and oysters, not truffles/mushrooms andpate/chopped liver. Presumably, these descend from Medieval meat pies and classic French pates.
'A Beefsteak Pie
Beat five or six rump steaks very well with a paste pin and season them well with pepper andsalt.Lay a good puff paste round the dish and put a little water in the bottom. Then lay the steaks inwith a lump of butter upon every steak and put on the lid. Cut a little paste in what form youplease and lay it on.'
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, 1769, with an introductionby Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 74)
[1875]
'Beef Steak Pie.
Take a pie-dish according to the size required; two pounds of fresh rump steak cut into long thinstrips will bake a good pie; lay out the strips with a small piece of fat on each, a seasoning of saltand pepper, and a dust of flour; two tea-spoonfuls of salt and one of pepper will be sufficient forthe whole pie; roll up each strip neatly and lay it in the dish, and between each layer sprinkle alittle of the seasoning and flour; a shred onion or schalot is sometimes liked, and a few oysterswillbe a great improvement; put an edging of paste round the dish, and throw in water enough tocover the rolls of meat, and lay a crust of about half an inch thick over all; ornament the toptastefully, and bake for two hours in a moderate oven...Sufficient for four or five persons.'
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter,Galpin:London] 1875 (p. 63)
Chicken Wellington
Our survey of historic newspapers/magazines/cookbooks puts Chicken Wellington on mainstream American tables in the 1970s. Two earlier references are (1) India/1955 & (2) Restaurant Show/1967, neither reference describes the dish. What makes this recipe particularly interesting are the divergent culinary applications: first class airline fare, kosher commercial, restaurant redux & Pillsbury Bake-Off winner. In most cases, the final personal-sized portion is closer to a Cornish pasty than the classic centerpiecebeef Wellington presentation. 1970s-1980s time period makes sense. That is when USA people were 'educated' about red meat/cholesterol and companies promoted familiar recipes featuring chicken/fish protein alternatives.
Chicken Wellington timeline
'Eros Restaurant...Today's lunch specialty...Celery Soup, Chicken Wellington or Eggs Curry & Pillaw, Charlotte a la Russe or Eros Ices...Also Tandoori & Punjab Specialities.'
---display ad, Times of India, August 18, 1955 (p. 3)
[Note: We wonder why chicken instead of beef was served in India. Cultural/religious preference or economic sensibility?]
[1967]
'Masterchef Gordon 'Jiggs' Lamberton to head the kitchen at the Hostelry on the Hill...He was formerly affiliated with the famed Old Farms Inn of Avon, where his Chicken Wellington and Lobster Seafood classique were prizewinners at the 1967 Restaurant Show.'
---photo caption, Naugatuck News [CT], September 22, 1971 (p. 15)
[1970]
'Traveling economy? You'd never know it from our economy Pub Fare: Black Velvet (50 cents extra), Fillet of Smoked Trout, Breast of Chicken Wellington (tender chicken surrounded by pate, in a light pastry shell and served with a nutty Madeira sauce), garden vegetables, cheese, and Sherry Trifle--layers of sponge cake laced with brandy and sherry, loaded with fruits, with a dollop of cream on top.'
---display ad, Pan Am Airlines, New York Times, October 21, 1970 (p. 29)
[1971]
'A breakthrough!' cried Latzi Wittenberg, the chef, at his stand on the Starlight Roof of the Waldorf Astoria. 'Mission Possible in the kosher-food business.' Visitors to the one-day show yesterday of the Institutional Kosher Food Manufacturers Association raved over Mr. Wittenberg's unusual delights--a Chicken Breast Wellington (with beef and chopped liver), a Royal Hawaiian Wellington (with sweetbreads and pineapple) and a Rothschild Wellington (with chopped beef and turkey). Rosthschild all right, by why Wellington? 'There were some famous Jews in Britain,' explained Mr. Wittenberg,' and I think he'd like to have his name associated with Jewish foods.'...The Latzi line is now being turned out by the Kotimsky & Tuchman catering concern, which provides kosher food at bar mitzvahs and weddings at such places as the Plaza and Pierre Hotels.'
---'Knishes and Latkes, Yes! But Chicken Wellington?' Israel Shenker, New York Times, March 10, 1971 (p. 45)
[1972]
'Someone remarked as the entree was served, 'It's chicken 'beef' Wellington,' And Chicken Wellington it was with breast of chicken and pate all baked into the traditional pastry, this time in the shape of a little chicken. Very elegant.'
---'Christy Fox: Robert Tuttles Feted,' Los Angeles Times, April 14, 1972 (p. F2)
'With so many developments in the convenience food area, it takes very little effort today to prepare gourmet dishes we wouldn't dream of attempting a few years ago...
Chicken Wellington
1 can (16 ounces) cling peach halves
4 large half breasted chicken
1 can (13 3/4 ounces) chicken broth
1/2 cup white dinner wine
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 package (10 ounces) frozen patty shells
Thin slices Swiss cheese and ham, chopped
Drain peaches. Remove skin and bones from chicken breast. Heat broth with wine and salt. Add chicken breasts, cover, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and tender. Cool in broth and drain, saving broth for soup or a sauce. Thaw patty shells. Split each chicken breast lengthwise insert about 1 tablespoon chopped cheese and ham. Place patty shells with edges touching n floured board and roll into a sheet. Cut into four pieces. Place peach half cup-side down on each stuffed chicken breast. Wrap one piece of pastry around each peach topped chicken breast, enclosing it completely. Place seam side down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated hot oven (400 degrees F.) about 30 minutes, until nicely browned. Serves 4.'
---'Elegant Chicken Dish,' Daily Herald [Chicago IL], July 13, 1972, section 6 (p. 9)
[1980]
'Recipes that win top money prizes in the Pillsbury Bake-Off...got the most publicity but followers of the baking contest have learned that they may find recipes they like even better among the collection of 100 recipes published after each contest. Pillsbury publishes each recipe only after they have been kitchen-tested many times with minor adjustments--when necessary--for best results. The company's home economists who have had a chance to taste all of the recipes agree that Chicken Wellington ala Crescent would be their top choice of an impressive special main dish. Boneless chicken breasts simmered in a wine sauce are folded around an herbed cheese mixture. These are turned into individual 'wellingtons' by wrapping each in rectangles of crescent dinner roll dough and baking. The recipe can be prepared for the oven and then refrigerated for up to two hours before baking...
Chicken Wellington ala Crescent
6 (4 to 8 oz.) chicken breast fillets
.06-oz. pkg. Italian salad dressing mix
3 tablespoons olive oil or oil
1 cup Marsala or red wine
8 oz. (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
3 tablespoons chopped parsley or 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon & pepper seasoning
8-oz. can Pillsbury Refrigerated Quick Crescent Dinner Rolls
1 tablespoon margarine or butter melted sesame seed
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced or 3 (2 1/2 -oz.) jars sliced mushrooms, drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
parsley for garnish
Sprinkle chicken pieces with salad dressing mix. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat, saute chicken on both sides until meat becomes white in color, about 5 minutes. Add wine, cover, and simmer until chicken is just tender, about 20 minutes. In medium bowl, combine cheese, margarine, parsley, garlic salt and lemon pepper. Divide mixture into 6 portions, about 1/3 cup; mold each into a ball. Separate dough into 2 long rectangles; seal perforations. Roll out each to a 16X6-inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle into three 6X5-inch rectangles and one 6X1-inch rectangle. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove chicken from skillet reserving liquid; drain on paper towel. Using 1 cheese ball for each fillet, fold fillet over filling or make a pocket and insert cheese. Place 1 filled fillet on center of each 6X5-inch rectangle of dough. Fold dough over fillet completely covering chicken; seal. Fold ends under. Place seam-side-down in ungreased 15X10-inch jelly roll pan or 13X9-inch pan. With remaining dough, cut out decorations as desired; decorate each wellington. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with melted margarine and sprinkle with sesame seed last 5 minutes of baking. Add mushrooms to reserved liquid (about 1 cup); cook on low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. In small bowl, blend cornstarch and water until smooth; pour into mushroom sauce, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens. To serve, spoon sauce over wellingtons. Garnish with parsley. 6 servings.'
---'Foods of the Tribune: Impressive Dishes from 1980 Bake-Off,' Ora Brinkley, Philadelphia Tribune, June 10, 1980 (p. 15)
[1983]
'Clinkerdagger's Chicken Wellington
Butter or margarine
12 chicken breast halves, boned and skinned
3/4 teaspoon steak salt
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
6 frozen puff pastry shells
4 1/2-ounces crab meat
6 tablespoons cold hollandaise sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup hot hollandaise sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Brush griddle or large skillet with butter. Place chicken breast halves on griddle. Sprinkle with steak salt. Brown quickly on both sides, about 15 seconds each. Chicken should be pink in center. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms and onion in 1/4 cup butter until tender, then cook over high heat until liquid evaporates. Cool and drain. Thaw puff pastry until soft but still cold. Roll out to at least 8-inch circle. Placed chicken breast half, skin side down, leaving border around circle. Top with mushroom-onion mixture, then crab meat. Top with 1 tablespoon cold hollandaise. Top with second chicken breast half. Pull pastry over filling. Pinch seam along side. Beat egg and milk in small bowl. Brush on pastry. Continue to assemble remaining Wellington, using chicken, mushroom mixture, crab meat and cold hollandaise, and brush puff pastry. Bake at 450 degrees 15 minutes or until pastry is browned. Top each serving with hot hollandaise and sprinkle with parsley. Makes 6 servings.'
---'Culinary SOS...Chicken Variation,' Rose Dosti, Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1983 (p L42)
Our research confirms cooks have been tenderizing tough meat by pounding, scoring, and reconstructing for hundreds of years. Meat minces, Meatballs, meatloaf, chicken nuggetsand cube(d) steak all descend from a common culinary mantra: make the best with what you have. Ancient Mongolian Steak Tartar and Depression-eraCube steak have much in common. A survey of historic newspaper articles confirms the earliest print references to both cube and cubed steak first surfaced in the 1920s. Cube steak (first reference 3.18.1932) returned 4340 results; cubed steak (first reference 8.20.1934) returned 1033 results. Cubing is a process, not a cut.
What is 'cubing?'
The term 'cubing' refers to the square-shaped indentations made in the meat during the tenderizing process. The fact that some of these processed items resulted in square-shaped retail meat products might be a coincidence of packaging convenience. This explains the confusion between 'cubed' (processed) and 'cube' (shaped) steaks.
Definitions through time
[1929]
'Vintage 1929 Wonder Chef Cube Steak Machine. This is a Vintage 1929 Wonder Chef Cube Steak Machine which came out of a commercial estate and it is in good looking and in working condition. It was made by the Cube Steak Machine Company of Boston, Massachusetts, has patent numbers which correspond with the years 1926 through 1929, and has a Serial Number of 1274. It features a turntable at the bottom onto which the steakis placed and each time you pull the lever it cuts the steak with 19rolling knife blades and lifts the cutters so that you can turn the turntableand cut the steak in a crosshatched fashion for which cube steaks areknown. This is a hard-to-find early cube steak machine which was made in very limited numbers whether you want to use it for display, add it to yourcollection, and/or even place it back in service. It measures8.5'x9.5'x11' and weighs 14 pounds.'SOURCE: Bonancle.com (auction site, accessed February 2009).
[1936]
'Delicious--Inexpensive Cube Steaks. Cut your food bills by serving these tempting, tender, individiual Cube Steaks. 'Cubing' improves the flavor in any cut of meat...triples the cooking surface and reduced time required for cooking. Scores of delightful menus possible with Cube Steak...Send for free recipe folder. Cube Steak Machine Co., 805 Albany St., Boston, Mass.'
---advertisement, Good Housekeeping, January 1936 (p. 146)
[NOTE: Google Patents lists several records for this company. The oldest patent filing date is 1932. Several subsequent patentswere granted through the 1930s-1940s for meat slitting, tenderizing, etc. machines.
[1950]
'Boneless cubed steaks are ready for your table, golden brown and tender in close to 20 minutes' time. They are prepared from less tender cuts of beef; however, the cubing process makes them tender enough to cook quickly.'
---'Economical Meat Recipes Offered,' Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1950 (p. B4)
[1961]
'2 Cube. 4: to cut partly through one or both surfaces of (a steak) in a checkered patter in order to increase tenderness by breaking the fibers.'
---Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Philip Babcock Gove editor in chief [G & C Merriam:Mew York] 1961 (p. 550)
[1969]
'The butcher's good friend is a wondrous machine called a tenderizer. It looks a little like the wringer of an old-fashioned washing machine, but with sharp teeth set into the rollers. Meat scaps can be run through the rollers several times at different angles and then become perforated, flattened and compressed--knitted together so that they can be cooked as a solid pice. What makes the machine wondrous, as one manufacturer's ad puts it, is that it 'converts lower cost ground or chopped meat into higher pricedknit-formed steaks.' Beef scraps run through a grinder come out as mundane hamburger...The same scraps run through a tenderizer come out transformed into a product variously labeled as cube steak, minute steak, sandwich steak or swiss steak. We found the product selling for an average of $1.28 a pound--a higher price thanthe stores were asking for sirloin ($1.19 a pound) or rib steak ($1.05 a pound). Hamburger and cube steak present the same problem to the consumer. Either productcan be made of a single cut of relatively high-grade beef...or of leftover scraps of unidentifiable lineage. Extra fat can be added to either. Short of choosing a cut of meatpersonally and watching the butcher grind or tenderize it, you usually have now way of telling what it is you're buying. Members of CU's staff, we were invited to eat the cubesteaks, found about 25 per cent of them tough enough or stringy enough to remark on it. Thus its quality appears to be something of a gamble...There should be a standard identity for cube steaks et al. There's nothing wrong with improving a good, but tough, cut of beef by running it through a tenderizer, and then selling it at beef prices. But whenthere's no way to tell the difference between that product and meat scraps, perhpas with fat added, the products should be defined by law.'
---'Cube Steak: often a doubtful buy,' Consumer Reports, February 1969 (p. 59-60)
[1974]
'Cube steak. (American). Tough beef sliced thinly and pounded with a steak hammer to make it tender.'
---International Dictionary of Food and Cooking, Ruth Martin [Hastings House:New York] 1974 (p. 87)
[1993]
Cubing, definition #13: 'To tenderize (a thin cut or slice of meat) by scoring the fibers in a pattern of squares,'
---Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Stuart Berg Flexner editor in chief [Random House:New York] 2nd edition, 1993 (p. 486)
Related steaks? Tri-tip steak, Carpetbag steak & London broil.
Cajun fried turkeyFood historians generally agree that deep-fried turkeys trace their roots to Bayou (Louisiana/Texas)creole cuisine. No exact year, restaurant, or person is connected to this particular food by primarydocumentation. There is no mention of fried turkey in La CuisineCreole:A Collection of Culinary Recipes [New Orleans:1885] or The Picayune Creole Cook Book, 2ndedition [New Orleans:1901].
We DO find evidence that fried turkeys were cooked outdoors forlarge popular events (family reunions, charity dinners, church suppers, etc.) in the early years ofthe twentieth century. About ten years ago fried turkeys received national press and caught theattention of mainstream America. According to articles indexed in the LEXIS/NEXISreQuester database, this recipe migrated from Louisiana/Texas to Missouri, Tennessee,Georgia (peanut oil), and Washington D.C. before it forked northward toward Seattle andVancouver. Most articles written in the last couple of years simply reference fried turkey as atasty alternative to the traditional holiday roast.
'Frying whole turkeys is sort of the Southern version of making fondue. You have a lot of yourfriends over, you poke around in a pot of hot oil with some sticks, and then you pull out yourdinner. Justin Wilson, he of Cajun fame, recalls first seeing a turkey fry in Louisiana in the1930s.'
---Something Different: Deep-Fried Turkey, Beverly Bundy, St. Louis Dispatch,November 24, 1997 (Food p. 4)
'Fried turkey has been all the rage at least for the last decade in New Orleans, and long beforethat it was a tradition in the bayou and throughout the South. Like many a vainglorious culinarymania before it, the national renown of fried turkeys can be traced directly to Martha Stewart,who plucked them from regional obscurity and put them in her magazine in 1996. '
---It's Treacherous, But Oh So Tasty; Fried-Turkey Fans Take the Risk, Annie Gowen,Washington Post, November 22, 2001 (p. B1)
'A longtime food favorite in the southern United States, the delicious deep-fried turkey hasquickly grown in popularity thanks to celebrity chefs such as Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse. While some people rave about this tasty creation, Underwriters Laboratories Inc.'s (UL) safetyexperts are concerned that backyard chefs may be sacrificing safety for good taste. 'We'reworried by the increasing reports of fires related with turkey fryer use,' says John Drengenberg,UL consumer affairs manager. 'Based on our test findings, the fryers used to produce thosegreat-tasting birds are not worth the risks. And, as a result of these tests, UL has decided not tocertify any turkey fryers with our trusted UL Mark.'
---Deep-Frying That Turkey Could Land You in Hot Water; UL Warns Against Turkey FryerUse, PR Newswire, June 27, 2002
[1987]
'Cajun Fried Turkey (D'inde Frite)
---The Prudhomme Family Cookbook: Old-Time Louisiana Recipes, Paul Prudhomme [William Morrow:New York] 1987 (p. 105- 109)
Related cajun turkey specialty? Turducken. About turkeys.
American BisonAmerican bison roamed North America from prehistoric times to the 19th century. Some Native Americans depended on this animalfor food, shelter, clothing, tools and medicine. When Europeans arrived, they saw this great creature and called it buffalo.True buffalos are indigenous to the Old World. Think: water buffalo. Traditional Italian mozzarella cheese is made from water buffalo milk, not American bison. Beefalo is a cross between cattle and AmericanBison.
Why do Americans call this animal 'buffalo?'
'The American bison (Bison bison)is more closely related to cattle than to true buffalo...early European settlers called the unfamiliar animal theyencountered in North America a 'buffelo' [sic] and this misnomer has persisted to the present.'
---'American Bison,' Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth . Kiple & Krimehild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge UniversityPress:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One, (p. 450)
Native Americans
'When the European explorers first visited North America, large numbers of bison were present in perhaps 70 percent of the present-day continental United States...the pre-Columbian buffalo population is often estimated at some 60 million members. As a rule, the animalslived in groups of 20 to 40, gathering into larger herds only for rutting or migration. Native Americans long utilized the bison as afood source; archaelogical evidence suggests that buffalo hunting was practiced more than 10,000 years ago...In a physical sense, theanimal provided the plains inhabitants with many items essential to survival in this environment, in the form of blood, meat, hide, bone,sinew, and manure, that were used for food, rope, weapons, shelter, blankets, clothing, fuel and medicine. In a spiritual sense, the buffalo provided the first Americans with still more...Native Americans honored it as a siprit that influenced fecundity, happiness, strength, protection, and healing...Methods of preparing bison as food were largely determined by the gender of thecooks. When eaten fresh, the meat was often cooked by the hunters, whereas meat curing and preservation were tasks reservedfor women. Hunting parties would sometimes use the hide as a cauldron in which to boil the meat. Variations on this practice includedlining a hole in the ground with the animal skin or suspending the hide aboveground on sticks over a fire. In addition to boiling, the meat was frequently roasted by rotating it over an open fire. To cure buffalo meat, Indian women relied on the sun, rather than on salting or smoking--the European methods. Selecting the choicest parts, the women cut the meat into strips, across the grain, in order to maintainalternating layers of lean and fat. These strips were then suspended on elevated racks in full sunlight for several days. The result was a jerky that could be eaten in the dried form or rehydrated by lengthy boiling. When cured, the meat was lightweight and largelyimperishable, and ideal staple for a mobile culture. The jerky...could be even further condensed when transformed into pemmican...Native Americans also incoporated buffalo into their diet in several ways other than as a fresh and preserved meat. Various tribes developed methods of preparing blood soups and puddings. Roasted throgh bones were a popular source of tasty marrow, and thetongue was savored.'
---'American Bison,' Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge UniversityPress:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 450-451)
[NOTES: Additional information on Jerky & Pemmican.]
European settlers
'Most important--what the bravos in the train looked forward to with the gusto of Crusaders--were the bison or buffalos, as Americans already called them. Extinct in the eastern half of thecountry by 1849, the dusty behemoths were plentiful on the Great Plains and abusurdly easy toshoot. They proved a gastronomic delight to virtually every emigrant who kept a diary. Buffalosteak was 'as tender and good as could be desired.' Carcasses were shared throughout andbetween companies, unlike provisions from home. After a kill the wagons were 'departed withslices of meat dangling from strings fastened to ropes that reach from front to back along the sideof the wagons, looking very much like coarse red fringe...Perhaps buffalo meat tasted so goodbecause it was fresh in the midst of a very monotonous diet of salt pork and jerked beef. Acomparable craving for new-slaughtered flesh characterized the appetites of other groups ofpeople who were shackled to the meat barrel for long periods of time: sailors, loggers, isolatedgarrisons of soldiers, and slaves...'
---Bacon, Beans, and Galantines, Joseph R. Conlin [University of Nevada Press:Reno NV] 1986(p. 36-7)
'By the time the wagon trains reached buffalo (bison) country, most of the emigrants longinglyanticipated a meal of freshly cooked meat. Salted meat had its place, but it could not replace thefresh for weary travelers. The emigrants eagerly devoured the buffalo that had already been sogenerous in providing fuel for baking bread and cooking beans. The enticing fresh meat with itsassertive flavor was just what they thought they wanted...testimonies from pleased dinersindicated that after indulging in this gastronomic treat, almost everyone became an instantaficionado. 'I think there is no beef in the world equal to a fine buffalo cow--such flavor so rich,so juicy, it makes the mouth water to think of it,' noted Charles Stanton...According to EdwinBryant, the choicest cuts of a young fat buffalo cow were the rump, tenderolin, liver, heart,tongue, hump, and 'and intestinal vessel or organ, commonly called by hunters the marrow-gut,'which anatomically speaking, is the chylo-poetic duct...Bryant was describing the intestine thatmountain cookes used for making sausage...Buffalo meat, darker and coarser than beef, waseither fried in a pan or broiled directly over the hot coals. Bones and ough parts were added to thesoup pot. The hump was cut up to eat immediately or made into jerky. Oner part reported thatthey buried the large bones in the coals of buffalo chips and in an hour had some delicious bakedmarrow. Tongues were smoked or pickled. Buffalo tongue became a gourmet food and wasshipped to restaurants throughout the country, its popularity contributing to the demise of the buffalo. Patty Sessions gathered dry weeds to place on the dung before broiling her family'sbuffalo steaks. Carvalho's companions copied the Indians: 'They cut the buffalo meat in stripsabout an inch thick, four wide, and twelve to fifteen long. The stick is then inserted in the meat,as boys to a kite stick; one end of the stick is then stuck in the ground, near the fire, and theprocess of roasting is complete--the natural juice of the meat is retained, in the this manner, and Ithink it the most preferable way to cook game.' During the meal the men would simply cut aslice off the piece roasting on the stick. Buffalo meat was so versatile that Narcissa Whitmanboasted that her husband had a different way of preparing each piece of meat. Unfortunately, shedid not record the recipes; she did, however, observe that her husband liked the taste of buffaloso much that he now began to do most of the cooking. Yet there were dissenters. 'While here wehad buffalo meat. We did not like it very well. It is much coarser than beef,' wrote LuciaWilliams...Knowing that they must always plan ahead, emigrants preserved the buffalo meat by'jerking' it. In that process the meat is cut into long strips about one inch wide and then dried inthe sun or over a fire.'
---Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregaon Trail, Jacqueline Williams [University Press of Kansas: Lawrence KS] 1993 (p. 150-3)
'The tongues, humps, and marrow-bones [of buffalo] are regarded as the choice parts of theanimal. The tongue is taken out by ripping open the skin between the prongs of the lower jaw-bone and pulling it out through the orifice. The hump may be taken off by skinning down on eachside of the shoulders and cutting away the meat, after which the hump-ribs can be unjointedwhere they unite with the spine. The marrow, when roasted in the bones, is delicious.'
---The Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions, Randolph B. Marcy [unabridgedfacsimile 1859 edition [Corner House Publishers:Williamstown, MA] 1968 (p. 237-8)
[1863]
'Bear Meat and Buffalo.
The meat of all large animals is better roasted than dressed in any other way. Prepare, cook, andserved bear and buffalo meat like venison, or like an a la mode beef.'
---What to Eat and How to Cook It, Pierre Blot [D. Appleton and Company:New York] 1863 (p.164)
[1867]
'Buffalo Pemmican'
SOURCE: The Market Assistant [1867]
[19th century historic recipe notes]
'Meeting the Buffalo on the Prairie,' Eating Up the Santa Fe Trail, Sam'l P. Arnold [University Press of Colorado:Niwot CO] 1990 (p. 33-40)
Current American buffalo industry
'Today's commercial bison business began in the late 1960's, but didn't gain significantmomentum until the late 1980's. At that time, many new producers began to enter the business.The prices of animals began to climb rapidly as these new entrants competed for breeding stockto build their herds. Meanwhile, some of the leading chefs across the country began to discoverthe wonderful flavor that bison meat added to their recipes. However, these gourmet chefsprimarily sought the high-end cuts of meat, such as tenderloins and strip steaks...During the 1990's bisonproduction emerged from its infancy, and grew rapidly across the country. By the end of thedecade, though, growing pains had become evident. The main focus of the NBA during the 1990swas to help new producers make a successful transition into the bison business, and to helpexisting producers increase their production efficiency. As a new industry, the learning curve wasvery steep for many producers...While tenderloins and ribeyesfound a ready market, similar demand was slow in developing for roasts, burgers and other meat products.'
SOURCE: National Bison Association
The history of carpetbag steak presents an complicated knot of food lore, culinary history andimprobable summations. Food historians generally agree that this dish (thick steak stuffed withoysters) was probably invented in America by a popular chef/restaurant sometime in the first halfof the twentieth century. Australians have adopted this recipe, thoughdo not make claims for its invention.
Oyster houses and steak houses (separatetly, not together!) and were all the rage of the rich andwealthy at the turn of the last century. They sprung up everywhere rich diners liked to eat, oftencombining the restaurant's namesake with other popular foods of the day. It is possible Rector'sOyster House in Chicago and Delmonico's in New York served carpetbag steak, though we haveno printed evidence [yet!] to support this theory.
'The oyster house had far outgrown its original simple design and function...'The real OysterHouse is a specialized restaurant,' explained the author of an 1897 souvenier booklet aboutRector's Oyster House in Chicago, 'the specialties of which are, in general, sea-food, game,salads, certain delicatessen, and the choicest wines, brandies and ales. In greater detail it is aplacewhere, in their season, the finest and freshest oysters of a dozen varieties are to be found...'
---America Eats Out, John Mariani [William Morrow:New York] 1991 (p.55-6)
Culinary evidence confirms the American tradition of combining oysters and beef steak waspracticed in the late 19th century. Oysters were considered a luxury item and were combinedwith many different foods. Early oyster and beef combinations in American cook books typically'smothered' thick steaks with oysters. There is no mention of apocket or filling. Food historians generally attribute the first printed recipe for 'Carpetbag steak'to Louis Diat, 1941.
This is what the food historians have to say on the subject:
'Carpetbag steak.
A grilled steak of beef into which is cut a pocket enclosing a stuffing of oysters. The name derives from the handbag for travelers that was popular from about 1840 to 1870. The dishresembles the sacklike bag with its top closure. There does not seem to be any specificassociation with an American slang term, 'carpetbagger,' for a hated post-Civil War opportunistwho took advantage of both white and black southerners politically and economically. In fact,thecarpet bag steak is much more popular in Australia and is only menioned for the first time inAmerican print in 1941 in Louis Diat's Cooking a la Ritz. Although there is no proof thedish originated at Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles, which opened in 1936, it did become oneof the restaurant's signature dishes.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:NewYork]1999 (p. 59)
'Though popular in Australia, this unusual steak stuffed with oysters is apparently of Americanorigin. It takes it name from the cloth satchel travelers used around the time of the Civil War.Just before the turn of the century, when broiled steaks were coming into vogue, a popular wayto serve them was under a coverlet of oysters. This recipe simply takes thatlate-nineteenth-century recipe one step further. Who's responsible? Perhaps Chasen's restaurant,which opened in Hollywood in 1936 (and closed in 1995). Carpetbagger Steak, as Chasen'scalledit, was a house specialty. Or was Louis Diat, the creator? He includes this recipe for it inCooking a la Ritz [1941].'
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 92)
'I have, over the years, received more requests for carpetbag steak than almost any other dish,and I suspect much of its appeal has to do with the name, which has a fascinating ring. I own fewAustralian cookbooks and cannot find the recipe in any of them. The most logical recipe I haveever found appeared thirty years ago in the late Helen Evan Brown's The West Coast CookBook[1952]...An Australian who now lives in Manhattan...wrote, quoting a passage from TheCaptainCook Book: Two Hundred Years of Australian Cooking, by Babette Hayes: 'The carpetbag steak is now a truly Australian dish although it came to us from the U.S. ofA. A thick chunk of tender sirloin, rump or fillet steak, which has a pocket cut in the middle, isstuffed with oysters and then fried to the required degree of doneness. That's the basic recipe.There are many variations: add chopped mushrooms, onions, herbs, or lemon juice.' She says that the name probably derives from the term for a one-pound note in Australia,which is 'carpet,' and 'bag' from the term 'in the bag,' meaning a winner.'
---The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, Craig Claiborne [TimesBooks:New York] 1985 (p. 71)
If you need more information you might consider contacting The University of Adelaide,CordonBleu graduate program in gastronomy.
STEAK & OYSTER RECIPES
[1885]'Beefsteak and Oyster Pie
Cut three pounds of lean beefsteak. Salt, pepper and fry quickly so as to brown without cookingthrough; then place in a deep dish. Get four dozen oysters, beard them, and lay them in the panover the beef; season with salt and pepper. Take the gravy in which the steaks were fried, pourout some of the grease; dredge in a tablespoonful of flour, let it brown and add to it a pint ofgoodbeef broth, then put in a wine-glassful of mushroom catsup, some of Harvey's or Worcestershiresauce; heat it, and let it boil up a few times, then pour it over the oysters and steak. When thegravy has become cook. Cover the pie with a good puff-paste, and bake it for an hour and ahalf.'
---La Cuisine Creole, Second Edition [F.F. Hansell & Bro.:New Orleans] 1885 (p.30-1)
[NOTE: Creole cookbooks traditionally combine oysters with poultry, not beef.]
[1887]
'Stewed Steak with Oysters.
Two pounds of rump steak, one pint of oysters, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, three of butter,one of flour, salt, pepper, one cupful of water. Wash the oysters in the water, and drain into astew-pan. Put this liquor on to heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, skim and set back. Put thebutter in a frying-pan, and when hot, put in a steak. Cook ten minutes. Take up the steak, and stirthe flour into the butter remaining in the pan. Stir until a dark brown. Add the steak, cover thepan, and simmer half an hour or until the steak seems tender, then add the oysters and lemonjuice. Boil one minute. Serve on a hot dish with points of toast for a garnish.'---White House Cook Book: A Selection of Choice Recipes Original and Selected, During aPeriod of Forty Year's Practical Housekeeping, Mrs. F. L. Gillette [L.P. Miller &Co.:Chicago] 1887 (p. 100)
[1902]
'Steak with Oysters.
Select twenty-five oysters; drain, wash and drain again. Trim the steak, which should be about aninch and a half thickness. When the steak has broiled for five minutes, dust with salt and pepper,baste with butter, and cover it over with the oysters, and without delay run it into a very hot ovenfor ten minutes. Dish without removing the oysters, baste thoroughly with the juice that is in thebottom of the pan, and send at once to the table. The oysters should have the gills thoroughlycurled and be slightly browned.'
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia]1902 (p. 152)
[NOTE: the extra thick steak used here.]
[1905 or 1907]
'Carpet-Bag A La Colchester
Choose a good tender steak, and have it cut about 2 in. to split it through, and fill in between with raw oysters, lighly seasonedwith cayenne and a few drops of lemon juice. Sew up the steak, and grill carefully for 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Rub steak over with oiled butter or salad oil prevents the juice from escaping, and ensures it coming to table a rich brown outside and tender andjuicy inside.'---The Goulburn Cookery Book,Mrs. Forster Rutledge, [The National Trust:Sydney, Australia], 40th edition, a facsimile edition taken from parts of the 2nd in 1905 and 5th in 1907 of the original. xviii + 199 + v 8vo, 1973(p. 31)
NOTE: Except for the title, the following Australian dish is almost an exact duplication of the recipe above.
[1909]
'Steak and Oyster Filling
Choose a good tender steak, and have it cut about 2 inches thick. Split it through, and fill in between with raw oysters, lightly seasoned with cayenne and a few drops of lemon juice. Sew up the steak, and grill carefully for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour.Rubbing the steak over with oiled butter or salad oil prevents the juice escaping, and ensures it coming to table a rich brownoutside and tender and juicy inside.'
---The Schauer Cookery Book, Misses A. and M. Schauer [Edwards, Dunlop & Co:Brisbane and Sydney Australia] 1909 (p. 164)
Related steaks? Tri-tip steak, Cube steak & London broil.
ChateaubriandFood historians generally agree on two points when it comes to the history of Chateaubriand: therecipe was named for the Vicomte de Chateaubriand and it first appeared in print during themid-19th century. Primary evidence confirms the period. It also confirms several recipevariations.Onthe other hand? Most recipes are not inventions, but evolutions. Good cuts of beef served withmaitre d'hotel butter were served in England before this particular recipe was featured in fancyFrench dinner menus. Thick steaks filled with oysters (aka Carpetbagsteak) were also popular at that time. Notes here:
'Chateaubriand...This French version of English beef-steak was probably dedicated to theVicomte de Chateaubriannd (1768-1848) by his chef, Montmireil: at that time, the steak was cutfrom the sirloin and served with a reduced sauce made from white wine and shallots moistenedwith demi-glace and mixed with butter, tarragon and lemon juice. An alternative spelling ischateaubriant and some maintain that the term refers to the quality of the cattle bred around thetown of Chateaubriand in the Loire-Atlantique. Pellaprat, probably wrongly, specifies: The dishwas created at the Champeax restaurant; it was shortly after publication of Chateaubriand's bookL'Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem (1811) that this grilled steak, comprising a thick slicefrom the heart of the beef filet, made its first appearance ; its cooking is a delicate process onaccount of the thickness, for if it is sealed too much, a hard shell is formed on either side and thecentre remains uncooked; it must be cooked more slowly than a piece of ordinarythickness.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:NewYork]2001 (p. 255)
'A chateaubriand is a thick steak cut from a beef fillet. It was named after the French writer andstatesman Francois Rene, Vicomte de Chateaubraind. The original application of the termappearsto have been to a particular method of preparing steak-grilled and served with bearnaisesauce-which was invented by the chef Montmirail in 1822, when the Vicomte de ChateaubriandwasFrench ambassador in London; but by the 1870s, when it was introduced into English, it hadbeentransferred to the steak itself: The steak which had formerly been served...under the name filetdeboeuf was now always announced as 'Chateaubrand,' E.S. Dallas, Kettner's Book of theTable (1877).
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 66-7)
'Chateaubriand is the name given to a large piece of fillet steak, either much thicker that usual orbig enough to serve at least two people, or both. There is some disagreement, e.g. betweenFrench and American butchers, over the exact size and nature of this cut. A tedious accretion oftales about the origin of the name was robustly hacked out of the way by Dallas (1877) inKettner's Book of the Table, indeed, the author of this would have gone further andbanished the term altogether, as had the members of a certain London club (so he tells us) when afancy chef sought to install it on their menu.
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.157)
Here is the original passage from Kettner's Book of the Table (1877), quoted in full:
'Take another example of mystification, and it must be added, of exceeding folly--to use nostronger epithet. It is connected with the illustrious name of Chateaubriand. One of the foremostclubs in London one day changed its cook; and its members were astonished to find that the steakwhich had formerly been served to them under the name filet de boeuf was now always announcedas a Chateaubriand. The cook was called to account. What was the meaning of the new name?Why should plain Englishmen be puzzled with a new name--the slang of the kitchen? Whyshouldthey not, as of old, get the fillet were accustomed? The cook had really nothing to say. He couldonly tell that a Chateaubriand was the fashionable name in Paris for a steak cut from the ordinaryfillet-steaks--nearly two inches. The members of the club were not satsified with thisexplanation;and to the great disgust of the chef, who felt the sublimity of the name of Chateaubriand, theorder was given that henceforth a steak from the fillet should be announced as before on otherbills under the time-honoured name of filet de boeuf.
The were quite right; and even if the cook, better informed, had been able to give them thetrue history and meaning of a Chateaubriand, there can be little doubt that they would have stillarrived at the same decision. He was correct in stating that a Chateaubriand is cut from the bestpart of the fillet, and is nearly twice the ordinary thickness of steak: but is this all? The thicknessof the steak involves a peculiar method of cooking it. It is so thick that by the oridinary methoditmight be burnt on the surface when quite raw inside; and therefore--though the new method isneglected and is even forgotten very much--it was put upon the fire between two other slices ofbeef, which, if burnt upon the grill, could have been thrown away. It may still be asked, what hasthisto do with Chateaubriand, that his name should be attached to a steak so prepared? Here we comeinto a region of culpapble levity. Chateaubriand published his most famous work under the nameof Le Genie du Christianisme. The profane wits of the kitchen thought that a good steaksent to the fire between two malefactor steaks was a fair parody of the Genie duChristianisme. If I remember rightly it was a Champeax' in the Place de la Bourse that thiseccentric idea took form and burst upon Paris. As to the name, it is needless to day a word; as tothe good sense of the mode of cooking the steak, judgement is pronounced in the fact that,though the Chateaubriand still remains as thick as ever, it is rare now to see it grilled betweentwoother steaks--that being too extravagant. Indeed, in Gouffe's great work on cookery, which mustalways be mentioned with respect for the good sense and taste whcih pervade it, there is not ahintgiven that the Chateaubriand is to be cooked, or was ever cooked, between the two robber steaks.Most cookery books say not one word of the Chateaubriand, which ranks now as the prime steakof the French table, and which appears in Parisian dinner bills to bewilder the benightedEnglishman with a magnificent but unintelligble name.' (p. 6-7)
'Chateaubriand.--It is not necessary to add to the account of this given in the introduction, and Iam not anxious to repeat the story. The peculiarity of the steak is in its thickness, and in the wayfo broiling it; but sometimes also it is served with a peculiar sauce, namely, Spanish saucedilutedwith white wine, then considerably reduced and at the moment of serving enriched with a pat ofmaitre d'hotel butter.' (p. 114)
---Kettner's Book of the Table, E.S. Dallas, facsimile reprint 1877 edition [CentaurPress:London] 1968
CHATEAUBRIAND RECIPES THROUGH TIME
'Fillet steaks a la Chateaubriand.
Cut a fillet of beef crosswise, in 1 3/4-inch steaks; trim them; sprinkle them with salt and pepper,and oil them slightly; broil the steaks over the fire, --six minutes each side; put them on a dish;andgarnish with potatoes sautees, and cut to an olive shape; pour some Chateaubriand Sauce (videpage 279)--over the steaks only; and serve.' (p. 337)
Thickened Maitre d'Hotel Sauce a la Chateaubriand.
Reduce 2 gills of French white wine, and 1 oz. of Meat Glaze; add 1 quart of Espagnole Sauce;continue reducing; then strain, through a tammy cloth, into a bain-marie pan; Before serving, boilup the sauce, and thicken it with 1/4 lb. Of Maitre d'Hotel Butter.' (p. 279)
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [SampsonLow,Sone and Marston:London] 1869
[1894]
'Chateaubriand Steak.
This is considered the acme of steaks. It should be cut from the fillet, quite two inches thick, andput into a marinade of the purest olive oil, with a little pepper, for a few hours. Some cooks add afew drops of French vinegar. The steak is best grilled; to ensure perfection, a double gridiron,welloiled, is recommended, and some authorities insist upon the envelopment of the steak in two thinslices of beef (any lean part; it can be put in the stock pot afterwards), to protect the exterior, as itshould not be allowed to harden. Without this precaution, great care is needed to cookthoroughly, without hardening, owing to the thickness of the meat. After eighteen to twentyminutes' grilling, lay the meat before the fire on a hot dish, and finish off in either of thefollowingways: (1) Put a pat of maitre d'hotel butter under the steak, and a little gravy round; this can bemade by mixing a grill of stock No. 16 with the same measure of brown sauce No. 2. (2) Put apatof maitre d'hotel butter in a gill of brown sauce, first heated with a glass of white wine and ateaspoonful of lemon juice. (2) Mix chopped parsley and lemon juice, a teaspoonful of each, witha gill and a half of stock No. 16, thickened with a small quantitiy of roux and glaze, to theconsistency of good cream. Serve fried potatoes, chips or ribbons with this steak. Cost,variable.'
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell andCompany:London] 1894 (p. 243)
[1896]
'Chateaubriand of Beef.
Cut the desired number of thick slices from a tenderloin of beef, and slit each one nearly inhalves;place a teaspoonful of beef marrow seasoned with salt and cayenne and a few strips of onion inthis cavity, pressing the sides together, and brush over with warm butter or oil; place on a warmgridiron over a clear fire for ten minutes. Remove, dish and squeeze a litte lemon juice overthem,serving as hot as possible. Care should be take to prevent the marrow from oozing out during theprocess of cooking.'
---The Cookbook by 'Oscar' of the Waldorf, Oscar Tschirky [SaafieldPublishing:Chicago] 1896 (p. 143-4)
[1903]
'2294. Chateaubriand.
Chateaubriands are obtained from the centre of the trimmed fillet of beef, cut two or three timesthe thickness of an ordinary fillet of steak. However, when it is to be cooked by grilling theChateaubriand should not be more than 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) in weight as, if larger than this, theoutside tends to become too dry and hard before the inside is properly cooked. Many strangeideas have been put forward concerning the proper accompaniements for Chateaubriand;correctlyspeaking it should be Sauce Colbert or a similar sauce and small potatoes cooked in butter. Inmodern practice though, Chateaubriands are served with any of the sauces and garnishes suitablefor Tournedos and fillet steaks.'
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier [1903], first tranlsationin to English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann [Wiley:new York] 1979 (p. 279)
[1935]
'Chateaubriand steak.
The Chateaubriand steak is an aristocrat, and is listed on most all a la carte bills. It is a doubletenderloin served for two, three, or four. In price it ranges from $2.50 to $5.00, depending uponthe size and garnish. Only one Chateaubriand is listed, as a rule, and is named after the house, as'Chateaubriand, Tip Top Inn,' $3.50; 'Chateaubriand, Blackstone,' $4.00. The above quotedbills list but one Chateaubriand steak and the service is for four. The garnish varies with thedifferent establishments, and generally consists of a rich sauce, fresh mushrooms, and fancyvegetables. Some places list two or three sizes with varying prices and garnishes, such as'Marchand du vin,' 'Bernaise,' or 'fresh mushrooms.' In cutting the Chateaubriand for two itshould be cut to weigh one and a half pounds; for three, two and a quarter pounds; for four, threepounds; and to be at its best is should be take from the 'heart' or center of the tenderloinstrip.'
---The Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel MonthlyPress:Chicago] 1935 (p. 23)
Chicken
The history of chicken as human food is facinating and complicated. Originally prized for sport and eggs, eventuallyfarmed as commercial flesh food.
'The origins of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus, as the Romans named it) go back tens ofthousands of years. Charles Darwin, observing the Red Jungle Fowl of southeast Asia, identifieditas the progenitor or the modern barnyard chicken. Some present-day archeologists assume thetime of domestication to be in 3000B.C. and, following Darwin's lead, the place India, or theIndus valley. Others perfer Burma and others the Malay Peninsula. There is evidence thatchickenswere known in Sumer in the second millenium and the Sumero-Babylonian word for the cockwas'the king bird.'..In Egypt we find mention of chickens as early as the SecondDynasty...referencesin Greek writings of the fourth century B.C. to the fact that the Egyptians kept chickens and ,moreover, that they were able to incubate large numbers of eggs...Indeed it was no accident thatEgypt, like ancient China, was a mass society which mastered the technology of large-scaleincubation. Some four thousand years ago the Egyptians invented incubators capable of hatchingas many as ten thousand chicks at a time...From Greece, the chicken spread to Rome...When theRomans conquered Britain, they brought chickens with them...But they also found domestic fowlalready there.'
---The Chicken Book, Paige Smith and Charles Daniel [University of GeorgiaPress:Athens] 1975 (p. 10-16)
[NOTE: This book contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. Your librariancan help you obtain a copy.]
'Chicken. The Indian jungle fowl. Gallus gallus, is the acknowledge progenitor of domesticfowlsthe world over. It is native to a wide region all the way from Kashmir to Cambodia, with perhapsthe centre of origin in the Malaysian land mass. The bird may have been domesticated not as asource of meat, but for purposes of divination...the fowl is a scavenger, and perhaps for thisreason, the domestic fowl frequently finds a place in lists of foods prohibited for brahmans. Forexample, the Manusmriti includes in this category the domestic pig and the domestic fowl, and inAD 916 the visitor A-Masudi records prohibition agains 'cows, tame poultry, and all kinds ofeggsamong the people'...Other travellers however note the consumption of chicken as food. Chickenkabob, paloa with murgmasallam, and roasted fowl (dojaj) all figure in meals served at the DelhiSultanate court. In Vijayanagar, Domingo Pases remarks on 'poultry fowls, remarkably cheap',and in AD 1780 Mrs. Eliza Fay serves 'roast fowl' for lunch in Calcutta. Since good beef wasscarce or unavailable, the domestic fowl was indeed the great colonial standby, whether at homeor when travelling.'
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K.T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:Delhi]1998 (p. 41-2)
'Chicken, the domestic or barnyard fowl, native to India; source of meat and of eggs. The earliestsources for the presence of chickens in Europe are Laconian vases dated to the sixth century BC(the chickens identified by some in early Egyptian and Minoan wall paintings are in fact guineafowl). Greek texts of the fifth century call chickens alektryones awakeners (a salienttrait)...Several varieties of chicken are mentioned in ancient sources.'
---Food in the Ancient World From A-Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 83-4)
'The chicken (Gallus gallus or Gallus domesticus) is generally considered to have evolved fromthe jungle fowl...which ranges throughout the area between eastern India and Java....Debatesregarding the origin and spread of the domestic chicken focus both on its genetic basis and the'hearth area' of its inital domestication...archaeological evidence [shows] domestic chickens tobepresent at China's Yangshao on Peiligan Neolithic sites, which dated from circa 6000to 4000B.C.As a consequence, because wild forms of Gallus are entirely absent in China, and as the climatewould have been inimical to them in the early Holocene, it seems likely that chickens weredomesticated elsewhere at an even earlier date. in the absence of evidence from India, SoutheastAsia (i.e. Thailand) has been put forward as a likely hearth area...Although chickens are stronglyassociated with egg production in European and neo-European cultures, elsewhere they have verydifferent associations...'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas,Volume One [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000 (p. 496-499)
'Hen/chicken breeds: Domesticated versions of the species Gallus domesticus. Their wildancestors are thought to be several species of jungle fowl, of the same genus, native to the Indiansubcontinent and SE Asia. Remains from Chinese sites indicated that the birds could have beendomesticated as early as the 2nd millennium BC. However, their diffusion westwards was a longprocess. They probably reached Britain, for example, with Celtic tribes during the 1st centuryBC.They had arrived in Greece, probably from Persia, about 500 years before that, and there arenumerous references in classical literature, for example to their being served as food atsymposia. The Romas bread hens for their meat, selecting docile, heavy birds...An old Englishbreed, the Dorking, also shares these characteristics, leading to speculation that ancestors of thesebirds flourished in Roman Britain...In 1815 Bonington Moubray was able to specify 12 henbreeds(in his Pracical Treatise on Breeding, Rearing and Fattening all Kinds of Domestic poultry, abook which formalized the husbandry of poultry in Britain.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.378)
Commercial USA chicken meat industry
Our research confirms chickens were raised for meat in the USA prior to the 1920s. BUT the practice did not become large-scale until that decade. Chicken was actively promoted by US government during WWII as a cheap alternative to beef. The earliest print reference we find for commercial evisceration plant is 1928.
[1911]
'Chicken...The fowl has been reared for food for so many centuries...The best known types of chickens especially suitable for table purposes are the many varieties of the Brahma (very large birds), Cochin, Langshan, Dorking, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte and Houdan...A good table bird should have a large full breast and, at other points also, a large proportion of meat to the size of the bones...Many heated controversies have been held over the question as to whether drawn or undrawn poultry keeps better. The advocates of the 'undrawn' method appear to have the best arguments on their side...Dry-picked chickens will keep longer than scalded birds. The plucking would be performed immediately after killing. Capons are considered a little choicer-- more tender and of higher flavor--than ordinary fowl...Poulards, or Spayed hens, are in France considered particularly delicate also, but in this country they are not rated as much, if any, better than first-class pullets. Milk-fed Chickens are those fattened for market chiefly on milk-soaked bread. Properly regulated, the diet gives birds with very delicate flesh. A 'Squab Chicken' should average 3/4 pound to 1 1/4 pounds in weight; a 'broiler' 1 1/2 to 2; one to 'sauter,' about 2 1/2 pounds; for 'roasting' 3 pounds or so; and for fricassee, 4 pounds. The neat of well fattened chicken of young and medium age has about the same nutritive value as beef, but it is generally considered easier of digestion and therefor especially suitable for invalids and convalescents.'
---Encyclopedia of Foods and Beverages, Artemas Ward [National Grocer:New York] 1911 (p. 130)
'Retailers catering to a 'good' class of trade will find that attractive methods of marketing are especially applicable to poultry. Chickens and other birds packed in suitable baskets, lined and covered with linen, white paper, etc., will bring much better prices than the same birds carelessly handled.'
---ibid (p. 507)
[1933]
'The capon market has been developed by the demand for a roasting bird that is heavier than a large hen, yet lighter in weight than a prime young turkey hen. This market is very discriminating and pays top price for birds weighing eight pounds or more, and in prime condition. There is a limited capon market at Thanksgiving and Christmas time, but the capon market normally opens late in January and continues through March. By marketing cockerels as capons, the producer can often get a better price for them than if they were sold when they weighted two or three pounds.'
---Purina Poultry Guide [Ralston Purina Company St. Louis MO] 1933 (p. 36)
[1936]
'In the United States, the real beginning of the poultry industry was contemporary with the founding of the first homes in Jamestown in 1607. In the early days poultry raising was still essentially a home enterprise, and as farming areas were opened up and homes established, farm flocks increased in numbers...The first poultry exhibition in the United States was held in Boston in 1849...The holding of poultry exhibitions had the effect of encouraging poultry breeders to pay considerable attention to such characteristics as type, feather contour, and color markings. In fact, so much attention was given to the perfection of characteristics of minor economic importance that vigor and qualities of greater economic importance were often sacrificed...Thus over a period of several centuries man first kept chickens for sport, then for pleasure, then for utility; and breeding first concentrated on fighting qualities, then in feather form and color pattern and final on egg and meat production. In the early days of American agriculture grain was cheap, and inasmuch as chickens feed largely on grains and were able to utilize much 'waste.' it was soon found that eggs and poultry meat could be produced quite cheaply. Eggs came to occupy a unique place in the American dietary, the demand increased, and gradually an extensive farm-poultry industry developed, along with a commercial industry of no small proportions...Farm-flock records were kept, selection was practiced, egg-laying contests were started, and finally record-of-performance work was undertaken...Apparently the first organized effort to stimulate interest in the identification of superior laying stock as the holding of laying 'trials' in England as early as 1897. These trials were for short periods only, but they were followed by trials of about 1 year's duration, the first of which began in 1912. From that time on an officially conducted laying competition has been held every year at the Harper-Adams Agricultural College. The first 12-month laying competition was inaugurated, however, in 1902 in New South Wales, Australia, and was held at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. In Canada the first officially conducted laying contest was started in British Columbia in 1911, and in the United States the Storrs egg-laying contest, in Connecticut, was started the same year...Although the main objective of most poultry breeders is to develp increased egg-laying in their flocks, nevertheless, fleshing properties are of considerable economic importance, especially in the case of such breeds as Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and Wyandottes. Good body type and size are desirable in order that the largest possible amount of meat may be produced by any surplus cockerels that are sold as broilers or roasters, and by any hens that are sold for market after serving their purpose as egg producers.'
---'Superior Breeding Stock in Poultry,' Morley A. Jull, Yearbook of Agriculture 1936, U.S. Department of Agriculture [Government Printing Office:Washington DC] 1936 (p. 957-961, 984)
[1995]
'The U.S. broiler industry got its start in the 1920s. After World War I, the practice of dining out increased and provided the impetus for higher class eating places to add variety to their menus. Featuring broilers (young chickens), especially in the winter, became common practice. The typical poultry meat in the first third of the 20th century, however, came from rather tough-meated older hens and young roosters that were byproducts of raising chickens for egg laying. The widespread practice of allowing birds to range in the barnyard hardened muscle fiber, yielding meat that was dry and strongly flavored. Also, much of the supply in some seasons were birds stored frozen in the 'New York dressed' statea bird bled and plucked, but with head, feet, and organs intact. Upon thawing, drainage from these birds and conditions surrounding their evisceration in the meat market or at home were quite unappealing to consumers and handlers. Red meat rationing during World War II provided the spark needed to propel the industry forward. Poultry was not rationed, and broiler production increased to fill the void left by red-meat rationing. Broilers soon demonstrated their potential as a money-making business. After the war, as red meats returned to normal availability, a period of intense activity and investments ensued to develop strains of chickens bred for their meat qualities. Rapid technological advances in the 10-year period following the war lowered retail chicken prices by 30-40 percent from the 1920s to the mid-1950s, compared with price increases of 75-90 percent for red meats in the same period. The 'Chicken-of-Tomorrow Program,' a contest for breeders sponsored by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), illustrates the intense interest in quality improvement through genetics. A&P was aware of the profit potential from chickens bred for their meat qualities, emphasizing yield from breasts, thighs, and drumsticks. Starting in 1945, these annual contests reinforced the efforts of leading breeders, with an eye on designing a product for the consumer. Supermarkets that featured pre-packaged meats, low prices, and advertising replaced many butcher shops. Featuring broilers at sensationally low prices had much to do with the broadening of the market. In addition, the ease of handling eviscerated chickens made broilers a highly convenient item for both retailers and consumers. By the mid-1950s, the chicken industry had moved from a specialty item targeted to the dining-out market to a mass market for everyday home meals. A rise in the number of families with two wage earners prompted consumers to seek quick and tasty food. The chicken TV dinner featuring fried chicken became increasingly popular. In line with the Nations desire for fast, inexpensive food with consistent taste, the introduction of fast food reshaped the broiler industry. In 1963, Henny-Penny Corporation, which had 250 chicken take-out franchises, had enough volume to begin requesting certain product specifications from its suppliers. By 1971, Kentucky Fried Chicken, whose first franchised outlet opened in 1952, had 3,500 franchised or company-owned outlets worldwide. By the early 1970s, companies had become dissatisfied with the wide price swings of commodity chicken production and stepped up their production of further processed items. As women continued to enter the workforce, the demand for easy-to-cook products continued to grow. From 1970 to 1990, the share of broilers marketed as whole birds fell from 70 percent to 18 percent. Throughout its rather brief history, the broiler industry has remained primarily consumer oriented, moving further from chickens that were primarily a byproduct of egg laying to flavorful whole roasters, cut-up parts.'
---US Dept. of Agriculture
New York dressed & commercial production
[1947]
'New York dressed are available with the head and feet on, plucked but not drawn, and are generally eviscerated by the butcher while your wait, with further de-pin-feathering and so on to be done at home. The reason for this method of marketing is this: Drawn birds must be frozen if they are to be kept any time, but if they are not drawn, they may be stored in a cold spot for much longer... As for the other two styles in which poultry may be sold, the cut-up chickens have been popular in the poultry-in-parts stores, while the drawn birds are those that are killed nad eviscerated, then sold almost immediately. The skin of both usually demands cleaning in the kitchen...'
---'News of Food: Chicken Supplies Now Are Abundant,' Jane Nickerson, New York Times, February 11, 1947 (p. 33)
[1951]
'Both retailers and housewives have always, till the last few years, bought what is known as New York dressed chicken--with head, feet and viscera intact. Despite the fact viscera gave an off-flavor unless birds are well handled, buying habits, like all habits, die hard. Armour's, in common with poultry-sellers, is hard-pushing eviscerated poultry. It tastes better, is quicker to cook and should inevitably increase consumption even more. And huge-scaled operations... bring down prices, taking chicken out of the Sunday-dinner class and making it practical for during-the-week service, too... By an assembly-line technique not new to the Armour plant and generally used in this big Eastern Shore poultry area, birds are slaughtered, de-feathered, singed and chilled in a slushy ice. Some are packed in New York dressed form in boxes or barrels. Others are eviscerated under Department of Agriculture inspection and put whole into ice for shipment. Facilities are available for quick freezing although they are not yet in operation....Armour hopes...that within ten years all its poultry will be sold eviscerated. Its first eviscerating plant was in Wichita, Kan., and the 1928 output was equal to less than two weeks' capacity in the Salisbury [MD] operation.'
---'News of Food: Armour's Mass Production Poultry Plant to Turn Out 80,000 Chickens Every Week,' Jane Nickerson, New York Times, June 14, 1951 (p. 33)
U.S. chicken industry history/National Chicken Council & U.S. broiler industry history/U.S. Dept. Agriculture
Chicken dishes
'Chicken dishes are possibly the most nearly ubiquitious menu item of a non-vegetarian kind.They may be taboo in certain circumstances in some cultures, but are generally available to allirrespective of religion and with fewer financial constraints than other flesh. The history of thespecies...has also been the subject of a...book by Page Smith and Charles Daniel [TheChicken Book, North Point Press:San Francisco 1982], which carries the story from antiquitythrough publication of the famous book on chickens by Aldrovandi (1600) up to the late 20thcentury and does not shrink from describing the horrors of some intensive rearing practices. It isthese practices which have tended to turn chicken--once something of a luxury for mostpeople--into an inexpensive meat, lacking flavour and provoking uneasy qualms ofconscience...This consideration applies in many parts of the world...The lack of flavour has meat that chickens are particularly suited to dishes which involve distinct added flavours. Many ethniccuisines are rich in such dishes, and many of them have become popular in the western world ontables where they would formerly have been seen as almost unimaginably exotic....Among wellknown or particularly interesting dishes are the following: Hindle wakes (medieval)...Coronationchicken (Queen Elizabeth II), Chicken a la Kiev (20th century Russia), Southern fried chicken(United States), and Tampumpie (Solomon Islands).'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 166-7)[NOTE: This book has separate entries for a several chicken dishes]
Related foods: airline chicken, eggs, Cajun friedturkey (aka deep-fried turkey), chicken & waffleschicken fried steak, cityChicken,coq au vin, fried chicken, & chicken tikka masala.
Chicken a la KingWhile creamy combinations of chicken and sauce have been made for hundreds of years, foodhistoriansgenerally place the *invention* of Chicken a la King in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Theyoffer severaltheories with regards to the origin and naming of this dish:
'Chicken a la king. A dish of chicken with a cream sauce garnished with pimientos. Severaltheories as tothe dish's orgins date from the late nineteenth century. One credits New York's Brighton BeachHotel,where chef George Greenwald supposedly made it for the proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. E. ClarkKing III. ChefCharles Ranhofer of Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City suggested that Foxhall P. Keene,son ofWall Street broker and sportsman James R. Keene, came up with the idea at Delmonico's in the1880s. Athird story credits James R. Keene himself as the namesake and the place and time of origin asClaridge'sRestaurant in London after Keene's horse won the 1881 Grand Prix. However the dish got itsname, firstmentioned in print in 1912, it became a standard luncheon item in the decades that followed,oftenservedfrom a chafing dish and with rice or on a pastry shell.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:NewYork] 1999 (p.71-2)
'Over the years I have speculated about the origin of the dish called chicken a la king. Curiosityabout thesource has to do with a possible sea change that may have occurred when the dish arrived here, asIsupposed, from France. Numerous classic dishes in the French kitchen are listed on menus as a lareine orin the queen's style. Thus you find omelette a la reine, or an omelet filled with creamed chicken,potage a lareine, a cream of chicken soup, and so on. James N. Keen, a professional photographer onLouisville,Kentucky, has a brochure that purports to tell the genesis of the name chicken a la king. Mr.Keenstatesthat a brochure was given to him forty years ago by one E. Clark King 3rd, whose father was arestauranteur. 'It was in the early 1900s that chicken a la King was first served to the public,' thebrochuresays. 'My father was the proprieter of the Brighton Beach Hotel, a fashionable summer resortoutsideManhattan. 'One night his head chef, George Greenwald, sent word he had concocted a dish hewould liketo serve my parents. It was enjoyed immensely and they asked for seconds...The next morning,the chefasked permission to place it on the menu...The next day the bill of fare carried the following'Chicken a laKing--$1.25 a portion.' If that was the indeed the origin of the name, then here is the originalrecipe asdetailed in the brochure.'
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by JoanWhitman[TimesBooks:New York] 1985 (p. 84-5)
'There's nothing royal about Chicken a la King, which is an entree of cubed cooked chickenbreast in acream sauce that is dotted with pimento and mushrooms and often flavored with Madeira or asimilar wine.An early claim for its invention appeared in 1915 in the obituary of William King, who hadworked as a cookat Philadelphia's fashionable Bellevue Hotel around 1895. King included truffles and red andgreenpeppers in his recipe. Under the more pedestrian name 'creamed chicken,' similar recipesappeared incookbooks beginning in the late nineteenth century. Peas are often added to the sauce in theserecipes,and the sauced chicken is served over hot toast, biscuits, or waffles. The first located recipe titled'Chickena la King' appeared in Paul Richard's The Lunch Room (1911). The name quickly becamepopular, andthe dish became a standard menu item in all kinds of restaurants, upscale and down, especiallytearoomsthat catered to women, since this dish could be eaten in a most ladylike way without picking up aknife.'
---Oxford Encycopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [OxfordUniversityPress:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 227)
[NOTE: The source cited for this information is the New York Tribune, March 5, 1915(p. 9)]
E. Clarke King III published his side of the story in Better Homes and Gardens, April1937 (p. 86,154):
'How Chicken a la King Originated
Of course, you've Chicken a la King at one time or another. Everybody has--and nearlyeverybodylikes it.Perhaps at was in a swanky restaurant or a side-arm lunch. Or you may have made it yourself orturned itout of a can. But aside from a fleeting suspicion that it was likely named for some royal head ofEurope,have you ever really wondered who thought it up and how, when, and why it got its name? Thewhole thingstarted soon after the turn of the century in the once famous Palm Room of the old BrightonBeach Hotel atBrighton Beach, just out of New York City. Everybody who was somebody knew the place...Headchef at thissummer hotel was George Greenwald, who in the winter and spring ran a restaurant of his own inNewYork's Flatiron Building. One warm summer evening, casting about for a concoction to tempt thepalate ofthe proprietor and his wife, Greenwald developed a new sort of chicken dish. He was a bitdubious about it,so made up only two servings and sent them in. There was a long period of silence. No wordcame fromthe diningroom of the success or failure of the invention. Finally a waiter was commissioned tofind out howthe dish had fared. The proprieter and his lady craved second servings--and there was no more!Gaily thechef returned to his kitchen. If critical E. Clark King had praised it, to what popular heightsmighthis dish notrise if presented to the public? Next morning, in crackling white uniform and billowing cap, heapproachedhis employer. 'You enjoyed the chicken dish I prepared for you last night?' 'Yes, indeed--andwished therehad been more.' 'Do you have any objection to my placing it on the menu?' 'None at all. Butyou'll have toask a fairly high price with all those ingredients. I think it will sell, tho.' That was all, and thehotel man littleguessed the fame his name was to gain from that idly given permission. For the next day thereappeared onthe menu: Chicken a la King.....$1.25. But E. Charles King II, my father, was shy of personalpublicity. Thename was never copyrighted and very few of the millions who have since delighted in its piquantflavor eversuspected that is was born just outside the city of New York.
The Original Chicken a la King [A Taste-Test Kitchen Endorsed Recipe]
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 green pepper, shredded
1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
2 tablspoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cream
3 cups chicken, cut in pieces
1/2 cup butter, creamed
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon onion juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Cooking sherry
Shredded pimiento
Hot toast
Simmer butter, green pepper, and mushrooms 5 minutes. Add flour and salt, cooking gently untilfrothy. Mixin cream and stir until sauce thickens. Turn into double boiler, add chicken, and heat thoroghly.Beat the 1/4cup soft butter into the egg yolks. Add onion juice, lemon juice, and paprika. Stir this slowly intohot chickenmixture, stirring until eggs thicken it. Add a little cooking sherry and pimiento. Serve at once onhot toast.Serves 8.'
The oldest recipe we have for Chicken a la King was published in a San Francisco restaurantcookbook. This may confirm the immediate popularity of this dish in fine dining establishments.Itcertainly confirms variations on the original instructions.
[1919]
'Chicken a la King
Take the breast of a boiled chicken or hen (fowl), and cut in very thin diamond-shape pieces. Putin pan and add three-quarters of a pint of cream, salt and Cayenne pepper. Boil from three to fiveminutes. Add a glass of best sherry or Madeira wine. Boil for a minute and thicken with the yolksof two eggs, mixed with one-quarter pint of cream. Put some sliced truffles on top.'
---The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book, Victor Hirtzler [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago IL]1919 (p. 337)
Additional notes/Barry Popik.
Chicken & wafflesModern 'soul food' or classic historic combination? A little of both.
'As unusual as it might seem, the marriage of chicken and waffles actually has deep roots.Thomas Jefferson brought a waffle iron back from France in the 1790s and the combinationbeganappearing in cookbooks shortly thereafter. The pairing was enthusiastically embraced by AfricanAmericans in the South. For a people whose cuisine was based almost entirely on the scraps leftbehind by landowners and plantation families, poultry was a rare delicacy; in a flapjack culture,waffles were similarly exotic. As a result, chicken and waffles for decades has been aspecial-occasion meal in African American families, often supplying a hearty Sunday morningmeal before a long day in church.'
'Serving up Chicken and Waffles,' Los Angeles Business Journal, September 22, 1997 (p.1)
Fast forward: 20th century NYC:
Wells Restaurant (music bar, supper club &c.) in Harlem is world famous for serving chicken andwaffles. Since 1938 this down home restaurant served 'soul food' thirty years before the term was coined.
'No appetites are safe from the magnificent Southern Creole cuisine when visiting Wellsrestaurant, located uptown in the Big Apple. Famous for more than their chicken and waffles,Wells entertains customers with Caribbean flair and a frenzy of live music. Harlem hasn't beenthesame since Wells opened in May 1938. The owner, Elizabeth Wells, is determined to bringpeoplea humble, homey atmosphere with exciting home-style cooking, but with a twist of island flavorand a lot of fun. Joseph T. Wells, the late husband of Wells, had a record of cooking techniquesinthe mix. Working as a waiter and manager of a restaurant in Florida, Joseph took his craft toNew York during the late 1920s. It was inevitable for the young entrepreneur to start his businessand, by the spring of 1938, the restaurant bearing his name opened its doors. Elizabeth Wellsentered the picture later. They married in 1966, even though she had joined the establishment in1963. The married couple produced a son named Tommy Wells. With an avalanche of victory forthe restaurant, Wells bloomed as one of the greatest hot spots in Harlem, with a bevy ofentertainers who dropped in...Wells has been spinning the wheels of the restaurant with tip-topsoul food and no regrets....'
---'For 60 Years, Wells has Nourished the Harlem Community,' New York AmsterdamNews, April 8, 1999 (p.27)
The 'Wells Home of Chicken and Waffles, Since 1938' logo introduced in the mid-eighties. Trademark registration (#1431599) is online:US Patent & Trademark Office. Select
Feathers and Cream Waffles.Mix 1 3/4 cups unsifted, all purpose four with 2 1/3 tsp. double-action baking powder, 3/4 tsp. salt. Combine 2 well-beaten eggs with 3/4 cup each milk and heavy cream. Add to the flour mixture. The add 5 tbsp. slightly cooled melted butter, margarine or vegetable shortening. Mix lightly only until smooth. Serve blazing hot with butter or margarine and honey and a selection of syrups. Makes about 10 (4 1/2-in.) waffles.
Waffle Brunch
Vegetable Juice Cocktail
Fried Chicken
Selection of Wells' Assorted Syrups
(including: Rum or Mint, Spiced; Clove-Maple; Orange; Raspberry)
Scads of Coffee.'
---'Temptin' Treats from Harlem, USA,' Poppy Cannon, New York Times, October 20, 1969 (p. 18) [NOTE: syrup recipes are also included in this article.]
Food historians generally trace the origin of poultry recipes featuringshallots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and wine to Europe's Mediterranean region. While fricassee (cut poultry sauteed/simmered in spicy liquid) is ancient, tomatoes anchor the possible genesis of cacciatora-type dishes to the 17th century. Food historians do not credit specific person or particular place/year for Chasseur-style dishes. Italian and French recipes compete side-by-side from the late 19th century forwards. While most food historians agree chasseur originated in France, some wonder about cacciatore. Some experts claim cacciatora is an Italian-American dish. Our survey of historic newspapers confirms 'cacciatora' wasa new dish to average Americans in the 1920s. After WWII cacciatore recipes proliferate and become mainstream. Chicken chasseur, not so much.
Chasseur/cacciatore translate literally as 'hunter.' The recipes may have similar names but the traditional ingredients may be slightly different. Classic French chasseur requires mushrooms while Italian-style cacciatore may omit this ingredient. Interesting enough? Creole fricassee recipes (French tradition/American ingredients) are closer to the 'Italian cacciatore' than French chasseur.
What is chasseur?
'Chasseur. A dish designated chasseur (for instance chicken chasseur or veal chasseur) is served with a sauce of mushrooms, shallots or onions, tomatoes, and white wine. In French, chasseur means literally 'hunter', and the recipe probably originated as a way of serving game. The equivalent term in Italian cookery is cacciatore.'
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 66)
'Cacciatora...the Italian version of a culinary phrase which occurs in many languages, meaning huntsmen-style' and usually indicating the presence of forest mushrooms. The Poles say bigos and the French chasseur.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 121)
A survey of chicken chasseur/cacciatore recipes
'Pollo alla Cacciatora (Chicken Hunters Style)
Slice a large onion and soak it in cold water for more than half an hour. Then dry it and place in skillet with olive oil or lard. When the onion has turned soft and translucent, remove it from the pan and put to one side. Cut up a pullet or cockerel, saute the pieces in the grease left in the pan, and when browned, add the onion, seasoning with salt and pepper, and sprinkling half a glass of Sangiovese or other fine red wine over it. Also add some tomato sauce...After cooking it for five more minutes. I warn you--this is no dish for weak stomachs.'
---Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, translated by Murtha Baca and Stephen Saratelli [Marsilio Publishers: New York] 1997 (p. 172)
[1897]
'Sauce Chasseur (Sausso di cassaire). Mettez dans une casserole gros comme une noix de beurre avec 2 echalots hacess, 100 g de champignons de Paris eminces; saucez un instant sands roussir; arrosez d'un 1/2 verre de vin blanc que vous laissez reduire; arrosez d'un 1/2 verre de vin blanc que vous laisser reduire; mouillex avec 2 decilitres de sauce coulis. Asaissonnement releve.' (p. 168) Poulet Saute a la Chasseur (Poulet fricassa a la modo di cassiare).--Decoupez-le a cru comme de coutume et pour con appret procedez comme il est pour le lapereau saute a la chasseur.' (p. 256)
---La Cuisiniere Provencale, J.B. Reboul, facsimile 1897 27th edition, 3rd printing [Editions Tacussel:France] 2000 Marseille edition
[1907]
'3198. Poulet Saute Chasseur.
Season the pieces of chicken and saute them in butter and oil. Arrange in a deep dish, cover and keep warm. In the same pan quickly cook 125 g (4 1/2) sliced mushrooms then add 3 finely chopped shallots; moisten with 1 dl ( 3 1/2 or 1/2 cup) white wine and 1/4 dl (1 fl oz or 1/8 U.S. cup) brandy and reduce by half. Add 1 dl (3 1/2 oz or 1/2 U.S. cup) tomato-flavored Sauce Demi-glace and a pinch of chopped tarragon and chervil. Pour this sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with a little coarsely chopped parsley.'
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier [1907], the first translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in its entirety [John Wiley:New York] 1979 (p. 384)
[1913]
'Poulets sautes a la chasseur.--Prenez de preference de jeunes poulets; deprecez-les et faites-les sauter au beurre; ajoutex un peu defarine, mouillex avec un peu de bouillon et du vin blanc. Mettez sel, poivre, peril et champignons haches. Laissex reduire, degrassezet servez sur des croutons frits ou grilles.'
---L'Art du bien manger, Edmond Richardin [D'Art et de Literature:Paris] 1913 (p. 665)
[1919]
'Chicken Alla Cacciatora
Chop one large onion and keep it for more than half an hour in cold water, then dry it and brown it aside. Cut up a chicken, sprinkle the pieces with flour, salt and pepper and saute in the fat which remains in the frying pan. When the chicken is brown add one pint fresh or canned tomatoes and half a dozen sweet green peppers and put back the onion. When the gravy is thick enough add hot water to prevent the burning of the vegetables. Cover the pan tightly and simmer until the chicken is very tender. This is an excellent way to cook tough chickens. Fowls which have been boiled may be cooked in this way, but of course young and tender chickens will have the finer flavor.'
---Italian Cook Book, Maria Gentile (p. 30)
[1920]
'Chickens, Hunter's Style-Sauted (Poulets Sautes au Chasseur).
Pick out three good chickens of about two and a half pounds each, draw, singe, then clean well and extract all the small pin feathers, cut them each up into seven pieces, thethe two wings, two legs, two pices of the back and one of the breast bone; season with salt and pepper; melt six ounces of butter in a sautoir until it becomes a fine goldencolor, then lay in the pieces of chicken and toss them well; wehn they acqire a fine light brown on one side, turn them over to brown likewise on the other, cover the cautoir and finish cooking on a veryslow fire or in the oven. When the meats are well done, drain off the butter and detach the glase with a little stock...Fry colorless in butter a large pinch of choppedshapllot, mositen with half a bottleful of red or white Burgundy wine, reduce to half, then add a pint of esapgnole sauce...and simmer the whole for a few moments, season well, andwhen the sauce is properly reduced, return the chickens to it, put it back on the fire to remove at the first boil and add three ounces of cooked, lean ham cut up in one-eighth of aninch squares, slice three onions across, having them two inches in diameter by three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness, remove the largest rings and roll them in flour, then fry a few at thetime in plenty of fat; dress the chickens and use these rings to garnish the top, decroate the stumps of the leggs and the pinions with paper frills...and serve immediately.'
---The Epicurean, Charles Ranhofer, former chef of Delmonicos [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago] 1920 (p. 603)
[1927]
'Hunter-Style Chicken Saute (Poulet Saute Chasseur).
Chicken sauteed in the hunter style is one of those dishes that is always better in restaurants than at home, because at home it is all too easy to leave out one of the elements that is so characteristic of the dish. Cooking the mushrooms in the fat used to saute the chicken, and seasoning with shallot, tomato, cognac, etc., are typical of the hunter-style preparation: one can therefore not leave out any of them. Time: 35-40 minutes (once the chicken has been gutted and carved). Serves 4.
1 chicken of the quality and weight indicated; 100 grams ( 3 1/2 ounces) of fresh mushrooms; 25 grams 91 ounce) of shallot (3 medium-size); a small liqueur glass of cognac, flamed in advance; 1 decliliter (3 1/3 fluid ounces, scant 1/2 cup) of white wine; 2 scant delicliters (6 3/4 fluid ounces, 7/8 cup) of veal jus, or, if you do not have it, bouillon; 1 teaspoon of flour, 2 level tablespoons of concentrated tomato puree, nice and red; 1 teaspoon of chervil and tarragon, minced (half of each); a pinch of parsley, coarsely chopped; 50 grams (1 3/4 ounces, 3 1/2 tablespoons) of butter; 2 1/2 tablespoons of oil; salt and pepper.
NOTE: If you use ordinary tomato puree, increase the amount by a tablespoon. When tomatoes are in season, you can use a few fresh tomatoes peeled, pressed, and chopped. If so, these are the amounts to use: 1 tablespoon of puree and 2 tablespoons of very red and ripe tomatoes.
PROCEDURE. The elements of the Hunter-style garnish can be prepared in advance if you like. Before starting to cook the chicken, you can mince the shallot, parsley, etc., and wash and mince the mushrooms. (You can also make these preparations at the last moment while you are monitoring the cooking of the chicken.
THE CHICKEN: Saute it as described (page 366) in 25 grams (1 ounce, 2 tablespoons) of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Then keep it warm on a plate.
HUNTER-STYLE GARNISH: Here the mushrooms are cut into slices--and absolutely not divided into quarters. Remove the sandy part and wash them, then meticulously dry them on a kitchen towel, since and moisture will prevent their browning. Do not peel them and do not separate the head from the stem. Put the mushrooms on the table and with a good medium-size knife, slice them--that is, divide them lengthwise, cutting both the head and the stem into thin slices of equal thickness. In the casserole from which you have just taken the pieces of chicken, add to the cooking fat the rest of the oil, which should be a little more than 1 tablespoon. Heat it until it smokes lightly. Put in the sliced mushrooms; saute them over strong heat until they are a little brown. Then add the chopped shallot. Saute the mushrooms for another few moments. After this, drain almost all the fat from the casserole. Sprinkle the mushrooms with the flour; mix it well. Cook it gently for 2 or 3 minutes. After this, add the cognac, flamed in advance; the white wine; the jus or the bouillon; the tomato puree (or puree the fresh tomatoes); and a pinch of pepper. But no salt, because the jus or bouillon is salted. Bring it to a boil on strong heat, mixing it continuously with a wooden spoon. As soon as the boiling begins, turn down the heat. Cover it. Let simmer gently for 6 or 7 minutes. At the end of this time, put the pieces of chicken in the casserole, being careful to insert them down into the garnish. Add the juice that they have released while waiting. Cover the casserole; allow it to simmer, but not to boil, which would toughen the flesh, for 5 or 6 minutes; that is, just the time needed to thoroughly reheat the pieces of the chicken.
TO SERVE: A few minutes before serving, dress the chicken as directed. Leave the plate near a hot stove or in a very moderate oven while you finish the sauce as follows. Put the uncovered casserole on high heat and boil it rapidly until the sauce is reduced to about 1 1/2 deciliters (5 fluid ounces, 2/3 cup). Then turn off the heat immediately. Add to the sauce: minced chervil and tarragon, the rest of the butter, divided into pieces the size of a bean. Take the casserole by the handle; shake it on the stovetop with a circular movement to encourage the rapid mixing and melting of the butter in the sauce. Check the seasoning. Pour the sauce on the chicken. Sprinkle the minced parsley on everything. Serve immediately.'
---La Bonne Cuisine, Madame E. Sainte-Ange, 1927 edition translated and with an introdction by Paul Aratow [Ten Speed Press:Berkeley CA] 1005 (p. 367-368)
[NOTE: We have the original French edition. If you want these pages, happy to scan/send.]
[1934]
'Pollo Alla Cacciatora [National Dish of Italy]
1 roasting chicken cut up small
2 red peppers or green peppers or both (red peppers, called pimientos, can be bought in cans)
4 medium sized onions
3/4 cup olive oil
1 can tomatoes
small kernel of garlic
salt and pepper.
Into a frying pan for which you have a cover, or use baking pan with cover, place half the olive oil. Remove pin feathers, singe over free flame, wash chicken and add a little salt and pepper, and put into hot olive oil in pan. Cover and allow to cook slowly until tender for about 1 1/2 hours. 1/2 hour before chicken is done cut onions into slcies and place into another frying pan with the other half of the olive oil. Allow onions to cook slowly for about 15 minutes. At the same time you start to cook the onions place in a pot the 1 can of tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Season to taste and cook with the tomatoes 1 small kernel of garlic. (The garlic should be cut into 3 pieces.) While the onions are cooking, remove seeds from peppers and cut into strips about 1 inch wide. Add the peppers to the onions, after the onions have cooked 15 minutes, and allow to cook with the onions for 10 inutes. Then add the onions a peppers to the chicken and allow all to cook together for 10 minutes. Then add tomatoes, which should be cooked into the sauce, and serve. (Garlic should be removed before serving.) The Italians do not serve any vegetables with this except the vegetables used in the preparation of the dish, but do serve a salad with it. The salad should consist of lettuce cut up. Mixed in the lettuce is a simple dressing, consisting of a little salt and pepper, some olive oil and lemon juice. The dressing is mostly olive oil; you add lemon juice to taste.'
---The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, John McPherson [Blakiston Comapny:Philadelphia 1934] (p. 150)
[1945]
'Chicken in Hunter Style.
Cut a large onion into pieces and leave it in cold water for half an hour; dry it thoroughly, place it in a pan with oil or virgin lard. Place it over the fire, and when cooked, remove the onion and set it aside. Cut a spring chicken into pieces and fry it in the fat from which the onion was removed. As soon as it browns, add the onion, season it with salt and pepper, and pour a glass of red wine over it. Let it boil for five minutes, place it in a dish, and add some tomato sauce. This is a dish for strong stomachs.'
---Italian Cook Book, adopted from the Italian of Pellegrino Artusi by Olga Ragusa [S.F. Vanni:New York] 1945 (p. 86)
.jpg "Charleston")
[1946]
'Chicken Saute Chasseur (Poulet Saute Chasseur)
2 1/2-3 lb chicken
1 teaspoon salt
a little pepper
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 glass white wine
3/4 cup canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon chopped tarragon, chervil and parsley
Clean and singe chickne and cut as for Sauteed Chicken (pate 125). Season pieces with salt and pepper. Put oil in frying pan and when hot arrange pieces of chicken in it and cook, turning them as needed, until golden brown on all sides. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are soft. Remove pieces of chicken from pan and pour off all the oil from pan. Melt butter in pan, add shallots, sprinkle flour over all and cook until golden brown. Add wine and continue cooking until wine is reduced to half. Add tomatoes, mix all together well and boul 5 to 6 minutes. Return pieces of chicken to sauce and simmer about 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken to serving dish, correct seasoning of sauce, add chopped herbs and serve. Serves 4.'
---Louis Diat's Home Cookbook: French Cooking for Americans, Louis Diat [J.B. Lippincott Company:Philadelphia PA] 1946 (p. 126)
[1950]
'Chicken Cacciatora
1 frying chicken (3 lbs.)
3 onions
1 cup tomatoes
1 cup mushrooms sliced
1 green pepper
1/2 cup flour
4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic chopped
Salt and pepper
Cut chicken into serving pieces and season with salt and pepper. Roll in flour. Place oil in frying pan, brown chicken on all sides. Clean green pepper and slice, mixing with garlic, onions and tomatoes. Add to chicken. Cover and cook slowly for 40 minutes, then add mushrooms and contineu cooking until mushrooms and chicken are tender.'
---Love and Dishes, Niccolo de Quattrociocchi [Bobbs-Merrill Company:Indianapolis IN] 1950(p. 262-263)
[1953]
'Chicken Cacciatore
2 broiler-fryers, cut up for serving (about 2 1/2 lbs. each)
1/2 cup flour
6 tbsps. olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can (No. 2 size) tomatoes
1 8-oz. can tomato paste
1 cup Chianti wine (or dry red wine)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice, ground
1/2 tsp. oregano
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Wah and dry chicken pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet. Flour chicken and fry in the oil until brown on all sides. Remove thechicken pices from the skillet, and lower the flame. Add onion, green pepper and garlic to the oil. Cook until soft and lightlybrowned. Add all other ingredients, and cook over a low flame until the mixture bubbles. Add chicken, cover, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours,or untl chicken is tender. If the liquid in the skillet is too thin to use as a sauce, remove the chicken, and thicken thesauce with a little flour. Serve the chicken with plain spaghetti, and cover with the sauce. With this serve a lightgreen salad, French bread, and Chianti wine.'
---The Dorn Cookbook, Frank Dorn [Henry Regnery Company:Chicago IL] 1953 (p. 169-170)
[1955]
'Chicken Cacciatora
4-pound spring chicken cut into pieces
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fat
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped carrot
3 sprigs parsley
1 basil or bay leaf
4 cups tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1/4 cup Marsala, sherry or white wine.
Dredge chicken in flour, sprinkle with salt and brown in fat until golden on all sides. Place in covered dish in warm place. Brown onion, garlic, carrot, parsley and bay leaf or basil in fat left in frying pan. Strain tomatoes (when strained you should have 2 cups pulp). Add tomato pulp to browned vegetables in frying pan, add 1 teaspoon salt and dash of pepper and bring to boil. Add chicken and wine and simmer 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Serves 4.'
---Talisman Italian Cook Book, translated and augmented by Matilde Pei [Crown:New York] 1955] (p. 133)
[NOTE: This book is a special edition printed for the Ronzoni Macaroni Company. It also offers recipes for Chicken Cacciatora Maddelena (olive oil, celery) and Chicken Cacciatora with Olives (20 ripe black olives, 20 green olives, 2 anchovy filets.]
[1962]
'Chasseur (a la)--Method of preparation applied to small pieces of meat, fowl or eggs which is characterised by a garnish of sliced, sauteed mushrooms, flavoured with shallots and moistend with white wine.' (p. 206)
'Chasseur or hunter sauce I (for small cuts of meat and sauteed fowl). Sauce Chasseur.--Saute 100 g. (4 oz., 2 cups) chopped musrhooms in butter, season with salt. When thye are three-quarters cooked add 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot. Mix with 1 dl. (6 tablepsoons, scant 1/2 cup) white wine, boil down by half, stir in 1 1/2 dl. (1/4 pint, 2/3 cup) Demi-glace sauce and 1 dl. (6 tablespoons, scant 1/2 cup) Tomato sauce...Boil for a few moments. Add 25 g. (1 oz., 2 tablespoons) butter and 1 tablespoon shopped parsley, chervil and tarragon. The mushrooms may also be sauteed in a mixture of butter and oil. Chasseur or hunter sauce II. Sauce Chasseur-Chop the mushrooms, toss in butter with the chopped shallots and remove from the pan. Put into the cooking butter 1 tablespoons flour, cook gently till golden, mix with 1 dl. (6 tablespoons, scant 1/2 cup) white wine, then stir in 2 dl. (1/3 pint, scant cup) consomme or white stock and 1 tablespoon tomato puree. Boil down, put bakc the mushrooms in the sauce, and finish off as above.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, American edition [Crown Publishers:New York] 1962 (p. 810)
[1963]
'Chicken Cacciatora (Pollo alla Cacciatora)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 2 1/2 -to 3-pound ready-to-cook broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
2 medium onions, cut in 1/4-inch slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1-pound can (2 cups) tomatoes
1 8-ounce can seasoned tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon crushed oregano or basil
1 or 2 bay leaves
1/4 cup cooking sauterne
Heat olive oil in skillet; add chicken pieces; brown slowly, turing once. Remove chicken from skillet; cook onions and garlic in oil till tender, but not brown. Combine remaining ingredients, except cooking wine. Return chicken to skillet, add sauce mixture. Cover and simmer 35 minutes. Stir in cooking wine. Cook uncovered, turning occasionally, 20 minutes or till fork-tender. Remove by leaves; skim off ecess fat. Serve chicken with sauce ladled over. Makes 4 servings.'
---Meals with a Foreign Flair, Better Homes and Gardens editors [Meredith Press:New York] 1963 (p. 16)
[1968]
'Chicken Cacciatore
2 pounds chicken parts, fresh or frozen (thawed)
1/4 cup seasoned flour
1/4 cu olive oil
8 small white onions
1 medium green pepper, cut in strips
1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1/2 teapoon thyme
Dust chicken with seasoned flour. Brown chicken in olive oil; remove. Add onions, green pepper, mushrooms, and garlic; brownlightly. Blend in remaining ingredients; add chicken. Cover; simmer about 30 minutes; stir often. 4 to 6 servings. Excellent served on spaghetti.'
---Easy Ways to Delicious Meals, [Campbell Soup Company:Camden NJ] revised edition, 1968 (p. 179)
Related dishes: Chicken Marengo & Steak Diane
Chicken Cordon BleuThe term 'Cordon Bleu' (by itself) relates to a special order of French knights. Presumably, byassociation, cordon bleu as it relates to recipes (as in, chicken cordon bleu...boneless breast ofchicken wrapped around cheese and thinly sliced ham) also originated in France as dishes of distinguished classes. Food historianstell us the notion is debatable.
On the other hand? Recipes are not invented. They evolve. Culinary evidence confirms roulades and braciolinecomposed of veal/chicken, ham and cheese were favored in centuries past by several cultures andcuisines. Most notably: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy. Recipes (and recipenames) varied according local tastes and language. Italian-inspired recipes generally featureprosciutto (ham) and Parmesan (cheese). 'Cordon bleu,' as we Americans know it today, first surfaced in the early 1960s. Our country's culinary interpretation parlayed prosciutto for thinly sliced deli ham and Parmesan for mozzerella, Gruyere, or Swiss cheese. Old World masterpiece going with the flow. The perfect American convergence. Of course? The timing was perfect.
What is the 'Cordon Bleu?'
'Cordon Bleu. This was originally a wide blue ribbon worn by members of the highest order ofknighthood, L'Ordre des Chevaliers du Satin-Espirit, instituted by Henri III of France in 1578. Byextension, the term has since been applied to food prepared to a very high standard and tooutstanding cooks. The analogy no doubt arose from the similarity between the sash worn by theknights and the ribbons (generally blue) of a cook's apron.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, completey updated and revised [Clarkson Potter:New York]2001 (p. 340)
'Chicken Cordon Bleu appears to have no connection whatsoever with the great cooking schoolsof Paris or London. Instead it is an American innovation of quite recent origin, but one that drawsfrom two distinctly European traditions. The story begins with Chicken Kiev, and authenticUkranian dish...Made of flattened chicken breasts wrapped securely around seasoned butter,breaded, and then fried, Chicken Kiev became popular in the United States in the 1960s, first as aspecialty of fine restaurants...Variations inevitably proliferated. Someone...thought of the VealCordon Bleu or Switzerland and the almost identical Schnitzel Cordon Bleu of Austria. Bothconsist of flattened pieces of veal folded around thin slices of ham and Emmentaler or Gruyerecheese (both products of Switzerland), then breaded and fried. A combination of the concepts forChicken Kiev and Veal Cordon Bleu resulted in Chicken Cordon Bleu.'
---Rare Bits: Unusual of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [Ohio UniversityPress: Athens 1998 (p. 120)
'...poulet Alsace is chicken breast enveloping a savory stuffing of mushrooms, cheese and smokypancetta, a close kin to chicken Cordon Bleu.'
---'Peasant serves well in its 'people place',' Celeste McCall, The Washington Times,December 26, 1991, Part M; WASHINGTON WEEKEND; DINING OUT; Pg. M7
Dating the modern American cordon bleu
The earliest reference to veal cordon bleu in The Los Angeles Times was published in1958. It is listed among the trendy dishes served at a swank affair: 'Veal cordon bleu will be the piece de resistance on the menu.'(P. SG A9). The earliest reference in the New York Times is an advertisement for United Airlines: 'Your Entree. It might be a tender filetmignon, stuffedbreast of chicken or veal Cordon Bleu. Served with it, a vegetable and potatoes in one of a dozentemptingstyles.' (February 21, 1962 p. 39). The oldest reference in the NYT for chicken cordonbleu is alsoan United Airlines, circa 1967: 'Top Sirloin. Fine Wine. Color Movies. This is Coach? United'sBlue Carpetto California. Blue Carpet is the best reason for flying Coach on your vacation to Los Angeles orSanFrancisco. What's in it for you? Top Sirloin Steak-or Chicken Cordon Bleu, if you wish-preparedby our ownEuropean-trained chefs. Champagne or fine red wine (at nominal cost)...Even a special children'smenu.'(June 5, 1967, p. 27).
Compare these recipes:
'Stuffed Pillows
12 small slices veal cutlet, cut very thin
12 small slices prosciutto or ham, thinly sliced
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Marsala or sherry wine
1 teaspoon butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Flatten out veal cutlets with a mallet or ask butcher to do it. Place on slice or rpscriutto or ham and a thin layer of mozzarellacheese on each cutlet, and fold together like an envelope, using toothpicks to hold together. Melt butter in frying pan. Brownpillows well on one side, then turn gently, and brown on the other side. They should be cooked in a short time. Remove meat from the pan, pour the Marsala or sherry into it, scraping bottom and sides of pan well. Add 1 teaspoon butter, salt, and pepper and pour sauce over pillows on serving dish. Serves 2.'
---The Talisman Italian Cook Book, Ada Boni [Crown:New York] 1955 (p. 103)
[1961]
'Italian Stuffed Veal Cutlet
3 to 4 servings
1 pound veal cutlet, cut in serving pieces about 1/2 inch thikc
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, sliced very thin
1/4 pound prosciutto, sliced very thin
2/3 cup fine, fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
2 teaspoons finely choppped celery leaves
1 clove garlic, inced
Pinch each of oregano, basil and rosemary
Sat and freshly ground black pepper
flour
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup butter
1. With a short, sharp-bladed knife, cut a deep pocket in each piece of veal. (Insert the knife in the longest side and cutthrough almost the entire area of the meat.)
2. Wrap a slice of Swiss cheese around a slice of prosciutto for each piece of veal. Fit into the veal pocket and press tightlyclosed.
3. Mix the bread crumbs with the Parmesan cheese, parsely, celery, garlic and herbs to make breading mixture.,br. 4. Season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Beat the egg well with the milk and dip the cutlets into the mixture, then roll in the seasoned crumbs.
5. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet, add the cutlets and cook uncovered over moderate heat twenty minutes, turning to brown evenly.'
---New York Times Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1961(p. 160-161)
[1964]
'Veal cutlets romnichel
For four people
4 French-cut veal cutlets
4 slices ham
4 slices Gruyere cheese
flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup soft breadcrumbs
5 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
[1964]
'Veal Cutlet Cordon Bleu
The French and Italians do marvelous tings with many veal cutlets or steaks, many dishes with special appeal to American tastes.Veal Cordon Bleu, thin cutlets sandwiched with Swiss cheese and, is a classic French dish. This version can be managed easilyfor a company dinner...
4 cups corn flakes or 1 cup packaged corn flake crumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk or water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 thin veal cutlets
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 thin slices cooked ham
1 cup flour
Shortening
If using corn flakes, crush into crmbs. Beat egg and milk together. Stir in salt an eppper. Pound cutlets with meat mallet to flatten.Place a slice of cheese and ham on half the cutlets. Top with remaining cutlets. Press edges together to seal. Roll in flour, dip in egg mixture, then roll in crumbs, coating all sides. Fry in hot shortening until golden brown on both sides, about 6 min. on each side. Add more shortening as necessary. Garnish with lemon slices., if wished. Makes 6 servings.'
---'Variations with Veal,' Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1964 (p. D8)
[1968]
'Chicken Breasts Cordon Bleu
3 whole chicken breasts
6 thin slices ham or prosciutto
6 slices Swiss cheese
3 eggs
Salt, pepper
Flour
References to 'Cordon Bleu'-type recipes can be found in 19th/20th century American/Britishcookbooks. It takes a little work because they are listed by different names. The DoubledayCookbook/Jean Anderson & Elaine Hanna [1975] offers a recipe for 'Ham and CheeseStuffed Chicken Breasts (p. 504).
Chicken FranceseAccording to the food specialists, Chicken Francese is an Italian-American dish introduced in theNew York City area sometime after World War II. This was a popular trend at that time. Theearliest mention we find in the New York Times for this dish is this restaurant review published January 2, 1970 (p. 25): 'There was also a dish calledchicken francese or chicken French-style with lemon, and it would have been good except it was overly salted.'
Of course few recipes are 'invented.' They evolve. Breaded and friedchicken/veal recipes were known to ancient Roman cooks. This recipe diffused as the RomanEmpire marched through Europe. It evolved according to local taste, ingredients, and cuisine.You know? In some respects, chicken francese is not so very different from German schnitzel, or Italian Scallopinne,lightly breaded cutlets fried and seasoned with lemon.
'Chicken francese. An Italian-American dish of sauteed chicken cutlets with a lemon-butter sauce. The word francese is Italianfor 'French style,' although there is no specific dish by this name in either Italian or French cookery.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 72)
'Some of the most interesting dishes on the menus of Italian restaurants in America are of uncertain or dubious origin. They bearItalian names, but are commonly supposed to have been created in this country. Three of these dishes are clams Posillippo, chickenscarpariello, and veal Francese. One will rarely, if ever, find recipes for these dishes in standard or tradtional Italian cookbooks, either regional or classic...Francese means French-style, and, in most Italian-American restaurants, veal Francese isbatter-fried.'
---'Three Rarely Found Recipes for Interesting Italian Dishes,' Craig Claiborne & Pierre Franey, New York Times, June 4, 1981 (p. W_A18D)
'Now for a bit of background: Having enjoyed Chicken and/or Veal Francese (or Francaise)many times, I knew the sauce consisted of lemon juice, sometimes white wine, chicken broth andunsalted butter. However, it's not a classical sauce. I did find one written recipe for a SauceFrancaise made with fish stock, garlic and mashed anchovies in a bechamel (white) sauce, inHenri-Paul Pellaprat's Modern French Culinary Art (World Publishing Co., 1996). But I couldnot find any written recipe for the lemony sauce we are familiar with. Even August Escoffier,who died in 1935 and was regarded as the Emperor of Cooks, never mentioned a Sauce Francaise(or Francese) in his Le Guide Culinaire (published in English by Crown Publishers, 1941). Ispokewith Jean Bert, chef/owner of La Coquille in Fort Lauderdale. After research in his classicalcookbooks, he came to the same conclusion. Whatever the origin of this light, lemony sauce, it isthe perfect foil for the delicate flavors of chicken, veal or fish, and Il Bacio's is one you will wantto make often.'
---'FINDING FRANCESE; THE ORIGIN OF THIS WELL-KNOWN LEMONY SAUCE ISUNCLEAR,' Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), March 20, 1997 (Food p. 3)
'This is a delicious and easy recipe that's very hard to find because people look in Italiancookbooks for it. It isn't entirely Italian, so they search in vain. Indeed, it is hardly even knownoutside the New York metro area, which leads me to believe that it is a strictly local dish. In fact,the only English language cookbook in which I have EVER seen the recipe is in one of my own,Cooking In A Small Kitchen, published by Little Brown in 1978 and now out of print, and TheBrooklyn Cookbook by Lyn Stallworth and Rod Kennedy, Jr., published by Knopf in 1991 andstill widely available. The recipe does, however, have antecedents in recipes that Ihave found in Italian language Neapolitan cookbooks, but its final refinement must have been inNew York. When I was growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s, it was just beginning to gain inpopularity over veal and chicken parmigiana. You can also have veal francese, shrimp francese,and fish (usually sole or flounder fillets) francese. Francese of course means 'in the Frenchmanner,' but it refers to a food that is dipped in flour and egg, then fried, then dressed withlemon juice or lemon sauce. In Neapolitan cookbooks, there's mozzarella or provola (agedmozzarella) treated this way, and chicken thighs on the bone treated this way. But a thin slice ofveal or chicken? No. And these days, such a dish would not be called francese in Naples anyway.It would most likely be called indorati e fritti -- gilded and fried. Entirely an Italian dish.'---Authur Schwartz, The Food Maven
Possible precursors?
[15th century]'56. Lemon Sauce for Chickens or Capons
Get one or more chickens, capons or cockerels than have been cooked a little in water; take them out of the water and mountthem on a spit; then get peeled, well ground almonds and temper them with the bouillon of the chickens; then get lemon juice and mixit all together with good spices; and put it into a saucepan to cook a little; then pour it over the roast with a little fat; serveit very hot.'
---The Neapolitan Recipes Collection: Cuoco Napoletano, 15th century cooking text, critical edition and English translation by Terence Scully [Universtiy of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor] 2000 (p. 184)
[1945]
'167. Chicken Breasts a la Saute
This is a palatable dish as well as an economic one. If cooked as decribed, a single breast of capon is sufficient for fourportions. Cut the breasts into thin slices, almost as thin as paper. Trim these pieces as nicely as possible. Add a pinch of saltand pepper and place them in a beaten egg. Let them remain in the egg for one hour. Remove and cover the slices of breasts with cracker dust. If the meat is preferred plain, just fry the slices and serve with lemon. Otherwise, prepare a sauce in the followingmanner: Take a small pan and barely cover the bottom with oil. Put in some sliced mushrooms, spread a pinch of cracker dust orgrated stale bread on them. Repeat the operation three or four times. Add some oil, salt and pepper, some butter, all in smallquantities, so as not to give the food a fatty taste. Now place this small pot on the fire, and as it comes to a boiling point, add a small ladleful of meat soup and a few drops of lemon. Remove from fire quickly, add it to the breasts already cooked, and serve.'
---Italian Cook Book, Pellegrino Artusi [S.F. Vanni:New York] 1945 (p. 110-1)
[1952]
'Veal Scallopine alla Francese
(Tastes as good as it sounds!)...We dip the veal scallopine in egg yoke, saute it in butter and lemon juice, and leave the adjectives to you.'
---advertisement for restaurant Villa Camillo (New York City), New York Times, July 17, 1952 (p. 2)
[1962]
'Chicken Francais--Place 2 1/2-3 pound quartered chicken in shallow pan meat side down. Pour 8-ounce bottle Wish-Bone French or Deluxe French Dressing over chicken. Marinate for 1 hour. Save marinade. Arrange chicken on rotisserie skewer or cavity side down on barbecue grill placed about 4 inches from bed of coals. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Baste every 15 minutes with French Dressing marinade. makes 4 servings.'
---display ad, Wish Bone salad dressings, Better Homes & Gardens, July, 1962 (p. 82)
[1967]
'Scalloppine Alla Francese...Very, very thin preaded veal cutlets, cut into 2-inch squares. Serve with lemon wedges.'
---'The Fast Gourmet,' Poppy Cannon, Chicago Daily Defender, January 5, 1967 (p. 20)
[1977]
'Morton Kaplan's Veal Francese
Pursuant to an inquiry from a reader for a recipe for veal francses we printed a formula for what we presumed to be a basic versionof the dish. Dr. Morton Kaplan of Queens writes to state what we printed was a recipe for veal piccata, not francese. 'I've discussedthis dish with many of the chefs of New York's Italian restaurants and here is my version,' he said. 'I will challenge anyone to a veal francese cookoff.'...
1/2 pound veal, preferably taken from the leg and cut into four thin slices as for scaloppine
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Flour for dredging
Peanut, corn or vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 lemon wedges
4 thin slices lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1. Place the slices of veal between two sheets of wax paper and pound to about one-eigth of an inch thickness. Sprinle meat with salt andpepper to taste. Dredge the scaloppine in egg to coat well on both sides in flour.
2. Add oil to a depth of about one-eighth of an inch in a large heavy skillet. Dredge the scaloppine in egg to coat wellon both sides. Cook quickly in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Cook about oneminute or less on the first side, turn and cook about two minutes on the other.
3. Quickly but carefully pour off the fat from the skillet, holding th meat back with a fork.
4. Return the skillet to the heat and add the chicken broth and butter, cooking over high heat to reduce quickly. Squeeze the lemonwedges into the sauce, then add the wedges. Turn the pieces of meat once in the sauce and transfer to a hot platter. Discardthe lemon pieces and our the sauce over the meat.
5. Sprinkle half of each lemon slice with parsley and dust the other half with paprika. Use as a garnish for the meat. Yield: 4 servings.'
---'De Gustibus,' Craig Claiborne, New York Times, March 14, 1977 (p. 34)
The history of chicken fried steak (aka country fried steak) is a fabulous example ofcultural diversity, regional pride andjust plain confusion. Why? Because there are as many names/recipes for this dish as people whoclaim they know how it started. That's part of what makes the study of food history sointeresting. As is true with many popular foods we know today, the recipe preceded the name.
Food historians generally agree the practice of dredging meat (all kinds) in flour/spices,frying/baking it up and serving it with a sauce/gravy dates back to ancient times. This cookingmethod tenderizes the meat and enhances its flavor. Think: English Scollops, Italian Scallopini & German Wienerschnitzel. Europeans settling in America knewall about making tough cuts of meat palatable. Many historic Americancookbooks contain 'chicken-fried' type recipes for beef, veal, chicken & lamb, though they go by different names. Veal is traditionally considered to be a tough cutof meat and was often cooked in such a way as to make it more tender, as in weiner schnitzel.Sensible American cooks would have treated tough cuts of beef in a similar fashion. Thechicken connection? Some food historians suggest the coating and pan-fried cooking technique commonly used on fried chicken was easily adapted to tenderize steak.
In America, country fried steak is generally considered to be a regional dish. It is commonlyfoundin the southern and central western states. The meat used for this American dish is always beef,the cuts vary. The 'chicken-fried' moniker seems to be a mid-20th century invention. The earliest print referencewe find mentioning Chicken Fried Steak is a restaurant ad published in the Colorado Springs Gazette, June 19, 1914 (p. 6):'A Summer Dainty. Chicken Fried Steak served at Phelps, 111 E. Bijou.' The earliestprinted recipe we have for in chicken-fried steak waspublished in 1924.
What the food historians say:
'Chicken-fried steak...A beefsteak that has been tenderized by pounding, coated with flour orbatter, and fried crisp. The name refers to the style of cooking, which is much the same as forsouthern fried chicken. Chicken-fried steak has been a staple dish of the South, Southwest, andMidwest for decades...'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:NewYork] 1999 (p. 72)
'Chicken-fried steak...dating back to the times when beef was not nurtured with tender, lovingcare, steak identified as chicken-fried or country-fried, or sometimes smothered, can beprepared with any cut of beef but is obviously no better than the quality of the piece chosen. It isstill popular in the South and West, especially at roadside eating places.'
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones, 2nd edition [Vintage Books:NewYork] 1981(p. 275) [includesrecipe]
'Chicken-fried steak...Particularly popular in the South and Midwest, this dish is said to havebeencreated to use inexpensive beef.'
---Food Lover's Companion, Sharon Tyler Herbst, 3rd edition [Barrons:New York] 2001 (p. 126)
'Chicken-fried steaks...I have never seen a recipe for chicken-fried steaks. It is my conjecture thatthe name came about years ago when it was impossible to get beefsteaks of good quality in therural South...I believe Swiss steaks had more or less the same origin. After the steaks were friedthey were covered with a sauce of tomatoes, carrots, celery, and peas and baked untilfork-tender.'
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman [TimesBooks:New York] 1985 (p. 86)
What the regional people say:
'The basic recipe for country-fried steak, for example, includes lightly floured steak sauteed andthen baked in the oven. It's smothered with brown gravy and onions. Chicken-fried steak, on theother hand, uses breading similar to that for chicken before it's fried in a skillet. It's topped offwith a cream gravy.'
---'Folks from 'round here know down-home cooking,' The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle,April 7, 2000, Pg. O2
'Of course, there's chicken fried steak, another Texas curiosity. Not the dish, but the name. Butbattered and pan-fried beef steak is a home-cooking tradition in many regions. It goes bydifferentnames - country-fried steak, for example - in different parts of the country.'
---'Dallas' signature foods: not what you'd expect,' The Dallas Morning News,September 29, 1993, Pg. 2F
'For the sake of argument, let's say a chicken-fried steak is a piece of beef, dipped in a mixture ofegg and milk, dredged in seasoned flour and either pan-fried or deep-fried in hot oil, shorteningordrippings. Let's also assume the great majority of chicken-fried steaks are served on top of orunderneath a ladle of cream gravy, and usually sits next to a big helping of mashed potatoes.Although chicken-fried steak is considered a Southern staple, and most assuredly holds elitestatusin nearly any Oklahoma diner, its written history surprisingly dates to only about 1950.'
---'Batter up Texas has the longhorn. Kansas City the strip. But we've got chicken fry.' TulsaWorld, December 22, 2000
'Matt's El Rancho [restaurant] opened in 1952 at 302 E. 1st. [Austin, TX]. The original menuconsisted of only blue plate specials such as chicken fried steak.'
Matt's El Rancho
'The German-Austrian dish is an illustrious forebear to our chicken-fried steak. Germanimmigrants brought the breaded and fried cutlet to the Texas frontier, where it was quicklycopied-with less finesse-by chuck-wagon cooks and farm wives trying to make a tough cut of beefmore palatable. Even the gravy ladled on top has Teutonic roots: Rahmschnitzel is garnishedwithcream sauce. Schnitzel is German for cutlet. It is most often made from veal, but pork and, lessfrequently, beef also are used. Though there are many variations, the most popular is probablyWiener schnitzel, a crisply coated cutlet served plain except for a squeeze of lemon.'
---'Plate Teutonics; Hofstetter's Wiener schnitzel is a cut from history,' The Dallas MorningNews, January 23, 1994, Pg. 21
'According to the Lone Star Book of Records, the CFS was invented in 1911 by Jimmy DonPerkins, a cook in a small cafe in Lamesa, Texas, who misunderstood a customer's order andbattered a thin steak and deep-fried it in hot oil. Unfortunately this oft-reported food fact is acomplete fable. Nobody is really sure when the CFS was invented, but it was long before 1952.Inthe Best Read Guide to San Antonio, Carol B. Sowa reports that the Pig Stand Drive-in locationsin San Antonio started serving chicken-fried steak sandwiches when they opened in the 1940s.Gourmet columnists Jane and Michael Stern speculate in Eat Your Way Across the U.S.A. thatthe chicken-fried steak was a Depression-era invention of Hill Country German-Texans. My ownguess is that the dish existed as beefsteak Wiener schnitzel long before the catchy Southern namewas coined.'
---HoustonPress, January 11, 2001
'It was in this restaurant where the famous Fred Hill Steak was invented by Fred Hill. This steakis a round steak dipped in batter and flour and other secret ingredients, then fried in a skillet onthe stove. This may sound like a Chicken Fried Steak, however, there is no comparison with theoriginal Fred Hill Steak and a chicken fried steak. This secret recipe was handed down to Fred'sdaughter-in-law, Esther V. Hill of Portal, North Dakota and lately passed on to Fred's grandsonRobert Hill. For may years the son's of Kenneth Hill would make the long journey to Portal totake in the famous steak invented by their grandfather, kept alive by their father Kenneth Hill,cooked by their mother Esther Hill and enjoyed by all.'
---Frederick Hill Family
About Germans inTexas
- 1824--The Virginia Houswife, Mary Randolph
- ---A Fricando of Beef (p. 41); Beef steaks (p. 44)
- 1871--Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, Mrs. M. E. Porter
- ---Beefsteak with onions (p. 76-77); Beef cakes (p. 79)
- 1877--Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Estelle Woods Wilcox
- Friedbeefsteak and Fried vealcutlets
- 1879--Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree
- ---Beefsteak fried with onions (p. 143); Fried steak (p. 144)
Recipes for Chicken Fried Steak begin to appear in American print in the 1920s. They proliferate in the 1930s, suggestingthis might have been a popular inexpensive dish of Depression-era cooks. While generally promoted as 'tender,' this snippetsuggest Chicken Fried Steak that was not always the case: 'The muscles of the human jaw exert a force of 634 pounds. And stillthey are not equal to some of the 'chicken fried' steak one gets at the rapid-fire lunch counter.'---'Pen Points,' Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1923 (p. II4). Presumably, the tenderness of the final product is directly proportionalto the cut of steak employed.
[1924]'Chicken Fried Steak
F.C.M., Los Angeles, writes that chicken fried steak is beef steak rolled in flour, fried in a pan, and served with country grafy being pourd on a hot platter and the fried steak placed over it.'
---'Pracitcal Recipes,' A.L. Wyman, Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1924 (p. A7)
[1936]
'Chicken Fried Steak
(Serves 2)
1/2 pound round steak
Salt and pepper
1 egg beaten slightly
1 1/2 cup fine cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons hot shortening
Method: Cut the steak into two pieces suitable for serving. Pound well with the edge of a saucer or the back of a heavy knife. Dip into the slightly beaten egg and then in cracker crumbs. Make sure that each piece is heavily coated by dipping twice if necessary.Brown quickly on both sides in the hot, melted shortening in a heavy skillet. Add 1/2 cup upt water, cover closely and allow to steam until very tender; about 30 minutes. This makes a steak so tender that it can be cut with the fork and it is most delicious.'
---Winnipeg Free Press [Canada], October 10, 1936 (p. 56)
[1949]
'Chicken-Fried Steak
One round steak, cut 3/4 inch thick. Rub with salt and pepper. Pound all the flour possible intothe steak. Sear on both sides in hot cooking fat. Cook until browned.'
---Household Searchlight Recipe Book, Topeka Kansas [1949 edition] (p. 192)
One would think a popular dish such as Chicken Kiev would have a long and documentedhistory. Truth is? We find very little information. Most contemporary food historians agree thedish is a modern invention. The connection with Kiev is fuzzy.
'Kotlety Po-Kievsky (Chicken Kiev)...As the name suggest, this is a Ukranian contribution toRussian gourmet cuisine and a recent one, dating back to the early 1900s. The original recipecalls for a boned half chicken breast with the first wing joint still attached. A simplified versionis made without the wing bone but retains all the other subleties of the preparation. This is howChicken Kiev is mostly known in America.'
---The Art of Russian Cuisine, Anne Volokh [MacMillan:New York] 1983 (p. 320)
The oldest reference we find to Chicken Kiev in American print is from 1937 suggests the dish may have debutedat the Yar restaurant in Chicago. In the 1950s, food pundits popularly hailed the dish as a grand classic of old Russia.Perhaps inspired by the Cold War?
'Another popular restaurant dish, one that fared better in American hands, is chicken Kiev--chicken breast pounded thin, then breaded and deep-fried. Unknown in czarist times, this dish isactually a Soviet-era innovation. During the 1970s and 1980s, it was served at the most elegantcatered events in America. Eventually some American cooks substituted blue cheese for thebutter or pan-fried the chicken instead of deep-frying it, variations that did justice to the originalrecipe.'
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [OxfordUniversity Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 378)
This recipe's introduction in the Russian Tea Room Cookbook/Faith Steward-Gordon & NikaHazelton [1981] provides a different perspective: 'Chicken Kiev...This most famous and bestknown of all Russian dishes, as prepared in the Russian Tea Room in the classic way, isgenerally acclaimed to be The Best. Its Kievian origins are obscure and it seems most likely thatChicken Kiev was a creation of the great French Chef Careme at the Court of Alexander I.' (p.74)
[1930s]
'Col. Yaschenko, generalissimo of the Yar, is an ex-officer of the Russian imperial army. He recommends Russian food,particularly stuffed breast of chicken, Kiev style.'
---'A Line O'Type Or Two,' Chicago Daily Record, November 26, 1937 (p. 10)
Who was Col. Yaschenko?
'Services for Wladimir W. Yaschenko, owner of the Yar restaurant in Chicago in the 1930s...died Tuesday at the age of 71. In recentyears he had been managing director for the Zenith Display salon, 200 N. Michigan. During its day the Yar, a near north side dining place, was famous as a gathering spot for celebrities such as Ethel Barrymore, Tito Schipa, Jascha Heifetz, and Igor Sikorsky.It was designed after the Yar restaurant in Moscow. Yaschenko was called Col. Yaschenko by some friends. After completing four years at the Railroad Institute in St. Petersburg [Petrograd] Russia, he served in the imperial Russian Army. He was a colonelin the second light calvalry artillery regiment during World War I. Yaschenko came to Chicago in 1926. In addition to the Yar heoperated the Opera club, the Club Petrushka, and the Trading Post.'
---'Yaschenko, 71, Dies; Owner of Yar in 1930s,' Chicago Tribune, November 7, 1968 (p. B23)
[NOTE: The Chicago Tribune reported the Yar went bankrupt in the 1950s.]
[1950s]
'The classic chicken dish of old Russia was Chicken Kiev, or Cotolettes Kiev [cotelettes is French for cutlets], or breast of chicken, Kiev. It is usually found only in expensive restaurants. Originally, Chicken Kiev was simply boned chciken breasts flattened out and rolled around a piece of sweet butter. It was then rolled in beaten eggs, bread crumbs, and sauteed in butteror oil.'
---'Chicken Kiev is a Classic Among Old Russian Dishes,' Morrison Wood, Chicago Daily Tribune, June 22, 1956 (p. A6)
[NOTE: Article includes author's own recipe.]
The New York Times published a recipe on June 13, 1957 headlined 'Chicken Kiev isDelicious, Delightfully Easy to Make' (p. 34). The recipe provided was extracted from The Complete Chicken Cookery/Marian Tracy [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianappolis]1953.
Chicken MarengoThe tale of Chicken Marengo is oft told. Its name derives from the Battle of Marengo [1800], where Napoleon defeated the Austrians. Classic legend claims this impromptu dish created by Napoleon's Swiss chef from local ingredients. Food historians delight in sharing the contradictions in among the various stories. Notes here:
'Marengo.--The name of the battle in which Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians on the 14th June, 1800. This battle has given itsname to a chicken dish which was cooked on the battlefield by Dinand, chef to Napoleon. Bonaparte, who, on the day of the battle, ate nothing until after itwas over, had gone forward with his general staff and was a long way from his supply wagosn. Seeing his enemies put to flight, he askedDunand to prepare dinner for him. The master-chef as once sent men of the quartermaster's staff and ordnance corps in search of provisions.All they could find were three eggs, four tomatoes, six crayfish, a small hen, a little garlic, some oil and a saucepan. Using his breadration, Dunand first made panade with oil and water, and then, having drawn and jointed the chicken, browned it in oil, and fried the eggs in the same oil with a few cloves of garlic and the tomatoes. He poured over this mixture some water laced with brandy borrowed form the General's flask and put the crayfish on top to cook in the steam. The dish was served on a tin plate, the chicken surrounded by the fried eggs andcrayfish, and the sauce poured over it. Bonaparte, having feasted upon it, said to Dunand: 'You must feed me like this after every battle.' The originally of this improvised dish lay in the garnish, for chicken 'a la Provencale', sauteed in oil with barlic tomatoes, wasknown in Paris under Directory (1796-1799). Dunand was well aware that the crayfish were out of place on on this dish, and so he later substituted wine for the water and added mushrooms. But one day, when he had served the dish improved in this way, Bonaparte saidangrily: 'You have left out the crayfish. It will bring me bad luck. I don't want any of it.' Willy-nilly, the crayfish garnish had to berestored, and it has remained to this day the traditional gransih for the dish.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961 (p. 608)
[NOTE: Recipe for Chicken saute a la Marengo is on p. 264.]
'Chicken a la Marengo was born on June 14, 1800, during the Italian campaign. It was two o'clock in the afternoon: the French hadlost two battles since eight o'clock that morning. Desaix--who was to die that evening--suggested engaging in a third;in the distance, Austrian dispatch-riders were dashing towards Vienna to announce their victory. 'Do what you please,' Bonaparte told Desaix. 'As for me, I am going to eat.' He motioned to his steward. 'I fear,' said the latter, 'that the meal will notmeet with your approval. Those cursed Austrians have intercepted our canteens: there is not butter in the kitchens.' The FirstConsul made a vague gesture and sat down at the table. An hour later General Desaix was again on the road to victory and 'chicken a la Marengo' sauted in oil had become history.'
---An Illustrated History of French Cuisine, Christian Guy [Bramhall House:New York] 1962 (p. 99)
'A dish named Marengo--usually chicken Marengo or veal Marengo--is sauteed and then cooked in a sauce of white wine, tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic. The term is said to have come from a chicken dish cooked for Napoleon by his chef Dunand, from the only ingredients to hand, immediately after the battle of Marengo, in north Italy, on 14 June 1800. It soon found its way to Britain: Mrs. Beeton gives a recipe for fowl a la Marengo' in her Book of Household Management (1861) In which she refers to it as a well-known dish...a favourite with all lovers of good cheer'.'
---An A to Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 201)
[NOTE: Mrs. Beeton's recipe here.]
'Poulet a la Marengo
Ingredients.--1 large fowl, 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 pint of [medium] stock, or water, about 20mushroom-buttons, salt and pepper to taste, teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a very small piece of garlic.
Mode.--Cut the flour into 8 or 10 piceds; put them with the oil in a stewpan, and brown them over a moderate fire; dredge in the aboveproportion of flour; when that is browned, pour in the stock or water; let it summer very slowly for rather more than 1/2 hour, and skim off the fat as it rises to thetop; add the mushrooms; season with salt, pepper, garlic, and sugar; take out the fowl, which arrange pyramidically on the dish, with the inferiorjoints at the bottom. Reduce the suace by boiling it quickly over the fire, keeping it stirred until sufficiently thick to adhere tothe back of a spoon; pour over the fowl and serve.
Time.--Altogether 50 minutes. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
'A Fowl a la Marengo.--The folloiwng is the origin of the well-known dish Poulet a la Marengo:--n the evening of the battle the first consul was very hungry after the agistation of the day, and a fowl was ordered with all expedition. The fowl was procured, butthere was no butter at hand, and unluckily none could be found in the neighborhood. There was oil in abundance, however; and the cook havingpoured a certain quantity into his skillet, put the fowl, with a clove of garlic and other seasoning, with a little white wine, thebest the country afforded; he then garnished it with mushrooms, and served it up hot. This dish proved the second conquest of theday, as the first consul found it most agreeable to his palate, and expressed his satisfaction. Ever since, a fowl a la Marengo is a favouritewith all lovers of good cheer.'
---Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, Mrs. Isabella Beeeton, facsimile 1861 abridged edition, edited with anIntroduction and Notes by Nicola Humble [Oxford University Press:London] 2000 (p. 217)
[1869]
'Chicken a la Marengo
Prepare a chicken as for Fricassee (vide page 117).
Set pieces of chicken in a saute-pan, so that they do not overlap one another, with:
1 gill of oil,
3 pinches of salt,
2 small pinches of pepper,
1 clove of garlic, say 1/4 oz. whole,
2 shallots, say 1/2 oz. whole,
1 bay leaf,
1 sprig of thyme,
1 bunch of parsley, say 1 oz.,
Fry twenty-five minutes, till the chicken is done; take it out, and keep warm on a dish;Stir 1 oz. of flour into the pan; fry four minutes, and add 1 pint of broth; boil ten minutes, still stirring; strain, through the pointed gravystrainer; dish up the chicken as for Fricassee; pour over the sauce; and serve. Observation.--The fat is not taken off the sauceof Chicken a la Marengo. Mushrooms may be added as a garnish.'
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated from the French and Adapted for English Use by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son, and Marston:London] 1869 (p. 119)
[1897]
'534. Poulet Marengo.--Depecez le poulet comme a l'ordinaire, ranglez-le dans une casserole ou vous aurez mis a chauffer quelques cuillerees d'huile; quand il sera de belle clouleur, ajoutez un oignon hache que vous laissez revenir, puis 3 toomates hachees finement.Quand le fond commence a pincer, mouillez avec un verre de vin blanc que vous liassez reduire, puis avec deux cuillerees a pot debouillon; assaisonnez, ajoutez un bouquet garni, quelques truffes emincees at une douzaine de tetes de champignons. Laissex cuire. Aumoment de servir, ajoutez un pointe d'ail. Dressez sur le plat et, tout autour, quelques oeufs frits, ecrivesses cuits au vin blanc et croutons de pain en demi-coeur frits a l'huile; saupoudrez de persil hache et envoyez.'
---La Cuisiniere Provencale, J.-B. Reboule, facisimile 27th edition, 3d printing 1897 [Editional Tacussel] 2000 (p. 25)
[1938]
'Marengo.--C'est la victoir remportee par le general Bonaparte sur Autrichiens, le 14 juin 1800, qui a donne nom a un appret de poulet prepare sure lechamp de bataille meme, par Dunand, cuisinier du Premier Consul. Bonapart, qui les jours de bataille, ne mangeait qu'apres la cedision, s'etaitporte en avant avec son etat-major, a une distnace considerable de ses fourgons d'approvisionnement. Voyant les ennemis en fuite, il demanda a Dunand lde lui servir a diner. Le maitre-queux mit aussitot sur pied les fourriers et les ordonnances pour aller a la recherve de quelquesprovisions; la recolte reunie se composait de trois oeufs, de quatre tomates, de siz ecrivisses, d'une petit poulette, d'un peu d'ail, d'huile, et d'une poele. Avec du pain de munition, Dunand fir tout d'abord une panade a l'huile et a l;eau, puis, ayant vide et decoupe sonpoulet, il le fit revenir a l'huile, mit les oeufs a frire dans la mem huile, avec quelques gousses d'ail et les tomates, arrosa le toutd'eau rehaussee d'un peu de cognac emprunte a la gourde du general et posa les ecrivisses sur le tout, pour les fair cuir a la vapeur. Le tout fut servi sur un plat d'etain, le poulet enoture des oeufs frits et des ecrevisses, arrose de la sauce. Bonaparte s'en regala et dit aDunan: 'Tu m'en serviras comme ca apres chaque batialle'. L'orginalite de ce plat improvise consistait dans la garniture, car le poulet 'a la Provencal', saute al'huille, avec ail et topmates, etait connu a Paris, sous le Virectoire. Dunand se rendit bien compte que les ecrevisses n'avaient acune raison defigurer dans cet appret: il substitua le vin a l'leau et ajouta des champignons. Mais un jour qu'il avaiat servi son poulet ainsi ameliore,Bonaparte se facha en lui disat: 'Tu as supprime les ecrevisses, cela me portera malheur, je n'en veux pas!' Bon gre, mal gre, il fallut ree3nier ala garniture d'ecrevisses, aujourd'hui encore traditionelle.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Librarie Larousse:Paris] 1938 (p. 667)
[NOTES: If you want original scanned text, complete with diacritics and accents, let us know. English translation, circa1961 here.]
[1948]
'Chicken Marengo
Cut up 2 broilers, each weighing about 2 pounds, into individual servings. Rub each piece with a damp cloth, season with saltand pepper, and sprinkle with flour. In a heavy pan heat 4 tablespoons oil, or tablespoons each oil and butter, and brown the pieces of chicken over a bright flame until golden, turning them frequently. Transfer the pieces of chicken to an earthenware casserole, add2 large cloves garlic, chopped finely, and a bouquet garni composed of 1 bay leaf, 6 sprigs parsley, and 1 sprig thyme, tied together withkithcen thread. Pour over all 1 cup white wine, 1 jigger brandy, and either 1 small can tomato puree or 2 large tomates, peeled and cut in pices. Cover the casserole tightly,lower flame, and cook gently until the chicken pieces are almost tender, turnking them several times with a wooden spoon. After some 30minutes, taste the seasoning and add 12 peeled mushroom caps cut in quarters. Cook for 10 minutes longer, or until the chicken is tender, andserve in the casserole, sprinkled with chopped parsley. The garnishings for chicken Marengo vary. It is optional to garnishwith croutons fried in butter, one egg fried in the oil for each person served, cooked crayfish or shrimp, button mushrooms, orsliced truffles.'
---'Napoleon's Chicken,' Gourmet, May 1948 (p. 21,30-31)
[NOTE: This article offers ample discussion regarding the origin/evolution of this dish. Happy to scan & share if you want.]
The practice of preparing meat/fish/shellfish by dicing it up into bite-sized chunks, dipping the pieces in a sticky substance, coating them with a grain-based substance, and cooking them (baking, frying, stir-frying) transcends geography and time. Variations onthis theme are found in many cultures and cuisines. Think: Ancient Roman fried chicken, Germanschnitzel, Japanese tempura, Colonial American crabcakes, and WWII-era frozen fish sticks. Because the protiens selected for this treatment are generally mild in flavor, they pair perfectly with zesty dipping sauces.
Chicken nuggets (aka chicken fingers, chicken tenders), as we Americans know them today, are a popular fast food menu item composed ofchopped chicken meat, mechanically compressed and factory shaped. McDonald's Chicken McNugget, one of the most popular examples, was introduced March 12, 1980. Today, chicken nugget-type foods are standard fare in fast food establishments, family restaurants, bar menus, school cafeterias, and supermarket freezer aisles.
Who invented the unbiquitous nugget, and when? We found two people claiming this honor:
'ROBERT BAKER, CREATOR OF CHICKEN NUGGETS, CORNELL CHICKEN BARBECUE SAUCE, DIES AT 84The Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences issued the following news release:Robert C. Baker, the Cornell University poultry science and food science professor who helped develop chicken nuggets, turkey ham, and poultry hot dogs into ubiquitous American fare, and who created the famous Cornell chicken barbecue sauce, died of a heart attack at his home in Lansing, N.Y., near Ithaca, on March 13. He was 84. Baker researched and developed innovative ways to use poultry. His Cornell chicken barbecue recipe has stood the taste test of time, having been showcased for more than five decades at his Baker's Chicken Coop at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, N.Y. Baker developed the recipe while working for Pennsylvania State University, but the barbecue sauce he devised was not appreciated until he joined the Cornell faculty with a mandate to promote New York state's poultry industry...During his career, Baker developed dozens of poultry products. Some of the key products were ground poultry, chicken nuggets and turkey ham. For the chicken nuggets, Baker found a way to keep the breading attached to the nuggets during the frying process. Today the nuggets are a staple in grocery stores and fast-food restaurants. 'When the nuggets came out in the 1950s, they weren't too popular,' Baker told The Ithaca Journal in a 2004 interview. Prior to 1980, chicken was packed on ice and shipped to restaurants and grocers. Baker and Joseph Hotchkiss, then an assistant professor of food science and now chair of the department, worked to develop modified atmosphere packaging and vacuum packaging to improve the chicken-shipping process. The late chicken magnate Frank Perdue implemented these ideas immediately, and the processes are used to this day. Baker was born Dec. 29, 1921, in Newark, N.Y. He earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell in 1943, majoring in pomology at the College of Agriculture. After college he worked for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Saratoga County, N.Y., and took an interest in the 4-H youth program. He received a master's degree from Penn State in 1949 and a doctorate from Purdue University before joining the Cornell faculty in 1957.In 1970 he founded Cornell's Institute of Food Science and Marketing and served as the institute's first director. He retired in 1989.'
---US States News, March 16, 2006
Who invented Chicken McNuggets?
'Rene Arend, 52, who holds the unusual title of executive chef at the McDonald's Corporation, a worldwide fast-food chain with more than 6,000 units, is following the pride of a father the success of Chicken McNuggets, a new finger-food product that he created forhis company. The item recently was added at outlets in the New York Area. 'I want to be different from the other guy,' said Mr. Arend. 'This took from 14 to 16 months to develop and was first introduced about a year ago...Born in Luxembourg and trained asa gourmet chef in France, Mr. Arend came to the United States in 1955, becoming a chef and working for 14 years at the Whitehall Club in Chicago. Among his customers were Ray. A. Kroc, found and senior chairman of the board of McDonalds, and Fred L. Turner, chairman and chief executive officer. 'They asked me several times to come to McDonald's...I said, I'm a chef, I don't believein hamburgers. But when I came, I wanted to do for the people out there in the street what I did for those who were rich. Mr.Arend added: 'Now I travel to stores and check the quality of the product. I like to go in there incognito and get it like thecustomer.'
---'McDonald's Chef Looks for Quality,' Leonard Sloane, New York Times, April 20, 1981 (p. D2)
What were the McNuggets four original dipping sauces?
'...party in the Music Room at the Biltmore to celebrate the introduction of Chicken McNuggets...At four buffets around the rooom ChickenMcNuggets were being served from silver tureens with round sauces--barbecue, sweet 'n'sour, hot mustard and honey. McNuggets turned outto be chunks of boneless chicken, about the size of a golf ball, but elliptical in shape, cooked crisp and brown in a lightbatter. My press kit noted that this was the new concept in chicken, and quoted the McDonald's slogan: 'Nobody can do it likeMacDonald's can.'
---'Combining Chicken/Catch-a-Story,' Jack Smith, Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1981 (p. G1)
Related food? Fast food chicken sandwiches.
Chicken ParmChicken Parm (Parmigiana, Parmesan)is a modern American favorite. Where did it originate & when was it introduced?One of the best ways to uncover the origins/history of a specific dish is to examine the ingredients within the context of the country of origin. Interestingly? Eggplant Parm,a dish without tomatos sauce, first surfaces in American print in the early 20th century.
Chicken dishes have been enjoyed by people since prehistoric times. Breaded/fried/baked chicken dishes were prepared by ancient Roman cooks and very popular in most European countries during Medieval times. Similar recipes were often made with veal. Cheese is ancient; Parmesean cheese is Medieval. Tomatoes are a 'New World' food first introduced to Europe by Spanish and Portuguese explorers. Prior to this time Italian food had no tomato sauce. 'Alla Parmigiana,' known in America as 'Parmesean' means the recipe originated in the Parma region of Italy. In sum, chicken parmesean (as we know it today) can't be older than the 16th century. The precursor was veal parmesean, a preferred meat in the 'Old Country.'
What is Parmigiana/Parmesean?
'A dish made in the syle of Parma, which suggests copious amounts of parmigiano (cheese) and prosciutto (ham). In America, it connotes something in bread crumbs, fried, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmigiano, and baked.'
---Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1998 (p. 179-180)
'Parmigiano. A cow's milk cheese made in huge wheels and aged. On of the most esteemed Italian grana cheeses. The cheese of the region has been noted for its quality at least since the days to Boccaccio, who noted it The Decameron (14th century). Parmigiano-Reggiano...was made around Parma and Reggia at least as early as the 17th century.'
---Dictionary Italian Food and Drink (p. 180)
'The birthplace of Parmesan was Bibbiano, now a rather prosperous rural town in the Reggio Emilia district adjoining Parma and about two hours train ride from Milan; but it was named for Parma because Bibbiano, and indeed all of Reggio Emilia, was under the rulse of the duchy of Parma during the Middle Ages, and because most cheese trading took place there as well. This false attribution was only partly corrected by Italian law in 1951, when the Stresa Convention decreed the present designations of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano as well as the regulations governing their production.'
---The Cheese Book, Vivienne Marquis and Patricia Haskell [Leslie Frewin:London] 1966 (p. 63)
Chicken parm in American
Food historians tell us Italian cuisine was introduced to our country by 19th century immigrants. At first, these foods were generally confined to Italian-American communities. After World War II *Italian* went mainstream, thanks to returning GIs who acquired the taste for far-flung foods during their tours of duty. Many traditional foreign dishes were Americanized, making them more acceptable to Anglo palates. Such is the case with chicken (and the more traditional veal) parmigiana. 'Veal Parmesan' recipes begin showing up in American cookbooks of the 1950s. Chicken parmesan followed in the next decade. Classic recipes retained the original flavor; *Americanized* recipes employed ingredients actively promoted by food companies. It is not unusual to find convenience recipes omitting the parmesan cheese (using only mozzerella) and ham/prosciutto altogether.
The earliest reference we find to Veal Parmigiana in American print is this [1947]:
'The hamburger bars about the city are featuring cheeseburgers these days along with their main stock in trade. At first, the combination of beef with cheese and tomatoes, which sometimes are used, may seem bizarre. if you reflect a bit, you'll understand the combination is sound gastronomically. The Italians, for example, are famous for their veal parmigiana, which gourmets agree is good, and which consists of a veal cutlet with tomato sauce and cheese.'
---'News of Food...Cheeseburgers for Supper,' Jane Nickerson, New York Times, May 3, 1947 (p. 9)
'Veal Cutlets Parmesan
1 pound veal cutlets
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound Mozzerella cheese
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
Dip cutlets in beaten eggs combined with seasoning, then in mixture of Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Fry in butter until brown (about 8 minutes). The place cutlets in baking dish, pour tomato sauce over them and add slices of Mozzarella cheese. Bake in moderate oven 10-15 minutes. Serves 4.'
---The Talisman Italian Cook Book, Ada Boni [Crown Publishers:New York] 1950 (p. 99)
[1962]
'Chicken Parmigiana
1 three-and-one-half pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 green pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup sliced stuffed olives
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sprinkle chicken with the salt and pepper and brown on all sides in the butter. Sprinkle with the mushrooms and cook five minutes. Sprinkle with the green pepper, onion and garlic; add the tomatoes and vermouth. Cover closely and bake thirty minutes.
3. Add the olives and cook ten minutes longer. Serve with the grated cheese.
Yield: Four servings.'
--- 'New Menus Are Offered Home Cook,' New York Times, September 6, 1962 (p. 33)
Chicken Tartare is fully cooked; Steak Tartare is served raw. Except for the shared appelation, thesetwo dishes are completely separate and unrelated. Chicken Tartare is garnished with Tartare sauce, a tangy mayonnaise-based mixture. [1882]
'Chicken a la Tartare
Singe the chicken, and split down the back. Wipe thoroughly with a damp cloth. Dredge well with salt and pepper, cover thickly with softened butter, and dredge thickly on both sides with fine, dry bread crumbs. Place in a baking pan, the inside down, and cook in a very hot oven thirty minutes, taking care not to burn. Serve with Tartare sauce.
---Mrs. Parloa's New Cook Book, Maria Parloa (p. 151)
[1901]
'Chicken a la Tartare, Poulet a la Tartare
1 Spring Chicken
1 Tablespoonful of Chopped Parsley
1 Tablespoonful of Thyme
1 Bay Leaf, minced fine
1 Chopped Onions
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Boil the chicken according to the above recipe, adding the chopped vegetables and herbs. Season to taste. When done, placeon a hot dish, butter nicely and serve with a Sauce a la Tartare. A broiled chicken may be served in the samemanner, but either broiled or boiled, the chicken must be cooked whole, splitting down the back.'
---The Picayune Creole Cook Book, facsimile 2nd edition, 1901 [Dover Publications:New York] 1971 (p. 123)
[1939]
'Chicken a la Tartare
1 broiling chicken
1/4 pound (1/2 cup) butter
4 sprigs parsley
1 small onion
1/4 pound mushrooms
1` clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Bread crumbs
Clean broiler and split in half. Place in a frying pan in which the butter has been melted. Chop parsley, onion, mushroomsand garlic and add to butter with salt and pepper. Cover frying pan and allow broiler to simmer for 15 minutes, turningit occasionally to absorb seasonings. Dip chicken in bread crumbs and broil until well browned. The pre-cooking in butter sauce assurestenderness of the meat and a delicate flavoring with mushrooms, onion, garlic and parsley. Serves 2.'
---The United States Regional Cook Book, Ruth Berolzheimer editor [Garden City Publishing:New York] 1939 (p. 355)
[1952]
Fried Chicken Tartare
1 or 2 small spring chickens
Chopped parsely
Chopped fresh mushrooms
Salt and pepper
Chopped chives
1 clove minced garlic
Fine brown breadcrumbs
Ice-cold tartare sauce
Split the chickens down the back and clean interior well. Bread the bones and soak in hot melted butter to which the chopped garlicand herbs have been added, as well as salt and pepper and the finely-chopped musrhooms. Cover and allow to marinate, turning occasionally for a couple of hours. Now drain halves of chicken, dip each in melted butter and coat evenly with the bread-crumbs,pressing them firmly on. Fry in an open pan or grill over a low heat, turning to cook evenly. Serve very hot with the sauce Tartarehanded separately. In order to allow the pieces of chicken to marinate nicely, keep the mixture near the stove so that the butterremains liquid.'
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 522)
Chicken Tikka Masala
The history of Chicken Tikka Masala is complicated and interesting. On first pass, we assumed this 'Indian' dish had a long history with hard documentation. When we found no references to this dish in Indian culinary history texts and cookbooks, we began to wonder. Recent newspaper articles reality-checked our food history compass. Happy to share what happened next.
Does this recipe have Indian origins?
Our survey of Indian culinary history sources (limited to items printed in English) confirmed these points:
1. Chicken (Indian jungle fowl) is native to India.
2. Tikka (aka kababs skewered meat roasted over fire) are native to Middle eastern lands. Islamic peoples from this area settled in India during the Middle Ages. Modern Englished definition is 'pieces of meat.'
3. Masala (spice mixture, think: curry) is native to India, though ingredients, combinations and applications can vary from place to place and family to family.
---SOURCE: A Dictionary of Indian Food/K.T. Achaya
[Notes: (1) The information above was extracted from Mr. Achaya's. He offers no separate entry/discussion of Chicken Tikka Masala. (2) Kabab history (general & India) http://foodtimeline.org/foodmeats.html#kebabs]
British connection?
'Tikka, the Hindi pronunciation of the Turkic word tikku, which means 'piece'. Tikka has been adopted into English and means much the same as kebab, referring to chunks of meat, poultry, etc. cooked on skewers in a tandoor. Chicken tikka masala has become, in Britain, the most popular dish ordered in Indian restaurants (some 16% of all curries sold). Thanks to its production as a chilled meal by supermarkets from 1983, it is now candidate for 'England's national dish'. It consists of chicken from the tandoor smothered in a mildly spiced creamy sauce often, but not invariably, flavoured with tomato. Many ore the claimants to its invention, but none is proven. Culinary mythology has it that a Bangladeshi cook quickly responded to a customer's request for 'gravy' with his tandoori chicken by spicing up a can of creamed tomato soup. Although there was a proto-recipe in Mrs. Balbir Singh's Indian Cookery (1961), the dish is universally accepted to be of British-Asian origins, probably in the early 1970s.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition Tom Jaine editor [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2006 (p. 798)
[NOTE: Mrs. Singh's 1961 recipe here.]
In 2001, Chicken Tikka Masala made headlines as Britain's 'national dish:'
'British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's recent celebration of chicken tikka masala is being used to defend the evolution of a multicultural and multiracial Britain. A leaked version of a speech by Cook, in which he says the average Englishman now prefers chicken tikka masala to roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, is possibly designed to counter claims by Conservative lawmakers that Anglo-Saxon Britain is being undermined by mass immigration. In his speech, which he later delivered on April 12 at the Center for the Open Society in London, Cook says curry is the 'perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences. Chicken tikka is an Indian dish. The masala sauce was added to satisfy the desire of the British people to have their meat served with gravy.' His praise for chicken tikka is also being interpreted as a way of appeasing some owners of ethnic minority restaurants who have reacted angrily to suggestions by government officials that they could be responsible for the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that has devastated British farms.'
---'Of chicken tikka and multiculturalism in England,' Shyam Bhatia, India Abroad, April 27, 2001 (p. 9)
Origin & evolution
[1961]
'Makhani Murgh
Tandoor Chicken Cooked in Butter and Tomato Sauce
A tandoori murgha (prepared by one of the previous recipes) when further cooked in butter and tomato sauce is known as makhani murgh.
Ingredients for the sauce
2 oz (60 g) butter or pure ghee
1 1/2 to 2 level teaspoonfuls salt
2 dessertspoonfuls lemon juice< /><1 teaspoonful=' red=' pepper=' (degi='>
4 tablespoonfuls thick cream or double cream (malai)
Ingredients for makhani murgh
3 + 1 ozs (115 g) butter or pure ghee
1/2 teaspoonful garam masala
1 cooked tandoor chicken (1 1/2 lb (680 g) in weight)
1/2 teaspoonful red pepper
2 to 3 green, finely cut chillies (sabz mirch)
Quarters of 4 ozs tomatoes
1/2 teaspoonful roasted ground black cumin seeds
1 tablespoonful finely-chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley
1/2 oz shredded ginger
Method
For the sauce:--Heat the butter or ghee. Remove from the fire, add 1 teaspoonful red pepper, 1 lb (455 g) roughly-cut tomatoes, salt andsutar. Cook uncovered for about 15 minutes on quick fire. Pass through a fine sieve. Beat the cream and mix it with the tomato puree. Add lemon juice and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove ftom the fire and leave it covered till needed.
For the murgh:--Prepare a tandoori chicken and carve it into neat pieces. Heat 3 ozs butter and fry lightly a few pieces of the chicken at a time. Whe the whole of the chicken is done, remove the butter from the fire, and add to it 1/2 teaspoonful redpepper. Stir, mix the fried chicken pieces, quarters of tomatoes, shredded ginger and green chiilies. Simmer for 10 minutes or till the flavour of the sauce penetrates them. Remove from the heat and pour on 1 oz of melted butter. Sprinkle roasted ground black cumin seeds, garam masala and finely-chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley. Serve immediately.'
---Mrs. Balbir Singh's Indian Cookery, Mrs. Balbir Singh [Mills & Boon Ltd.:London] 1961 (p. 56-57)<1>
[2004]
'The mystery of multi-cultural Britain's national dish, chicken tikka masala, or CTM, grows ever more soupy and turgid as TOI learns it amazingly started public life on the other side of the Atlantic and within the columns of an American newspaper restaurant review. In consequence, says the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), there is little to prove CTM's hitherto-assumed origins as an Indo-British invention. The linguistic and cultural connotations of CTM's American avatar are immense...many so-called world English words that look and sound like Hindi are actually whole new words, aren't Hindi at all, but British or US inventions. Foodies and political pundits alike believe it may be important to retain CTM as a British dish. The concoction, whose recipe was hilariously exported to India just a few years ago, is widely seen to be synonymous with the breakdown in traditional British values and the rise of multiculturalism...Till now, CTM was anecdotally assumed to have originated in the British Isles, via the cook-and-serve skills of South Asian immigrants to the UK. According to received wisdom, CTM started life when a South Asian chef was asked to tone down a standard, spicy chicken tikka served up to an English customer who boasted a regulation bland palate. Depending upon whom you believe, the chef either poured cream of that other English staple, a tine of sweetish Campbell tomato soup, over the chicken. Viola. CTM was born. Or so goes the legend. But now...there may be no proof that CTM started life in the curry houses of London, Birmingham or Glascow. In fact, the earliest public reference to CTM, Ogilvie tells TOI, are a May 1975 New York Times restaurant review. The reference...indicates the dish had more of a European flavour than generally assumed.'
---'What's the spice behind the chicken tikka masala?,' Times of India, December 12, 2004 (p. 15)
[NOTES: (1) We find print evidence of Chicken Tikka in London & NYC ethnic eateries in 1975.(2) First print reference does not always reliably confirm the origin of a dish. Some dishes are known my several different names. A careful examination of ingredients, method, and serving suggestions can reveal earlier iterations.]
[2006]
'About six years ago when Britain's then Foreign Minister Robin Cook announced chicken tikka masala was the new national dish' of Great Britain, some food critics immediately condemned the idea as a British invention. It was not an authentic curry, they argued. 'Chicken tikka masala was not a shining example of British multiculturalism but a demonstration of the British facility for reducing all foreign foods to their most unappetizing and inedible form,' recalls Lizzie Collingham in Curry, A Tale of Cooks & Conquerors, a culinary history filled with appetizing tidbits, folklore, and recipes. 'Rather than the inspired invention of an enterprising Indian chef., this offensive dish was dismissed as the result of an ignorant customer's complaint that his chicken tikka was too dry,' Collingham, a Cambridge-trained historian notes in her book published by Oxford University Press (304 pages, $28). When the chef whipped together a can of Campbell's tomato soup, some cream, and a few spices to provide a gravy for the offending chicken, she reveals, he produced a mongrel dish of which, to their shame, Britons now eat at least 18 tons a week. Collingham could have added that the most popular chicken tikka masala as well as the prepared chicken tikka served on British trains and at many British fast-food restaurants is served by Patak, an Indian company.'
---'The many faces of the curry,' Arthur J. Paiz, India Abroad, February 10, 2006 (p. M4)
[2009]
'Sir, I was amused to read Brian Groom's Notebook item 'Lost curry cause' (July 28), on the claim being made for Glasgow as the home of chicken tikka masala, having been created in the city's Shish Mahal restaurant in the 1970s. The previous owner, who sold the current proprietors the restaurant when it was Taj Mahal, also claimed to have invented it in 1950s. We certainly have evidence of chicken tikka masala being around in the late 1960s, and Amin Ali, owner of the well-known Red Fort in London, remembers it as an established dish on the menu - but one he had never heard of - when he arrived in UK for his first waiter's job in 1974. I was the editor of the Real Curry Restaurant Guide Mr Groom refers to and have documented the dish's creation and growth on numerous occasions, so I hope the Glasgow restaurant does not get away with this one. (The same does not apply to the balti, which can be claimed by Birmingham.)'
---'Check out the true chicken tikka story,' Brian Groom, Financial Times [London] July 31, 2009 (p. 10)
[2011]
'Chicken Tikka Masala, invented a half-century ago or so, is the most globally recognized Indian dish. Yet it isn't really Indian; it's Anglo-Indian, concocted from a classic Indian preparation to suit British tastes. The 'Roast Beef of England' didn't survive the imperial encounter; surveys show chicken tikka masala to be today the most popular dish in British restaurants. For while 'empire' is now something of a naughty word--implying one culture victimizing another--in the trade-dominated British practice it was often a two-way street. The first curry recipe appeared in England in 1747, and the first curry house opened in London in 1810; by the 1850s, curry powder (or 'currie powder,' as below) was a popular household product.'
---'Hope & Glory,' Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2011 (accessed online, unpaged)
Recipe sampler
[1973]'Chicken with tomato sauce and butter, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, Madur Jaffrey
...though not titled Chicken Tikka Masala, the ingredients, method, and presentation are strikingly similar.
[1993]
'Chicken Tikka Masala
Prepare the chicken in the marinade at least 4-6 hours before barbecueing, grilling or roasting.
Serves 4
1 chicken, quartered
(or four chicken pieces, legs or breasts as preferred)
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
Spices:
1 dessertspoon garam masala
(equal quantities of cumin seed, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom seeds, dry roasted in a frying pan and ground, with a pinch of nutmeg)
red and yellow food colouring
(or 1 dessertspoon paprika powder)
1 large carton plain yoghurt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
Skin the chicken pieces, cut each in half, and prick all over with a fork. Make several slashes with a knife, cutting to the bone, put in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and lemon juice and leave for half an hour. Meanwhile, put the yoghurt, onion, garlic and spices into a blender and whizz to a cream. Strain. Mop the chicken pieces dry with absorbent paper, and paint with food colour, or rub with paprika. Put in a bowl covered with the marinade and leave for 4-6 hours. To cook, pre-heat grill to very high, or set oven to highest, 475F/240C/Gas 9. Shake off excess marinade, brush with oil, and grill for 20 minutes on one side, 10 on the other (not too close to the grill). Or roast for 25-30 minutes on a grid in the oven, or a shallow pan. Test with skewer. Take chicken off the bone. Serve with salad and wedges of lemon, with lemon-flavoured or saffron rice.'
---'Food and drink / Chicken Tikka Masala,' The Independent (London), January 17, 1993 (Sunday Review p. 39)
[1998]
Chicken Tikka Masala
The ingredients
700g/l1/2 lb skinned and boned chicken breasts
salt and pepper
3 tbsp lemon juice
7 tbsp tikka masala curry paste
11/2 tbsp minced ginger from a jar
275g/l0oz basmati rice
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp Sunflower oil
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp ground almonds
4 tbsp natural yogurt
6 cloves
6 cardamom pods
1/2 cinnamon stick
150ml/5fl oz double cream
1 PREPARE CHICKEN
Cut the chicken into 4cm/11/2 inch chunks
2 STIR CHICKEN IN PASTE
Mix 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 3 tbsp tikka masala curry paste, 1 tbsp minced ginger, 3 crushed cloves of garlic and the yogurt together in a bowl. Stir in the chicken and leave for 20 minutes.
3 MAKE THE SAUCE
For the sauce, fry the onion in 2 tbsp of the oil for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the minced ginger and crushed garlic and cook for another 5 minutes until soft. Add the rest of the curry paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add the tomato puree, the remaining 1 tbsp of lemon juice, the ground almonds, 300ml/1/2 pint boiling water and some salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4 LIQUIDISE THE MIXTURE
Add the cream and simmer for another 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into a liquidiser and blend until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan and keep warm over a low heat.
5 GRILL THE CHICKEN
Preheat the grill to high. Thread the pieces of chicken on to metal skewers and place on the rack of the grill pan. Cook for 10 minutes, turning them now and then, until lightly browned and cooked through.
6 PREPARE THE RICE
Meanwhile, put the rice into a bowl with lots of cold water and wash well, changing the water a few times, until the water stays clear. Then leave rice to soak for 5 minutes.
7 MIX IN THE SPICES
Heat the rest of the oil in a large pan. Add the cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick and fry for 30 seconds. Drain the rice and add 600 ml/1 pint boiling water and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to the boil, cover and cook over a low heat for 12 minutes.
8 ADD CHICKEN TO THE SAUCE
Push the pieces of chicken tikka off the skewers into the sauce. Add chopped coriander and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve with the pilau rice.'
---'The step-by-step meal for 4: Chicken Tikka Masala,' The Mirror [London] January 10, 1998 (features p. 18-19)
[2001]
'Chicken tikka masala
Feeds 4. Takes 35 min plus marinating time. It's a curry-house cliche, sure, but when made at home it can be a real charmer. For the best flavour, use the meat form chicken legs and thighs rather than the breast-you will need four legs with thighs attached.
450g boneless chicken meat
150g natural yoghurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp cayenne powder
2 tsp garam masla
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
800 canned chopped tomatoes
150 ml single cream
Handful of fresh coriander or parsley leaves
Cut the meat into big cubes, about 5 cm square. Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, spices, salt and vegetable oil in a non-reactive bowl, and mix well. Add the chicken, toss well and leave to marinate for two or three hours. Arrange on a lightly oiled rack set over a baking tray, and bake in a very hot oven (230C/450F/Gas mark 8) for 12 minutes or place the rack under the grill-which I think is more successful--and grill the chicken for four or five minutes either side, until nicely scorched. To make the sauce, heat the butter until heated through. Scatter with fresh coriander or parsley and serve with rice.'
---'Essential British flavours,' The Times (London), May 5, 2001 (p. 7S)
Chicken Vesuvio first surfaces in American print after World War II. This coincides with a period of American interest in foreign foods. American-style, that is.
'Chicken Vesuvio.' An Italian-American dish of chicken sauteed with garlic, olive oil, oregano, lemon, and wine, piled with potato wedges. According to an article in Nation's Restaurant News (April 27, 1987), the dish was 'created in Chicago by a Neapolitan cook shortly after World War II.' It has become a staple item in Italian-American restaurants in that city. Although it is obviously named after the volcano Mount Vesuvius near Naples, Italy, there are several stories as to the reasons why. It has been speculated that the name derives either from the amount of smoke produced in the cooking process when the wine is added to the hot pan. But, according to The Italian Cookbook, published by the Culinary Arts Institute of Chicago in 1954, 'the rim of this casserole is topped with deep-fried potatoes and seems to be erupting flavorful fried chicken.'
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 73)
'Chicago Chicken Vesuvio. One chef says this dish got its name because adding the wine to the oil caused the dish to smoke like a volcano; another suggests that a chef who was homesick for Naples arranged the dish so it looked like Mount Vesuvius, heaping the chicken in the middle and arranging potato wedges upright around it. Whatever its origins, only Chicago's Italian restaurants have it. The authentic version is swimming in olive oil and overcooked garlic.'
---'A Fourth of July Toast to Foods That Made America Great,' Marian Burros, New York Times, July 1, 1987 (p. C1)
Our survey of Italian and Italian-American culinary sources confirms sauteed poultry dishes do, indeed, claim a place in Mediterranean cuisine. Most are combined with local spices, a variety of vegetables and starch component (typically risotto or macaroni). Many require a some wine, both red or white. We find no references to Chicken Vesuvio (or any dish under a different name that would have produced a similar result) in our Italian-American (1912-1950s) and Chicago-based cookbooks [Chicago Daily News Cook Book c. 1930; Grandaughter's Inglenook Cookbook, c. 1942].
The oldest print reference we find to Chicken Vesuvio is from a Chicago newspaper, c. 1948. This perhaps suggests the name, if not the dish, originated in the Windy City. Note the recipe is quite different from the 'classic' recipe described by Mariani & others.
'Last week in Chicago a new and unique organization joined the ever growing list of wine and food societies in this country. While the name adopted is somewhat jocose--the Streeterville and sanitary Canal Gourmet and Study society--its purpose is admirable. The founding chapter is limited to 10 memebers and is composed of four newspaper men...two radio executives, a newspaper columnist, a two star Untied States army general, a real estate operator, and a lawyer...This group will meet either monthly or semi-monthly...and one member will be designated as chef for the meeting. He, with the assistance of the other members, will prpare a meal of inspired dishes...cooked as only male cooks can prepare them...The formation meeting was held at Mike's Fish restaurant on Chicago's near north side. The menu, selected by the venerable and the recording chef, was prepared by Mike Fish himself...The main entry was Chicken Vesuvio. Cut a chicken into small serving pieces and fry in pure olive oil. In the meantime, cut large potatoes into oversize french fry slices, and deep fry them in lard until almost cooked. When the chicken is nearly done, add the potatoes to the chicken, sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, a small pinch of ground red chili peppers, and a small pinch of oregano over the contents of the pan. Stir the mixture gently, then place a cover on the pan and let cook for about 2 or 3 minutes. Place everything on a hot serving platter, sprinkle over the whole a liberal portion of finely chopped parsley, and serve.'
---'For Men Only! From the Feast of a Newly Formed Gourmet Society Come Recipes for Delectable Dishes,' Morrison Wood, Chicago Daily Tribune, August 21, 1948 (p. 12)
By the 1960s, the original concept of 'chicken and french fries' evolved into an elaborate gourmet procedure. The recipe below, from the New Antoinette Pope School Cookbook [c. 1961], is a prime example of what happens when professional American chefs decide to validate a simple home-grown dish. The addition of garlic and 'Italian cheese' makes this dish more presentable as 'Italian.'
'Chicken Dinner Vesuvio [Four servings]City chicken
Chicken:
1 cutup frying chicken, about 2 1/2 pounds
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoongrated Italian cheese
1/3 cup very hot oil, butter, or other shortening
Potatoes:
2 pounds potatoes, pared and quartered
1/2 cup oil or shortening
salt and pepper
Grated Italian cheese
Oregano
Green Beans:
1/4 cup sliced or chopped onion
2 tablespoons hot fat
1 package frozen green beans, thawed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablesppon parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate
Roll chicken in mixture of flour, seasonings, and cheese. Brown chicken in hot shortening, then place in round or oval heatproof serving platter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, until tender, turning chicken for last 15 minutes, baste chicken every 10 minutes with drippings or additional butter. Brown potatoes i hot fat. Remove from pan; sprinkle with a little salt, pepper, grated Italian cheese, and oregano. Place them around chicken at start of baking time and baste occasionally. These will take about as long as the chicken to become tender. To prepare beans: Saute onion in hot fat for several minutes. Add beans and seasonings. Cover and cook gently until tender. About 5 minutes before serving time, spoon cooked beans into spaces between potatoes and chicken and continue baking for a few minutes longer.'
---'These Cookbooks Will Intrigue You!,' Doris Schackt, Chicago Daily Tribune, October 13, 1961 (p. C4)
[NOTE: Antoinette Pope was the principal of a popular Chicago-based culinary school. The Antoinette Pope School Cookbook c. 1948 does NOT contain this recipe, or anything approximating it. She does provide a paragraph of instructions for 'Pan-Fried Chicken in the Rough,' simple sauteed chicken. There is no mention of potatoes or any other vegetables, cheese, etc.]
Online Dating Charleston Sc
The history of City chicken (aka mock chicken) is relatively easy to trace. The definative originof the name continues to elude food historians. What we do know? This recipe calls westernPennsylvania 'home.'The culinary evolution of City chicken:
'Mock' foods (foods that are named for an ingredient that isn't in the recipe) have a long anvenerable history. Medieval cooks employed by wealthy families were fascinated with illusionfood. The practice of calling one food by another name (mock sturgeon was composed of veal) ormaking one meat resemble another was quite an art and highly respected. Victorian-era cookswere also intrigued by mock foods. They enjoyed mock turtle soup (calve's head...remember thischaracter in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland?), mock goose (leg of pork) and mockapple pie (soda crackers). Depression and World War II-era cooks created mock foods to stretchthe budget and satisfy family tastes. The 1931 edition of Irma Rombauer's The Joy ofCooking has recipes for mock chicken sandwiches (tuna), mock pistachio ice cream (vanillawith almond extract and green food coloring) and mock venison (lamb).
The Oxford English Dictionary does not have an entry for city chicken or mock chicken,but itdoes have an entry for 'mock duck and mock goose.' These are defined as 'a piece of pork fromwhich the 'crackling' [skin] has been removed, baked with a stuffing of sage and onions.' TheOED traces this usage in print to 1877. Here is the referenced recipe:
'Goose, Mock.Mock goose is a name given in some parts to a leg of pork roasted without the skin, and stuffedjust under the knuckle with sage-and-onion stuffing. It is a good plan to boil it partially beforeskinning and putting it down to roast. When it is almost done enough, sprinkle over it a powdermade my mixing together a table-spoonful of finely-grated bread-crumbs, with a tea-spoonful ofpowdered sage, half a salt-spoonful of salt, and the same of pepper. Send some good gravy to thetable in a tureen with it. Time, allow fully twenty minutes to the pound. Probable cost, 11d. Perpound.'
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery [Cassell, Peter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1877 (p. 262)
Late 19th and early 20th century American and English cookbooks contain many veal recipes.Veal loaves (meatloaf!), veal cutlets, and roasts were popular. We find recipes for 'veal birds' indepression-era cookbooks. Veal birds are composed of flattened veal stuffed with pork meatballs.The are held in place with toothpicks and served with cream gravy. Guessing from the pictures,the finished product is supposed to look like little birds. Hence, the name.
'Veal had never been an American meat staple...And though the amount of veal we did eat felloff after the war [WWII], it was used occasionally (except by immigrants who liked it) as aninexpensive substitute for the desirable high-priced chicken or turkey, which where not yet beingraised in huge numbers by poultry factories.'
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:NewYork]1995 (p. 142-3)
Curiously enough? German weiner schnitzel [breaded veal cutlets] morphed in the 1940s inmanysouthern states into 'chicken-fried steak.' The recipe for 'city chicken/mock chicken' is almostidentical. The difference is that city chicken is made with pork and veal cubes (as opposed to asingle type of meat) and shaped on a skewer. Our notes on chicken fried steak.
[1931]'This week we have a recipe cleverly called 'City Chicken' and the girl who sends it in tells us that it is called by that namebecause when it is done it resembled the leg of a chicken. At any rate, we are suer you will think it delicious and different.
City Chicken by Jane Mogford
Cut the desired amount of veal steak into strips one inch wide and five to six inches long. Wind in and out on dkwewers with a littlesalt pork. Sprinkle with a little flour, salt and pepper, brown on all sides and bake in an oven from one hour to one hour and ahalf.'
---'The Kitchen by Aunt Helen,' Syracuse Herald [NY], July 19, 1931 (p. 12)
[1933]
'City Chicken Legs
1 slice pork stea, cut 3/4 inch thick
1 slice beal steak (thick) from round or shoulder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup Abbotts thin cream
4 tablespoons shortening
Trin off the fat from the hand and cut the meat in pieces 1 1/2 inches square. Cut the veal in pieces 1 1/2 inches square. Place 4 pieces of meat squares on a wooden meat skewer (the pointed ed of skewer run through the center of square), beginning with a pices of porkfirst, then veal, and pork again. The last pieces of eal should come to the point end of the skewer. Press the pieces frimly together, using the palm of your hand. Salt and pepper the chicken leggs, roll in cracker crumbs, dip in beaten eggs and roll in curmbs again.Brown in melted shortening in a hot skillet. Pour the thin cream over the meat, cover and bake. Serve win a border of mashedpotatoes.'
---'Recipes Used At the Tribune Cooking School,' Philadelphia Tribune, June 22, 1933 (p. 7)
[1936]
'Mock Chicken Legs
1 lb beef steak
1 lb veal or pork
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup fat, melted
1/4 cup flour or 3/4 cup cracker crumbs
6-8 wooden skewers
Have steaks cut about 3/8 inches thick. Pound well and cut in 1 or 1 1/2 inch squares. Arrange 6 pieces alternately through one corner on each skewer, having top and bottom pieces somewhat smaller to represent drumsticks. Brush over or roll in fat,then in flour or crumbs, season with salt and pepper. Fry in fat left over and brown on all sides. Cover pan closely, cook slowly about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender, adding water if necessary.'
---The Settlement Cook Book, Mrs. Simon Kander [Settlement Cook Book Co.:Milwaukee WI] 21st edition enlarged and revised 1936 (p. 161)
'Mock Chicken Drumsticks (City Chicken)
6 servings
Cut into 1 X 1 1/2 inch pieces:
1 pound veal steak
1 pound pork steak
Sprinkle them with salt, pepper
Arrange the veal and pork cubes alternately on 6 skewers. Press the pieces close together into theshape of a drumstick. Roll the meat in flour.
Beat 1 egg, 2 tablespoons water
Dip the sticks into the diluted egg then roll them in breadcrumbs.
Melt in a skillet 1/4 cup shortening
Add 1 tablespoon minced onion (optional)
Brown meat well. Cover the bottom of the skillet with boiling stock or stock substitute or water.Put a lid on the skillet and cook the meat over very hot heat until it is tender. Thicken the gravywith flour (2 tablespoons four to 1 cup of liquid). If preferred, the skillet may be covered and placed in a slow oven 325 degrees F. Until the meatistender.'
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs Merill:Indianapolis] 1936 (p. 95)
[What was pork steak?]
- 'Today's recipe satisfies our occasional yearning for a hearty, homemade meal and has been an oldie but goodie for decades. It's the kind of dish you'd expect Aunt Bee from Mayberry to serve Andy and Opie. City Chicken is a basic dish made with cubed pork, veal or beef. The cubed meat is placed on skewers, breaded, then fried in oil or butter. We found meat labeled city chicken at Giant Eagle. It was a combination of veal and pork (this seems to be the most popular). The package also contained the skewers. You can, if you desire, cube you own meat. Try City Chicken with buttery mashed potatoes and a vegetable and maybe a salad on the side and you have delicious meal. Why is it called City Chicken? Sandra Smerilli of Monessen tells us 'It is called City Chicken because it resembles a chicken leg.' Sounds right to us.'
---Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Other cities with early mock/city chicken citings include Milwaukee, Sheboygan, & Detroit:
- 'CITY CHICKEN (Caldwell's Market--ed.) Sheboygan Press Thursday, May 08, 1930 Sheboygan, Wisconsin ...May luncheon: Fruit Cocktail Pretzels CITY CHICKEN Chopped Potatoes Enzo-Jel.....'
- The Settlement Cook Book, Mrs. Simon Kander (Milwaukee, 21st edition, enlarged and revised c. 1936) offers a reicpe for 'Mock Chicken Legs' which is strikingly similar to Irma Rombauer's City Chicken (c. 1936).
- The debate rages on.
Then, there's also Chicago Chicken (defined by the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, J.E. Lighter [Random House:New York] 1994, Volume 1 as 'bacon or sausage.' (p. 395)
Related foods? Fried chicken, chicken fried steak, & corndogs.
ConfitAncient peoples knew food could be preserved by protecting it from the air. Many methods were employed, according to commodity, period and place. Confit, a method which employs the fat of the object fowl for protection, descends from directly from potting, a popular 17th century preservation method. duck confit is popular today. The worditself derives from the French verb denoting preservation. Comfits, a type of sugar candy, descends from the same verb.
'Confit. In French cuisine, a confit consists of pieces of meat--typically goose, duck, pork or turkey--cooked in their own fat and then stored in a pot, again covered in their own fat. Thus preserved, they can be kept for quite a long time, all the while tenderizing, and developing their flavours. For eating they can either be used on their own, hot or cold, or incorporated into a dish such as a cassoulet or garbure. The term confit is a derivative of the French verb confire, 'preserve'.'
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 87)
'Pots...Sir Hugh Plat, in the...1607 paper for the Navy that described his concentrated broth, laid out a method for bottling food and making it airtight with a layer of olive oil. Keeping food airtight, using sewn-up skins, bladders, or piecrusts was already a well-known preserving art. So too was sealing food in earthenware jars of liquid such as oils and must...Demand for potted foods became so great in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that it transformed the English pottery industry...The same principle of sealing cooked food in fat so that it was protected from air has been applied in different ways around the world. ..The Lebanese make a product called 'qawwrama' from their famous fat-tailed sheep, which are specially fattened for killing at the end of November. They are stuffed rather like geese are in France for foie gras...The fat is cut from the slaughtered sheep and rendered down in a large brass pan. The lean meat is cut into pieces and pressed to remove the moisture and then fried in mutton fat with seasoning. Eathenware crocks are filled with the hot meat and rendered fat and carefullly sealed up with wet clay. Qarwwrama keeps like this all winter and is useful for stews and stuffed vegetables. A fourteenth century Polish account similarly describes chunks of cooked meat immersed in melted, salted lard and stored in jars for several months in a cool place, still a common practice in some parts of eastern Europe. In southwest France, were almost every preserved food they prepare is now a famous gourmet specialty, the goose still reigns supreme, and the word confit, meaning 'something preserved,' belongs exclusively to that gastronomic region. A confit can be made with goose or duck fat in which the goose, duck, or other meat is submerged and very gently cooked, preferably over a wood fire so that the wood smoke can play its part in adding flavor. The meat is then stored in the fat--sous la graisse-- producing a delicacy that is smooth textured and 'gamey' in flavour. Rilletes, another southwestern specialty, are the French equivalent of British potted meat, using shredded scraps of meat from pork, goose, duck, or rabbit... A popular Spanish version of the French confit is called 'olla.' As part of the pig killing, the pig's loins and ribs are prepared and cooked and then placed in the ollapots and covered with a thick skin of lard or oil. Potting, essentially a technique that involves sealing cooked food under melted fat, produces a food that is cooked at high temperature with plenty of fat and very little water. Most organisms are thus killed or entombed in the fat as it cools and solidifies, unable to move or proliferate. The hard 'skin' of fat also keeps airobrne contaminates from entering. As a way of preserving food, however, it must have carried many risks from food poisoning...But despite the claims for long shelf life, potted food as mostly a luxury item probably consumed quite quickly in most households.'
---Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World, Sue Shephard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 1940-5)
'Confit...may refer to fruits or vegetables cooked for long keeping with sugar or vinegar but usually is taken to describe meat, typically goose, duck, pork, or turkey...slighly salted, cooked at very low temperature in its own fat, covered in its own fat...and then preserved in a pot. It is a specialty of SW France and is widely sold in jars or cans...confit of goose and duck probably started around the town of Bayonne in the 18th century when the adoption of maize for forcefeeding the birds provoked the production of the necessary fat on the carcasse....See also lard, rillette, and qawarama (the Middle Eastern equivalent preserve of lamb in fat)...The slow cooking of confits has made them a favourite of modern commerical cookery...'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition Tom Jaine editor [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2006 (p. 210)
Escoffier offers these instructions for Oie en Confit or Confit d'Oie in 1907:
'Since this preparation has been mentioned in several recipes elsewhere in this book, it is felt necessary to give details of its preparation. Select very fat geese so as to expect at least 1 1/4 kg (3 lb 6 oz) of fat from each. Clean them and cut each into 6 pieces being the 2 legs, 2 pieces of breast and 2 of carcasse. Rub the pieces with coarse salt mixed with a touch of minced spice and a little powdered thyme and bayleaf; place in deep dishes, cover with more salt and leave for 24 hours. The next day, melt in a suitable pan all of the fat removed from the pieces of geese and the intestines. Wash off the pieces of geese, dry them well and place to slowly cook in the fat for approximately 2 1/2 hours keeping them slightly firm in keeping with their ultimate uses. Place each 6 pieces of geese into a glazed earthenware pot which has been sterilized in boiling water, and cover with the cooking fat. Leave to set, then cover the goosefat with a 1 cm (2/5 in) thick layer of melted lard. When this is set, cover with a round of strong paper and tie down firmly.'
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, first translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in its entirety [John Wiley:New York] 1997 (p. 413)
[NOTE: Jane Grigson's Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery offers modern confit instructions (p. 318-320).]
Coq au vin is a contemporary twist on an old culinary theme. The practice of tenderizing toughmeat bysimmering it slowlyencasserole with wine or broth was practiced by Ancient cooks. This technique was generallyregarded as provinical/peasant fare because wealthy diners could afford more tender cuts ofmeat. Today,Coq au vin is made with tender chicken instead of the traditional toughold coq (cock), thus obscuring thetrue origin of this dish. Culinary evidence confirms Coq au vin was extremely popular inAmericaduring the1960s, as were all things French.
'Coq.
The French word for cock, and now used as a synonym for chicken in certain dishes. In traditonalstockfarming, cocks which were good breeders were kept as long as they could fulfil their function.They wouldbe several years old before they were killed and therefore needed long and slow braising in acasserole(coq au vin). Nowadays, coq au vin is usually made with a chicken or hen. The combs and thekidneys ofthe cock serve as a garnish or decoration, rare now but frequently used in the elaborate cuisine offormerdays.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Jenifer Harvey Lang [Crown:New York] 1988 (p. 304)
'Although Coq au vin is well known and was featured in numerous menus in the third quarter ofthe 20thcentury, it does not have a long history. The flesh of a cock has always been regarded assomewhat toughand indigestible, and with few exceptions cooks of earlier centuries saw no merit in cocks exceptas asource of cockscombs (much in demand for garnish) and sometimes for making a bouillon. Oneofthe veryfirst recipes for Coq au vin, that of Brisson published in Richardin's L'Art du bien manger (1913),waspresented as a real discovery', the author having been surprised to find the dish in Puy-de-Dome,andsurprised by how good it was. The ingredients in this case were the cock, good wine of Avergne,bacon,onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Wine from Burgundy has since become the one commonly used,andindeed many recipes just say red wine'. The upsurge of interest in regional cuisines has recentlybrought tolight other similar traditions for preparing Coc au vin. In Franche-Comte the bird is simmered invin jaune;and in Alsace in Riesling. In both these regions morels and cream are gladly added if available.Indeed,knowledgeable food experts no longer speak of Coq au vin in the singular but of coqs au vin inthe plural,while acknowledging that these dishes were doubtless simmering way for long years before thefirst recipeswere published and before the gastromonomes discovered' the virtues of simple countryfare.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.196)
Recipes through time
[1906]'Le coq au vin
---Titre : La cuisine franaise : l'art du bien manger. suivi... des Aphorismes. et contenant Les croquis gastronomiques (Ed. rev. et augm.) / recueilli et annot par Edmond Richardin ; prface d'Andr Theuriet,... ; estampes... expliques par Gustave Geffroy...de Brillat-Savarin ; de Fulbert-Dumonteil,...diteur : Nilsson (Paris)Date d'dition : 1906Contributeur : Richardin, Edmond (1850-19..). diteur scientifique
[1913]
'Le coq au vin
Il n'est pas de plaisir plus delicieux qu de vagabonder a travers les petites villes et les gros bourgsde nos provinces du centre et du sud-ouest. Dans ces coins, un peu perdus, de la vieille rance, onest mal loge. Je conviens que, generalement, on y est bien nourri. C'est une compensation. Lacuisine fut, de tous temps, une des prinicpales coquetteries des menageres gauloises; chez nous,latradition des plats succulents se transmet de mere a fille. Voici une recetter que j'ai cueillie sur lesommet dy Puy-de-Dome. Le restaurateur de l'auberge du temple de Mercure m'a fait manger un'coq au vin.' Je m'en suis regale. J'ai mande l' 'operateur' et l'ai prie de me livrer son secret; ilest alle querir un cahier datant du XVIe siecle, et j'y ai copie les lignes suivantes:
'La veridique et mervielleuse recepte du 'coq au vin', telle qu'elle fut imaginee et mise au pointpar feu maistre Bertrand, lequel tenait hostellerie a l'ensigne du 'Mercure Gallois', au temps dubon roy Henry, qui voulut fair ordonance a ses subjets de mettre la poule au pot dimanches etfestes. Adonc, quand voudres cuire le 'coq au vin', il fault prendre un poulet jenet de Limagne,et, l'ayant prestement occis, le depecer en six quartiers; puis, en une coquemare ou pot de terre,fair revenir au feu a demi, ensemble trois onces de lard de porc maigre et ferme, tailles en formede des a jouer, une once et demie de beurre frais, plus encore des petits oignons. Sur le momentque seront revenus les ingredients, jetes en votre coquemare ledit poulet depece et farci d'unegousse d'ail hachee menu, adjoutes un bouquet de persil et aultres plantes bien odorantes commethym et laurier, sans oublier morilles ou champignons; tenes couvert sur le feu vif, tant st si bienque le tout soit a belle couleur de rot, partout semblable, puis otes le couvert et enlevesdoucement la graisse surabondante. Que si, ensuite, vous avez un doigt de vieille eau-de-vie,voireArmagnac, arroses d'ycelle le poulet, puis flambes. Et sur le tout ensemble repandes vivementchopine de bon vin vieux, du pays de Chanturgue preferablement, et quand ensuite seront biencuits a poinct, poulet, epices, saulce au vin sur feu vif, servez chauld, enduicts de beurre fondumarie de fine fleur de froment blanc.
'Suivez a le letter ces prescriptions. Vous m'en direz des nouvelles. J'en ai moi-meme essaye (carje me pique d'etre, a mes heures, un assez bon maitre-queux. Je declare, sans fausse modestie,quemon 'coq au vin' a obtenu plein succes. Inutile d'ajouter que le poulet ou la poularde se peuventsubstituter au coq...Mais le coq, sur la carte, a plus d'allure. En mangeant le 'coq au vin' onpense a Chantecler! Adolphe Brisson.'
---L'Art de Bien Manger, Edmond Richardin [Editions D'Art et de Litterature:Paris] 1913(p. 34-5)
[1938]
'Coq au vin (d'apres une recette ancienne).--Depecez en six quartiers un jeune poulet deLimagne.En un pot de terre, faits revenir dans 45 g de beurre, 90 g lde larde maigre, taille en des et petitsoignons.Lorsqu'ils sont revenus, jetez en votre pot lest quartiers de poulet, une gousse d'ail hachee menue,unbouquet garni, morilles ou champignons. Faites dorer a couvert sur feu vif, decouvrez,degraissez.Arrosezd'un doigt de bonne eau-de-vie, flambez et repandez sur le tout un demi-litre de vin viexd'Auvergne. Aprescuisson sur feu vif, sortez le poulet, arrosez-le de sa sauce liee au beurre manie.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Librarie Larousse:Paris] 1938 (p. 354)
[1946]
'Chicken with red wine sauce (Coq au vin)
3-3 1/2 lb chicken or 2 spring chickens (2-21/2 lb broilers)
1/2 cup diced fat salt pork or bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
a little pepper
12 small onions
12 small mushrooms
2-3 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons flour
1 pint red wine
1 faggot (p. 294)
chopped parsley.
Clean and singe chicken. If one large chicken is used cut in 8 pieces, but if two small ones, cuteach in 4pieces. Parboil pork (or bacon) dice about 5 minutes and drain them. Put butter in saucepan, addpork diceand cook until they are golden brown. Remove dice and reserve. Season pieces of chicken withsalt andpepper, put in hot fat and cook until golden brown on all sides. Add onions and mushrooms,cover pan andcontinue cooking over a slow fire until onions are a little soft and are starting to brown. Pour offhalf the fat.Add shallots and garlic to fat remaining in pan and sprinkle the flour over. If oven is hot put thepan in it andleave a few minutes to brown flour. Otherwise, cook a few minutes over low heat on top of stovestirring toprevent scorching. Add wine and if it does not cover chicken add a little water; there should bejust enoughliquid to cover chicken. Add faggot, bring to a boil, add pork dice, cover pan, and cook in amoderately hotoven of 400 degrees or simmer on top of stove about 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken is tender.If sauceneeds it, skim fat from surface. Remove faggot and correct seasoning. Arrange chicken,mushrooms,onions and pork dice in serving dish and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.Serves 3 to4.'
---Louis Diat's Home Cookbook: French Cooking for Americans, Louis Diat [Lippincott:New York]1946 (p. 124-5)
[NOTE: 'Faggot. 3 to 4 springs parsley, 1 to 2 stalks celery (sometimes 1 leek), 1/2 a bay leaf,and a pinchof dry (or 1 to 2 sprigs fresh) thyme tied together in a small bundle and cooked in a stew or sauceor withother foods to give it flavor.' (p. 294)]
Food historians generally agree cornmeal-covered hot dogs served on a stick became popularAmerican fair fare in the early 1940s. Who invented this item? History does not say. Who isresponsible for making this item popular? Many people claim this title. Most often cited are theFletcher brothers (Corn dogs/Texas) and Jack Karnis (Pronto Pups/Oregon & Minnesota). Therecords of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirm Pronto Pups were introduced 1942 (thecompany's Web site claims 1941). According to the food historians, this is about the same timeCorn Dogswere made their way to the Texas State Fair.
The earliest reference we find for corn dogs is from the 1920s. According to the description ofthe Krusty Korn Dog baker (circa 1929), the first corn dogs were not deep-fried hot oil, they were made likewaffles.
'Corn dog baker. 'Krusty Korn Dog' baker, also sandwich toaster (grill) or steak fryer. A bigmoney maker! For use on gas, gasoline, oil or coal stoves. Krusty Korn Dogs are novel &delicious. The hot dog is baked inside corn batter, which as it bakes, moulds itself to resemble anear of corn...Easy to make: Red hots are first fried in butter, then placed in 'korn dog' sectionstogether with required amount, they are then quickly & thoroughly baked together. Baker is madewith cast iron, smooth japanned finish, with heavy, sturdy wire coil pan handles...frame, & a frypan (griddle), & a pair of 'Krusty Korn Sausage Dog Pans',' each of which make two, separatelyto suit your business. In Pick-Barth wholesale catalog of many makers' hotel & restaurantsupplies, 1929.'
---300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles, Linda Campbell Franklin, 5th edition [KrausePublications:Iola WI] 2003 (p. 267)
An article from the New York Times states 'There are 'corn dog' stands...on the docks at St.Petersburg [Florida].' ('Florida on $30 a Week,' NYT December 7, 1941 p. XX2). Presumably thisindicates corn-dog type foods were well known in vacation areas. The use of quotation marks around the term 'corndogs' indicates this was the generic name for the product rather than a trademark. Were these foodssold on sticks? These sources do not confirm.
Pronto Pups
According to the records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Pronto Pup deep fried hotdogs were introduced to the American public April 23, 1942 (registration #1517348) or September 1942 (registration #1976123).
'If you have never heard of Pronto Pups, prepare yourself. They show signs of becoming as ubiquitous as Tom Thumb golf, at leastin the West. A man named G.M. Boyington, of Salem Ore., invented and patentted a special type of dough-mix that looks likewaffle batter. He impales a 'hot dog' on a stick, dips the 'dog' in the batter, thrusts if for a couple of moments into boiling deepfat, and presto! you have a Pronto Pup. And it remains hot for 45 minutes or more, hence will probably be seen on many picnics.'
---'Western Pronto Pups Cooked to Suit Taste,' Christian Science Monitor, October 24, 1945 (p. 15)
'Newest addition to the hot-dog family are Pronto Pups, which at the last check up, are bringingGeorge M. Boyington and his associates in Portland, Ore., a return in the form of thousands of dollars forfranchises. Because of the compact form in which the frankfurters are sold, it is claimed by leaders in the field thatthis type of hot dog could be vended easily through coin-operated machines. All that is necessary is to take a hot dog,dip it into a secret flour mix, then fry it in deep fat for two and a half minutes and serve. A stick is inserted intothe dog for easy handling by the purchaser. One thing certain about the new version of hot-dog sandwich is that the dogwon't slip out of the bun because the bun is 'baked' around the weiner as part of the Pronto Pup. Pronto Pups are known in every state west of the Mississippi and as far north as Kodiak Island and Anchorage, Alaska, and Boyington says they will soon make a bow in the Hawaiian Islands. Eastern markets are to be contacted soon. Even during the meat shortage, hot dogs have drawnnhuge profits to franchise holders...To date, Pronto Pups, Oregon, Ltd., sells only the secret flour mix and a territorial franchise. The holder of the franchise does the rest--he charges 15 or 20 cents for each hot dog, depending upon location conditions and the OPA price ceiling. With a paper napkin around the handle, the Pronto Pup is ready to be served after lifting from the deep fat fry--either plain or covered with mustard...Vending machine operators are said to be looking into thepossible vending of the dogs as...'It would provide fewer problems of manufacturing than the recently announced hot-dogvending model.'
'Jack Karnis was the first person to buy a Pronto Pup franchise. Invented in an Oregon lumbercamp, the recipe for the batter-coated hot dog was an instant hit when Jack and his wife, Gladys,took them to Chicago. Jack was selling them on a Chicago street when an alert Minnesotaentrepreneur saw the line and got in, figuring that people would wait only for something good.The family legend has it that Jack had no time for the gentleman from Minnesota when he triedto talk business at the Pronto Pup counter. But William Brede, a familiar name at the State Fair,would not be put off. 'Hey, if I came back with a spot for you at the Minnesota Fair, would youcome up?' Brede asked. Jack waved him off. But Brede flew back to Minnesota, secured alocation on the State Fairgrounds and the returned to Chicago and the blocklong line for ProntoPups. Even then, it was hard to persuade Jack and Gladys to close up and come to the Fair. SoBrede, according to Gregg Karnis, offered to pay them a salary for that first year that equaledtheir Chicago revenue. That was in 1947. The Karnis family and the Pronto Pups haven't misseda fair since.'
---'No Pup But Pronto, Pupologist Explains,' Katherine Lanpher, Saint Paul PioneerPress, September 2, 1996 (p. 1A)
Is this the end of the story? No. It's probably just the beginning. Most foods are not invented.They evolve as a result of culinary heritage and practical adaptations enabled by readily availableingredients /technology. Sausages (ancient forcemeats & minces) fried in egg or bread-typecoatings were popular old world recipes. Presumably, some of these were introduced to Americaby German immigrants. Cornmeal? A 'New World' necessitation. Consider this recipe:
'Fried sausagesQuantity for 6 people
1 lb sausage
2 whites of eggs
1/2 cup of flour
1 cup grated rolls
Salt, drippings or butter
Preparation:
The sausages are salted, dipped into white of egg, flour and bread crumbs and fried in hotdrippings or butter to a nice brown color. They are nice with vegetables.
---The Art of German Cooking and Baking, Mrs. Lina Meier, [Milwaukee WI:1909](recipe 28,p. 99)
Related food? Hot dogs & Tempura
Corned beefWhile the process of preserving meat with salt is ancient, food historians tell us corned beef(preserving beef with 'corns' or large grains of salt) originated in Medieval Europe. TheOxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word corn, meaning 'small hardparticle, a grain, as of sand or salt,' in print to 888. The term 'corned beef' dates to 1621. Corned Beef Hash & Corned Beef & Cabbage were inevitable interations. A corned beef sandwich was thefirst sandwich consumed in space, 1965.
'Emphasizing its long history in the Irish diet, Regina Sexton...points out that a similar product ismentioned in the 11th-century Irish text Aislinge meic Con Glinne many wonderfulprovisions, pieces of every palatable food...full without fault, perpetual joints of corned beef'. Sheadds that corned beef has a particular regional association with Cork City. From the late 17thcentury until 1825, the beef-curing industry was the biggest and most important asset to the city.In this period Cork exported vast quantities of cured beef to Britain, Europe, America,Newfoundland, and the W. Indies. During the Napoleonic wars the British army was suppliedprincipally with corned beef which was cured in and exported from the port of Cork.'
---Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, [Oxford UniversityPress:Oxford] 1999 (page 218)
Corned beef was very popular in colonial America because it was an economical and effectiveway to preserve meat. The following corning directions are from The VirginiaHouse-Wifeby Mary Randolph, 1824, pages 22-23:
'To corn beef in hot weatherCorned beef was the primary ingredient of New EnglandBoiled Dinners.
Take a piece of thin brisket or plate, cut out the ribs nicely, rub it on both sides well with twolarge spoonsful of pounded salt-petre; pour on it a gill of molasses and a quart of salt; rub themboth in; put it in a vessel just large enough to hold it, but not tight, for the bloody brine must runoff as it makes, or the meat will spoil. Let it be well covered top, bottom, and sides, with themolasses and salt. In four days you may boil it, tied up in a cloth, with the salt, &c. about it:when done, take the skin off nicely, and serve it up. If you have an ice-house or refrigerator, itwill be best to keep it there.--A fillet or breast of veal, and a leg or rack of mutton, are excellentdone in the same way.'
Dinty Moore's recipe for Corned Beef & Cabbage, circa 1934.
[1906]
Hannas Heavenly Hash. The corned-beef hash which was the feature of breakfast given at Senator Hannas home in Washington to President Roosevelt and other magnates was greatly relished by the guests, and has become famous. The recipe for preparing it is as follows: Equal parts of boiled prime corned beef and potatoes are prepared. The beef is chopped as fine as possible, and the soft, mealy potatoes are cut into tiny cubes. A small onion is minced to add flavor, and the bottoms of the dishes are rubbed with a head of garlic. Another garlic head is wrapped in a piece of fat and throw into the center of the mass. The whole is then mixed thoroughly and nicely browned in a big skillet or frying pan. During this operation disks of Bermuda onions, cut so that each round shows every ring of the onion, are thrown into a deep dish of pure lard and browned delicately. When these disks are crisp they are used to garnish the edge of the platter, and the hash is served garnished with parsley or herbs and a squeeze of a lemon.
There is lobster a la Newburg, which some people think is great,
And terrapins a dainty for the culture eaters plate;
There are many pleasant dishes for the man who has cash,
But theres nothing that quite equals Hannas famous corn-beef hash.
--Hannas Heavenly Hash, Washington Post, June 9, 1906 (p. 6)
[NOTE: 'Heavenly Hash' was also the name of a popular period sweet.]
Corned beef in tins:
The history of canning isgenerally traced to Nicolas Appert in 1795, who rose to Napoleon's challenge to invent a methodto preserve food for military distribution. Donkin & Hall (UK) is credited with manufacturing thefirst tinned meats (& soups, vegetables) distributed to the British Navy in 1813.
'Retorting of tins was known in Britain in the 1830s...Tins were produced in a variety ofsizes, ranging from the smallest (two pound) to enourmous ones weighing nearlyseventeen pounds...Opening these tins presented quite a challenge. Most early tins weresold as military supplies, and until the 1840s the instructions on tins called for the use ofa hammer and chisel. The earliest domestic openers were made in the 1860s and werecalled Bull's Head tin openers, as they had a cast-iron handle shaped into a bull's head and tailsand were sold with tins of bully beef...In 1866 a special can with its own keyopener was introduced.'
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed theWorld, Sue Shepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2001 (p. 245-6)
'British soldiers fighting in the Boer War had been issued with the first composite emergencyration packs containing two tins to be used only in extremity. One had held four ouncesof beef concentrate and the other five ounces of cocoa paste. The great mainstay of theBritish army in both world wars was, however, corned beef, which was found to be idealfor soldiers on the move, who could eat it cold straight from the can. The Tommies calledit 'bully beef' a name derived from the French bouilli (boiled) beef, which had been fed tothe French army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.'
---Pickled, Potted and Canned, (p. 254)
NOTE: This book contains an excellent chapter devoted to the history of canning (p.226-255). Your librarian can help you find a copy.
According to our food history sources (most of these are published in the U.S.), the taperedtrapezoidal corned beef can we purchase today is attributed to Arthur A. Libby, who acquired aU.S. patent for this item in 1875. '1875 Arthur A. Libby and William J. Wilson developed thetapered can for corned beef inChicago.'
--- Can Central HistoryTimeline
Why the unique design of the corned beef can? There are several theories. Most of them supportthe theory of convenience.'Why are corned beef tins suchpeculiar shapes? THEY CONTINUE to be made in their traditional tapered rectangular shapebecause it is easier to extract the contents in one piece, thus allowing the block of corned beef tobe sliced. That's also why the cans also employ a key that enables the user separate one endof the body of the can: there's no seam to prevent the contents slipping out.'
--- TheGuardian.
Corned beef--Jewish or Irish cuisine?
Some people wonder about the shared culinary/cultural heritage of the Irish and Jewish peopleswhen it comes to corned beef. The practice of curing meat for preservation purposes certainlydates back to ancient times. The use of salt was adopted/adapted by many peoples and cultures,and was widely used during the Middle Ages. Evidence suggests that both Irish and Jewish cookswere making corned (salt) beef independently, long before they met in New York.
'Corned beef comes in two versions: The Jewish special on rye, or the traditional Irish boileddinner, aka New England boiled dinner. Tonight should be the big nightfor the Irish version.'
---Boiled dinner, The Boston Globe, March 15, 1990 (p.3)
'But why corned beef? Was St. Patrick, the 5th-century apostle credited with converting the Irishto Christianity, a corned-beef- and-cabbage kind of guy? Did the Irish embrace him and hisculinary repertoire and ultimately take the whole meal to America? And how can corned beef beso Irish if it's on the sandwich menu of every self-respecting Jewish deli in America? And, whilewe're at it, how is beef 'corned' anyway? It's about time to set the corned-beef record straight.For starters, eating corned beef on St. Patrick's Day is purely American, which makes sense sincecelebrating St. Patrick's Day is more American than Irish. In fact, corned beef has always beenassociated with Cork City. According to Darina Allen, between the late 1680s and 1825,beef-corning was the city's most important industry. In that period, corned beef from Cork woundup in England and Continental Europe and as far away as Newfoundland and the West Indies. ...Myrtle Allen, author of 'Myrtle Allen's Cooking at Ballmaloe House' (Stewart, Tabori &Chang, 1990), further contends that corned beef is 'no more Irish than roast chicken.' And that'strue enough: For millennia, in order to keep food through the winters, people all around the globehave preserved meat in brine or dry salt rubs. We see the technique in everything from beef jerkyand Smithfield hams to preserved Tunisian lamb to various Chinese exotica. The Jewish delisandwich is just one more exponent of this tradition, in its Eastern European form.'
---How Irish Is Corned Beef? Very -- and Very American Too, Carole Sugarman, TheWashington Post, February 28, 1996 (p. E01)
'The Jewish deli started when lone male immigrants were forced to buy kosher meals fromJewishneighbors...A deli could be a store that sold cooked foods or a restaurant. It specialized either inmeats or in chesse and fish, never both. It served corned beef (which the British call salt beef),tongue, and pastrami...'
---The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey From Samarkand to New York, Claudia Roden[Knopf:New York] 1996 (p. 80)
NOTE: This book has a wealth of information on the topic of Jewish food in America.
If you want to read more on the history of salting ask your librarian to help you find this book:Pickled, Potted and Canned, Sue Shepard
The Salt Archive--fabulous source for salthistoryin alldisciplines
Coronation Chicken'Coronation Chicken' first surfaces in 1953, coinciding with the installation of Queen Elizabeth II to the British throne. Most sources associate Constance Spry this dish. Understandably so. She was a popular celebrity tapped for coordinating Coronation events and her cook book contained the 'original' recipe. The real credit for this dish belongs to Cordon Bleu chef Rosemary Hume, Constance's friend and business partner.
'Rosemary [Hume]...was dealing with a huge responsibility of providing the luncheon for guests from all over the world, some of whome would not eat meat, or at least certain kinds of meat. There were no cooking facilities near Westminster School hall and only thesoup and coffee could be served hot. On 18 May she gave a lunch party at the cookery school...Faced with the logisticalchallenge of coming up with a dish that was special enough to ghrace such an important event but that could also be prepared in advance and served cold, Rosemary created Poulet Reine Elizabeth (Chicken Queen Elizabeth), or Coronation Chicken, made with strips of coldchicken in a delicate curry-flavoured sauce. Her main source of inspiration came from, a nineteenth-century recipe book called Savouries a la mode by Harriet Anne de Salis. According to Griselda Barton, Rosemary's niece, 'The recipe was forQueen Adelaide's [Wife of William IV] favourite sandwich--chicken with a curry and apricot butter.'
---The Surprising Life of Constance Spry: From Social Reformer to Society Florist, Sue Shepard [Macmillan:London] 2010 (p. 306-307)
One would not venture to serve, to a large number of guests of varying and unknowntastes, a curry dish in the generally accepted sense of this term. Because it was difficultto draw a line of differentiation between what should and should not come within thecategory, we decided to include as curries all dishes in which curry-powder or pasteformed an ingredient. I doubt whether many of the three hundred odd guests at thecoronation luncheon detected this ingredient in a chicken dish which was distinguishedmainly by a delicate and nut-like flavour in the sauce.
Coronation Chicken (Cold) (for 6-8)
2 young roasting chickens
water and a little wine to cover
carrot
a bouquet garni
salt
3-4 peppercorns
cream of curry sauce
Poach the chickens, with carrot, bouquet, salt, and peppercorns, in water and a littlewine, enough barely to cover, for about 40 minutes of until tender. Allow to cool in theliquid. Joint the birds, remove the bones with care. Prepare the sauce given below. Mixthe chicken and the sauce together, arrange on a dish, coat with the extra sauce. Forconvenience in serving on the occasion mentioned, the chicken was arranged at theone end of an oblong dish, and a rice salad as given below as arranged at the other.
Cream of curry sauce
1 tablespoon oil
2 oz. Onion, finely chopped
1 dessertspoon curry-powder
1 good teaspoon tomato puree
1 wineglass red wine
3/4 wineglass water
a bay-leaf
salt, sugar, a touch of pepper
a slice or two of lemon and a squeeze of lemon juice, possibly more
1-2 tablespoons apricot puree
3/4 pint mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons lightly whipped cream
a little extra whipped cream
Heat the oil, add onion, cook gently 3-4 minutes, add curry-powder. Cook again 1-2minutes. Add puree, wine, water, and bay-leaf. Bring to boil, add salt, sugar to taste,pepper and the lemon and lemon juice. Simmer with the pan uncovered 5-10 minutes.Strain and cool. Add by degrees to the mayonnaise with the apricot puree to taste.Adjust seasoning, adding a little more lemon juice if necessary. Finish with the whippedcream Take a small amount of sauce (enough to coat the chicken) and mix with a littleextra cream and seasoning. This is an admirable sauce to serve with iced lobster.
Rice salad
The rice salad which accompanied the chicken was of carefully cooked rice, cookedpeas, diced raw cucumber, and finely chopped mixed herbs, all mixed in a well-seasoned French dressing.'
---The Constance Spry Cookery Book, Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume [J.M.Dent and Sons:London] 1956 (p. 1012-3)
Food historians tell us the origins and evolution of Country Captain Chicken is mysterious.Theories abound. Each carries merit. What we do know? Is that contemporary culinary punditsgenerally consider Country Captain a traditional dish of the American South.
'Country captain is a chicken dish of mysterious origin. Burton (1993) explains that 'The term country' used to refer to anything of Indian, as opposed to British, origin, and hence the countrycaptain after whom this dish is named may have been in charge of sepoys. It seems more likely,however, that he was the captain of a country boat, since the recipe turned up midway throughthe nineteenth-century at ports as far apart as Liverpool and the American South (where manyAmericans mistakenly think the dish originated).' Hobson-Jobson had reached much the sameconclusions; and thought that the origin of the dish was to be found in a spatchcock with onionand curry stuff, of Madras.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.20)
[NOTE: the 1993 Burton reference is: The Raj at Table, David Burton [London:Faber &Faber] (p. 113; recipe on p. 114). Happy to share.]
'Country Captain. A curried-chicken dish often attributed to Georgian origins. Eliza Leslie, inhermid-nineteenth-century cookbooks, contended that the dish got its name from a British officerwho brought the recipe back from his station in India. Others believed the dish originated inSavannah, Georgia, a major shipping port for the spice trade.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:NewYork] 1999 (p. 99)
'Country Captain is a dish that has long been popular in the southern states. According to anoft-repeated story, a sea-captain sailed into Charleston harbor with a shipload of spices fromIndia.Entertained by the hostesses of a city noted for its graciousness, he repaid their kindness byteaching their capable cooks to make a delicious dish of chicken and curry. Alas for legend! Avirtually identical dish is known in England, where it goes by the very same name. The captain, ifthere ever was one, must have been a British officer stationed in the back country of India. AnEnglish writer has noted that 'country captain' is also an Anglo-Indian term from the captian of aforeign ship, that is, a captain from a foreign country. Just how or if that fits into the puzzlewouldbe difficult to say. Another suggestion is that Country Captain may be only a corruption of'country capon.'
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Paterica Bunning Stevens [UniversityofOhio Press:Athens OH] 1998 (p. 114)
'It would be fair to call Cecily Brownstone 'Cecily Country Captain.' But the former foodcolumnist, who is one of the human cornerstones of authentic cooking in New York, has nocommercial aspirations...For nearly four decades, she has valiantly exposed the myths about thedish and vigilantly rooted out County Captain imposters as a one-woman preservation society forthis particular version of curried chicken. She doesn't claim to have discovered the dish. 'I firstheard about County Captain in the 1950s, but it has been around since at least the 18thcentury,'...The dish has gone in and out of style. One era idolized the dish's exotica, anotherloved its simplicity. Each vogue of the Captain was rife with misinterpretations of the recipe that,to Ms. Brownstone, boil down to misrepresentations to, a sort of character assassination thatburns her up...Heaven knows, Ms. Brownstone tried to keep the record--and the recipe--straight.As early as 1960, when she was writing for The Associated Press and was the ad hoc matriarchofJames Beard's culinary salon in Greenwich Village, Ms. Brownstone investigated the origins ofCountry Captain. At that time, the dish was widely regarded as a specialty of southern UnitedStates, but Ms. Brownstone blew the lid off that assumption. She found the earliest reference tothe dish in 'Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book,' which was published in 1867. The Captain,according to Ms. Leslie, is an 'Indian dish and a very easy preparation of curry.' Miss Leslie saidthat the term 'Country Captain' signifies 'a captain of native troops (or Sepoys) in the pay ofEngland; their own country being India, they are there called generally the country troops.' MissLeslie speculated that the dish was 'introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer.'Nevertheless, Ms. Brownstone began to prefer the Country Chicken recipe of AlexanderFilillpini,the chef at Delmonico's in the early 20th century, to that of Miss Leslie. The former called forbrowning a whole chicken with peppers and adding almonds and currants; the latter called foronions 'boiled and sliced' and curry powder added to the chicken, and suggested, 'It will be agreat improvement to put in, at the beginning three or four tablespoonfuls of finely gratedcoconut. It is not surprising that Ms. Brownstone prefers Mr. Filippini's version: it tastes better.She published the recipe in hundreds of newspapers and was unflagging in getting it included'forthe record' in dozens of cookbooks. Nevertheless, she tends to underplay her own contributionsto changes in the Captain when recalling other deviants she has seen...When she witnessedvariations on the Captain in restaurants or cookbooks, she took the matter up with whoever wasin charge. Mr. Beard was a significant ally in her crusade. Teaching her recipe in his cookingschool, he indoctrinated a generation of chefs with the formula for the real Captain. IrmaRombauer and her daughter Marion Rombauer Becker helped her cause by including the recipein'The Joy of Cooking.'
---'Long Ago Smitted, She Remains True to the Country Captain,' Molly O'Neill, New YorkTimes, April 17, 1991 (p. V6)[NOTE: This article includes a recipes for 'Country Captain Chicken Adapted from CecilyBrownstone.]
Eliza Leslie's recipe circa 1857:
'Country Captain.--This is an East India dish, and a very easy preparation of curry. Theterm 'country captain,' signifies a capaian of the native troops, (or Sepoys), in the pay ofEngland; their own country being India, they are called generally the country troops. Probablythisdish was first introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer. Having well boiled a finefull-grownfowl, cut it up as for carving. Have ready two large onions boiled and sliced. Season the pieces ofchicken with curry powder or turmeric; rubbed well into them, all over. Fry them with the onion,in plenty of lard or fresh butter, and when well-browned they are done enough. Take them upwith a perforated skimmer, and drain through its holes. It will be a great improvement to put in,atthe beginning, three or four table-spoonfuls of finely grated cocoanut. This will be found anadvantage to any curry. Serve up, in another dish, a pint of rice, well pickled, and washed cleanintwo or three cold waters. Boil the rice in plenty of water, (leaving the skillet or sauce-panuncovered;) and when it is done, drain it very dry, and set it on a dish before the fire, tossing it upwith two forks, one in each hand, so as to separate all the grains, leaving each one to stand foritself. All rice for the dinner should be cooked in this manner. Persons accustomed to rice nevereat it watery or clammy, or lying in a moist mass. Rich should never be covered, either whileboiling, or when dished. We recommend this 'country captain.'Croquettes
---Miss Leslie's Cookery Book , Eliza Leslie [T.B. Peterson:Philadelphia PA] 1857 (p.299-300)
Food historians tell us recipes for croquette-type dishes likely descended from Ancient Romanrissoles: minced, spiced meat bound with fillers, carefully shaped, and deep fried. Recipes variedaccording to culture, cuisine, and period. The primary difference between rissoles and croquettesis the former is wrapped in pastry while the latter is rolled in breadcrumbs. Cooking method,presentation and purpose are generally similar. References to 'Croquettes' appear in print in theearly 18th century. The earliest recipes we find in English/American cookbooks date to the early19th century. Croquette recipes are absent from the popular mid-18th century British works ofHannah Glasse, E. Smith, Mrs. Raffald, and Mrs. Moxon.
What are rissoles?
'The utimate source of rissole is Vulgar Latin russeola, which was short for pasta russeola,literally reddish paste' (the Roman gastronome Apicius had a recipe for peacock rissole). In OldFrench this became ruissole, which was borrowed into English in the fourteenth century asrussoleand in the fifteenth century as rishew. This early burger evidently did not commend itself toEnglish tastes, however, because no more is heard of it until the eighteenth century. The wordwas then reborrowed from French rissole, but its later-day reputation as the repository of theunwanted remains of a joint has been no better...The content of the rissole has not always beenrestricted to meat leftovers...in the past fish was frequently used, and the fourteenth-centurycollection Forme of Cury gives a vegetarian version...In French cuisine, rissoles areenclosed in puff pastry.'
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.283)
'Rissole as a culinary term, has a simpler meaning in English than in French. An English rissoleisnormally composed of chopped meat, bound with something such as egg, flavoured to taste,shaped into a disc or ball or like a sausage, and fried in a pan. Around this basic formula thereexists a penumbra of variations...Some authors have supposed that the Latin word isicia, whichcertainly meant something of the sort, could confidently been translated as rissoles...However,although making rissoles can plausibly be traced back to classical antiquity (the technique beingsimple and obvious in any culture in which meats were roasted and facilities for frying existed),there is no necessary connection with the derivation of the actual word from Vulgar Latin(russeola, reddish) via Old French (ruissole). In the French kitchen the verb rissoler means tobrown, and a rissole is always encased in a puff pastry or the like, usually fried...Such rissolesmaybe savoury or sweet.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.666)
What are croquettes?
'Croquettes, small shaped masses of some savory (or occasionally sweet) substance deep-fried,typicallyin a coating of breadcrumbs, get their name from their crisp exterior: for croquette is a derivativeof theFrench verb croquer, crunch'. The range of potential ingredients is limitless--meat, rice, cheese,fish, pasta,vegetables have all been pressed into service--but undoubtedly the croquette's commonest fillingtoday ismashed potato. It is far from new to the English kitchen; it is mentioned in the 1706 edition ofEdwardPhillipps's New World of English Words: On Cookery, Croquets are a certainCompoundmade ofdelitious Stuff'd Meat, some of the bigness of an Egg, and others of a Walnut.'
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.98)
'Croquettes. A French culinary term which has been adopted into English too, as long ago as thebeginningof the 18th century.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.229)
'Croquettes (Cromesquis, Russian Croquettes)
The same terms are applied to Croquettes as Salpicons. The croquette is one mass of smallsubstances,cut in shape of small cubes, that is reduced with sauce Allemande, bechamel, espagnole,accordingto thestyle of the croquetted. They are breaded in Englsih style, in the shape that one desires, and thenfried.Croquettes are made in all different styles and their names are determined by what substancestheyaremade of. They are served as hors-d'oeuvre and sometimes as small entrees. (Breaded Englishstyle:Beaten eggs rolled in fresh bread crumbs.) The cromesquis is a small croquette in rolled orunleavenedbread, or in caul, dipped in batter and fried, or pancake without sugar, breaded in English styleandfried.'
---Gancel's Encyclopedia of Modern Cooking, J. Gancel 8th edition, revised andaugmented [VanRees Press:New York] 1935 (p. 25)
A survey of chicken croquette recipes through time
Early instructions suggest this 'made dish' was a venerable culinary feat, not to be attempted byinexperienced cooks. Modern frozen products must be a far cry from the original offering.Carefulnotes onshape and presentation confirm croquettes were originally intended for elegant dinners.Contemporaryadaptations are served in diners, family restaurants, and frozenfood aislesof local supermarkets.
'To Make Croquets.
Take cold fowl or fesh meat of any kind, with slices of ham, fat and lean, chop them togetherveryfine, addhalf as much stale bread grated, salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful of made mustard, atabelspoonful of catsup, and a lump of butter; knead all well together till it resembles sausage meat,make them in cakes, dip them in the yelk of an egg beaten, cover them thickly with grated bread, and frythem a lightbrown.'
--The Virginia Housewife, Mary Randolph, facsimile 1824 edition wtih Historical NotesandCommentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] 1984 (p. 106)
[1828]
'NO. 32.--Croquettes of Fowl au Veloute.
These are prepared in the same manner as the Boudins a la Reine, but you must keep them ratherthick, toprevent their shrinking while frying. A little fried parsley is to be put into the middle of the dish,and you erectthe croquettes round it. There are several manners of rolling them, as in the shape of a cork, aball, a pear;the tail of which is made out of a carrot, or some other substance, which the author does notapprove of;those which are the best, are the shape of a cork. You msut press pretty hard on the extremities,that theymay stand erect on the dish. To place them in a circular form, with fried parsley in the centre, hasa prettyeffect, though it is very plain. Those that are the shape of a pear, are called a la Dubaril. There arealsocroquetts of sweetbreads, of palates of beef, of cocks'-combs: but they are all much alike, as willbe shownhereafter. Croquettes of any kind ought to be made only with remnants of fowl or game, as theyrequire agreat quantity of flesh, but they may be made with what is left from the preceding day.'
---The French Cook, Louis Eustache Ude, facsimile English translation c. 1828 [ArcoPublishing:NewYork] 1978 (p. 173)
[1849]
'Chicken Croquets and Rissoles.
Take some cold chicken, and having cut the flesh from the bones, mince it small with a little suetandparsley; adding sweet marjoram and grated lemon-peel. Season it with pepper, salt and nutmeg,andhaving mixed the whole very well, pound it to a paste in a marble mortar, putting in a litle at atime, andmoistening it frequently with yolk of egg that has been previously beaten. Then divid it into equalportions,and having floured your hands, make it up in the shape of pears, sticfking the head of a clove intothebottom of each to represent the blossom end, and the stalk of a clove into the top to look like thestem. Dipthem into beaten yolk of egg, and then into bread-crumbs grated finely and sifted. Fry them inbutter, andwhen you take them out of the pan, fry some parsley in it. Having drained the parsley, cover thebottom of adish with it, and lay the croquets upon it. Send it to table as a side dish. Croquets may be made ofcoldsweet-breads, or of cold veal mixed with ham or tongue. Rissoles are made of the sameingredients, wellmixed, and beaten smooth in a mortar. Make a fine paste, roll it out, and cut it into round cakes.Then laysome of the mixture on one half of the cake, and fold over the other upon it, in the shape of ahalf-moon.Close and crimp the edges nicely, and fry the rissoles in butter. They should be of a light brownonboth sides. Drain them and send them to table dry.'
---Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie [Carey &Hart:Philadelphia] 1849(p. 143-4)
[1865]
'Croquettes of Fowl.
Take what meat may be left on a cold fowl, and mince it very fine; put it in a stewpan with a littlestock, aaeble-spoonful of cream, a little salt and nutmeg, and thicken sufficiently with flour; let it boilwell, then pourit out on a deep dish, and set it aside to get quite cold and set. Then divide it into small portions,form theminto small balls or sausage shapes, roll each in fine bread crumbs, then egg over with beaten yolkof egg,roll again in bread crumbs, and fry a light color. Dish on a napkin with some fried parsley in thecentre of thepile of croquettes.'
---What to Do With The Cold Mutton: A Book of Rechauffes [Bunce andHuntington:New York] 1865(p. 50)
[1877]
'Chicken Croquettes.
Boil two fowls weighing ten pounds till very tender, mince fine, add one pint cream, half poundbutter, saltand pepper to taste; shape oval in a jelly glass or mold. Fry in lard like doughnuts untilbrown.'
---Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, facsimile reprint of original 1877editionpublishedin Minneapolis [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 2000 (p. 241)
[1877]
Croquettes are made of chicken, game, sweetbreads, fat livers, oysters, shrimps--and generallythelighterkinds of meat. The meat (most commonly chicken) is finely minced; it is mixed with a seasoningofmincedtruffles, mushrooms, shallots or chives, as also of nutmeg, pepper and salt; it is bound togetherwith a stiffAllemande sauce; it is turned into shapes of cork or ball; it is dipped into egg and rolled inbreadcrumbs; it isfried crisp of a golden hue; it is sprinkled with salt, and served on a napkin with a garnish of friedparsley. Itis also served in a dish with a surrounding of tomato sauce. When the croquette if finisheddifferently--thatis, when, instead of being dipped in egg and rolled in breadcrumb, it is wrapped in a thin puffpaste,-it iscalled a Rissole; and when it is wrapped in a thin sheet of veal udder or of bacon fat, it is called aKromeski.'
---Kettner's Book of the Table, E.S. Dallas, facsimile 1877 London edition [CentaurPress:London]1968 (p. 144)
[NOTE: This book also describes a Milanese Croquettes: 'A mince of chicken, tongue, truffles,andmacaroni, with a seasoning of grated Parmesan. (P. 144).]
[1881]
'29. Chicken Croquettes.
Boil chicken very tender, pick to pieces, take all gristle out, then chop fine. Beat two eggs for onechickenand mix into meat; season with pepper and salt; make into cakes oblong shaped; powder crackersand rollthem into the powder, after dipping them into two eggs beaten moderately well. Then have yourlard veryhot, and fry just before sending them to the table.'
---What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher, facsimile 1881edtion withHistorical Notes by Karen Hess [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 1995 (p. 17)
[NOTE: Mrs. Fisher also offers recipes for lamb, crab, meat, liver, oyster, and fish croquettes.]
[1884]
'Croquettes
These may be made of any kind of cooked meat, fish, oysters, rice, hominy, and many kinds ofvegetables,or from a mixture of several ingredients. Whe mixed with a thick white sauce...which adds verymuch to thedelicacy of meat or fish croquettes, less meat is required. The cause is a stiff paste when cold,andbeingmixed with the meat or fish the croquettes may be handled and shaped perfectly, and whencooked will besoft and creamy inside. To Shape a Croquette.--Croquettes may be shaped into rolls, or ovals, orlikepears, with a bit of parsley or a clove in the end to represent the stem. Take a tablespoonful of thecoldmixture, and shape into a smooth ball. If the mixture stick, wet the palms of the hands slightly.Give the ball agentle, rolling pressure between the palms till slightly cylindrical; then roll it lightly in thecrumbs,clasp itgently in the hand, and flatten one end on the board. Turn the hand over, and flatten the oppositeend.Place the croquette on a broad knife, and roll it in beaten egg. With a spoon dip the egg over thecroquetted, drain on the knife, and roll again in the crumbs. Fry in deep hot fat...Drain on paper.In rolllingany kind of croquettes, if the mixture be too soft to be handled easily, stir in enough fine crackerdust tostiffen it, but never add any uncooked material like flour, nor the dried bread crumbs used inrolling, asthose will made the croquettes too stiff.
'Thick Cream Sauce (for Croquettes and Patties).
1 pint hot cream.
2 even tablespoonfuls butter.
4 heaping tablespoonfuls flour, or 2 heaping tablesp. Cornstarch.1/2 teaspoonful salt
1/2 saltspoonful white pepper.
1/2 teaspoonful celery salt.
A few grains of cayenne.
Scald the cream. Melt the butter in a granite saucepan. Wehn bubbling, add the dry cornstarch.Stir till wellmixed. Add one third of the cream, and stir as it boils and thickens. Add more cream, and boilagain. Whenperfectly smooth, add the remainder of the cream. The sauce should be very thick, almost like adropbatter. Add the seasoning, and mix it while hot with the meat or fish. For croquettes, one beatenegg may beadded just as the sauce is taken from the fire; but the croquettes are whiter and more creamywithout theegg. For patties, warm the meat or fish in the sauce, and use the egg of not as you please.
'Chicken Croquettes.--Half a pound of chicken chopped very fine, and seasoned withhalf ateasploonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of celery salt, a quarter of a saltspoonful of cayennepepper, onesaltsponful of white pepper, a few drops of onion juice, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, andoneteaspoonful of lemon juice. Make one pint of very thick cream sauce. When thick add one beatenegg, andmix the sauce with the the chicken, usually only enough to make it as soft as can be handled.Spread on ashallow plate to cool. Shape into rolls. Roll in fine bread crumbs, then dip in beaten egg, then incrumbsagain, and fry one minute in smoking hot fat. Drain, and serve with a thin cream sauce. Manyprefer to cutthe chicken in to small dice. If this be done, use less of the sauce, or the croquettes will bedifficultto shape.The white meat of chicken will absorb more sauce than the dark. Mushrooms, boiled rice,sweetbreads,calf's brains, or veal may be mixed with chicken. Cold roast chicken, chopped fine, may bemixedwith thestuffing, moistened with the gravy, and shaped into croquettes.'
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, facsimile 1884 reprint [DoverPublications:Mineola NY] 1996 (p. 277-282)
[NOTE: This book also contains recipes for croquettes made with veal, oysters, sweetbreads,lobsters,clams, salmon, potato, rice, macaroni, and hominy. Turkish croquettes contain tomatoes. Allrecipes, inoriginal form here.]
[1896]
'Chicken Croquettes I
1 3/4 cups chopped cold cooked fowl
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon celery salt.
Few grains cayenne.
1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Few drops onion juice.
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley.
1 cup Thick White Sauce.
Mix ingredients in order given. Cool, shape, crumb, and fry as other croquettes. White meat offowl absorbsmore sauce than dark meat. This must be remembered if dark meat alone is used. Croquettemixturesshould always be as soft as can be conveniently handled, when croquettes will be soft and creamyinside.
'Chicken Croquettes II
Clean and dress a four-pound fowl. Put into a kettle with six cups boiling water, seven slicescarrot, twoslices turnip, one small onion, one stalk celery, one bay leaf, and three sprigs thyme. Cook slowlyuntil fowlis tender. Remove fowl; strain liquor, cool, and skim off fat. Make a thick sauce, usingone-fourthcup butter,one-half cup flour, one and one-third cups chicken stock, and one-half cup cream. Remove meatfromchicken, chop, and moisten with sauce. Season with salt, cayenne, and slight grating of nutmeg;then addone beaten egg, cool, shape, crumb, and fry same as other croquettes. Arrange around a mound ofgreenpeas, and serve with Cream Sauce or Wine Jelly.'
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer, facsimile 1896 reprint[WeathervaneBooks:New York] 1973 (p. 312)
[NOTE: This source also offers croquette recipes using cheese, chestnuts, rice & jelly, sweet rice,rice &tomato, oyster & macaroni, slamon, lobster, lamb, veal, chicken & mushroom, and sweetbreads.All recipeshere.]
[1902]
'Chicken Croquettes
All meat croquettes are made precisley the same, with the seaonings changed to suit the meat. Toboil thechicken, cover it with boiling water, boil rapidly for five minutes, then push it back where it willsimmer untiltender, one and a half or two hours. At the end of the first hour add one onion, stuck with twelvecloves, twobay leaves, some finely chopped celery or celery seed. The croquettes will be better if the chickenisallowed to cool before chopping. To each three and a half pound chicken use a pair ofsweetbreads. Washthe sweetbreads and boil slowly for three-quarters of an hour; pick them apart, rejecting themembrane;chop them quickly with a silver knife and put them aside while you chop the chicken; this is bestdone in awooden bowl. Ground meat makes a pasty croquette. To be perfect they must be creamy, notpasty. Mixthe sweetbreads and the chopped chicken and measure; to each pint of this allow:
1/2 pint mik
1 rounding tablespoonful of butter
2 rounding tablespoonfuls of flour
1 tablespoonful of parsley
1 teaspoonful of onion juice
1 saltspoonful of pepper
A dash of cayenne
1 saltspoonful of nutmeg.
Put the milk over the fire, rub together the butter and flour, add the milk and cook until smoothand thick;add all the seasoning to the meat, mix it with the sauce and turn out to cool. When cold, makeinto pyramid-shaped croquettes, dip in beaten egg, to which you have added a tablespoonful ofwarm water; roll in breadcrumbs and fry in smoking hot vat (360 degrees Fahr.) Until a golden brown. Dish on brownpaper for a fewmoments, then on a heated platter; stick a tiny piece of parsley in the top of each; fill the dishwithnicelyseasoned, cooked peas and send at once to the table. Pass with these, mayonnaise of celery. Ifserved asan entree at dinner, simply pass peas and mushrooms. To rewarm chicken croquettes stand themon apiece of soft brown paper in the bottom of a baking pan; place in a quick oven for not more thaneightminutes, better five. If over-heated they will crack and lose their shape. If sweetbreads are not athand,simply measure the chicken and follow the recipe. Where large quantities of chicken croquettesare to bemade, the , the operation will be more easily and quickly done if one quart at a time is made andput aside;one cannot season large quantities and have them as palatable as the smaller ones. For a largeentertainment where salad and croquettes are both to be served, use the white meat for salad andthe darkmeat for croquettes. For church suppers where money must be made at the same time a daintysupperserved, boil a large piece of veal with the chickens; chop and use the same as chicken meat.Beingcookedwtih the chickens it tastes the same. Ten pounds of veal from the leg and two chickens will makeonehundred and fifty croquettes, at an average cost of four cents each.'
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cookery Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold andCompany:Philadelphia] 1902 (p.197-8)
[1908]
'Chicken Croquettes.
Take two chickens weighing about three pounds each, put them into a saucepan with water tocover, addtwo onions and carrots, a small bunch or parsley and thyme, a few cloves and half a gratednutmeg, andboil until the birds are tender; then remove the skin, gristle and sinews and chop the meat as fineaspossible. Put into a saucepan one pound of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir over thefire for a fewminutes and add half a pint of the liquor the chickens were cooked in an one pint of rich cream,andboil foreight or ten minutes, stirring continually. Remove the pan from the fire, season with salt, pepper,gratednutmeg and a little powdered sweet marjoram, add the chopped meat and stir well. Then stir inrapidly theyolks of four eggs, place the saucepan on the fire for a minute, stirring well, turn the mass onto adish,spread it out and let it get cold. Cover the hands with flour and form the preparation into shapes,dip theminto egg beaten with cream then in sifted breadcrumbs and let them stand for half an hour or so todry; thenfry them a delicate color after plunging into boiling lard. Take them out, drain, place on a napkinon a dishand serve. The remainder of the chicken stock may be used for making consomme or soup.'
---The Cook Book by 'Oscar' of the Waldorf, Oscar Tschirky [SaafieldPublishing:Chicago] 1908 (p.286)
[NOTE: recipes for Chicken Croquettes Perigourdin (with mushrooms, truffles & cookedsmokedtongue)and Queen Style (with mushrooms and Queen sauce) are provided.]
[1913]
'Chicken Croquettes
1 chicken.
1 tablespoon butter.
2 tablespoons flour.
1/2 pt. milk
1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley
Pepper, salt and a dash of cayenne
A little grated nutmeg
Boil chicken, remove skin and chop fine. When the sauce is cooked add the chopped chicken.Mixwell,then set aside to cool. Whe cool mould into shape; dip in egg and breadcrumbs and boil in hotfat.Thisquantity will make thirteen croquettes.'
---The American Home Cook Book, Grace E. Denison [Barse & Hopkins:New York]1913 (p. 124-5)
[NOTE: This book contans two additional chicken croquette recipes; both containing cream orchickenstock and additional spices.]
[1920]
'Croquettes.
Do not attempt croquettes until hou have thoroughly studied Chapter 1. To egg and crumb these,to frythem properly, to be able to serve them hot and free from grease, will be impossible to theinexperiencedcook, unless she will carefully read, and adhere to directions given therin. After she has masteredthe art offrying properly, she need not fear to attempt them. Keep mixutre as soft as possible, a solid massis not agood croquette. A mould is necessary if you wish the correct shape, but croquettes taste just asgood madein cylindrical sahpes and look as well too. Use a broad knife to shape them, and to egg and crumbthem,thus you ensure a smooth surface.
Chicken Croquettes, I
1 1/2 cups minced chicken
1 cup White Sauce
1 dash nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Yolks 2 eggs
For making the white sauce, use cream if you have it, if not, rich milk. Add chicken, whichshouldbe mincedvery fine, to hot sauce, and season well. Add the egg yolks and cook 2 minutes. Remove from thefire andcool. When stiff roll into croquettes, egg and crumb, and set in a cold place for 2 hours. The fryanddrain.'
---What and How: A Practical Cook Book for Every Day Living, Mrs. Walter D. Bush[MercantilePrintinc Company:Wilmington DE] 1920 (p. 199-200)
[NOTE: This book contains recipes for meat, veal, lamb, potato, bean, cheese, apple sauce,oyster,hominy, and rice croquettes.]
[1934]
'Chicken, Fish, or Meat Croquettes
2 cups chicken, fish or meat
1 cup croquette sauce
1 egg
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Cut meat (or fish) in small pieces, add seasoning desired and croquette sauce...Mix together andshape. Ifmixture is not stiff enough to shape, chill in refrigerator 1/2 hour. When shaped, dip inbreadcrumbs, then inthe slighly beaten egg, and then in breacrumbs again. Fry in hot deep fat. You can vary thecroquettes byadding chopped mushrooms, pimientos, ham, green peppers, etc.
Croquette sauce
For all croquettes
3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons sifted flour
1 cup milk or white soup stock
1/4 teaspoon onion juice
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
14 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon A1 or Worcestershire sauce
Melt butter; add flour and thoroughly in; add all other ingredients and cook until very thick,stirring slowlywhile cooking. This makes sufficient sauce to thicken 2 1/2 cups of any meat or fish, for allcroquettes.'
---The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, John MacPherson [Blakiston:Philadelphia]1934(p. 69-70)
[1935]
'Croquettes.
Croquettes really come under the head of frying and are roughly divided into two classes--sweetandsavoury--the savoury generally having for their base a thick white sauce to which meat, fish,vegetables, orfruits are added to make up th croquette. Occasionally savoury croquettes may have a base ofrice,macaroni, or potato, to which fish or meat is added in smaller proportions than would be the casewith awhite sauce base. They are used, perhaps, partly as a matter or economy, the less costly vegetableorcereal extending the more expensive the meat. Sweet croquettes are also sometimes made with afoundation of rice, and indeed the rice without any meat of fruit makes a good croquette, flavourbeingadded by the sweet sauce or ruit compote served with it. When white sauce is not used, a binderin the formof white of egg or whole egg must take its place. The general proportions of meat of fish are oneand onehalf to two cupfuls to each cupful of thick white sauce, but these proportions can be variedaccording to theamount of meat or fish available, except that when the supply of the main ingredient is scant, itsbult shouldbe made up by the addition of bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, or perhaps some left-overvegetable,otherwise the finished croquettes are apt to be too moist; for instance, to a cupful of white sauce,when onlytwo-thirds cupful of meat or fish is available yet a certain quantity of bulk must be provided, adddicedcooked carrot, turnip, peas, or celery, or even crumbled bread, but where the dry ingredient isbland ornegative in flavour something savoury, such as the little poultry dressing, a few drops of onionjuice,Worcestershire sauce, or minced herbs must also be added to give snap and flavour. Croquettes,whethersweet or savour, are almost without exception coated with egg and bread crumbs as described intheprocess of frying. Various croquettes will be found under their proper headings.'
---Ida Bailey Allen's Modern Cook Book [Garden City Publishing:Garden City NY] 1935(p. 436-7)
[1944]
'Chicken Croquettes
100 portions; 2 croquettes per portion
4 gallons chicken, cooked, finely chopped
1/4 cup salt
1 3/4 tablespoons pepper
3/4 gallon onions, finely chopped
1 quart butter or other fat
1 1/2 quarts flour (for dredging)
1/2 gallon chicken stock
25 eggs, whole
3 3/4 quarts bread crumbs, dry
Flour
10 (1 pint) eggs, beaten
1 quart mik, liquid
Bread crumbs
Sprinkle chicken with salt pepper. Fry onions in fat until clear. Add flour and blend to a smoothpaste. Stir instock. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Stir in eggsandbreadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly. Place in refrigerator until chilled. Shape cold mixture into 3 1/2 to4-ouncecroquettes. Stir eggs into milk. Mix well. Roll croquettes in flour. Dip in milk mixture. Roll inbread crumbs.Fry in hot deep fat at 375 degrees F. 3 to 4 minutes or until browned.'
---The Cook Book of the United States Navy, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts,NAVSANDAPublication NO. 7 [U.S. Government Printing Office:Washington] revised 1944 (p.171)
[NOTE: instructions for Baked Chicken or Turkey Croquette Loaf provided.]
[1946]
'Chicken Croquettes
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
a little pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
6 mushrooms, cooked, drained and finely diced (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped, cooked ham (if available)
Melt butter, add flour, mix well and cook until it starts to turn golden. Add milk and cook 15minutes stirringoccasionally with a whip to have a very thick, smooth sauce. Add salt and pepper and combinewith eggs.Add chickens, ham and mushrooms, mix all together and bring to a boil, stirring constantly untilmixturedoesn't stick to sides of pan. Correct the seasoning, spread on a flat buttered dish and let cool.When cold,shape the croquettes as desired in cylindars, cones or balls. Coat a l'Anglaise...and dry in deep hotfat orsaute in butter. Serve with Cream Sauce...or Tomato Sauce. Serves 4 to 6.'
---Louis Diat's Home Cookbook: French Cooking for Americans [J.B.Lippincott:Philadelphia] 1946(p. 130)
[1953]
'Meat, Poultry or Fish Croquettes
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk or 1/2 cup evaporated milk and 1/2 cup water
2 cups diced or ground cooked meat (any meat, poultry or flaked cooked fish)
3/4 teapsoon salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon grated onion
Sifted dry bread crumbs
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons milk
Melt butter, blend in four, add 1 cup milk and stir constantly over moderate heat until sauce boilsandthickens. Add meat, seasonings and onion and mix well. Chill, then shape into croquettes. Nowroll incrumbs, then in beaten egg to which 2 tablespoons milk have been added, and again in crumbs. Ifconvenient, chill at least an hour in refrigerator before frying, as crumbs adhere better. Place inwire basketand fry in deep fat (360 degrees F.). About 10 croquettes.
---The Modern Family Cook Book, Meta Given [J.G. Ferguson:Chicago IL] 1953 (p.328)
[1975]
'Chicken or Turkey Croquettes
Makes 4 servings
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup sifted flour
1 cup milk
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon poultry seaoning
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind (optional)
2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (about)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups coarsely ground cooked chicken or turkey meat
1/2 cup soft white bread crumbs
Shortening or cooking oil for deep fat frying
Coating:
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
1/4 cup cracker crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup minced blanched almonds
Melt butter in a large suacepan over moderate heat and blend in flour; slowly stir in milk, addbouillon cube,parsley, and all seasonings, and heat, stirring, until mixture thickens. Blend a little hot sauce intoegg, returnto pan, set over lowest heat, and heat, stirring, 1 minute; do not boil. Off heat, mix in chicken andbreadcrumbs; taste for salt and adjust. Cool, then chill until easy to shape. Shape into 8 patties orsausage-shaped rolls, dip in egg mixture, then roll in crumbs to coat. Let dry in a rack at roomtemperature whileheating fat. Place shortening in a deep fat fryer and heat to 375 degrees F. Fry the croquettes, 1/2 at atime, 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crisp; drain on paper toweling, then keep warm bysetting,uncovered, in oven turned to lowest heat while you fry the rest. Good with Tomato or ParsleySauce. About435 calories per serving if made with chicken, about 455 calories per serving if made withturkey.'
---Doubleday Cookbook: Complete Contemporary Cooking, Jean Anderson and ElaineHanna[Doubleday:Garden City NY] 1975 (p. 510)
[NOTE: This book offers recipes for curried chicken, chicken & shellfish, and chicken & hamcroquettes.]
RELATED FOODS? Crab cakes, fish balls, fritters & hushpuppies.
Duck'Southeast Asia is claimed to have been a major center of duck domestication...especially in southern China, where the birds were kept during the Earlier Han Dynasty (206BC to AD 220). The first written records of domestic ducks date back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC)...But according to one authority, the Chinese have had domesticated ducks for at least 3,000 years...and it is the case that Chinese pottery models of ducks and geese, dating from about 2500BC, have been excavated...'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume 1 (p. 519)
'Duck. A bird which exists in many wild species right round the world, but of which the domesticated kinds are those commonly eaten. Domestication began over 2,000 years ago in China, and was being practised in classical Rome (witness Columella, 1st century AD) and has been pursued with enthusiasm in many parts of the world.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p. 258)
'The duck may be called the veteran of the henhouse, which might more properly be called theduckhouse, since poultry yards were first organized around that fowl. The Chinese domesticatedit 4000 years ago, by taming captured wild species or hatching eggs. Duck dishes are still thepride of Chinese cuisine, after centuries of almost ritual practices to perfect them.'
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes andNoble Books:New York] 1992 (p. 337)
AboutBeijing Duck&Peking Duck
Recommended reading: Food in China/Frederick J. Simoons
ABOUT DUCK IN ASIAN COUNTRIES (except China)
Thailand
'Duck is widely used in Thailand, primarily for special occasions. The indigenous birds aresmallerand skinnier than ours; also considerably cheaper. In the predominantly Chinese sections ofBankok, rows upon rows of duck hang in the markets, clean plucked but with heads and feet. TheChinese-Thai feature a form of roasted duck with spice sauce (barbecued Pei Par Ngap) but thisGaeng Keo Wan Pet is originally and authentically Thai.'
---The Original Thai Cookbook, Jennifer Brennan [Richard Marek:New York] 1981 (p.140)
[Note: this book contains a recipe for Gaeng Keo Wan Pet (Green Curry of Duck)]
Vietnam
'In Vietnam chickens, as well as other fowl, are produced in barnyards where they grow up fat,happy and tasty. As do ducks. We find them a Vietnamese culinary constant.'
---World Food: Vietnam, Richard Sterling [Lonely Planet:Victoria Australia] 2000 (p.58)
Malaysia & Singapore
'Duck...is less frequently consumed. Classic dishes, though, are itek sio (stewed duck incoriander), itek tim (duck and salted vegetable soup) and lou ark (Teochew braised duck; servedwith a piquant cvhilli, Chinese leek and white vinegar dip.)'
---World Food: Malaysia and Singapore, Su-Lyn Tan & Mark Tay [LonelyPlanet:VictoriaAustralia] 2002 (p. 58)
Indonesia
Indonesian Cookery, Lie Sek-Hiang [Bonanza Books:New York] 1963 contains thefollowing duck recipes: Bebek Masak Lada Muda (Braised Duck with Green Peppers) and BebekTjuka Goreng (Fried Marinated Duck).
DUCK IN EUROPE
'Aristotle discussed only chickens and geese in his Natural History, and althoughTheophastus mentioned tame ducks, he failed to indicate whether they were bred incaptivity...thekeeping of domestic ducks in Greek and Roman times was unusual, though notunknown...Several species were kept in captivity by the Romans, who maintained aviaries...ofwild ducks, probably to fatten them up for the table...Varro, writing in 37 B.C. was the first tomention duck raising by the Romans...In the first century A.D. Lucious Junius ModeratusColumella provided advice on keeping ducks...which was considered much more difficult thancaring for more traditional fowl...The Saxons may have had domestic Ducks, but as yet theevidence remains unclear...A bit later, in Carolingian France (the eighth to the tenth centuriesA.D.), estate survey listing payments due feudal lords indicate that chickens and geese served astender far more frequently than ducks...The scarcity of wildfowl was most likely significant inhastening domestication...Dean Delacour...has suggested that the mallard may have become trulydomesticated in Eruope, only in the medieval period...Although domestic ducks are oftenidentified in archaeological deposits from the sixteenth cnetury onward, they did not increasedramatically in size until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when distinct varieties wererecorded.'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Volume 1 (p. 519-520)
'In England the most familiar and excellent combination is roast duckling with apple sauce andpeas, a dish of the late spring. In France....there is the well known Canard a l'orange); and a gooddish of duck and turnip. In other countries there are combinations which reflect thecharacteristicsof their cusines, for example duck and red cabbage in Poland; the use of sour cream, apple, etc.inE. Europe; the Iranian braised duck with walnut and pomeegranate sauce.'
---Oxford Companion to Food (p. 258)
'In medieval and Renaissance Europe, though duck was popular, it seems to have been wildduck;if Europeans had domesticated them they could hardly have continued to believe...that duckswereborn from the decomposition of leaves. Had ducks been domesticated in England by Elizabethantimes? They were cheap enought to make that seem likely--six pence for a large bird.'
---Food, Waverly Root [Smithmark:New York] 1980 (p. 111)
American duck
Certain duck species, the food historians tell us, were indigenous to America. Others wereintroduced by explorers and enterprising businessmen.
'Ducks have been esteemed for their culinary value by most cultures of the world, and it ispossible the Indians of Central America domesticated the bird even before the Chinese did. Thefirst European explorers were amazed at the numbers of ducks in American skies and sooncommented on the delicious and distinctive flavor of the native Canvasback, whose name figuresin every cookbook of the nineteenth century to the extent that no banquet would be consideredsuccessful without serving the fowl. On March 13, 1873...the arrival in New York of a Yankeeclipper ship with a tiny flock of white Peking ducks--one drake and three females--signaled thebeginning of a domestic industry of immense proportions. The birds were introduced toConnecticut and then to eastern Long Island, where they propagated at an encouraging rate.Domestic ducks were bought mostly by newly arrived immigrants...Only in this century did thefowl, by now called 'Long Island duckling,' attain gastronomic respect...In the nineteenthcenturywild ducks were usually eaten rare, but today domestic ducks are generally preferred cooked witha very crisp skin and served wither roasted with applesauce or in the classic French manner, withorange sauce...The wild ducks of culinary importance to Americans include the canvasback...the'mallard,'...the 'black duck'...the 'ring-necked duck'...and the 'scooters'...also called'coots.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:NewYork] 1999 (p. 116-7)
'The New World also had many species of wild ducks, but only the Muscovy (cairina moschata)was domesticated. By the time the Europeans arrived, the Moscovy duck was widely distributedthroughout the tropical regions of Central and South America. The Spanish probably introduceditinto the Caribbean, and the Portuguese introduced it to West Africa, where it thrived. The slavetrade introduced the Muscovy duck into British North America. Archaeological evidence hassurfaced demonstrating that slaves raised and consumed these fowl and later introduced them tothe rest of America. By the 1840s the Muscovy duck was widely distributed throughout America.It survived as a commercial poulty item in the United States until the late nineteenth century butthen largely disappeared as chicken and turkey began to dominate the poultry market.Domesticated ducks were raised on a small scale on farms and were herded to market...Anadvantage of raising ducks was that these birds foraged and consumed food not eaten by otherpoultry. In addition, duck feathers were used for clothing and bedding. Canvasback ducks wereraised on the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers in the early nineteenth century and later wereshipped to all major East Coast cities and to Europe.'
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [OxfordUniversity Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 413)
'When the Europeans reached America, they found great numbers of wild ducks there; CaptainJohn Smith reported on their abundance in Vriginia in 1608. Ducks were still so plentiful in thefirst half of the nineteenth century that Charles Dickens told of crossing two wide streams on hisway from Philadelphia to Washington: 'The water in both was blackend with flights ofcanvas-backed ducks...'
---Food, Waverly Root [Smithmark:New York] 1980 (p. 111-2)
Early American duck recipes
European cookbooks contained recipes for duck (often cooked in similar fashion as goose). Towit? Colonists enjoying the domestic American duck supply likely cooked the bird the same waythey learned at home. Hannah Glasse's Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy[London:1747] contains recipes for Duck in the following modes: a la braise, a la mode, boiledthe French way, pie, with cucumbers, with onions and with peas. Elizabeth Raffald'sExperienced English Housewife [London:1769] offers similar recipes, adding wild duckhash and notes on the differences between roasting tame and wild ducks.
[1770]
'Stew'd Ducks
Take a Duck (either wild or tame) split it down the back, make some Stuffing with Stale bread,the Liver of the duck, Spice, Parsley, Marjoram, Onion, Butter, Pepper and Salt, all chop'd uptogether, fill the duck with it and sew it up the back, and put it into a Pott with Water enough tocover it let it stew till the Water is almost stew'd away then add a little Wine and a lump of Butterto the little that remains which makes the gravy and browns the Duck.'
---A Colonial Plantation Cookbook: The Receipt Book of Harriott Pinckney Horry, 1770,edited with an introduction by Richard J. Hooker [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia]1984 (p. 59)
[NOTE: introduction of this book observes '...many of Harriott's recipes were wholly or largelyof American origin. The various recipes for curing bacon (hams) would fall in this category, aswould probably those for stewing crabs, stewing ducks, sausage, pickled shrimps, journey cake,biscuits...It has often been said theat there are no new recipes. While this is an exaggeration, it istrue that at any given time the vast majority of recipes come from preceding generations and will,with the sources rarely acknowledged, be take over by succeeding ones.' (P. 22-3).]
You can examine original 19th/early 20th century duck recipes published inAmericancookbooks courtesy of Michigan State University's digital cookbook project. Searching duckas recipe name and ingredient yields different results. Also see: Confit.
Duck a l'OrangeFood historians tell us the practice of pairing of citrus fruits with fatty meat is thousands of yearsold, likely originating in the Middle East. Examples are found in many cultures and cuisines. Theacid in the fruit countacts the fat in the meat, making the dish more enjoyable and digestible. Think:pork & applesauce; goose & cherry sauce, fish & lemon, and duck a l'orange. About oranges.
Ducks have been consumed by humans from prehistoric times forward.They are native to most continents. Recipes evolved according to local taste. Historic notes onEuropean duck cookery are appended to the end of this article. Bitter oranges were introduced,via Spain, in the early middle ages.
As the name suggests, Duck a l'Orange, likely originated in France. Our sources do not specific aparticular region/city claiming to be the locus of origin. The Rouen, the center of French duckdomestication, is a possibility. On the other hand? 19th century French recipes sometimes specifywild, not domestic, birds. Grand masters of classic French cuisine roasted ducks, noting thepractice was revived from earlier times. La Varenne [1651] does not offer a recipe for Duck al'Orange in his Cuisiner Francois. His duck is graced with a spicy pepper sauce. Theearliest French recipes we find conbining ducks and oranges were published in the 19th century.
'From antiquity to our own day, in Europe and elsewhere...a number of such erudite gastronomicrevolutions have taken place, the two most important of which, at least insofar as Europeancuisine is concerned, occurred at the beginning of the eighteenth century and at the beginning ofthe nineteenth. As we shall see, certain of these revolutions even represented an unwitting stepbackward: thus the alliance of sweet and salt, of meat and fruit (duck with peaches for instance),which today is regarded as an eccentric specialty of certain restaurants, was the rule in the MiddleAges and held sway down to the end of the seventeenth century: almost all recipes for meat up tothat time contain sugar.'
---Culture and Cuisine: A Journey Through the History of Food, Jean-Francois Revel,translated by Helen R. Lane [Doubleday:Garden City NY] 1982 (p. 19-20)
Charleston Sc Dating Sites
A selection of French recipes through time
'Ducklings a la Bigarade.
This entree requires plump fleshy ducks: pick empty, and truss them well, with the legs stuckupwards. First roast them under-done, and make incisions in the breast, what the French callaiguillettes; pour the gravy that issues from the duck into the sause, which must be ready made,inorder that you may send up quickly; a thing to be particularly attended to. With respect to theappropriate sauce, see sauces. If you are allowed to serve up fillets only, then you much havethree ducklings at least. Roast them under-done; when properly done cut them into aiguillettes,that is, four out of each duck; put then into the sauce with the gravy that runs from them, andsend up without loss of time, and quite hot. As soon as you have put the aguillettes into thesauce,squeeze a little juice of bigarade (bitter orange) over the whole; keep stirring well, and serve upthe fillets in the sauce. This is a dish for an epicure of the dantiest palate. Do not think of dishingen couronne, to give it a better appearance, but send it up in the suce, and they who eat it will farethe better. Mignonette, or coarse pepper, is required in this sauce, and the entree altogether must be highly seasoned. Before roasting the duck, blanche a handful of sage with a couple of onionscut into quarters; chop them; season them with a little salt and pepper, and sutff the duck; by sodoing, it will acquire additoinal savour.'
---The French Cook, Louis Eustach Ude, photoreprint of English edition published in1828 by Larey, Lea and Carey:Philadelphia [Arco Publishing:New York] 1978 (p. 248-9)
[NOTE: Ude's recipe employs pepper, similar to La Varenne's.]
[1855]
The Encyclopedia of Practical Gastronomy/Ali-Bab contains a recipe for Caneton Roti,Sauce a L'Orange. We only have a translated copy [Elizabeth Benson:1974, p. 296]. There are nohistoric notes or recommendations for type of duck (duckling) to be used.
[1873]
Duck
'There are forty-two varieties of duck. One of the best is the musk duck, whose flesh is verydelicate...Barbary ducks are the biggest...Rouen ducklings, highly esteemed for their size andother qualities, are produced in this manner. The wild duck is nearly always grilled on a spit. Theyoung wild duck shot at the end of August is called an albran. In September he becomes aduckling and is definately a duck in October. Albrans, which are to an ordinary duck as apartridge to a hen, are broiled on a spit and served on toast soaked in their own juices, to whichare added the juice of bitter oranges, a little soy sauce, and some grains of fine pepper. This is adelicate, distinguished dish....
'Wild Duck with Orange Sauce.
Clean and truss 4 wild ducks. Skewer and roast over a lively fire 12 to 14 minutes, brushing themwith oil in the process. Salt, slice off the breasts, and lay them in a flat pan with a little glaze onthe bottom. Heat for 1 minute to dry the moisture from the breasts. Arrange on a platter and pourover them the following sauce: Orange sauce. Take the zest of an unripe orange. Cut it intojulienne strips, cook in water, and drain in a sieve. Then put them into a little pot and out overthem 1 glass of clear, reduced aspic. Heat. Just before serving, thin the sauce with the juices of 1lemon and 1 orange.'
---Dictionary of Cuisine, Alexander Dumas, edited, abridged and translated by LouisColman [Simon & Schuster:New York] 1958 (p. 105-6)
[1903]
'Caneton braise a l'Orange--Braised Duckling with Orange
This recipe should not be mistaken for the one for roast duckling served with orange, as the twoare totally different. Instead of ordinary oranges, Bigarade or bitter oranges may be used but inthis case the segments should not be used as a garnish because of their bitterness; only their juiceshould be used for the sauce. Brown the duckling in butter and braise it slowly in 4 dl (14 lf oz or1 3/4 U.S. cups) Sauce Espagnole and 2 dl (7 lb oz or 7/8 U.S. cup) brown stock until it is tenderenough to cut with a spoon. Remove the duckling from the cooking liquid when ready; removeallfat and reduce until very thick. Pass through a fine strainer and add the juice of 2 oranges andhalfa lemon then bring the sauce back to its original consistencey. Complete this sauce with the zestof half an orange and half a lemon, both cut in fine Julienne and well blanched and drained. Takecare not to boil the sauce after adding the juice and the Julienne of zest. Glaze the duckling at thelast moment, place it on a dish, surround with a little of the sauce and border with segments oforange completely free of skin and pith. Serve the rest of the sauce separately.'
---Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, first translation into Englsihby H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in it entirety [Wiley:New York]1979(p. 415)
[NOTE: Escoffer also combines duck with cherries and other fruits.]
[1927]
'Duck a la Orange (Canard a l'Orange)
According to different epochs and authors, there are several dishes that deserve this title. Somesay that the duck is roasted and accompanied by a bigarade ('bitter orange') sauce: this sauce is avery reduced brown sauce to which orange juice is added, to return it to its original consistency,and then orange peel, cut in julienne, is added. Or, more simply, the juices from roasting the duckare thoroughly degreased and then diluted with ordinary juice; starch is added to make a liaison,then added. As for every roast duck, this method and only be used on a young and tender duck.Other authors suggest braising, which does not require a beast that is quite to tender. Theprocedure of braising can vary according to your means. When you have brown sauce, add this tothe duck, which has first been colored in butter; later, the sauce is reduced, when finished withorange juice and the julienne of orange peel. If you do not have this brown sauce ready inadvance, proceed as described further down. But one way or the other, note that the duck mustbe cooked long enough so that it reaches the point where it could be, as the French say, 'carvedwith a spoon': that is the characteristic of duck that has been braised a l'orange. You should alsoobserve that, for juice or sauce, you must not let it boil after adding the orange juice and the zest;and roasted or braised, the duck should be surrounded by orange quarters, which are trimmed ofall their membranes.'< />La Bonne Cuisine, Madame E. Saint-Ange, translated and with an introduction by PaulAratow [Ten Speed Press:Berkeley CA] 2005 (p. 380-1)
[NOTE: This book contains Saint-Ange's recipe. Your librarian will be hapy to help you obtain acopy. If you prefer the original 1927 French edition let us know. Happy to mail/fax.]
DUCK A L'ORANGE IN USA
A survey of American cookbooks/magazines from WWII forward confirms Duck a l'Orange wasa popular dinner party menu option from the 1950s-1970s. Some recipes were true to theoriginal;others were simplified. McCall's Cook Book circa 1963 instructs cooks to cover spreadthe duckling with orange marmelade (p. 484).
'Although fancy big-city restaurants were serving this French classic before the turn of thecentury, it did not become the province of the home cook until well after World War II.'
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century,JeanAnderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 136)
There are two menu items called finger steaks. One is a simple thin cut of meat prepared in conventional French ways. The other is a deep-friedportable beef fair food akin to corn dogs and chicken strips. The latter is proudly claimed byBoise, Idaho. Willie Schrier at the Torch Restaurant, is often credited for its 'invention' in 1957.
'Willie' was Willie Schrier, founder of the home-style cooking eatery, and originator of fingersteaks at the Torch Restaurant he also owned....Willie Schrier died in 1996, but Marian and hertwin sister Mary Thomas, continue to run the restaurant.'
---'Restaurant doesn't pull punches with its witty signs,' Charles Etlinger, The Idaho Statesman,June 21, 1999 (p. 1B)
'In my May 1 column, I shared with you that the fingersteak recipe from the original Torchrestaurant was under lock and key by the current owner. Since then, the first owner, Margaret(who co-owned the establishment with husband Mylo Bybee), has told me they've kept theirrecipe a family secret. I've since found out that the second owner of the Torch sold arecipe to the third. That's the one under lock and key. In any case, the recipe is still not availableto the public. Sorry, folks.'
---'Garden stroll can lead to great food,' Romaine Galey Hon, The Idaho Statesman, June 5,2002 (p. 3)
The earliest recipe we find for 'conventional' Finger Steaks in the New York Times (a far cry from Idaho) waspublished in 1948:
'Finger Steaks in Wine SauceFoie gras
1 pound round steak
1 cup dry red table wine
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper2 tablespoons fat
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1. Slice steak into thin slivers or strips. Place in a bowl with wine, garlic, salt, sugar and pepper.Cover and let stand in a cold place severla hours or overnight. Drain meat, reserving liquid.Remove garlic and discard.
2. Melt fat in a frying pan over moderate heat. Add meat and brown. Add onion and continuecooking five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato sauce and Kitchen Bouquet. Combinecornstarch with the liquid drained from the meat. Add liquid and cook, stirring constantly, tillsauce thickens and boils. Yield: four portions.'
---'News of Food', Jane Nickerson, New York Times, October 9, 1948 (p. 10)
Food historians generally attribute the genesis of fattening animals to enhance the taste of theirlivers to Ancient Mediterranean cooks. Literature connects this practice specifically to AncientRoman cookery. Foie gras was also known and appreciated in Greece, evidenced by the fact thatHomer references this delicacy in his Odyssey. The practice of fattening animals wasintroduced to Europe by Roman conquerors. France, in particular, embraced this delicacy. Aboutpate de foie gras.
'Fattening, farming practices aimed a producing bigger animals, with better-tasting or moretender meat, than would be the case without intervention. Details depend upon thespecies...Fattening was a familiar business in Mediterranean farming of the first millenumBC...The Greek verb siteuomai, 'feed', applies to geese and to smaller birds. Withthese...fattening was carried out largely by intensive feeding, and eventually force feeding, withselected foods...In the Odyssey Penelope, with the suitors on her mind, dreams of twentygeese fattening in her farmyard...Late Greek and late Latin terms for 'liver', sykoton, ficatum,have the literal meaning 'stuffed with figs', because, as Pliny, Galen and Pollux explain, pigswere fed with dried figs to produce large and fine-flavoured liver. Pliny attributes the invention ofthe method to Apicius.'
---Food in the Ancient World From A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p.141-2)
'Goose, group of large birds domesticated in prehistoric times in the Near East and southernEurope. The goose was a domsticated animal by the time of the earliest Greek literature. Thegoose was surely the commonest farmyard bird in early Greece until the spread of chicken, fromIndia and Iran, around 600 BC. The relative ubiquity of chickens explains why geese are lessfrequently mentioned in Greek and Latin literature. They continued to be kept, however, both fortheir meat and for their eggs...fattening of geese is mentioned in the Odyssey...The liverofforce fed geese, known as foie gras, is nowadays an expensive delicacy. The first reference to thisgourmet product may possibly be in a fragment by Eubilus, writing in the mid fourth century BC:the point is discussed by Plutarch in Anthanaeus's dialogue. However, goose livers are good toeat whether or not the goose is especially fattened, so a reference to goose liver does not provethat foie gras is intended. Pliny is certain that the idea of foie gras was Roman, and names twopossible inventors in the first century BC, one of whom is Metelus Scipio, governor of Syria in49-48. Foie gras is certainly mentioned by Horace and Marital. The Greek phrase trypheronsykoton, literally equivalent to foie gras, occurs first in the late second century AD in a text byPollux.'
---Food in the Ancient World From A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p.161-2)
'Foie gras. Goose or duck liver which is grossy enlarged by methodically fattening thebird'...Theenlarged liver has been counted a delicacy since classical times, when the force-feeding of thebirds was practised in classical Rome. It is commonly said that the practice dates back evenfurther, to ancient Egypt, and that knowledge of it was possibly acquired by the Jews during their'period of bondage' there and transmitted by them to the classical civilizations. However,Serventi...casts doubt on this legend, while agreeing that Jews played an important role indiffusing throughout Europe knowledge of the techniques for successfuly 'cramming' the birdsand processing the livers. In modern times the foie gras of the south-west of France and that ofStrasbourg have been the most renown, although much of what is now consumed in France hasitsorigin in eastern Europe or Israel..'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford Universtiy Press:Oxford] 1999(p.311-2)
'If caviar is in the nature of a gastronomic dream, the thought of foie gras could be said to inducea kind of voluptiously mingled sense of greed and bliss. Indeed, foie gras exemplifies greed twiceover, being the result of fatty enlargement of the liver of geese and ducks induced by cramming,i.e.., the over-feeding to which the chose fowls are subjected. The goose itself invented cramming. The ancient Egyptians were the first ot notice thephenomenon: at the season when wild geese are about to migrate, and must travel thousands ofkilometres without any chance of feeding, they eat such large quantities of food that reserves ofenergy are stored in their livers as fat. Geese trapped by the Egyptians just before the greatmigration provided a real feast. Someone had the idea of cramming the domestic ducks and geesewhich, as we have seen, were descended from captured wild species...Several...depictions of thissubject, and representations of baskets full of fat geese, all dating from the Fifth Dynasty, showthat the cramming of geese was a usual practice from the third millennium BC onwards...But wedo not know exactly how the Egyptians cooked and ate the foie gras of their geese andducks...The Greeks...according to Athenaeus, were expert at fattening geese with wheat poundedwith water'. The practice became common among the Romans, who were anxious to serveanything magnificent, enormous, of generous size, unique or monstrous at their tables...Plinygives no details about the cramming of geese, but he agrees that the Romans liked their tenderliver, foie gras, the liver of the Gaulish geese...How did the Romans eat the foie gras of theirgeese? If Juvenal is to be believed, it was served hot...Henri IV of France...liked fat saltgeese...but few texts from his him mention foie gras...Valmont de Bomare's Dictionnaired'histoire naturelle explains in the article on goose' that the liver of that fowl was consideredanexquisite delicacy by the Romans'. Are we to infer that people no longer thought it so exquisite in1768...The pate of Perigeux mentioned in the Dictionnaire portatif de cuisine of 1767 is arecipewhich sounds quite modern although very lavish, calling for 12 foies gras, two pounds of truffles,mushrooms and chives. This is highly suggestive of the modern tendency to confuse extremerichness with gastronomy...Perigord had long been noted for the excellence of its trufflespates...Alot of nonsense has been talked about the sacred alliance of truffles and 'foie gras', and there is afanciful legend to the effect that the pates of Nerac which Henry IV liked consisted of foie grasand truffles. This is an invention of food writers.'
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translatd by Anthea Bell [Barnes & Noble Books:New York]1992 (p. 424-434)
'Whether from the goose or the duck, foie gras has always been considered a rare delicacy, butthe way in which it is served has changed according to culinary fashion. At one time it wasservedat the end of the meal. The traditional truffle and aspic accompaniments are now thought to besuperflous by some, who prefer to serve it with lightly toasted farmhouse bread (leavened andslightly acid), rather than with plain slices of toast. Nouvelle cuisine set as much store by foiegrasas classic cuisine, and sometimes gave it novel accompaniments, such as green leeks, pumpkin oreven scallops. However, the classic recipes, both hot and cold, still retain their prestige. Mostdishes described as a la perigourdine or Rossini are prepared with foie gras.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:NewYork] 2000 (p. 502)[NOTE: this book contains classic recipes]
'The Renaissance love of foie gras was also linked to the ancents' texts. Porta and Nonniusalludedto passages on fattened liver in Horace, Pliny, Martial, Juvenal, Galen, and Palladius. Observingthat fattened pig livers were elegant fare for the Greeks and the Romans, Bruyerin noted thatPliny thought the cramming of sows and geese with figs to enlarge their livers was an inventionofMarcus Apicius. Pliny had also explained, continued Bruyerin, that once the liver had beenremoved from the animal, it was soaked in milk and honey to increase its size still further, aprocedure said to have been invented by Scipio, Metellus, or Marcus Seius. Porta offered detailedinstructions from Palladius on how to enlarge goose livers, and Frances Bacon, quoting Porta'swork, reminds his readers that artificially fattened goose liver was a Roman delicacy. In France,Bruyerin claimed, the fatted cock's or hen's liver was more highly though of than the liver of acrammed goose, though fifty years later the Tresor de sante called goose liver 'a royal dish, ofwhich the Romans also made much, as reported by Pollux and Athenaeus.' In 1570 BartolomeoScappi credited the Jews with creating a business out of the interest in foie gras. Some of thelivers they sold, he reported, weighted as much as three pounds. In the late eighteenth centuryPierre Le Grand d'Aussy wrote that 'the Jews of Metz and of Strasbourg possess the same secret[as did the ancients], though their precise methods we do not know. And the secret is one of thebranches of commerce that made them rich. As is well know, Strasbourg makes these livers intopates whose reputation is renowned.'
---Acquired Taste: The French Origins of Modern Cooking, T. Sarah Peterson [CornellUniversity Press:Ithaca NY] 1994 (p. 94-5)
'Among organs foie gras had become perhaps the most celebrated. Any attempt to discuss thisdelicacy in the Italian cookbooks involves a semantic problem. Latin has basically two ways ofdenoting liver, jecur and ficatum, the latter derived from the custom of feeding pigs and geesefigs(fici) to fatten their livers. Apicius generally uses jecur for animal livers but twice employsficatum, presumably to indicate a crammed liver. The Italian fegato comes from the Latin factumand so implied a fattened liver. Yet fegato has come to mean simply liver, and there is no reasonto suspect that it did not have this meaning in the fourteenth century. The French and Englishcookbooks of that time do not pose a language obstacle: the only words that appear are 'foie' inthe French and 'liver' in the English, with no adjective attached to indicate a fattened liver.Againwe see Platina start the discussion, but a commitment to fattened livers is not apparent in thesixteenth-century Italian cookbooks. Foie gras enters the French cookery works with La Varenne,and although the English books occasionally refer to it, the crammed goose liver becomes a motiffrom antiquity almost totally identified with France, as is the case with meat pates (meatswrappedin pastry), spurred by a passage in Apicius. By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries thewholegamut of prestigious meat concoctions and body parts had entered the composed dishes first ofFrance, then of England.'
---Acquired Tastes...(p. 105-7)
[NOTE: This book contains a brief survey of foie gras recipes from La Varenne (1651) to Glasse(1748).]
Dan Barber [Stone Barns] on Foie Gras.
[1911]
Fois Gras,The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemis Ward:253
These pasties, so highly esteemed by epicures, are made at Strasburg, and thence exported tovarious parts. They are prepared from the livers of geeese, which have been tied down for threeorfour weeks to prevent them from moving, and forcibly compelled to swallow, at intervals, acertain amount of fattening food. When they have become so fat that they would die in a shorttime, they are killed, and their livers, which have become very rich, fat, and pale during theprocess, are used for the above purpose. These pates are very expensive. A good imitation ofthem may be made without subjecting the unfortunatle geese to the cruelties described byfollowing the direction here hive:--Take the livers from three fine fat geese, and in drawing thebirds be careful not to bread the gall-bag, as the contents would impart a bitter taste to the livers.Carefully remove any yellow spots there may be upon them, and lay the livers in milk for six oreight hours to whiten; cut them in halves, and put three halves aside for forecemeat. Soak, wash,and scrub, and peel three-quarters of a pound of truffles, carefully preserving the cuttings. Slice athird of them into narrow strips, like lardoons, and pick them into the remainder of the liversthree-quarters of an inch apart, sprinkle over them a little pepper, salt, and spice, and put them ina coolplace until the forcemeat is amde. Mince finely, first separately and afterwards together, a poundof fresh bacon, a thrid of the truffles, the halves of the livers that were put away for the purpose,two shallots, and eight or ten button mushrooms; season the mixutre with plenty of pepper andsalt, two or three grates of nutmed, and half a salt-spoonful of powedered marjoram, and keepchopping until it is quite smooth. Make the paste according to the directions given in Paste forRaised Pies...Cover the bottom of the pie with thin rashers of ham, fat and lean together; spreadevenly on these one-half of the forcemeat, then put in the three livers, with the slices of trufflestuck in them, and afterwards the remainder of the forcemeat. Intersperse amongst the contents ofthe pie the remaining quarter of a pound of truffles, anc cover the whole with two or threemroeslices of ham or bacon. Put the cover on the pie, ornament as fancy dictates, brush it overwith beaten egg, make a hole in the centre for the steam to escape, and bake in a moderate overn.Time to bake, two hours or more...Sufficient for a dozen persons.'
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter,Galpin:London] 1875 (p. 517-8)
'3491. To Cook and Present Foie gras.Fried chicken
For serving as a hot dish the goose liver should firstly be well trimmed and the nerves removed;itis then studded with quarters of small raw peeled truffles which have been seasoned with salt andpepper, quickly set and stiffened over heat with a little brandy together with a bay-leaf. Beforeusing the truffles leave them to cool in a tightly closed terrine. After the foie gras has beenstudded, wrap it completely in thin slices of salt pork fat or pig's caul, and place in a tightlyclosedterrine for a few hours. The best method for preparing a hot whole foie gras is to cook it asfollows, using a pastry that will absorb the excess fat as and when it melts. Cut out two ovallayers of Pie Paste (2774) slightly larger than the foie gras; place the foie gras on one of the ovalsand surround it with medium-sized peeled truffles. Place half a bayleaf on top, moisten the edgesof the paste, cover with the other oval of paste and seal the edges well together decorating theedges. Brush with eggwash, decorate by scoring with the point of a small knife and make a holeinthe top for the steam to escape whilst cooking. Bake in a fairly hot oven for 40-45 minutes for aliver weighing from 750-800 g (1 lb 10 oz). Serve as it is accompanied with the selected garnish. To serve: in restaurants the head waiter cuts around the top of the pie crust and removes it. Hethen cuts portions of the foie gras with a spoon and places each portion on a plate with some ofthe garnish as indicated on the menu.'
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, translation of 1903edition by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann [John Wiley:New York] 1997 (p. 419-420)
[NOTE: Escoffier incudes 19 recipes for hot foie gras and 11 recipes for cold foie gras.]
People have been frying all sorts of foods (meat, bread, vegetables) sinceancient times. This fuel-efficient cooking method had several advantages, one of which wasportability. Dredging meat with flour and spices before cooking tenderized the item andenhancedits flavor. Medieval European cooks built on this concept, creating fricassee. Fricassee is not fried, but simmered in butter and served with creamy sauce. In the United States,fried chicken is traditionally considered a Southern dish. Maryland-style fried chicken istraditionally served with gravy, reminiscent of fricassee. Batter-fried chicken appearsto be a gift from northern European cuisine. Chicken is aglobal food; recipes vary according to time, culture and cuisine.
Mrs. D. A. Lincoln in her Boston Cooking School Cook Book [1884] provides detailedinstructions for deep frying, although she does not use that term. Her notes on frying.
Karen Hess' definative historic notes on fricassee and fried chicken can be found in hertranscription of Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, [Columbia UniversityPress:New York] 1981 (p. 40-44).
Southern fried chicken
'Southern fried chicken
Chicken parts that are floured or battered and then fried in hot fat. The term southern fried' firstappeared in print in 1925...Southerners were not the first people in the world to fry chickens, ofcourse. Almost every country has its own version, from Vietnam's Ga Xao to Italy's pollo frittoand Austria's Weiner Backhendl, and numerous fricassees fill the cookbooks of Europe. Andfriedchicken did not become particularly popular in the northern United States until well intothe nineteenth century...The Scottish, who enjoyed frying their chickens rather than boiling orbaking them as the English did, may have brought the method with them when they settled theSouth. The efficient and simple cooking process was very well adapted to the plantation life ofthesouthern African-American slaves, who were often allowed to raise their own chickens. Theidea of making a sauce to go with fried chicken must have occurred early on, at least inMaryland,where such a match came to be known as 'Maryland fried chicken.' By 1878 adish by this name was listed on the menu of the Grand Union hotel in Saratoga, NewYork...'
---The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani[Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 305-6)
[NOTE: this book has much more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your librariantohelp you find a copy]
'Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century descriptions of colonial foodways ignored the chicken forthe most part. In the earliest manuscripts to enter America there are, of course, chicken recipesfor roasts, stews, and pies, and none other than Governor William Byrd II was dining on theiconic southern dish of fried chicken at his Virginia plantation by 1709...'---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [OxfordUniversity Press:Oxford] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 226)
Recipes through time
PULLUM FRONTONIANUM (Chicken a la Fronto)
(Apicius. 6, 9, 13)
Ingredients:
1 fresh chicken (approx. 1-1.5kg)
100ml oil
200ml Liquamen, or 200ml wine + 2 tsp salt
1 branch of leek
fresh dill, Saturei, coriander, pepper to taste
a little bit of Defritum
Instructions:
Start to fry chicken and season with a mixture of Liquamen and oil,together with bunches of dill, leek, Saturei and fresh coriander. Thencook approximately 1 hour with 220 deg C in the oven. When the chickenis done, moisten a plate with Defritum, put chicken on it, sprinklepepper on it, and serve.
[1596]
'To Fry Chicken
Take your chickens and let them boil in very good sweet broth a pretty while. Take the chickensout and quarter them out in pieces. Then put them into a frying pan with sweet butter, and letthem stew in the pan. But you must not let them be brown with frying. They put out the butterout of the pan, and then take a little sweet broth, and as much verjuice, and the yolks of two eggsand beat them together. Put in a little nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and pepper into the sauce. Thenput them all into the pan to the chickens, and stir them together in the pan. Put them into a dishand serve them up.'
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, 1596, with an introduction by MaggieBlack [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1996 (p. 41)
[1651]
'Pullets fried
After they are dressed, cut into peeces and well washed, boile them in good broth, and when theyare almost sodden drain them, and fry them. After five or six turns, season them with salt andgood herbs, as parsely, chibols, &c. Allay some yolks of eggs for to thicken the sauce, andserve.'
---The French Cook, Francoise Pierre, La Varenne, Englished by I.D.G. 1653, Introducedby Philip and Mary Hyman [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 52)
[1824]
'Fricassee of Small Chickens
Take off the legs and wings of four chickens, separate the breasts from the backs, cut off thenecks and divide the backs across, clean the gizzards nicely, put them with the livers and otherparts of the chicken, after being washed clean, into a sauce pan, add pepper, salt, and a littlemace, cover them with water, and stew them till tender, then take them out, thicken half a pint ofthe water with two table spoonsful of flour rubbed into four ounces of butter, add half a pint ofnew milk, boil all together a few minutes, then add a gill of white wine, stirruing it in carefullythatit may not curdle, put the chickens in and continue to shake the pan until they are sufficiently hot,and serve them up.
Fried Chickens
Cut them up as for the fricassee, dredge them well with flour, sprinkle them with salt, put theminto a good quantity of boiling lard, and fry them a light brown, fry them a light brown, fry smallpieces of mush and a quantity of parsley nicely picked to be served in the dish with the chickens,take half a pint of rich milk, add to it a small bit of butter with pepper, salt, and chopped parsley,stew it a little, and pour it over the chickens, and then garnish with the fried parsley.'
---The Virginia House-Wife, Mary Randolph, Facsimile 1824 edition with historicalnotesand commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina:Columbia] 1984 (p. 252-3)
[1881]
'Fried Chicken
Cut the chicken up, separating every joint, and wash clean. Salt and pepper it, and roll into flourwell. Have your fat very hot, and drop the pieces into it, and let them cook brown. The chicken isdone when the fork passes easily into it. After the chicken is all cooked, leave a little of the hotfatin the skillet; then take a tablespoonful of dry flour and brown it in the fat, stirring it around, thenpour water in and stir till the gravy is as thin as soup.'
---What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher, In Facsimile(1881) with historical notes by Karen Hess [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 1995 (p. 20)
[NOTE: This book is considered to be the first published cook book written by an AfricanAmerican.]
[1904]
'Fried Chicken
Prepare young chicken and sprinkle with salt and lay on ice 12 hours before cooking. Cut thechicken in pieces and dredge with flour and drop in hot boiling lard and butter--equal parts--saltand pepper, and cover tightly and cook rather slowly--if it cooks too quickly it will burn. Cookboth sides to a rich brown. Remove chicken and make a gravy by adding milk, flour, butter, salt,and pepper. Cook till thick, and serve in separate bowl.'
---The Blue Grass Cook Book, compiled by Minnie C. Fox, facsimile reprint 1904edition [University Of Kentucky Press:Lexington KY] 2005 (p. 88)
[1914]
'Chicken, Southern Style.
Disjoint 'frying size' chicken night before using. Let stand in cold water for hour before cooking. When ready to use wipe off with cloth. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and flour. Dip in well beaten egg, roll in cracker or toast crumbs, fry in deep fat. Place in dripping-pan and cover, place in oven for 15 minutes, after which remove cover and allow to become crisp and brown. If desired, pour the cream gravy over chicken on chop dish or serve separately in gravy boar. Delicious.
Fried Chicken, Virginia Style
Clean a fat young chicken and disjoint it as for a fricassee. Wipe, dredge with salt, pepper and flour and spread out on a platter. In a deep frying-pan try out 1/2 pound of fat bacon, add 1 cupful of crisco; when hot put in the pieces of chicken, cooking only enough at one time to allow plenty of room for turning over. As fast as nicely colored lift from the pan to a platter, set where the chicken will keep hot. When all of the chickenis cooked, pour of the greater part of the fat, leaving about 2 tablespoonfuls in the pan. Dredge in sufficient flour to absorb the grease, stiruntil browned, the add gradually 1 pint of milk and cook until thick and smooth. Season to taste, carefully lay in the friedchicken and simmer for 3 minutes, then dish and serve.'
---Culinary Echoes From Dixie, Kate Brew Vaughn [MacDonald Press:Cincinnati OH] 1914 (p. 58-59)
[1932]
Old Fashioned Fried Chicken-Maryland Style
Put an ounce of butter in a frying pan, and add four slices of lean salt pork dipped in flour; whenturned to a golden color take off the salt pork, add two and a half pounds of chicken disjointed,also dipped in milk and flour. Fry until cooked. Take off chicken, drain fat from frying pan, pourin a cup of light cream and milk, reduce to half and add one cup of light cream sauce, boil a fewminutes, strain over chicken sprinkled with chopped chives and parsley, garnish with two cornfritters, two sweet potato croquettes, two slices fried tomato and the four pieces of crisp saltpork.--A.J. Fink, Managing Director, Southern Hotel, Baltimore'
---Eat, Drink and be Merry in Maryland, Frederick Philip Steiff [G.P. Putnam's Sons:NewYork] 1932 (p. 86)
Our survey of fried chicken recipes published in historic American cookbooks confirms Mr. Fowler's statement regarding batter frying not being as popular as spiced/flour/egg dipped. This is nothing new. Making batter takes a little more time than dredging. We also discovered two distinct ways of combining batter and chicken. From the get-go and after the chicken was mostly cooked. Interesting, yes? Batter-dipped fried chicken descends (albeit in a quirky way) from Ancient Roman Fritters and Medieval Portuguese Tempura. Southern-style American cuisine offers many deep-fried New World variations, from hushpuppies to corn dogs. Worth noting, too, is the proliferation of 'batter pudding' recipes, readily adapted to fish, vegetables, and fruit.
Early recipes coat the chicken in batter before cooking
[1839]'Fried Chickens. Chickens are nicesest for frying when they are about half grown. Cut off the wings and legs, separate the back from the breast, cut it across, and split each piece, divide the breast, clean the giblets, and rinse them all in cold water; season them with salt and pepper, dip them in batter, and fry them a yellowish brown in lard, which should be boiling when the chicken is put in. Thicken the gravy with brown flour, chopped parsley, pepper and cream; serve up the chicken, and our the gravy round.'
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile 1839 edition [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 119)
[1847]
'Battered Chicken. Make a light batter with three eggs, a small tablespoonful of butter, a little wheat flour, and salt into the taste. Joint your chickens, and put them into the batter. Grease your frying-pan, throw the mixture of chicken and batter into it, and fry a good brown.--This quantity of batter will suffice for one pair of chickens.'
---The Carolina Housewife, Sarah Rutledge, facsimle 1847 edition [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] 1979 (p. 82)
[1869]
'Chickens Fried in Batter,' Elizabeth Lea, Domestic Cookery
Later recipes add the batter after the chicken is (mostly) cooked
[1930]'Batter Fried Chicken. Prepare young chickens for cooking and cut at joints into pieces. Make a batter of two cups flour, one tablespoonful baking powder, three-fourths teaspoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful black pepper, two eggs, one-half cup milk or more. Have a skillet of deep fat and put the chicken in, no piece within an inch of touching another. When the pieces are brown on the underside, turn them over and put a large kitchen spooonful of the batter on each piece. The fat must be deep enough to brown the batter without turning it over, and the batter must not be soft enought to spread out too much.'
---Old Southern Receipts, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride:New York] 1930 (p. 53-54)
[1934]
'Batter for Chickens. This recipe, contributed by Mary Leize Simons for the old notebook of Miss Elizabeth Harleston, proved to be most delicious, though at first glance it was not very enlightening. It reads: 'One pint of milk one pint of flour, two eggs, a little salt; beat up very light--Yeast Poweder.' After experimenting with this batter for deep-fat frying we found that the following amounts owuld make enough batter to coer a medium-sized chicken.
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup milk
Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Mix the egg and milk together and combine with the first mixture. Dip each piece of chicken in the batter and fry in deep fat until brown. The chicken must, of course, be cooked until tender before dipping in th batter since the short time of frying would not cook the chicken.'---Mary Leize Simons.' ---200 Years of Charleston Cooking, recipes gathered by Blanche S. Rhett [Random House:New York] revised edition, 1934 (p. 77-78)
[1953]
'Fried Chicken--(deep fat). Chicken for frying in deep fat is generally cutinto quarters and dipped in thin batter (1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, 1 cup sifted flour, 1/2 teasppon salt.). Or, if preferred, use and egg-and-crumb coating.'
---The South Carolina Cook Book, Collected and edited by the South Carolina Extension Homemakers Council [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] revised edition., 1953 (p. 166)
[1877]'Tomato Batter Cakes,' Estelle Woods Wilcox, Buckeye Cookery
[1884]'Fitter Battter (For Oysters, Clams or Fruit), Mary Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book
[1885]'Calves' and Pigs' Feet Fried in Batter,' Lafcadio Hearn, La Cuisine Creole
Related foods? fritters, Cajunfried turkey, chicken-fried steak, city chicken, corn dogs & tempura.
GoatsGoats, like sheep, were originally domesticated for their milk. When animals were no longer producing, theywere consumed. As time progressed, animals were also produced for meat. Goats, like pigs, are easy to keep becausethey do not require special feed or enclosures. Sheep were domesticated in the same general time and place.
'The domesticated goat (Capra hircus) is an animal that, although of extraordinary usefulness to humans, experiences sharply different levels of acceptance around the world...Goats were domesticated in the Near East from Capra aegagrus, known variously as the Persian wild goat, bezoar goat, or padang...Early Neolithic sites contain evidence of goat keeping from as long as 9,000 years ago. Such dating would seem to make the goat a candidate for the world's oldest domesticated animal.'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 200, Volume One (p. 531-2)
[NOTE: This book contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. It also contains several cites for further research. Your local public librarian can help you find copies.]
'Goat meat is taken from the adults of the species Capra hircus, closely related to sheep...The complement sheep, which prefer grass, and the two animals are often herded together in lands around the Mediterranean and throughout the Middle East and C. Asia. In this area, goat meat and mutton are used interchangeably in cookery, as available...Goats were probably domesticated at about the same time, and in the same region, as sheep; that is, in SW Asia during the 8th millennium BC. Studies of the relative importance of goat and sheep bones at various sites indicate that the goat may initially have been more important as a meat animal. Their remains have been found at neolithic sites in China, and both goat and mutton were eaten in the ancient kingdom of Sumer (Iraq). In India, the Rig-veda mentions goat and sheep as food, and there is also evidence of these animals being eaten by Indus valley civilizations...Goats probably came to Britain in the neolithic and have been present ever since, but were never as important as cattle, sheep, and pigs. In medieval and early modern Britain, goats were kept on steep, scrubby land and used for meat, which was roasted, stewed, or made into pasties and pies up until the start of the 17th century, when it went out of fashion...In contemporary Britain, goat meat finds favour with immigrants from Jamaica, where curried goat, cooked with onions, curry powder, and chillies, is a national festive dish...Roast kid is a festive dish in Mediterranean countries, spit-roast kid being found throughout the Balkans and the Middle East. In this region and in C. Asia goat or kid meat can be used in any recipe for lamb or mutton, although there are relatively few specific recipes for cooking it. Portugal is an exception...Among Asian countries the Philippines stand out as the home of many interesting goat dishes...'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 342)
'Goat, domesticated animal important for its milk and meat. The goat was domesticated in the Near East at the beginning of the Neolithic period. Goats were being kept in Greece and the southern Balkans by 6000 BC. Their milk was used for cheese by 3000 BC, because objects that appear to be cheese-strainers have been found at Thessalian sites of about that date. Goat's milk cheese was surely the commonest kind in classical Greece, and common enough in Roman Italy also.'
---Food in the Ancient World from A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2003 (p. 160)
Bible era goats
Over the years, we've been questioned about the disappearance of goats in the New Testament. We are not biblical scholars but we have a theory: Both goats and lambs were considered fit for sacrificial slaughter in ancient cultures. The Old Testament contains several references to both. Early Christians associated the lamb with Jesus; goats were considered the animal of pagan sacrifices, especially in ancient Rome and Greece. Perhaps disappearance of goat references in the New Testament was a way to separate old and new teachings?
Our books on ancient/classical Babylonian, Greek and Roman cuisine indicate both goat and lamb were consumed. Apicius [1st Century AD] includes several recipes for both. In general, lamb seems to be preferred. Presumably this was due to the fact that domesticated goats were leaner animals primarily kept for dairy products (milk & cheese). Goats were likely killed when old. Meat from older animals is generally tougher and therefore less desirable.
Goat mythology & symbolism
'People of many cultures traditionally performed animal sacrifice as a pious religious act. In much of the ancient world--particularly in the Middle East--goats, lambs, and rams were considered the most appropriate animals for sacrifice...The goat may have been the earliest domesticated food animal. It has also been associated with magico-religious rites from prehistoric times. Scholars have discovered the bones of goats and sheep in Neolithic graves, indicating their use as burial offerings. In later times, the Greeks, Hebrews, Egyptians, and Africans all offered goats and sheep to the deities. The people of Ancient Rome sacrificed goats at the Lupercalia...Pagan rituals throughout Greece and Rome featured goat sacrifice, among them the festivals honoring Hera and Dionysus. The reason for this appears in the myths...The Hebrews as well as the Greeks considered the goat an acceptable sacrifice...The lamb sacrificed to Yahweh enjoyed a more far-reaching symbolism, however, especially when the Christians adopted it as a symbol of Christ. God sacrificed a 'lamb' for the lives of his followers. The life of a lamb for the life of a human being....The Old Testament indicates that God intended goats and rams for sacrifice...Biblical myths often have parallels in pagan beliefs and practices, and many Hebrew traditions were preceded by more ancient Middle Eastern variants. For example, the sacrifice of lambs was practiced long before Passover...Later, the identification of Christ as the sacrificial lamb served this same purpose...The ancient Egyptians sacrificed rams to Ra, their ram-headed sun god. The ram with the golden fleece in the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts symbolized renewal--specifically, the renewal of solar energy. It was this ram, this golden solar ram, that the Christians identified with Jesus.'
---Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, Tamra Andrews [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara] 2000 (p. 103-4)
People have been cooking meats in various sauces and stocks from very ancient times. Why? Theliquid acted as acooking medium, made tough meat more palatable, and added flavor to the dish. Gravies evolvedover time according toingredient availabilty, local tastes, and traditional cuisine. Some are composed of meatdrippings,others from creamycomponents. Today, gravies are typically used as a cooking medium, thickening agent, andtopping. There arehundreds of recipes.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English word 'gravy' is obscure inorigin. It is most likely derivedfrom the Old French word 'grane.' The earliest printed evidence of this word in our languagefrom theForme of Curry, an Englishcookbook circa 1390.
'Gravy. In the British Isles and areas culturally influenced by them, is...well, gravy, a term fullycomprehensible to thosewho use it, but something of a mystery in the rest of the world. Ideally, gravy as made in theBritish kitchen is composedof residues left in the tin after roasting meat, declazed with good stock, and seasoned carefully.(Many cooks incorporatea spoonful of flour before adding the liquid but this practice is frowned on by purists.) Gravyvaries in colour from palegold-brown to burnt umber, and in thickness from something with little more body than water toasubstantial sauce ofcoating consistency. In French meat cookery, jus is roughly equivalent to honestly made thingravy in the Britishtradition...Kitchen tricks involving burnt onions, caramelized sugar, gravy browning', and stockcubes are moderndescendants of this practice. Indeed, numerous gravy mixes' or granules' (dehydragedcompounds of colouringflavourings, and thickeners) are to be had, for use with the meat residue, or in its stead. Yet inmany homes in Britain atrue gravy is still made; and this remains the most delicious accompaniement for the meat fromwhich it comes and anessential feature of the meat dish.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.351)
'The gravy that was eaten in the fourteenth century bears little resemblance to the sludgy brownliquid, as likely as notmade from stock cubes or freeze-dried gravy granules, usually served up in Britain at thebeginning of the twenty-firstcentury. It was a sort of sauce or dressing for white meat or fish, and was made from their brothwith some sort ofthickening agent, typically ground almonds, and spices (the name itself appears to be of OldFrench origin, coming eitherfrom graine, meat', or from grane, an adjective derived from grain in the sense of grain of spice',with in either case amisreading of n for u or v in early manuscripts; the former etymology would relate it to greandeor grenadine, nowobsolete terms for small stuffed fillets of veal or poultry). The Forme of Cury, a latefourteenth-century cookerybook, gives a recipe for oysters in gravy: Shell the blanched oysters, and cooke them in wine andin their own broth;strain the broth through a cloth. Take blanched almonds; grind them and mix them up with thesame broth, and mix itwith rice flour and put the oysters in. Put in powdered ginger, sugar, mace, and salt.' A moreelaborate version of thesauce, known as gravy enforced, was enriched with boiled egg yolks and cheese, while theinferiorgravy bastard seemsto have been made with breadcrumbs rather than ground almonds. The common denominator between this and what we now call 'gravy' is the juice given off bymeat in cooking; andthe critical change between obtaining this in the form of broth, from boiling the meat, and in theform of juices producedby roasting, seems to have taken place in the sixteenth century.'
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford Univeristy Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.148-9)
'Gravy. A sauce, usually flour-based, served with meat, poultry, and other foods...In America'gravy' is a more commonterm than 'sauce' or 'sop' (which may indicate a basting sauce) and has been in print since themiddle of the nineteethcentury. By 1900 the word had metaphoric connotations of money obtained with little or noeffort, so that to be on the'gravy train' was to acquire money gratuitiously, often through political graft.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman] 1999(p. 144)
About biscuits & gravy.
Guinea fowlGuinea-fowl are 'Old World' birds originating on the West coast of Africa. They were known in classical Greece and Ancient Rome. Guinea-fowl were introduced to Europe the first time by conquering Romans. They were re-introduced approximately 1,000 years later by Portuguese traders. Renaissance-era confusion between the guinea fowl and 'New World' turkey was was a matter of understandable linguistic confusion given period context.
About Guinea-fowl
'Guinea fowl, farmyard bird domesticated in prehistoric Africa south of the Sahara. The guinea fowl (unlike the chicken) was familiar in Pharaonic (and later) Egypt. However, the gradual spread westwards in the mid first millennium BC of the chicken, a more amenable and productive species, ensured that the guinea fowl would be a curiosity, rather than a farmyard staple, in classical Greece and Rome. They were 'the latest exotic bird to reach our dinner tables', according to Varro; they were a suitable sacrifice, for poorer worshippers who could not afford a large animal, and the biennial festival for the Egyptian goddess Isis at Tithorea in Phocis, central Greece. Instructions for rearing them are given by Columella, who clearly distinguished between the two major varieties (one of which had in fact originated in northeastern Africa, the other in west Africa). The guinea fowl (Numida Melagris) is Greek and Latin meleagris, Latin also (gallina) Numbidica, Africana.'
---Food in the Ancient World from A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 169-170)
'Guinea-fowl birds are four or five species, all in the family of Numidadae and all indigenous to Africa. Most of them have the speckled or pearl-like plumage which can readily be identified in ancient representations of the bird...In Africa the various species of the guinea-fowl have ranges which collectively extend over the greater part of the continent south of the Sahara. They occupy a wide range of environments from the edges of the desert to savannah plains...and high forests. They have always had a reputation as crop robbers and this habit, bringing them into close contact, albeit of a competitive kind, with humans, may have contributed to their domestication. This probably took place in Africa and is likely to have been associated with the introduction of keeping the domestic hen. Diffusion to Europe first took place from E. Africa, but there was subsequently a strong connection in this respect between Guinea in W. Africa and Portugal, which had a noticeable effect on the vernacular names given to the guinea-fowl in various languages...Guinea-fowl were certainly known in ancient Egypt and in classical Greece and Rome. They appear quite often in Roman mosaics...The classical world was also responsible for the legend which provides the specific name of the guinea-fowl, meleagris. The sisters of Meleager, the prince of Macedon who met an untimely death, are said to have wept so freely that they were transformed by goddesses into the birds, the pearl-like spots on their plumage being the tears. The sisters settled in the island of Leros, off the coast of Caria...The guinea-fowl took part on the Columbian Exchange between the Old World and the New World. Of this there were only three successful animal travelers from Africa to the New World: the ass, the cat, and the guinea-fowl.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 361)
Guinea-fowl in Europe
'The guinea fowl never got down to a common level in the ancient world, unlike the chicken, so when the Roman Empire disappeared, the Guinea went with it. It does not seem to have reappeared until the sixteenth century, when merchants from Portugal, but then in control of Guinea, started selling them in France, where they were first called, gyunettes or poules de Guineee and then, incorrectly, poules de Turquie or poules d'Inde, a name transferred shortly thereafter, with equal inexactitude, to the American turkey. The French naturalist Pierre Belown wrote in 1555 that Guinea fowls 'had already so multiplied in the houses of the nobles that they had become quite common.' This disposes of the often repeated assertion...that it was Catherine de'Medici who introduced the guinea hen to France; actually the bird reached there before the marrying Medicis did. That it was indeed the Portuguese who brought the bird to France is attested to by its name in French today, pintade, from the Portuguese pintada, 'painted,' or in this case, 'sploched,' referring to the round spots which speckle the guinea's plumage...The guinea hen was also appreciated in Italy in Renaissance times; from Africa to Europe it has now spread al over the world.'
---Food (p. 165)
Guinea-fowl in England
'After the Roman occupation domestic fowl became more plentiful. Their remains are often found in poor cave dwellings of the period, as well as the other richer village farms...another Roman practice, the intensive rearing of more delicate birds in special enclosures, is likely to have been adopted when the pheasant, peacock and guinea-fowl were first introduced into the country.' (p. 113) 'Such elaborate [fowl] cuisine was lost to Britain in the invasions and migrations of the fifth century AD. The more exotic birds died out, for they were too delicate to survive without special care. The guinea-fowl disappeared; it was to be more than a thousand years before it returned to Britain again.' (p. 116-117). [Early Modern Period] Guinea-fowl had recently been rediscovered by the Portuguese off the coast of west Africa, brought back to Europe and thence reintroduced to Britain.' (p. 128)
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago IL] 1991
Guinea-fowl in the Far East
'The first [guinea-fowl] to reach the Far East may have been those which Pierre Poivre took to Cohin-China when, in 1749, he was negotiating for the right to open a French trading counter there. Among the presents he gave the king of Cochin-China were some guinea fowl, which according to his account were at that time unknown there.'
---Food (p. 165)
Guinea-fowl in the New World
'In the New World, they seem to have appeared first in Haiti, probably imported along with slaves bought in Guinea. Live poultry was often taken aboard ships, to provide fresh food during long voyages; Africa could not have provided chickens in those days, but it could offer guineas. We may suppose that the surplus birds of the ship's stores, still alive at the end of the trip, were taken ashore.'
---Food (p. 165)
Guinea-fowl (Old World) vs. Turkey (New World): linguistic confusion
'The first Spanish name for turkey was pavo (peafowl) or pavon de las Indias (peafowl of the Indies). The turkey's association with the peafowl was important, for peafowl was by far the most prestigious food bird in Europe...Peafowl were difficult to raise and thus a status symbol in Europe...Adding to the linguistic and zoological imbroglio with the peacock and the turkey, the guinea fowl...was also called pavo by the Spanish and gallo or galle d'India (chicken of India) by the Italians. The bird originated in Africa but was raised in the ancient Mediterranean, where the Greeks named it Meleagris. For unknown reasons it disappeared from Western Europe and was reintroduced during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by Arab or Turkish or perhaps by Portuguese explorers of West Africa. Not as large as the peacock, a guinea cock's tail feathers were not as spectacular either. But guinea fowl were easier to raise, they tasted better, and their small eggs were considered delicacies. Guinea fowl quickly became common barnyard poultry in Europe and later in America, where their popularity continued well into the nineteenth century...It is...not surprising that Europeans confused the turkey, peafowl, and guinea fowl. All three large birds are remotely related through the avian family tree, and their similar physical characteristics meant they were described in similar ways. Without familiarity with all three it would have been difficult for sixteenth-century naturalists to distinguish among them based solely on confusing descriptions. At the time of the initial European encounter with the turkey, world geography was only dimly understood; animals and plants arrived in Europe in massive numbers and without provenance. Then again, all three birds were prepared in similar ways; from a culinary standpoint it didn't matter which was available. Chefs did not begin to distinguish among the three until the end of the sixteenth century.'
---The Turkey: An American Story, Andrew F. Smith [University of Illinois Press:Chicago] 2006 (p. 17-18)
'The guinea-fowl was not unlike a miniaturized version of the turkey in looks and in itsreluctanceto fly, and it seems to have been assumed they belonged to the same family. But although somesources claim that in sixteenth-century England any reference to turkey really meantguinea-fowl,this is not the case. When Archbishop Cramner framed his sumptuary laws of 1541 heclassed turkey-cocks with birds of the size of crane and swan, not--as he would have done withguinea-fowl--with capons and pheasants. At much the same time a certain Sir William Petre waskeeping his table birds alive until wanted in a large cage in is Essex orchard, partridges,pheasants, guinea-hens, turkey hens and such like. '
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 210-211)
'The Guinea-fowl is a native of West Africa which has been domesticated in England since the fifteenth century, when it was known as a Turkey, probably having been first introduced from Turkey. The was before the bird known to-day as a turkey had ever been seen in Europe. When Shakespeare speaks of a turkey, he means a Guinea-fowl. There are various species of Guinea-fowl, but they all have on characteristic in common, they never run to fat and their flesh is naturally dry. They are usually barded or larded and roasted on a spit or in a moderate oven or stewed in a cocotte, but they may be prepared for the table in any way suitable for a chicken. Guinea-fowls' eggs are excellent when boiled seven or eight minutes, that is hard-boiled.'
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace & Company:New York] 1952 (p. 571)
What is ham?
Ham is the cured meat from the hind leg of a pig. 'Curing' is an ancient method of food preservation involvingsalting (brining) and slow smoking. Methods evolved from ancient times foward according to time and place. It took time and experience to achieve a perfect product. Different regions specialized in different processes, giving their products unique flavors. Today's commercial hams generally include chemical additives to enhance color and prolong shelf-life. Sausage, & bacon, which can be made from a variety of meats, are closely related to ham in purpose andpresentation.
'Ham is the hind leg of a pig about the hock joint, cut from the carcass and cured by salting anddrying, and sometimes smoking, so that it will keep for months at room temperature...The firstrecords of hams comes from the classical world. The Romans knew hams made by the Gauls inthe last few centuries BC, cured by brining and smoking. Cato described how, in the 2nd centuryBC, the inhabitants of N. Italy made hams by layering legs of pork with dry salt, followed bydrying and smoking. In medieval times, hams were made all over Europe. Every cottager kept apig, which was killed in autumn and preserved to provide food through winter. Europeans tookpigs and the art of curing meat to the Americas, where several types of ham developed. Anotherarea of expertise in the curing of pork meat is China, especially the region of Yunnan.Combinations of factors such as pig breed, feeding, curing recipe, and storage method gave riseto many varieties of ham...'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 368)
'The statesman Cato gives his own Rome-made ham recipe in his De Agri Cultura, the oldestsurviving complete prose work in Latin. It directs the reader to lay a number of hams in hugeearthenware jars covered with a half peck of Roman salt per ham. The hams are to be left, withoccasional turning, for twelve days, then cleaned off and hung in the fresh air for two furtherdays. They are then rubbed with oil and hung and smoked for two days. Finally, they are ruggedall over with a mixture of oil and vinegar and hung in a meat store where 'neither moths norworm will attack it.' Curing hams can be done with a range of mixtures based primarily on salt,with the addition of sugars and spices, herbs, and oils. Sugar and honey are also powerfulpreservers and they have the added benefit of counteracting the hardening effects of saltpeper.'---Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed theWorld, Sue Shephard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 70)
[NOTE: This book has much more information on your topic. Your librarian can help you find acopy.]
'Jambon--Strictly a ham is a leg of pork, salted and smoked, In current usage, however, the term is also applied tothe shoulder of pig which is cured in the same fashion...In French cookery, the term jambon not only means 'ham' but is also applied to a leg of fresh pork. This cut can be cooked in a great many ways either whole or divided into smaller cuts. It is also used as an ingredient of stuffing and in barious manuractured pork products. So great has been, and still is today,the role of ham and all forms of salt pork in the history of food, that a special Ham Fair is held regularly in Paris...The Ham Fair, which, in former times, was held during the three day preceding Good Friday, and which was then called Foire du lard (the Bacon Fair), was held in the squre in front of Notre Dame...The salting and smoking of prok to produceham is of French origin. It was, in fact, the Gauls, whtreat devotees of pig meat and very efficient pig-breeders, who first becamerenowned for the salting, smoking and curing of the various cuts of pork. At that time, France was covered with immense forests in which innumerable herds of pigs wandered, feeding on the vegetation without cost to the Gauls for whom they were avaluable asset. Such was the skill of the Gauls in the curing of hams that they became suppliers of ham to Rome...This, according to reliabledocumentary evidence, is how the Gauls cured their hams: After salting them, they subject them for two days to the smoke of certain selected woods. Then they rubbed them with oil and vinegar and hung them up, to dry and preserve them. The Gauls ate hameither at the beginning of a meal to sharpen their appetites or tat the end to induce thirst...A great many different kinds of salt and smoked ham are obtainable in France. Almost every region has its own local ham.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown Publishing:New York] 1961 (p. 480)
'In French law, genuine ham comes only from the upper thigh and haunch of the pig...Shoulderham, meat from the shoulder cured in the same way, is not strictly speaking ham at all...But inactual fact ham, which we might expect to be the most straightforward kind of charcuterie, is aprime example of the traps that lie in wait for the consumer, who should beware and read thelabels carefully, always supposing there are any: the absence of certain terms is a confession ofsome legal or gastromonic omission....There are two kinds of ham: cooked ham (boiled, andcalled blanc in France):...and uncooked ham (dried and smoked).'
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes & NobleBooks:New York] 1992 (p. 417)
Recommended reading: Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery/Jane Grigson
Related food? SPAM.
'Picnic Shoulder.
In Fresh Pork: The Picnic Shoulder which is the lower portion of the shoulder, looks like a small freshham, oval at one end and squared off at other. It may be roasted or braised whole, or it may be boned androlled, or boned and stuffed and then roasted or braised. In Smoked Pork: The Smoked Picnic Shoulder issimilar to fresh picnic shoulder except for characteristics due to smoking. It may be baked or simmereduntil tender.'
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, completely revised edition [Farrar & Rinehart:New York] 1944 (p. 245)
[1953]
'Ham Butt, Shank, or Picnic Ham or Cali
Use these comparatively inexpensive cuts of ham for New England Boiled Dinner. Cook the ham until is isnearly tender. Add the vegetables and cook until tender.'
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill Company:Indianapolis] 1953 (p. 373)[NOTE: there is no mention of picnic hams in the 1946 edition of this book.]
[1944: filing date for the original US patent application, granted 1952]
'June 3, 1952 H. j. Hoenselaar 2,599,328 SLICED MEAT JOINT SUCH AS HAM AND METHOD OF SLICING SAME Original Filed Sept. 7, 1944, INVENTOR. //arry J. Hoense/aar Patented June 3, 1952 2,599,328 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3,599,328, SLICED MEAT JOINT SUCH AS HAM AND METHOD OF SLICING SAME Harry J. Hoenselaar, Detroit, Mich., Original application September 7,1944, Serial No. 552,966. Divided and this application April 9, 1949, Serial No. 86,494 8 Claims. (Cl. 99107) This invention relates to the slicing of meat, to apparatus for slicing meat, and to hams and other joints of meat in a new form. The invention will be described with particular relation to the slicing of a ham but it will be understood by butchers that there are many other joints of meat which can be sliced with equal facility by this apparatus. In the meat industry there is a large market for sliced meats, particularly for ham slices, but the bone construction and the shape of a ham is such that no wholly satisfactory method of slicing it exists. This statement also applies to legs of lamb and other like cuts of meat. It is an object of the invention to provide a method and a machine for slicing ham and other joints, which are of exceptional efficiency in operation. Another object of the invention is to prepare ham for the market in a new and superior form. The invention contemplates mounting the ham upon its leg bone, turning the ham about its leg bone as an axis, and slicing it as it turns. The invention includes the sliced joints which are produced by this process. The invention also includes the apparatus for accomplishing the process and producing the product. The objects of the invention as to apparatus are accomplished generally speaking by a machine which has means to grip the ham for rotation about its axis, means to rotate it, means to slice it as it turns, and means whereby the slicing may be made continuous. In the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals denote like parts, is diagrammatically shown an apparatus capable of carrying out the process, a ham before slicing, and a ham in the new form. It is to be understood that this apparatus is illustrative, not a limitation.'
---Source: US Patent & Trademark Office
[NOTE: Harry J. Hoenselaar was the founder of the Honeybaked Ham Company originally located in Detroit, Michigan.]
[1952]
'An alliance that would be welcome by any householder who has tried to carve a ham is protected by Patent 2,599,328, granted to Harry J. Hoenselaar of Detroit. Actually for packers' use, this machine turns the ham about the leg bone as an axis and slices as it turns. At the end the meat is still in place, but is in a continuous slice which, with care, can be unwound.'
---'Device Helps Forgetful TV Actor Keeps Commericals From Straying,' Stacy V. Jones, New York Times, June 7, 1952 (p. 28)
[NOTE: The headline device is now known as a teleprompter!]
[1957]
US Trademark registration
Word Mark THE HONEYBAKED HAM COMPANY EST. 1957 AUTHENTIC SPIRAL SLICED Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: [ paper goods, namely, cups, napkins and plates ]. FIRST USE: 19950100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19950100......Serial Number 74648961 Filing Date March 20, 1995 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1B Published for Opposition October 8, 1996 Change In Registration CHANGE IN REGISTRATION HAS OCCURRED Registration Number 2026371 Registration Date December 31, 1996 Owner (REGISTRANT) HBH Limited Partnership composed of HBH, Inc. a Delaware corporation LIMITED PARTNERSHIP MICHIGAN 11935 Mason-Montgomery Road Suite 200 Cincinnati OHIO 452499897 Attorney of Record J. David Mayberry Prior Registrations 1384504;1519978;1553044;1861924;1883717;AND OTHERS Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE 'HAM COMPANY', 'AUTHENTIC SPIRAL SLICED' and 'EST. 1957' APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN Type of Mark TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)-IN PART Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). PARTIAL SECTION 8(10-YR) 20070609. Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20070609 Live/Dead Indicator LIVE Distinctiveness Limitation Statement as to 'THE HONEYBAKED HAM COMPANY'
[1968]
Earliest print reference we find in a major USA newspaper
'Spiral-Sliced Honey Baked Hams are the best in all the Word' says sportscaster Jim Healy....And Now Honey Baked Hams are Available for the First Time in the West. Jim Healy eats Honey Baked Ham and he sends them to all his friends. Doun't you wish you were a friend of Jim Healy's? Honey Baked Hams are smoked-cured for 30 hours over Hickory and Applewood chips. Honey-glazed with imported slices and herbs--spiral sliced (the only ham that is) for easy, gracious serving. HONEY BAKED HAMS will haunt you 'till the last slice is gone. Take it from Jim Healy! Order Honey Baked Ham for Yourself and Friends on Your Christmas List. Supply is Limited! Order Now. Phone: (714) 635-2461 collect. All hams delivered within 24 hours. Honey Baked Hams, 1222 South Brookhurst Boulevard, Anaheim, California.'
---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, December 8, 1968 (p. D2)
[1969]
'For a perfect Labor Day dinner, Fabulous Spiral Sliced Honey Baked Ham (so good it will Haunt you til it's Great!)...because we planned it that way. By using only fresh hams from Iowa's corn-fed porkers--our slow dry curing method, real Wisconsin hickory and applewood smoking, 30-hour oven baking, honey 'n spice glazed. So delicious and appetizing we just wouldn't know how to improve this product we've been making for the past 34 years. Spiral sliced too, from top to bottom for easy removal of slices, yet retains 'whole ham' appearance for serving. Every slice the same delectable thickness. Completely baked and ready to serve. Order you Honey Baked Ham today. An adventure in hamjoyment you'll never forget. Three sizes: aprx. 11 lbs, $16.50; aprx. 12 lbs, $18.00; aprx 13 lbs, $19.50.'
---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, August 17, 1969 (p. I54)
[1972]
'The many ham lovers in Chicago are giving a warm welcome that originated in Detroit. It's Honey Baked Ham, conveniently spiral sliced around the center bone by a patented method. A honey-spice glaze keeps the slices sealed together until a easy touch of the knife slips through the glaze to open and release the slices. Every slice is uniform. No chunks, now waste. A real time-saver for the busy housewife. The ham itself is lean and flavory--a choice Iowa ham that has been dry-cured, hickory and applewood smoked and oven baked for 30 hours. Being a drier, completely baked hams from 6 to 8 pounds, less salt. Sold in whole hams from 12 to 16 pounds, and half hams from 6 to 8 pounds. The hams are processed exclusively by the Honey Baked Ham Company, who has a retail outlet and pickup stations in Chicago and suburbs. Call 588-4237 for more information.'
---'Good News for Ham Lovers,' Chicago Daily Defender, November 2, 1972 (p. 28)
[1978]
'World famous Honey Baked Hams are processed from properly finished prime young porkers fed on corn. Slow cured with the finest curing agents obtainable, the Honey Baked Ham. Co. is generous with expensive imported spices, dry rubbing and dry curing its ham in a costly process to bring out a wonderful nut-like flavor, according to their spokesman. Properly trimmed before smoking allows for better penetration of smoke aroma as every ham is checked several times with an internal thermometer to positively assure complet ebaking right to the bone. During this long process, real hickory and applewood chips, sprinkled with spice buds and herbs, send up filtered smoke to penetrate every fiber with an unforgetable flavor. Honey Baked Hams is the inventor of the Spiral Sliced Ham. The company developed this patented method of slicing the meat around and around the bone in a spiral manner so the slices remain in place. Any cut made lengthwise releases the slices. Everything can be prepared to take out. Honey Baked Hams can be sent as a gift to a next door neighbor or to anyone in the continental United States. Call early for Christmas delivery. Visit a Honey Baked Hame store in La Habra, El Toro, Anaheim, Corona del Mar, Orange or Rancho Mirage.'
---'Honey Baked' Slow-cured hams make ideal gift,' Los Angeles Times, November 14, 1978 (p. OCD5)
[1983]
'Honey Baked Ham. Only one ham is smoked our old-fashioned way for some 30 hours over a blend of real hickory and applewood chips, sprinkled with rare spice buds and herbs. Only one is spiral sliced for serving convenience by our unique process. And only one is glazed with our blend of expensive, imported spices and honey. That one is the original Honey Baked Ham. One taste is all it takes. It makes an especially appreciated gift for the holiday, and we'll ship our hams across town or across the country. To clients, associates, friends or family. Gift certificates are also availalble and redeemable at each location. For Easter we suggest you place your order well in advance because the demand for Honey Baked Hams peaks during this period.'
---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1983 (p. T20)
[NOTE: underneath the Honey Baked Ham logo there is this line: 'established 1925 by H. Hoenselaar.']
[1985]
'Over 30 years of expereience guarantees the quality you'll find only at your HoneyBaked store.'
---Display Ad, Los Angeles Times, December 19, 1985 (p. K50)
[1992]
'Hoenselaar died in 1974, 18 years after inventing the spiral slicer in his basement from a hub cap, his wife's kitchen broom stick, a butcher's knife and a power drill motor from Sears. In 1957 he opened Honeybaked Ham Co. selling the spiral sliced hams with his still-secret honey-spice glaze. His four daughters, Mary Jayne Schmidt, JoAnn Kurz, Carol Farbolin and Sue McHugh eventually took over the reins and began rapid, nationwide expansion in 1979. Honeybaked now has more than 210 stores in 34 states. Twenty more stores are planned for 1993. In the back of each store, hams are hickory smoked, glazed and sliced fresh daily. The four sisters now compose the board of directors of the Harry Hoenselaar Trust, which oversees all Honeybaked operations. As their children come of age, many are joining the family business. While the third generation respects the accomplishments of its parents, Kurz and Anderson say times have changed and so must the company. The patent for the spiral slicer expired in 1981, opening the floodgates of competitors selling spiral sliced ham, many with some kind of honey glaze.'
---'At Honeybaked, Hamming it up is Family Matter,' Julia Prodis, Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), December 24, 1992
[1993]
'da Vinci gave us Mona Lisa, Beethoven gave us The Ninth, and Harry J. Hoenselaar gave the world Honey Baked Ham. Hey, some people do great things with their lives. Take Harry J. Hoenselaar for instance. Back in '57 he opened a small store in Detroit, Michigan, and introduced the world to the unbeatable and unique taste of Honey Baked Ham. Specially selected, smoked, slow-cooked up to 30 hours, spiral-sliced and glazed. Harry didn't know it, but he created a ham for all seasons. Still a family owned business, HoneyBaked brand ham is the most imitated ham in America. But don't be fooled. There's only one. And you won't find it at the supermarket. You'll only find in at a HoneyBaked store. Which is exactly how Harry would have wanted it.'
---Display ad, New York Times, April 4, 1993 (p. LI 10)
[1994]
'It all began with a slicer that trims meat spirally to the bone. HoneyBaked Ham founder Harry J. Hoenselaar patented the machine 37 years ago in Detroit. When meat companies wouldn't buy it, he cooked up the next best thing: a hickory-smoked ham dipped in a secret family recipe. It is now sold in 250 stores in 35 states, including nine in northeast Ohio. The number of stores nationally has doubled in 10 years, and, according to President S. George Kurz, the founder's son-in-law, thoughts have turned to going international. The third-generation family-owned firm is based in Cincinnati, where it moved from Fairlawn eight years ago to be more centrally located. The second store was in Parma, where Kurz, an ex-pharmacist, and his wife, JoAnn, a former dental hygienist, opened the company's second store in 1966. There are now 20 Kurz family members in the business. Pre-cooked gourmet hams, wrapped in gold and silver foil and opened for customer inspection before buying, represent 90 percent of the business. More than half is during the fourth-quarter holidays, according to retail marketing manager Colleen Harris. 'The product has stood the test of time,' Kurz said. 'It has always remained the entire focus of our company.'...HoneyBaked Foods Inc., a direct-mail division in Toledo, began in 1984. Products are delivered nationally from orders placed by mail or phone...Despite developing several offshoots, the company's bread and butter is still glazed ham. A 7- to 8-pound half ham sells for $35 to $40; whole hams weigh 13 to 15 pounds for $60 to $65. The core product has thrived for nearly four decades because of consistency, Kurz said. 'By not tinkering with the recipe,' he said, 'the way we glaze the product - all the things the consumer experienced in 1957 is the same experience they get today.'
---'Ham for the Holidays Honeybaked Profits Spiral Sweetly Since its Founding,' Plain Dealer [Cleveland, OH], December 21, 1994
Brawn has two meanings. On the simplest level, the word means a wild boar. The word is also used todenote a preserved (collared, potted) gelatinous spiced meat product. The connection? The original recipe was made from the head of a wild boar. As time progressed, hog, pig and calf's heads were substituted.Food historians place the genesis of brawn (the recipe) in Medieval Europe. It was served on holiday tables, mostnotably Christmas. Boar's Head is a related tradition. Literature confirmsBrawn was served cold, at the beginning of the meals, with mustard.
'Head cheese' is an American term for brawn dating to the mid 19th century. The head connection is obvious from the primaryingredient. The 'cheese' speaks to the fact this product is pressed (similar to making cheese from fresh curds), sliced and served cold. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest print reference for 'head cheese' is this American reference, circa 1841:'1841 Southern Lit. Messenger 7 39/2 The animal..may be traced in the stewed chine and souse, the head cheese and sausages.'A careful examination of American cookbooks reveals alternative monikers, including pork cheese and presssed head.
Who ate head cheese?
Up until the 20th century, animal heads were common fare of the middle and upper classes. They were featured in soups,stews, and various made dishes. The meat was considered a delicacy because of its rich, fatty content. Head cheese and brawnwere considered holiday fare because of the complexity of preparation and festive presentation.Recipes for brawn and head cheese evolved according to taste, place, and technology.
'Culinarily, brawn is a preserved preparation of pig meat, particularly from the animal's head, that is boiled, chopped up finely, and then pressed into a mould (the American term for it is head cheese). The word has a fairly involved history, which starts and finishes in the kitchen but goes far afield in between. To begin at the beginning, its prehistoric Germanic ancestor was bradon, a word related to German braten, 'roast', which meant something like 'part suitable for roasting'. Often enough it would have been used with reference to an animal's hind leg, and by the time it was adopted by Old French as braon it had come to mean just that. It when broadened out to cover any fleshy or muscular part; that was its meaning when English acquired it via Anglo-Norman braun in the Fourteenth century. English took it back to the table, first as any 'meat', then as 'pig meat', and finally (apparently around the eighteenth century) in the specific modern sense of a sort of meat loaf of pork spare parts.'
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 40-41)
'Brawn, a moulded, jellied cold meat preparation, usually made from a pig's head, but also sometimes from a sheep or ox head or, in some parts of Britain, rabbit. The meat is lightly cured in brine, then boiled until it can be trimmed and boned. The essential feature of brawn is that it is made of gelatinous meat, such as is furnished by a head, so that when the meat is cooked the rich broth extracted from it can be boiled down to make the jelly in which the coarsely chopped meat is set. Brawn is usually moulded in a cylindrical shape, like a cheese; hence the American name 'head cheese'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition edited by Tom Jaine [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2006 (p. 95)
'Another British specialty was brawn made of the head and foreparts of a boar or pig. Richer and fattier than the hams, it was regarded as a delicacy for the medieval feast, and by Tudor times it have become fare for the twelve days of Christmas. In the thirteenth century it appeared in the last course of the meats, along with the game birds and spicery. It was also sometimes incorporated with vinegar, pepper, and other spices in a rich pottage called 'brawn en perverde'; or was sliced and served in a thick spiced syrup of wine with honey or sugar...By the end of the fourteenth century 'brawn en peverade' or simple brawn with mustard had become first-course dishes.'
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 88-89)
[15th century]
'Brawn in comfyte (Boar in confit).
Take Fersh Boar & seethe it enoguh, & pare it & grind it in a mortar, & mix it with Almond milk, & draw it through a strainer into a pot, & cast thereto Sugar enough, & powder of Cloves, & let boil; then take flour of Cinnamon, & powder of Ginger; & then take it out of thhe pot, and put it in a linen cloth & press it, but let it boil so long in the pot till it is all thick; then take it up & press it on a cloth, & then cut it fair with a knife, but not too thin; & then if thou will, thou might take the Ribs of the baor all bare, & set them endlong through the slices, and so serve forth a slice ortwo in every dish.'
---Take a Thousand Eggs or More: A Collection of 15th Century Recipes, Cindy Renfrow, 2nd edition, Volume 1 1998 (p. 145)
[NOTE: This book offers a second recipe for Brawne in confit and a modernized recipe for today's kitchens.]
[16th century]
'Brawn. A boned confection of boar's meat or pig's head, always eaten cold in the shape of a Galantine. Brawn figures on most 'meat' days, in the accounts of the Lords of theStar Chamber, from 1534 to 1590, either as 'collars' or 'rounds' of brawn, or simply as brawn...so much. The money spent on Brawn varied from 3s. 4d. to 13s. 4d. per day. Accordingto Wynken de Word's Boke of Kervynge, Brawn used to be served at the very beginning of the meal; 'Fyrste sette ye for the mustarde and brawne' (Furnivall's Early EnglishMeals and Manners, 1868, p. 156). This is confirmed by John Russell, in his Boke of Nurture: 'Furst set for the mustard and brawne of boore ye wild swyne.' (Idem, p. 48).'
---A Consice Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 415)
'The details of brawn preparation were first made public in Elizabeth's reign by William Harrison. He described brawn as 'a great piece of service at the table from November untl Frebruary be ended, but chiefly in the Christmas time...It is made commonly of the forepart of a tame boar....'
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 88-89)
[1682]
'To Coller and Sowce Brawn.
Your Brawn being scalded and boned, of each side you may make three handsom Collers, the neck Coller, the sheald Coller, and so the side or flank Collar; if your Brawn be very fat, you maymake also the gammon Coller behind, otherwise boyl it and sowce it; this being watered two Days, shidted three or four times a Day, and still kept scraped, then wash it out, and squeeze out the blood, and dry it withcloaths; when it is very dry, sprinkle on Salt; so begin at the belly, and wind it up into Collers; but in case you can, store more flesh in the flanck, or in the Coller, you may cut it out of the other places where there istoo much, or from the Gammon; this being bound up, as you will bind up a Trunk, and with all the strength that can be obtained, put in your Furnace or Copper; when it boyles, scum it; you must be careful it be keptfull of liquor, and continually scummed for the space of six hours, then try it with a Wheatstraw if it be very tender, cool your Boyler by taking away your Fire, and filling of it constantly with cold water; so shall your Brawn be white; but if it stands, or settles in its liquor, it will be black; then take up your Brawn, and set it up on the end, on a Board, your Sowce drink ought to be beerbrewed on purpose; but if it be of the House Beer, then boyl a Pan of Water, throw therein a Peck of Wheaten Bran and let it boyl, strain it thorough a hair Sieve, and throw in two handfuls ofSalt, so mix it with your Beer aforesaid, and sowce your Brawn therein; you make take half of Peck of white flower of Oatmeal, and mix it with some liquor, and run it through your hair Sieve, and it will cause yoursowce to be White: Milk and Whey is used in this case; but your Milk will not keep so long; you may put both, in the boyling thereof; it will cause it to boyle white; keep your sowse Broawn close covered, and when it begins to be four, you may renew it at your pleasure, with adding fresh liquor.'
---The Whole Body of Cookery Dissected, William Rabisha, facsimile 1682 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 2003 (p. 76-77)
[Note: 'Sowse' means pickling in brine.]
[1753]
'To Collar a Calf's Head.
Take a calf's head with the skin and hair upon it; scald it to fetch off the hair; parboil it, but not too much; ten get it clean from the bones while it is hot; you must slit it in the forepart; season it withpepper, salt, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and sweet-herbs, shred small, and mix'd together with the yoks of three or four eggs; spread it over the head, and roll it up hard. Boil it gently for three hours,in just as much water as will cover it; when it is tender it is boiled enought. If you do the tongue, first boil it and peel it, and slice it in thin slices, and likewise the palate, putting them and the eyes in the inside of the head before your foll it up. When the head is taken out, season the pickle with salt, pepper, and spice, and gie it a boil, adding to it a pint of white wine, and as much vinegar. When it is cold, put in thecollar; and when you use it, cut it in slices.'
---The Compleat Housewife, E. Smith, facsimile 1753 edition [T.J. Press Ltd.:London] 1968 (p. 44-45)
[1840]
'Pork Cheese
TAKE the heads, tongues, and feet of young fresh pork, or any other pieces that are convenient. Having removed the skin, boil them till the meat is quite tender, and can be easily stripped from the bones. Then chop it small, and season it with salt and black pepper to your taste, and if you choose, some beaten cloves. Add sage-leaves and sweet marjoram, minced fine, or rubbed to powder. Mix the whole very well together with your hands. Put it into deep pans, with straight sides, (the shape of a cheese,) press it down hard and closely with a plate that will fit the pan; putting the under side of the plate next to the meat, and placing a heavy weight on it. In two or three days it will be fit for use, and you may turn it out of the pan. Send it to table cut in slices, and use mustard and vinegar with it. It is generally eaten at supper or breakfast.'
---Directions for Cooking in its Various Branches, Eliza Leslie
[1844]
'Pressed Head.
Boil the several parts of an entire head, and the feet, in the same way as for souces. All must be boiled so perfectly tender as to have the meat easily separate from the bones. After neatly separated,chop the meat fine, while warm, seasoning with salt, and pepper, and other spices to taste. Put it in a stron bag, and, placing a weight on it, let it remain until cold. Or put it in any convenient dish, placinga plate with a weight on it, to press meat. Cut it in slices, and fry in lard.'
---The Improved Housewife or Book of Receipts, Mrs. A. L. Webster, 5th edition, revised [stereotyped by Richard H. Hobbs:Hartford CT] 1844 (p. 44)
[NOTE: The serving note suggests scrapple.]
[1845]
'Calf's Head Brawn. Author's Receipt.
Take half of a fine large calf's head with the skin on, will best andswer for this brawn. Take out the brains, and bone it entirely, or et the butcher to do this; rub a little fine salt over, and leave it to drain for twn or twelve hours; next wipe it dry, and rub it well in every part with thre quarters of an ounce of saltpetre finely powdered (orwiht an ounce should the head be very large) and mixed with four ouncesof common salt, and three of bay-salt, also beaten fine; turn the head daily in this pickle for four or five days, rubbing it a little each time;and then pour over it four ounces of treacle, and continue to turnit every day, and baste it with the brine very frequently for a month. Hang it up for a night to drain, fold it into brown paper, and send it to be smoked where wood only is burned, from three to four weeks. When wanted for table, wash and scrape it very clean, but do not soak it; lay it, with the rind downwards, into a saucepan or stewpan, which will hold it easily; cover it well with coldwater, as it will swell considerably in the cooking; let it heat rather slowly, skim it thoroughly with it first begins to simmer, and boil it as gently as possible from an hour and three qurarters to a couple ofhours or more, should it not then be perfectly tender quite through; for unless sufficently boiled, the skin, which greatly resembles brawn, will be unpleasantly tough when cold. When the fleshy side of the head is done, which will be twenty minutes or half an hour sooner than the outside, pour the water from it, leaving so much only in the stewpan as will just cover the gelatinous part, and simmer it until this is thoroughly tender. The head thus cured is very highly flavoured, and most excellent teating. The recipe for it is entirely new, having originated with ourselves. We give the reader, in addition, the result of our first experimentwith it, which was entirely successful:--'A calf's head, not very large, without the skin, pickles with three ounces of common salt, two of bay-salt, half an ounce of salt petre, one ounce ofbrown sugar, and half an ounce of pepper, left four days; then three ounces of treacle added, and the pickling continued for a month; smoked nearly as long, and boiled between one hour and a half, andtwo hours.' The pepper was omitted in our second trial, because it did not improve the appearance of the dish, although it was an advantage in point of flavour. Juniper-berries mgiht, we thik be added with advantage, when they are liked; and cayenne tied in a muslin might supply the place of the pepper. It is an infinite improvement to have the skin of the head left on.'
---Modern Cookery for Private Families, Eliza Acton, facsimile 1845 edition with an introduction by Elizabeth Ray [Southover Books:East Sussex] 1994, 2002 (p. 192-193)
[1846]
'Head Cheese.
Boil in salted water the ears, skin, and feet of pigs till the meat drops from the bones; chop it like sausage meat. Season the liquor with pepper, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, or with pepper, salt, and sweet herbs, mix the meat with it, and while hot tie it in a strong bag and keep a heavy stone upon it until quite cold.'
---Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book, Catharine Beecher
[1847]
'Head Cheese.--Having thoroughly cleaned a hog's head or pig's head, split it in two with a sharp knife, take out the eyes, take out the brains, cut off the ears, and pour scaldingwater over them and the head, and scrape them clean. Cut off any part of the nose whcih may be discolored so as not to be be scraped clean; then rinse all in cold water, and put it into a large kettle with hot(not boiling) water to cover it, and set the kettle (having covered it) over the fire; let it boil gently taking off the scum as it rises; when boiled so that the bones leave the meatreadily, take it from the water with a skimmer into a large wooden bowl or tray, take from it every particle of bone; chop the meat small and season to taste with salt and pepper, and if liked, a little chopped sageor thyme; spread a cloth in a cullender or sieve; set it in a deep dish, and put the meat in, then fold the cloth closely over it, lay a weight on which may press equally the whole surface, (a sufficently large plate will serve.) let the weight be more or less heavy, according as you may wish the cheese to be fat or lean; a heavy weight by pressing out the fat, will of course leave the cheese lean. When cold, take the weight off; take it from the cullender or sieve, scrape off whatever fat may be found on the outside of the cloth, and keep the cheese in a cloth in a cool place, to be eaten sliced thin, with or without mustard, and vinegar, or catsup. After the water is cold in which the head was boiled, take off the fat from it, and whatever may havedrained from the sieve, or cullender, and cloth; put it together in some clean water, give ti one boil; then strain it through a cloth, and set it to become cold; then takeoff the cake of fat. It is fit for any use.'
---Mrs. Crowen's American Lady's Cookery Book, Mrs., T. J. Crowen [Dick & Fitzgerald:New York] 1847 (p. 97)
[NOTE: This book also offers recipes for head cheese made from beef & calf.]
[1869]
'Hogs' Head Cheese
Take off the ears and noses of four heads, and pick out the eyes, and lay them in salt and water all night; then wash and put them on to boil; take out the bones carefully, chop and season them well, and pack it in bowls; they will turn out whole, and may be eaten cold with vinegar, or fried as sausage.'
---Domestic Cookery, Elizabeth Ellicot Lea
[1870]
'Brawn.
Take the lower half of a pig's face, the feet and ears, rub them well with salt, let them remain so a week or ten days. Salt beef tongue the same way, for the same time. Then let the face, ears, and feet boil half an hour in water enough to cover them; take them out and clean them thoroughly, then put them back with the tongue also, and boil for three hours, or until the meat will slip from the bones. Then take it off, remove the bone, cut the meat in small pieces, the tongue into thin slices; mix all together and season with plenty of pepper, a little ground allspice, &c. Then put it into a mold in layers of fat and lean, press it down with a spoon, add a little liquor from the saucepan, put a heavy weight on the top, and let it stand till next morning, when it is ready to turn out and send to table. It can be sent with a piece of white paper fastened round and served, if desired, with a little sauce of mustard vinegar, and brown sugar. The beef tongue makes it much nicer, though some omit it, merely chopping the pig's tongue with the face, ears and feet.'
---Jenny June's Cookery Book, Jane Croly
[1875]
'Brawn.
Prepare a hog's head, by cutting off the ears, taking out the brains, and cleaning generally; rub in plenty of salt and let it drain a whole day and night. Rub in two ounces of saltpetre and the same quantityof salt, and let it stand for three days. Next, put the head and salt into a pan and cover it with water for two days. Now, wash it well from the salt, and boil till the bones can be easilyremoved. Extract these and take off the skin of the head and tongue carefully. Chop up the meat into bits, but do not mince it, and season with pepper, salt and shallot to taste. Place the skin of one-half of the head into a pan, closely fitting it, and press into it the chopped lead and tongue. When this is done, take the other skin and lay it cleverly in place, or put the other skin in thepan and proceed as before, and turn out when cold. Should the head be too fat, add some lean pork. For a sauce, boil a pint of vinegar with a quart of the liquor in which the head wa boiled, and two ounces of salt, and pour over the brawn when the liquor is cold. The hair should be carefully removed from the ears, and they must be boiled till tender, then divided into long narrow pieces and mixed with the meat. Time to boil,from two to three hours. Probable cost for a pig's head, 5d. per pound.'
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cooking with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 75)
[NOTE: This book also offers two 'another way' brawn reicpes, Mock Brawn (made from the bladeboan of a large hog or boar, not the head), Brawn Sauce and Sussex Brawn.]
[1881]
'Head cheese, 10 cents per pound.'
---'Features of the Markets: Prices asked for Provisions,' New York Times, November 27, 1881
[1887]
'Head Cheese.
Boil the forehead, ears and feet, and nice scraps trimmed from the hams of a fresh pig, until the meat will almost drop from the bones. Then separate the meat from the bones, put it in a large chopping-bowl, and season with pepper, salt, sage and summer savory. Chop it rather coarsely; put it back into the same kettle it was boiled in, with just enough of the liquor in which it was boiled to prevent its burning; warm it through thoroughly, mixing it well together. Now pour it into a strong muslin bag, press the bag between two flat surfaces, with a heavy weight on top; when cold and solid it can be cut in slices. Good cold, or warmed up in vinegar.'
---White House Cook Book, Fanny Gillette
[1909]
'Brawn, To Make.
Ingredients.--To a pig's head weighing 6 lbs. allow 1 1/2 lbs. of lean beef, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt, 2 teaspoonfuls of pepper, in a little cayenne, 6 pounded cloves. Method:--Cut off the cheeks and saltthem, unless the head be small, when all may be used. After carefully cleaning the head, put it on a sufficent cold water to cover it, with the beef, and skim it just before it boils. A head weighing 6 lbs.will require from 2 to 3 hours. When sufficiently boiled to come off the bones easily, put it into a hot pan, remove the bones, and chop the meat with a sharp knife before the fire, together with the beef. It is necessary to do this as quickly as possible to prevent the fat settling in it. Sprinkle in the seasoning, which whould have been previously mxed. Stir it well, and put it quickly into a brawn-tin, a cake-tin, or mould will answer the purpose, if the meat is well pressed with weights, which must not be removed for several hours. When quite cold, dip the tin into boiling water for a minuteor two, and the preparation will turn out and be fit for use. The liquore in which the head was boiled wil make a good pea soup, and the fat, if skimmed off and boiled in water, and afterwards poured into cold water, answers the purpose of lard. Time.--from 2 to 3 hours. Average Cost, for a pig's head, 5d. per lb.'
---Mrs. Beeton's Every-Day Cookery, New Edition [Ward, Lock & Co.:London] 1909 (p. 216)
[1936]
'Calf's Head Brawn
The remains of a Calf's Head
Cold Ham or Bacon
1 grated Lemon Rind
1/2 pint Stock
1/4 teaspoon Ground Mace
2 hard-boiled Eggs
1 teaspoonful minced Parsley
1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/8 teaspoonful Ground Cloves
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Utensils--Saucepan, mould, knife, teaspoon, pint or gill measure, grater, basin, wooden spoon.
To every pound of calf's head meat allow 1/2 lb. cold ham or bacon. Cut the meat into dice, and slice the hard-boiled eggs. Butter a large mould, and arrange some of the slices of egg in the bottom. Mix together the parsley, lemon rind, and all the seasonings. Cover the bottom of the mould with a layer of diced meat, then arrange a few slices of eggs on top. Cover with another layer of meat, and so on till the mould is full. Heat the jellied stock, which should consist of the liquor from the calf's head reduced to a thick jelly, pour over the mould until full. Cover with a buttered paper, and bake in a slow oven for about 2 hours. Add a little more hot stock, as soon as you take the mould from the oven. Leave till cold and set. When required, turn the brawn out, and garnish it with parsley or chervil, and serve with potato or Russian salad.'
---Cookery and Household Management, Elizabeth Craig [Odhams Press Ltd.:London] 1936 (p. 49-50)
[1938]
'Head Cheese
Materials
42 lbs. cooked cured snouts
42 lbs. cooked pork cheeks
16 lbs. cooked pork skins
3 lbs. onions or 1 1/2 oz. of onion powder or 10 oz. onion juice
Seasoning
1 oz. thyme
1/2 oz. ground cloves
1/2 oz. ground celery seed
2 oz. nutmeg
6 oz. white pepper
3 oz.salt
Cook each kind of meat separately in nets, at 160-170 degs. F. until tender. Grind skins through 1/8-in. plate and snouts and cheeks through 1-in.plate or head cheese cutter. Scald all meats thoroughly to remove grease and put them in a box truck. Add seasoning ingredients and enough gelatine solution to secure desiredconsistency. Gelatine solution is made by dissolveing 1 lb. commercial gelatine in 6 to 7 lbs. of water, to which a little salt, sugar and vinegar my be added to take away the flattaste. Stuff mixture in hog bungs, stomachs or artificial casings. If in hog stomachs, use a skewer and twine for tying large openings in the stomach. Product is cooked for 1 1/2 hours, at 170-175 degs. and then laid on boards for 30 mins. Puncture stomach once at high point and turn over to prevent juice running out. Shower with hot water and chill thoroughly. If packaged in artificalcasings, cook 45 to 60 mons. at 155 degs. F. Chill in cold water. Head cheese can be processed in containers to give a square loaf, if desired. If filled in tins, wooden covers can be placed on tins to serve ascutting parts with head cheese is removed for sale.'
---Sausage and Meat Specialties, Part 3, The Packer's Encyclopedia [National Provisioner:Chicago IL] 1938 (p. 173-174)
[NOTE: This book also offers recpes for Tongue Head Cheese, Blood Head Cheese, and Souse or Head Cheese.]
[1959]
'Head Cheese
Hominy and hogshead cheese are musts for Christmas and New Year's breakfast in Charleston, South Carolina
1 pig's or calf's head
1 large onion, quartered
4 whole cloves
6 celery tops
4 sprigs parsely
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
12 peppercorns
2 tsp. salt
Cayenne pepper
Sage
Nutmeg (optional)
Clean head, removing snout and reserving tongue and brains. Scrub well and place in large kettle. Cover with water; add onion, stuck wtih cloves, and tongue. Tie celery, parsley, carrot, bayleaf and peppercorns in cheesecloth and drop into kettle. Add salt. Bring to a boil, skim carefully and simer slowly about 4 hours, or until meat is tender and falls easily from bones. Remove tongue from water after it hascooked 1 1/2 hours. Lift head onto a large platter. Strain and reserve liquid in kettle. Remove all rind from head; cut the meat and tongue, skin removed and excess tissue from root end, trimmed, into tiny pieces. (Some women like to put meat through food chopper.) Place in large bowl. Drop brains into a little of the cooking liquid; simmer, covered, 15 mintes. Remove, drain and add to meat andtongue. Season lightly with cayenne, sage and nutmeg. Toss to mix well. Pack mixture into 9X5X3' loaf pan or mold, pressing firmly. Pour 1/2 c. cooking liquid, cooled until lukewarm, over micture. Cover pan or mold and put weight on it. Chill at least 48 hours before using. Slice to serve. makes 18 1/2' slices or 8 servings.'
---Farm Journal's Country Cookbook, Nell B. Thomas editor, special edition [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1959 (p. 354)
While horesemeat does not feature prominently in food history texts, scholars confirm some early peoples consumed this animal,and its milk, on a regular basis. In the mid-19th century the French Government actively promoted horsemeat to its newly industrialized workforce. English and American consumers did not embrace horsemeat for different reasons.
Horsemeat
'Hippophagy refers to the eating of horses--a practice repugnant to many today but a common one in the past. Stone Age hunters at wild horses, as did early pastoral peoples of Asia and pre-Christian peoples of Europe...People have eaten horses as early as the fourth millennium B.C....Magico-religious concepts have long surrounded the horse and its domestication. Common people ate horses and sacrificed them to their deities. These animals symbolized power, so their sacrifice and consumption was a sacrament, and whoever partook of the sacrament gained the power of the horse...'
---Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, Tamra Andrews [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara CA] 2000 (p. 118-119)
'The horse represents one of the most successful outcomes of animal domestication, but for a variety of reasons it has not been widely used as a source of human food. Very little of the exacting attention given this creature over the past 5,000 years has been directed toward developing its latent meat or milk potential...Long before their domestication, wild horses roamed the Eurasian grasslands. They were a favorite subject of the Paleolithic cave art of western Europe, which suggests their status as a major prey species. ...Present knowledge places horse domestication in the grasslands of Ukraine around the fourth millennium before Christ. At Dereivka, a site of the early Kurgan culture, evidence of bit wear recovered archaeologically indicates that people rode horses...They also ate them, which is not surprising as the predecessors of these same people were avid consumers of the wild species... [Horses] main prehistoric role was as pullers of wheeled conveyances and as riding animals...Horses were also eaten; in fact, the flesh of equids was an acceptable food in most societies that adopted them during the first 3,000 years of their domesticated state. Bronze Age sites in eastern Europe have yielded limb bones broken for the marrow and brain cases cracked open to extract the brain. The Krugan people, along with other early Indo-Europeans, also sacrificed horses to honor the dead...[The horses's] role as human food was not very important, although horseflesh was consumed in connection with the asvamedha, a sacrifice of horses...In the modern world, most people and cultures have rejected the flesh of horses (and its equine relatives, the mule and the donkey) as unfit to eat. But the reasons for avoidance are not necessarily the same everywhere. In some places, the horse is a rare, even absent, animal, so that people have had little opportunity to find out what they were missing...In most parts of the world where the horse is found, neither its meat nor its milk is used. Part of this avoidance can be attributed to religious injunction. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and, at one time, Christians have all proscribed horsemeat from the diet as a badge of their faith...Marginalism of horsemeat in Europe had a religious basis. As Christianity spread through Teutonic lands, clerics regarded hoppophagy (eating horseflesh) as a pagan residue that was tinged with barbarism...Today, although most people in the Christian tradition still avoid the flesh of equines, its rejection no longer has much to do with religious prohibition...Rejection can now be attributed mainly to fear of the unfamiliar. The status of the horse as an intelligent companion of humans has surely worked against experimentation with consuming its flesh, except in periods of severe food shortage...In spite of early religious and later social reprobation, Europe did undergo an hippaphagy movement that to some extent changed attitudes toward this meat...represents a notable case of how a food taboo broke down. Hippophagic experimentation in Europe was widespread around the middle of the nineteenth century, when conscious efforts were made to break with the old prejudice against selling and eating horseflesh. Denmark legalized its sale in 1841, as did the German state of Wurttemburg; Bavaria followed in 1842, and Prussia in 1843. Other countries (Norway, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland) also legalized its sale. Russia, where horsemeat has had a historic culinary role, never banned the sale of horesemeat...In Asia, horsemeat is an important food in Mongolia...Mongolians consume mare's milk, usually in fermented form (kumiss)...In the Western Hemisphere, no national culture has integrated hippophagy into its dietary possibilities...Argentines and Uruguayans, who are mostly of European origin, have rejected it...In the United States, consumption of horsemeat is low; in fact, throughout North America, it is readily available (though not widely consumed) only in the Canadian province of Quebec.'
---The Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas, Volume One [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000 (p.542-545)
Eating the zoo animals, 1870 Paris.
Hot dogs & frankfurtersThe history of the American hot dog, as we know it today, traces its roots to Austrian/Germanimmigrantswho settled in our country in the 19th century. These people introduced their traditionalwienerwurst, alongwith several other 'Old World' sausages. Hot dogs (aka frankfurters) descended from these.Manufacturingmethods/ingredients/packaging technology have changed due to food science advancements.Condiments/accompaniments, as always, are a matter of local taste and time. These range fromtraditional(sauerkraut) to the 'works' (mustard, ketchup, pickle relish). Chicago-style is different from NewYork style. Hot dogs and baseball are an American icon. Corn dogs & Pronto Pups are coated in batter, deep fried & served on a stick.Friday Franks & Chickenfurters approximate traditional hot dogs for specific reasons.Did Franklin Delano Roosevelt really serve hot dogs to the King and Queen of England?
Wienerwurst
Wienerwurst (Vienna sausage)is said to have orginated in Austria. Hence, the name. This productis related tofrankfurters (hot dogs). It is a member of the German Bruhwurst family:
'Bruhwurst: This term means a parboiled sausage, made from finely chopped raw meat, notintended for keeping,usually scalded by the manufacturer, sometimes smoked, to be heated before serving, alwayssliceable, often red incolor.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p. 701)
Who invented the hot dog & when?
'Sausage is one of the oldest forms of processed food, having been mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as far back as the 9th Century B.C. Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, is traditionally credited with originating the frankfurter. However, this claim is disputed by those who assert that the popular sausage - known as a 'dachshund' or 'little-dog' sausage - was created in the late 1600's by Johann Georghehner, a butcher, living in Coburg, Germany. According to this report, Georghehner later traveled to Frankfurt to promote his new product. In 1987, the city of Frankfurt celebrated the 500th birthday of the hot dog in that city. It's said that the frankfurter was developed there in 1487, five years before Christopher Columbus set sail for the new world. The people of Vienna (Wien), Austria, point to the term 'wiener' to prove their claim as the birthplace of the hot dog. As it turns out, it is likely that the North American hot dog comes from a widespread common European sausage brought here by butchers of several nationalities. Also in doubt is who first served the dachshund sausage with a roll. One report says a German immigrant sold them, along with milk rolls and sauerkraut, from a push cart in New York City's Bowery during the 1860's. In 1871, Charles Feltman, a German butcher opened up the first Coney Island hot dog stand selling 3,684 dachshund sausages in a milk roll during his first year in business. The year, 1893, was an important date in hot dog history. In Chicago that year, the Columbian Exposition brought hordes of visitors who consumed large quantities of sausages sold by vendors. People liked this food that was easy to eat, convenient and inexpensive. Hot dog historian Bruce Kraig, Ph.D., retired professor emeritus at Roosevelt University, says the Germans always ate the dachshund sausages with bread. Since the sausage culture is German, it is likely that Germans introduced the practice of eating the dachshund sausages, which we today know as the hot dog, nestled in a bun. Also in 1893, sausages became the standard fare at baseball parks. This tradition is believed to have been started by a St. Louis bar owner, Chris Von de Ahe, a German immigrant who also owned the St. Louis Browns major league baseball team. Many hot dog historians chafe at the suggestion that today's hot dog on a bun was introduced during the St. Louis 'Louisiana Purchase Exposition' in 1904 by Bavarian concessionaire, Anton Feuchtwanger. As the story goes, he loaned white gloves to his patrons to hold his piping hot sausages and as most of the gloves were not returned, the supply began running low. He reportedly asked his brother-in-law, a baker, for help. The baker improvised long soft rolls that fit the meat - thus inventing the hot dog bun. Kraig says everyone wants to claim the hot dog bun as their own invention, but the most likely scenario is the practice was handed down by German immigrants and gradually became widespread in American culture. Another story that riles serious hot dog historians is how term 'hot dog' came about. Some say the word was coined in 1901 at the New York Polo Grounds on a cold April day. Vendors were hawking hot dogs from portable hot water tanks shouting 'They're red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while they're red hot!' A New York Journal sports cartoonist, Tad Dorgan, observed the scene and hastily drew a cartoon of barking dachshund sausages nestled warmly in rolls. Not sure how to spell 'dachshund' he simply wrote 'hot dog!' The cartoon is said to have been a sensation, thus coining the term 'hot dog.' However, historians have been unable to find this cartoon, despite Dorgan's enormous body of work and his popularity. Kraig, and other culinary historians, point to college magazines where the word 'hot dog' began appearing in the 1890s. The term was current at Yale in the fall of 1894,when 'dog wagons' sold hot dogs at the dorms. The name was a sarcastic comment on the provenance of the meat. References to dachshund sausages and ultimately hot dogs can be traced to German immigrants in the 1800s. These immigrants brought not only sausages to America, but dachshund dogs. The name most likely began as a joke about the Germans' small, long, thin dogs. In fact, even Germans called the frankfurter a 'little-dog' or 'dachshund' sausage, thus linking the word 'dog' to their popular concoction.'
SOURCE: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council
'The term 'hot dog' is singularly American...The earliest use of the term 'hot dog' yet discovered is in the 28 September 1893 editionof the Knoxville Journal: 'Even the weinerwurst men began preparing to get the 'hot dogs' ready for sale Saturday night.'Several 'official' stories of how the hot dog got its name have been widely circulated since the 1920s.'
---Hot Dog: A Global History, Bruce Kraig [Reaktion Books:London] 2009 (p. 23)
[NOTE: If you need more details about the hot dog's place in American history we highly recommend this book!]
Recommended reading
- Hot dogs/National Hot Dog andSausage Council (history, trivia, market statistics, regional variations)
- 'Hot dogs,' Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America/Andrew F. Smith editor[Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 687-689)
- Hot Dog: A Global History, Bruce Kraig
- The Great American Hot Dog Book, Becky Mercuri (state-by-state recipes & variations)
- Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Cookbook, Murray Handwerker (Nathan's son shares creative recipes)
- New Hot Dog Cookbook, Mettja C. Roate (Festive Hot Dog Souffle, anyone?)
Friday Franks & Chickenfurters
Traditional American hot dogs, like most sausages, are made from hogs. They are generally composed with the parts not suitable for other consumption. Beef hot dogs are considered an acceptable alternative. Tuna hot dogswere introduced in 1949. They failed. Chickenfurters (aka chicken franks, chicken hot dogs, chicken dogs) first surfaced in 1951. Like their tuna cousins, theywere rejected by hot dog afficianados. Why? It's all about preservingthe *purity* of a national icon.
'A Cornell professor recommended today the canning of chicken 'hot dogs' as a mean of marketing fowl (older birds). Pro. R. C. Baker, a poultry specialist, said chicken could be rolled in the form of frankfurters and canned and would cost no more than the conventionalhod dog.'
---'Now, the Chickenfurter: One Use for Older Birds,' New York Times, August 3, 1951 (p. 13)
'Another new product which has already been test marketed in some areas, is a frankfurter made of chicken. It was tested undertwo names: Chicken Frank and Bird Dog. It seems that the men preferred Bird Dog and the women went for Chicken Frank. Onewoman was reported to have purchased both packages and to have proclaimed that the Chicken Frank was great, but that she didn't likethe Bird Dog. Other sausage forms of chicken recently developled include chicken bologna and an unsmoked version known aschickelona.'
---'Food news: New Products Fill State Exposition,' Nan Ickieringill, New York Times, September 3, 1962 (p. 9)
'When might a frankfurter become a chickenfurter? When it's more than 15% poultry, the Agriculture Department believes. That, it proposed,is when label names should be modified not only for frankfurters but for knockwurst, bologna and other cookd sausages as well. Currently, poulty may be used in such sausags only if the poultry ingredients, no matter how small, are reflected in some manner in theproduct name. But last fall the poulty industry, seeking to expand demand for its products, asked that no poultry identificationbe required unless the poultry accounted for more than 25% of the sausate. The issue acquired special significance when thedepartment announced public hearings to permit consumer comments...But the Nixon Administration dropped the hearing idea, saying itwould 'unnecessarily delay' a decision...Poultry has nutritional qualities similar to other cooked sausage ingredients...and 'trained testing panels have found that up to 15% poultry didn't alter the characteristics of cooked sausage.'
---'Farm Agency Proposes Rule on Frankfurter Turning Chickenfurter,' Wall Street Journal, April 7, 1969 (p. 28)
William Zisser's 'No Stomach for the Undercover Chickenfurter,'Life magazineOctober 3, 1969 (p. 24B) eloquently presents both sides of the story.
'I used to wonder what goes into a hot dog. Now I know and I wish I didn't...The whole thing started when the Department ofAgriculture pulished the hot dog's incredents--everhting that may legally qualify--because it was asked by the poultry industry to relax the conditions under which these ingredients might also include chicken, a dispute that didn't finally get settled until a few weeks ago...Judging by the 1,066 mainly hostile answers that the department got when it sent out aquestionnaire on this point, the very thought is unthinkable. The public mood was most felicitously caught by the woman whoreplied: 'I don't eat feather meat of no kind.'...Obviously the lady regards feather meat as beneath contempt and feels thatonly the hot dog is worthy of her fastidious taste. Yet the official list of what may constitute a hot dog is hardly my idea of nature's aristocracy: 'The edible part of the muscle of cattle, sheep, swine or goats, in the diaphram, in the heart, or in the esophogas, with our without the accompanying and overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew, nerve and bloodvessels which normally accompany the muscle tissue and which are not separated from it by the process of dressing. It does not include the muscle found in the lips, snout or ears.'...What the Department of Agriculture finally decided was to let franfurters becalled frankfurters even in they contain up to 15% chicken. The old rule said that the label had to announce in large type: FRANKFURTER,CHICKEN ADDED...It may seem like a small point...but clearly it is not. Whole philosphical questions are at stake, and so isthe American way of life. For although the frankfurter originated in Frankfurt, German, we have long since made it our own, a twinpillar of democracy along with Mom's apple pie. In fact, now that Mom's apple pie comes frozen and baked by somebodywho isn't Mom, the hot dog stands alone. What it symbolizes remains pure, even if what it contains is not...Partly...the hot dog is triumphant because it is so easy to manage...the frank comes wrapped in its own napkin and issoon gone without a trace. It is the ultimate food of the disposable society.'
Related foods? Turkey bacon, chicken burgers &Friday franks (tuna dogs).
Jamaican JerkJamaican Jerk descends fromthe slow cooked barbecue tradition of indigenous Caribbean peoples. Jerk is also native and local, although this term generally denotes a preserved (spiced, dried) meat product.The spices used for flavoring are a combination of Old World and New. Old World spices were introduced in the 15th century by Spanish explorers. As time progressed, native recipes embraced new flavors. Like American barbecue, Jerk masters have their special blends. Jamaican Jerk became popular in theUSA in the late 1980s.
'Jerk. A highly-seasoned barbecued dish cooked on smouldering pimento wood over a small pit. The maroons jerked wild pigs in Portland while on the run from the British. Jerky has been part of our culinary tradition for centuries. Now we not only jerk pork but chicken, fish--in fact all meats.'
---The Real Taste of Jamaica, Enid Donaldson [Ian Randle Publishers:Kingston] 1993, 2000 (p. 13)
'This hot and spicy barbecue style of cooking has been with us for hundreds of years but in recent times has been transformed, from a type of cooking peculiar to one small area of Jamaica, to the streets, homes and restaurants of the world. There was a time when jerking was confined to pork; today buyers can enjoy jerk pork, chicken, fish and even jerk lobster from jerk 'pits' all over the island. The word pit comes from the traditional method of cooking; a charcoal fire is made in a shallow pit in the ground and small planks of green aromatic pimento wood are placed above the hot coals to form a crude grill. The highly seasoned meat is stretched across this wooden grill in large slab (in the case of chicken, the whole chicken), covered with a top layer of wood and left to cook slowly. The 'real' jerk taste comes from a combination of the blend (and quantity) of the seasoning used, the effect of the smoke created by the twin layers of green aromatic wood and the slow method of cooking. At Boston Bay in Portland, on the north-east coast of Jamaica, there is a cluster of jerk pits and the potential purchaser is allowed to move from pit to pot sampling tiny morsels from each one, before deciding which is the best of the lot.'
---The Real Taste of Jamaica, Enid Donaldson [Ian Randle Publishers:Kingston] 1993, 2000 (p. 78)
'Jerk ChickenJambayala
3 whole chickens cut up in halves
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Jerk Marinade
2 tsp. ground Jamaican pimento
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. mace
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
1 12 cups escallion
2 onions
2 scotch bonnet peppers
2 tbs. cooking oil
1. Cut 3 chickens in halves. Rinse chicken in lime water, drain and season with garlic.
2. Blend all the ingredients for the marinade together in a blender or food processor. (To grind pimento, heat grains in a frying pan in a tablespoon of oil until crisp and then blend.)
3. Pour mixture on to seasoned chicken and leave to marinate for about 2 hours or overnight.
4. Light barbecue grill, make sure coals are white before putting on meat. Put on chicken halves skin side down, and keep turning to prevent the chicken from getting too dark. Allow to cook slowly.
5. Chop into small pieces. Can be served with additional jerk sauce.
Serves 12.
Cook's Tip: It is the combination of the seasonings that gives the jerk its unique flavor.'
---The Real Taste of Jamaica, Enid Donaldson [Ian Randle Publishers:Kingston] 1993, 2000 (p. 79)
Jambalaya, a popular one-pot dish gererally associated with Cajun-Creole Louisiana, traces its roots to Spanish paella. Huge, forgiving, proud, and delicious. Like all great regionalfeeds, no two recipes are alike and family recipes are full of secret ingredients.
What is Jambalaya & where did it come from?
'Jambalaya is one of the most famous Cajun-Creole creations, with as many versions and incorporating aswide a variety of ingredients as any dish in American gastronomy. Most etymologists believe the name cameform the Spanish word for ham, jamon, a prime ingredient in the first jambalayas of the eighteenth century, butother prefer the beloved story of a gentleman who stopped by a New Orleans inn late one night to find nothingleft for him to dine upon. The owner there-upon told the cook, whose name was Jean, to 'mix some thingstogether'--balayez, in the dialect of Louisiana-so the grateful guest pronounced the dish of odds-and-endswonderful and named it 'Jean Balayexz.' The word itself first appeared in print only in 1872, and the Picayune'sCreole Cook Book (1900) calls it a 'Spanish-Creole dish.' Missouri Creoles call it 'jambolail.' But today it is agreat favorite and synonymous with Louisiana cuisine.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 169)
'Of the varied ethnic groups which cooperated in creating Creole cooking, the French, the last to arrive, aregenerally accorded the major share of the credit, which they probably deserve (but perhaps not quite asexclusively as may person think). The first contributors to Creole cooking were of course the Indians. TheSpanish arrived second, and the Negroes probably third, for slavery had already become well establishedbefore the Acadians, driven out of Canada and Nova Scotia, reached what with their aid was to become Creoleterritory in the second half of the eighteenth century. The greater visibility of the Acadians accounts for theremark, in a generally knowledgeable book about Creole cooking: 'Among the finest, and certainly the mostfamous [of Acadian dishes] is jambalaya,' which is rather unkind, for while the Acadians have endowed thisterritory with any number of dishes for which they can be given credit, jambalaya is almost the only one whichcan be claimed by the Spaniards. It is easily reconizable by anyone familiar with Spanish cooking as a form ofpaella.'
---Eating in America: A History, Wavery Root & Richard de Rochemont [William Morrow and Company:NewYork] 1976 (p. 282)
Is there an 'authentic' Jambalaya recipe?
Yes, and no. Like Booya, Barbeque & Brunswick stew, every self-respecting Jambalaya cook has his/her own secret ingredient and special method. We Americans celebrate tasty the coexistence of parallel plating. Our products are made better by the spirit of competition. What strikes us most when reading the recipes below is the culinary dichotomy of primary dish & leftovereconomy. The truth likely cuts down the middle in curious ways.
'There are countless versions of jambalaya, all of them hearty one-dishes in the manner of gumbo and shrimp creole and many of thepilaus. Though it could be categorized in several places--soups and stews, rice dishes, seafood--we have put it here with pork primarilybecause of its name, the first two syllables of which trace to both the French and Spanish words for ham. Cajun and Creole cooks havethrown just about everything into jambalaya for at least one hundred years, but ham has always been a prime ingredient. In Gonzales, Louisiana,the self-styled Jambalaya Capital of the World, you can find about as many recipes for this dish as there are households.'
---Southern Food: at home, on the road, in history, John Egerton [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 1993 (p. 264)
Jambalaya/La Cuisine Creole
[1901]
'Creole Jambalaya.
Jambalaya is a Spanish-Creole dish, which is a great favorite in New Orleans, and is made according to thefollowing recipe:
One and a Half Cups of Rice.
1 Pound of Fresh Pork. 1 Slice of Ham.
2 Onions.
1 Tablespoonful of Butter.
2 Cloves of Garlic.
2 Sprigs Each of Thyme and Parsley.
2 Bay Leaves
2 Cloves Ground Very Fine.
3 Quarts of Beef Broth or Hot Water (Broth Preferred).
1/8 Spoonful of Chili Pepper.
Salt, Pepper and Cayenne to Taste.
Cut the pork very fine, lean and fat, into pieces. Chop the onions very fine, and mince the garlic and the fineherbs. Grind the cloves. Put a tablespoonful of butter into the saucepan, and add the onions and pork, and letthem brown slowly. Stir frequently, and let them continue browning slightly. When slightly brown, add the ham,chopped very fine, and the cloves of garlic. Then add the minced herbs, thyme, bay leaf and parsley andcloves. Let all this brown for five minutes longer, and add a dozen fine Charice, cut apart, and let all cook fiveminutes longer. Then add the three quarts of water or broth, always using in preference the broth. Let it all cookfor ten minutes, and when it has been carefully washed. Then add to this a half teaspoonful of Chili pepper,and salt and Cayenne to taste. The Creoles season highly with Cayenne. Let all boil a half hour longer, or untilthe rice is firm, and serve hot. Stir often, to mix all well. You will then have a real Creole Jambalaya. Some usethe brisket of veal instead of the pork, but there is no comparison in the flavor, the pork being so superior. But,again, this is a matter of taste.'
---The Picayune Creole Cook Book, facsimile reprint of the second edition, 1901 [Dover:New York] 1971 (p.181-2)
[1907]
'Down near the French market in New Orleans is one of the most interesting places in the whole city, a place which has beenwidely known for more than forty years, and visitors to New Orleans during the Carnival season miss one of its mostcharacteristic enjoyments if they fail to breakfast at Begue's...Here are some of the recipes for the famous dishes:
'Jambalaya of Chicken and Ham
Cut into pieces a young chicken and fry it in hot lard, wiht a few slices of raw ham. Remove the ham and chicken from the pan, thenfry in the same lard an onion and a tomato. When they are nearly done stir in a cup of rice and a chicken and ham. Cook all-togetherfor a few minutes stirring constantly; then add enough water to cover and boil slowly until the rice and chicken are tender. It should be seasoned with strong pepper, bay leaves, chopped parsley, and thyme. Dry a little before serving.
'Jambalaya of Rice and Shrimps
Boil and peel two dozen large shrimps and allow them to cool. Fry in hot lard one onion, chopped, and a cup of rice which has beenwashed in cold water. After a few minutes add the shrimps, stirring constantly until they are well browned; then add enough water to cover this whole. Season with salt and pepper, bay leaf, thyme and chopped parsley. Let it boil slowly, adding water when necessaryfrom time to time until the rice is well cooked. When done let it dry before serving.'
---'Strange Culinary Combinations Exploited by Famous People,' New York Times, December 29, 1907 (p. X9)
[1938]
'Jambalayah (a Creole Dish)
1 1/2 cups cold chicken, veal or mutton
1 cup boiled rice
2 large stalks celery
1/2 green pepper
1 large onion
1 1/2 cups stewed tomatoes
salt and pepper
buttered crumbs
Mix together the chicken, rice and tomatoes, and allow them to cook for ten minutes. The chop and add the onion, green pepper andcelery. Turn the mixture into a baking dish and cover with buttered crumbs. Bake for one hour in a moderate oven (350 degreesF.). Serve very hot. This is an excellent way of utilizing left-over meat or chicken.'
---Southern Cook Book: 322 Old Dixie Recipes, compiled and edited by Lillie S. Lustig et al, [Three Mountaineers:Asheville NC] 1938 (p. 13)
[1939]
'Creole Jambalaya
1 1/2 cups rice
1 pound fresh pork
1 sliced ham
1 dozen chaurices (pork sausages)
2 onions
1 tablespoon butter
2 clove garlic
1 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs parsley
2 bay leaves
3 quarts beef broth of consomme
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
salt, pepper, cayenne
Cut the pork very fine, lean and fat, into pieces of about half an inch square. Chop the onions very fine and mince the garlicand fine herbs. Grind the cloves. Put a tablespoon of butter into the saucepan and add the onions and pork and let them brownslowly. Stir frequently, and let them continue browning slightly. At this stage add the slice of ham, chopped very fine, and the clovesof garlic. Let all this brown for five minutes longer. The add the three quarts of broth or consomme. Let it all cook for tenminutes and when it comes to boiling add the rice, which has been carefully washed. Then add to this the peppers and salt totaste. The Creoles season highly with cayenne. Let all boil for a half-hour longer, or until the rice is done, and serve hot.'
---New York World's Fair Cook Book: The American Kitchen, Crosby Gaige [Doubleday, Doran & Company:New York] 1939 (p. 85-86)
[1961]
'Jambalaya with Shrimp (Serves 4)
2 pounds of shimp
4 tablespoons of butter or bacon fat
2 tablespoons of flour
3 onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of cooked ham
2 cups of canned tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of oregano or basil
2 cups rice
3 cups of broth or fish stock
Melt the butter or fat in a heavy kettle with a tight lid. Blend the flour into a hot fat and add the peeled and chopped onions andgarlic. Cut the ham in strips and add it to the onion mixture. Cook slowly until the onion is soft. Add the canned tomatoes and cookthem for a few minutes to blend and thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add oregano or basil. Add the washed rice and pour over it boiling broth or stock to cover 1 inch above the rice. Use fish stock...or meat broth. Cover the kettle tightly and lower the heat to simmer. Let the rice and seasonings cook slowly. Shell the shrimp and remove the black veins along the backs. Rinse to was out allgrit. The shrimp should be added about 8 minutes before the rice is done. If the mixture gets too dry before the rice cooks, add morebroth.'
---The James Beard Cookbook, in collaboration with Isabel E. Callvert [E.P. Dutton:New York] 1961 (p. 161-162)
[1961]
'Creole Jambalaya
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery with a few leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and cleanes (about 1 cup)
2 dozen raw oysters (about 1 cup)
2 cus (16 oz.) whole tomatoes
1 cup water
Bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup raw rice, washed (unlsess otherwide directed on package)
In large sauceapn saute onion, green pepper, celery and garlic in butter until tender. Add shrimp and oysters and cook five minutesmore. Add remaining ingredients except rice and cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes more. Add rice, stir and cover tightly; cook25 to 30 minutes over low heat or unntil rice is done. 4 servings.'
---Brennan's New Orleans Cookbook, told by Hermann B. Deutsch [Robert L. Crager:New Orleans LA] 1961 (p. 165)
[1962]
'Creole Jambalaya
1 tablespoon shortening
2 tablespoons flour
1 pound smoked pork sausage or ham, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3 cups cooked shrimp
5 cups diced and peeled tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 large onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons shopped parsley
2 cups raw, long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
Melt shortening in large skillet. Add flour, meat, and chopped pepper. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add shrimp, tomatoes, water, onion, garlic, and parsley. Bring to a boil, add rice; stir in Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, and red pepper. Cover andsimmer for 30 minutes or until rice is tender; stir occasionally. Sprinkle with parsley.'
---The Art of Creole Cookery, William I. Kaufman and Sister Mary Ursula Cooper [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1962 (p. 116-118)
[NOTE: this book also offers recipes for Chicken and Oyster Jambalayas.]
[1968]
'Jambalaya
2 cups diced leftover ham
3 onions, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cp dry white wine
3 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce1 cup rice
Saute onions, green pepper and garlic in butter for 10 minutes. Add ham, wine, tomatoes and seasonings and mix well. Bring to aboil and add rice gradually, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Serves 6.'
---Picture Cook Book, editors of Life [Time-Life Books:New York] 1968 (p. 217)
Jerky (charqui) is a dried meat product. This sensible preservation method was employed byNative Americans and frontiersmen. Buffalo (aka American Bison) was a popular meat source. Food historians tell us the practice may have originated inPeru. Notes here:
'In South America, where there has been a plentitude of meat for hundreds of years, simpledrying traditions survive, at least among the poor. The Native Americans on the arid southernborderlands sun-dried venison and buffalo, and one can still find dried beef in the form oftassajo,which is made with strips of meat dipped in maize flour, dried in the hot sun and wind, thentightlyrolled up into balls to be carried easily on journeys. The modern American jerked beef' isderivedfrom thin slices of air-dried meat called 'charqui.' This originated in Peru and was used topreserve excess game after large hunts, though later beef was more usually used. Charqui, a vitalfood for the western pioneers, was often broken up and crushed between large stones and thenboiled before eating.'
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed theWorld, Sue Shepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 34)
'Jerky...Beef that has been cut thin and dried in the sun. The word comes from the Spanish charqui', which appears in English in 1700 as a verb, jerk' than as a noun in the nineteenthcentury. Jerky, in the form of pemmican, was a staple food among the native Americans on theplains. It is very rich in protein and may be cooked in a soup or smoked, but more commonly it issold as a 'meat snack' in the form of a thin stick sold at convenience stores and bars. In Hawaii,jerky is referred to a pipikaula.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:NewYork] 1999 (p. 171)
'Jerky...a name derived via Spanish from the native Peruvian 'charqui,' meaning dried meat. Thenoun spawned a verb. Jerking meat consists in cutting it up into long strips and then drying thesein the sun or at a fire. The practice was widespread among American Indians and amongcolonistsin pioneering days. In modern times jerky occupies a niche in the nostalgic realm of 'trail foods'.For the S. African equivalent, see Biltong. For purely air-dried meats, see Bindenfleisch,bresaola.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p. 418)
'Most land travellers...expected to live off the terrain, but took a store of provisions with them byway of insurance. Such provisions had to be light and compact when the traveller moved on hisown feet and was his own beast of burden, and from native Americans, north and south, theEuropean explorer learned the virtues of two sustaining and lightweight meat products,pemmicanand charqui...Charqui was the South American alternative [to pemmican] and may haveoriginatedin Peru as a way of preserving some of the game slaughtered at communal hunts, although whencattle became established beef was more generally used. The method was to cut boned anddefatted meat into quarter-inch slices, which were dipped in strong brine or rubbed with salt. Themeat was next rolled up in the animal's hide for ten or twelve hours for it to absorb the salt andrelease some of its juices, then hung in the sun to dry, and finally tied up into convenient bundles.It looked, said one German traveller, like strips of thick cardboard and was just as easy tomasticate'. Whe opportunity offered, most travellers preferred to poind the charqui vigorouslybetween two stones and then boil it before eating. The jerked' in jerked beef' is derived from theword chaqui...'
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 228-9)
'Fresh meat was always preferable, but fontiersmen quickly accepted the Indian method ofturningthe dried meat called jerky into pemmican, and thus discovered one of best portable foods everdevised. ..The making of pemmican was an art...'
---American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating & Drinking,Volume1 [American Heritage:New York] 1964 (p. 51)
How did the pioneers make jerky?
Interesting question. Period cookbooks don't address this topic, probably because they werewritten for established housewives with fully-stocked kitchens. Folks who ate jerky weregenerallytravelers, explorers, cowboys, and Native Americans. We know about their foods from primarysources such as journals, letters, and diaries.
'Knowing that they must always plan ahead, emigrants preserved the buffalo meat by 'jerking'it.In that process the meat is cut into long strips aobut one inch wide and then dried in the sun orover a fire...The simplest method for drying meat was to string it on ropes and then hang it on theoutside of the wagon cover. There it would soak up the hot sun for two or three days until it wascured; then it was packed in bags and stored for future use. One diarist wrote that the wagonslooked as if they were decorated with 'coarse red fringe.' 'The meat was bery Black and coarsebut were youngsters found it to be good chewing,' recalled William Colvig. The 'hanging upmethod,' while simple, meat that the meat picked up all the dust and debris from the air. Still,when 'hunger stares one in the face one isn't particular about trifles like that,' stated CatherineHaun in her detailed diary. Another way of preparing jerky was to build a scaffold to support themeat over a slow fire and then to smoke the strips. Joel Palmer described the process, whichimitated the method used by Native Americans:
The meat is sliced thin and a scaffold prepared by setting forked sticks in the ground, aboutthree feet high, and laying small poles or sticks crosswise upon them. The meat is laid upon thosepieces, as a slow fire built beneath; the heat and smoke completes the process in half a day; andwith an occasional sunning the meat will keep for months.'The smoking method required a stopover; but in my twentieth-century view, consideringdisease and germs, smoking seems safer than air-drying. In any case, however, jerky wasprepared, it was popular.'
---Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregon Trail, Jaqueline Williams [University ofKansas Press:Lawrence KS] 1993 (p. 153-4)
'How to make jerky.
The Spanish word for dried beef is 'Charqui,' and we call it jerky. To dry beef, cut meat in stripsas long as 6 to 14 inches. No wider than 1 inch is best so that meat will dry quickly. Do not leavefat on meat as it becomes rancid in a short time. Cut against grain where at all possible. Sprinkleeach piece of meat with salt and pepper; and if so inclined, a small amount of powdered chili.Hang strips of meat in a dry place on wire lines. Full sun is not necessary, but is best. A shed orbarn loft will do. Cellars and basements are not at all suitable as they are too damp. Theclothesline is fine if it does not rain. Do not worry about flies as the salt and pepper repels them.In very hot weather meat will be jerked in a few days or a week. Just be sure meat does not getwet. When meat looks and feels like old shoe leather, remove from drying wires and store infloursacks in a cool place. Hanging from rafters by thin wires keeps weevils, mice, and other pestsaway.'---Clair Haight, Hashkinfe Outfir, Winslow, Arizona, 1922'
---Chuck Wagon Cookin', Stella Hughes [Univeristy of Arizona Press:Tucson AZ] 1994(p. 105)
Many jerky recipes you find on the Internet use soy (a concentrated salt) sauce and a modernoven to dry the product. They may produce jerky, but not the way the pioneers did. This reicpe,from The Lewis and Clark Cookbook/Leslie Mansfield (p. 68) is closer to the historicprocedure:
'Beef Jerky.Dating Site For Professionals Over 50 In Charleston Sc Map
Smoke drying game as large as a whole elk or buffalo occupied several days. However, oncedried, jerky could sustain the men for days until the next successful hunt. Jerky was used plain, ormixed with berries and animal fat to form pemmican. The recipe is designed to use theLuhr-Jensen smoker, but if you hve a different model, you might need to vary the amount ofsmoke andcooking time:2 pounds sirloin tip roast
2 cups water
1/4 non-iodized salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pan mesquite or hickory chips
Remove all fat from the beef. To facilitate slicing, partially freeze the meat before slicing. Slicethemeat across the grain as thinly as possible. In a large bowl, stir together the water, salt, sugar,garlic, and pepper until the salt has dissolved. Add the sliced meat and let it soak in the brine for45minutes. Remove the meat from the brine and rinse in fresh water. Lighly oil the racks in thesmoker. Drape the meat over the racks. Use 1 pan of woodchips. Smoke the meat for about 12 to15 hours depending upon the thickness of the meat. The beef jerky should be dry but slighlypliable.'
Related food? Pemmican & Jamaican Jerk.Kebabs
Food historians generally attribute the origin of kebabs to ancient Middle Eastern cooks. In a landwhere fuel was scarce, this was a very efficient way to cook meat. Small pieces of meat (smallerthe cut, faster they cook) threaded on skewers would have required very little fire. The recipesand combinations are endless.
'Kebab. A dish consisting basically of small pieces of meat threaded on to skewers and grilled orroasted. It originated in Turkey and eventually spread to the Balkans and the Middle East. Thename is a shortened from of the Tukish sis kebab, sis meaning skewer and kebab meaning roastmeat.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New York]2001 (p. 646)
'Sis Kebabi...It is said that shish bebab was born over the open-field fires of medieval Turkicsoldiers, who used their swords to grill meat. Given the obvious simplicity of spit-roasting meatover a fire, I suspect its genesis is earlier. There is iconographical evidence of Byzantine Greekscooking shish kebabs. But surely the descriptions for skewering strips of meat for broiling inHomer's Odyssey must count for an early shish kebab.'
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow:New York] 1999 (p.333)
'Kebab. Now an English culinary term usually occurring as sis (or shish) kebab, meaning smallchunks of meat grilled on a skewer. Shashlik is a term which means essentially the same a siskebab but belongs essentially the same as sis kebab but belongs to the countries of the Caucasus(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia)...The word kebab has an interesting history. In the Middle Agesthe Arabic word kabab always meant fried meat. The compendious 14th-century dictionaryLisdanal'Arab defines kabab as tabahajah, which is a dish of fried pieces of meat, usually fininshed withsome liquid in the cooking. The exact shape of the pieces of meat is not clear. However, sincethere was a separate class of dish called saraih, which consisted of long and thin strips of meat,and since most modern dishes called kebab call for more or less cubical chunks, it seems likelythat kabab was chunks rather than strips. Kabab/kebab is not a common word in the earlymedieval Arabic books, because the Persian word tabahajah (diminutive of tabah) provided analternative which was considered more high-toned. It is because of this original meaning that onestill finds dishes such as tas kebab (bowl kebab) which are really stews. In the Middle Ages theArabic word for grilled meat was not kebab but siwa. It was only in the Turkish period that suchwords as sishkebab or seekh kebab made their appearance. However all this may be, the custom of roasting meat in small chunks on a skewer seems tobevery ancient in the Near East. Part of the reason for this may have to do with the urban nature ofthe civilization there. ..in the Near East they would go to a butcher's shop and buy smaller cuts.However, a more important reason, and the basic one, was surely that fuel has long been in shortsupply in the Near East...'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.429)
'Kebab. Roasting marinated meat on spit while basting with fat is described both in Sanskrit andTamil literature. At a pcinic meal described in the Mahabharata, 'large pices of meat were roasted on spits'. The Manasollasa written in the twelfth century describes the bhaditraka as 'pieces of meat, bored, stuffed with spices and roasted on spits.' Old Tamil literature has 'hot meats, roasted on the point of spits'...the kabab has a distinct identity as a dainty from the Middle East which isparticularly favoured by the Muslims in India. Spiced mutton, chicken and beef are cooked, strung on small pieces with alternate bits of onion, garlic and ginger, on metal or bamboo skewers, and roated over glowing charcoal embers. Sheekh kabab, shammi kabab, tikka and shashlik are variations..Ibn Battuta records chicken kabab being served byroyal houses during the Sultanate period. Even common folk at kabab and paratas for breakfast,and in Mugal India a few centuries later it was still naan and kabab. in the Ain-i-Akbari, kabab is listed as one of a class of foods in which meat is cooked with accompaniments. Meat marinated in cream before roasting, called malai-tikka, is a food popular with Bohri Muslims.'
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K. T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:Delhi]1998 (p.115)
The general concensus regarding the history of King Ranch chicken is that it probably dates to the 1950s (when canned soup casserole recipes were very popular) and it was probably not invented at the ranch. Food writers decline to proffer credit for invention. With good reason. Many thrifty homemakers were experimenting with canned cream soups in this period. Someproduced more memorable results than others.We found one source creditingRuth Slagle for introducing King Ranch Chicken. No word, though, regarding the genesis of the name. Older recipes feature condensed canned soups; newer interpretations concentrate on fresh foods. We find no print evidencesupporting claims this recipe originated in a corporate kitchen. Notes here:
'King Ranch chicken. Also, 'King Ranch casserole.' A layered casserole dish made with cut-up poached chicken, cream of mushroom soup, chilies, chicken soup, grated cheese, corn tortillas, and tomatoes (most often Ro-Tel brand). The dish is very commonly served at Texas clubwomen's buffets. For unknown reason, the name, which dates in cookbooks at least to the 1950s, refers to the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, but there is no evidence that the dish was created there.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 176)
'King Ranch chicken. Karen Haram, food editor of the San Antonio Express-News, tells me that though Texans claim this recipe, no one knows where it originated. Or how it came to be named for the King Ranch, whose claims to fame are its immense acerage, its oil, and its Santa Gertrudis cattle, a breed developed there to replace the sinewy Texas longhorns. Certainly the King Ranch was never known for chicken. 'Maybe,' Haram speculates, 'It's because the recipe is so rich.'
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 110)
[NOTE: this book contains a recipe for the dish.]
'As far as anyone can tell, King Ranch chicken-or as it is sometimes known-King Ranch casserole, doesn't have one single thing to do with the King Ranch...No one seems to know exactly where it started, but it has clearly taken on a life of its own...'I've lived here 31 years--and you know how women like to always collect recipes wherever they go?' asked Kathy Henry of the King Ranch visitor's center in Kingsville. 'Well, when I moved to Kingsville, the first one I got was for King Ranch chicken. So I know it has been here for at least 31 years.' But in all her time working for the sprawling King Ranch, Henry has never found a link between the popular casserole and the ranch. 'We think it was developed in the 1950s'...'The word is, a lady in Robstown may have entered it in a national cooking contest like the Pillsbury or Campbell Soup contests. She didn't win a big prize but maybe a second or third. She just named it King Ranch chicken because Robstown is in this area and she though it would be a catchy name.' it was. Henry said she has never been able to research the story, but whatever the case, she's certain the dish was developed between 1945 and 1965. 'That's the best I can came up with,' she said.'
---'King Ranch chicken rules the roost,' Art Chapman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 2, 1999 (Food p. 1)
[NOTE: Mrs. A. E. Sommer's Chicken Tortilla Casserole claimed 3rd prize in the 12th annual Press-Telegram Cook Book Contest [Long Beach,California], published September 4, 1966 (p. 19)]
'King Ranch casserole is not a pretty dish. A steaming mass of melted mush, the classic ingredients -- boiled chicken, grated cheese, tortilla chips, and one can each cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup -- make it a study in beige and yellow. Nor is it at all exciting: Even with the requisite Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, the flavor is resolutely bland, a quality Texans claim to abhor in their cooking. The dish is, in fact, the subject of some scorn: 'Never, never, never,' says caterer Tilford Collins, who serves some of South Texas' oldest families. Texas food historian Mary Faulk Koock is only slightly more charitable. 'I imagine it could be made palatable,' is about all she has to say on the subject. Still, King Ranch casserole -- or King Ranch chicken, as it is often called -- has endured. It is the clubwoman's contribution to Texas cuisine, a staple of society ladies' cookbooks from Fort Worth to McAllen, where the Junior League's La Piata touts a variation as a 'great way to enjoy that leftover Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey.' The casserole's fame has spread to cookbooks in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kansas, and the dish can be purchased frozen from Randall's supermarkets in Houston and from H.E.B. in Alamo Heights. Forget the spare sophistication of nouvelle cuisine, the assertiveness of true Mexican cooking. The secret of King Ranch casserole is that it's boring. In today's complex culinary lexicon, the dish resides snugly in the category of comfort food. No one seems to know who invented it. The casserole may have come from the King Ranch, but the descendants of Captain Richard King prefer to tout their beef and game dishes. 'Kind of strange, a King Ranch casserole made with chicken,' notes Martn Clement, the head of public relations for the ranch. Mary Lewis Kleberg, the widow of Dick Kleberg, admits that her heart sinks every time a well-meaning hostess prepares it in her honor. Most likely the dish got its name from an enterprising South Texas hostess or a King Ranch cook whose preference for poultry doomed him to obscurity. Yet King Ranch casserole's general origins are easy to discern. Certainly it owes a deep debt to chilaquiles, which also contain chicken, cheese, tomatoes, tortilla chips, and chiles -- the staples that campesinos often combined to stretch one meal into two while retaining a semblance of nutrition. But the dish owes as much to post-World War II cooking, when casseroles made with canned soups were the height of space-age cuisine. Because they could be made quickly and frozen for later use, casseroles liberated the lady of the house. 'The perfect entree for a minimum amount of time in the kitchen for the hostess,' the McAllen Junior League cookbook notes. If the women of the fifties loved the recipe because it freed them from the family kitchen, their children love it because it takes them back there. They have adapted it to their taste, of course: Trendy cooks now substitute flour tortillas for corn, while the truly convenience-crazed use Doritos. Purists doctor the recipe with sour cream -- a move back toward Mexican authenticity. Even with modernization, the dish still tastes pretty much like it used to -- slightly salty, slightly chewy, slightly spicy, slightly greasy. Yes, it lacks the challenge of a T-bone or a spicy bowl of red -- King Ranch casserole calms, it does not wish to offend. Yes, it's bland -- but it's always there when you need it.'
SOURCE: Texas Monthly
About King Ranch, Kingsville TX
Early recipes
[1966]Kobe beef
'King Ranch Chicken is Mrs. William L. Gill's favorite casserole for luncheon or buffet. It was served at her Christmas party forthe Holly Garden Club of which she has been a member for many years. She finds the casserole a hit with men as well as withwomen guests. The ingredients for King Ranch Chicken are as follows: Three or four pounds chicken breasts, boiled until tender,and diced (reserve stock): 1 dozen fresh tortillas, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 cup chopped greenpepper, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 3/4 pound grated cheddar cheese. Line the bottom and sides of a greased3-quart casserole with a layer of tortillas. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chicken stock. The make a layer with 1 can undilutedcream of mushroom soup, 1/2 of the diced chicken, and half of the other ingredients, in order. Cover with tortillas, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chicken stock, and make a second layer with 1 can undiluted chicken soup and the remaining ingredients. Top the last layer with a mixture of 1/2 small can tomatoes (10 oz size) and 1/2 small can of tomatoes with chilies. The casserolemay be prepared in advance and refrigerated. When ready to serve, bake at 350 degrees F. for about 1 hour. Serve with a tossedgreen salad and hot French bread.'
---'What's Cookin',' San Antonio Light [TX], January 23, 1966 (p.9-G)
A survey of magazine and newspaper articles (ProQuest/Ebsco) confirms Kobe beef hit the American market in the 1980s. Kobe comes from Wagyu cattle, orginally bred in Japan. In a country where space is premium, beef is not cheap.
'In those parts of the world where for various reasons there is no strong tradition of eating beef, there may be a slight tendencytowards increased consumption caused by the general 'internationalization' of foods or, as in Japan, but the developmentof a new connoisseurship. In the area around Kobe, Japanese...(marbled beef) is raised on a diet including rice, ricebran, beans, beer, enhanced by regular massage.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 71)
'It seems that if you look for 'quality' in almost anything, one of the places you look is Japan. If you want a fine quality automobile, you look to Japan. If you are looking for 'quality' audio and video equipment, you look to Japan. In the years to come, the same may be true for beef; if you want quality beef, look to Japan. We have all heard of 'Kobe beef.' Even those of us who never have traveled to Japan have heard of the wonderfully tender, juicy, highly marbled and extremely expensive beef so highly prized by the Japanese. We have heard tales of how Japanese men and women feed beer to their cattle and spend hours massaging their animals to distribute the marbling evenly, occasionally taking a swig of beer and blowing it over the back of the beef and rubbing it in to soften the skin. It is true that the Japanese produce the world's most highly marbled beef, but it seems that we in America have some misconceptions about how they do it. Research scientists from both Texas A&M and Washington State University are doing extensive work with Wagyu cattle, the breed the Japanese use to produce Kobe beef. Both schools have herds of Wagyu cattle, and are working to come up with a cross that will produce the same style of beef. There are two basic reasons for such research: (1) Japan is expected to become one of the major markets for American beef in the not too distant future, and the Japanese want quality. And, (2) now that beef is okay again in this country, there is a growing demand in America, particularly in fine restaurants, for top-quality, well-marbled beef. A lot of folks would like to be able to find a really great steak from time to time; those are very rare these days in America. Perhaps the Japanese Wagyu will help. According to Dr. Don Nelson, extension meat specialist at Washington State University, the Wagyu originally was a draft animal and not very functionally efficient as a beef producer. They're not very good mothers but they marble well, so with some careful cross-breeding we hope to take advantage of their genetics to improve the grading ability of some of our cattle. When Wagyu beef is available in this country (it's going to take a year or two), don't expect it to be hand rubbed and beer fed like Kobe beef. But don't worry, the quality will be just as good. According to David Lunt, one of the researchers working with Wagyu beef at Texas A&M, much of what we have heard about Kobe beef is myth. Historically, the name refers to the Kobe area near Osaka where the most desirable beef was grown. Today, however, Wagyu are raised in several different areas of Japan. A better term for what Americans call Kobe beef, according to Mr. Lunt, is shimofuri, which means simply 'highly marbled beef.' 'It is true,' Lunt says, 'that cattle are occasionally fed beer in Japan. Cattle in Japan are fed a finishing diet for at least 14 months and heifers may be fed for as many as 30 months prior to slaughter. Because they are fed so long, and particularly in summer months when the interaction of fat cover and the ambient temperature depresses feed intake, some cattle go off feed. When this happens, beer is fed to the cattle to stimulate appetite. Japanese cattle feeders do not ascribe any magical powers to feeding beer, nor do they associate the practice with an increase in carcass quality. They merely try feeding beer as part of an overall management program designed to keep the cattle on feed. True, cattle sometimes are massaged in Japan. But once again, this practice does not affect the deposition or marbling. It is a common sense practice required occasionally for cattle that are tied in one place for months and have no opportunity to exercise. The massaging is done to make the animal more comfortable and relieve stress due to stiffness that can result from inactivity. As I said, there is little likelihood that you're going to get any all-American cowboys to stand around all day massaging steers, and if there is any beer to be drunk, it ain't likely that any cow's going to get to drink it, but thanks to the Japanese and their Wagyu, we may be seeing some higher-quality beef in this country in the not too distant future.'
---'U.S. Studies Adopting Japan's Kobe beef' Merle Ellis, Chicago Tribune, May 10, 1990 (pg. 8)
About Kobe beef in the USA
About Wagyu
Beef consumption in Japan
'Meat was not widely eaten until the Meiji period (1868-1912), but meat eating was not unknown among the Japanese of earlier times...Those engaged in the manufacture of leather goods, as well as the hunters and stock breeders who furnished hides, ate the fleshof four-legged animals as a matter of course, but these groups were considered social outcasts...Eathing the flesh of mammals formedicinal purposes was permissable...The usual 'medicine eating' fare was deer or wild boar...The meat of choice in the latterpart of the nineteenth century was beef. Beef pickled in miso appears on a menu written at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and it wasan open secret that a daimyo of Hikone...made gifts of that dish, which called 'healthful meat'...But people in general had a strong psychological resistance to killing and eating cattle, which were important animals on the farms...The Japanese-stylebeef stew which originated around that time (gyunabe, the forerunner of sukiyaki) was made by boiling beef and welsh onion withmiso or soy sauce...During the 1860s the colonies of Westerners living in the treaty ports often attempted to purchase cattle fromlocal farmers, who usually refused if they knew the animal would be used for food. Among the peasantry of the time a cow wasregarded almost as a member of the family...The Westerners resorted to purchasing cattle from China, Korea, or America which were butchered aboard ships and sold in the foreign settlements. But the shipments could not satisfy the demand as the foreign population multiplied. Finally, members of the Yokohama breeders in the hills of the Kansi district, where most Japanese cattleranches were located. Thirty to forty head of cattle at a time were shipped live from the port of Kobe to Yokohama, where a slaughterhousewas set up. Beef shipped from Kobe gained a reputation for being very tasty, and the regional product remains famous today as'Kobe beef'...During the Boshin Civil War of 1868-9,...many wounded soldiers were sent to hospitals in Tokyo. There theyreceived Western-style treatment and were fed beef to restore their strength. Most refused it at first, but as the doctors advisedthem to eat beef if they wanted to survive, they complied. Many of them grew to like it so much that after their release theyspread the word in their various home regions that beef was delicious and healthful. The imperial navy served beef to improvethe nutrition of sailors' meals starting in 1869...Later the army began serving meat as well. Military rations during the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars included tins of beef-flavoured with soy sauce and ginger, called yamatoni...The soldiers whoate it later helped spread the custom of meat eating through the country, and tinned yamatoni remained popular until about1950. While soldiers grew to like the taste of meat because they were forced to eat it, the general population becamefamiliar with it through city restaurants. During the early Meiji period meat was served in Western-style hotels and restaurants, and in restaurants that specialzed in beef stew. The Western-style establishments had first appeared in theforeigners' districts of the treaty ports, and they spread to Tokyo and Osaka after restrictions on foreigners' activitieswer eased by the new Meiji government. The foreigners dining in those establishments were joined by high government officials, traders, intellectuals, and other who came out of curiousity to try eating Western food and using a knife and fork. The prices wereso high that the common people could not often afford them. Hyunabeya, or beef stew restaurants, were more accessible to thepublic because they were cheaper and also because the beef they served was seasoned with the familiar flavors of soy sauce andmiso and eaten with chopsticks. The first stew restaurant opened in Edo in 1865. At first the customers were mainly disagreeableruffians of the type who liked to brag that they had eaten meat, and most people held their noses and walked quickly when theypassed the shop. With the change of governemnt a few years later, the adoption of Western civilization became national policyand stew restaurants gradually spread through the main cities...Beef stew spread quickly from the main cities to theprovincial towns...But this was not the case in farming districts, wehre cows were used as work animals...and treated more or lesslike part of the family...By the beginning of the twentieth century, resistance to meat eating was limited to the elderly. Beef stewhad come to be a special treat. It was called sukiyaki in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and other parts of the Kansai region...By the1920s the sukiyaki version had became prevalent throughout the country and attained the status of a national dish.'
---The History and Culture of Japanese Food, Naomichi Ishige [Kegan Paul:London] 2001 (p. 146-152)
Lebanon bologna is a specialty of Lebanon Pennsylvania. Like Italian and German Mortadellas, it is classed as a dry sausage. American Bologna (round, sliced or hot dog shaped)is in a class by itself.
'Sausage making is so much a part of the American culinary tradition that even the recipe used by Martha Washington is a matter of record. The craft, as practiced by Germanic cooks, was an important function of the 'food factory' described by George Frederick. 'With meat grinders, large mixing bowls and sausage stuffing machines,' he wrote, 'my grandparents would produce, before my astounded young eyes, a wide variety of foods, fresh pork sausage, smoked beef sausage, Lebanon style bologna, highly spiced, liverwurst, and a half dozen other wursts...The bologna, five inches in diameter [from the Pennsylvania town of that name], is probably over-spiced for most tastes, but it is surely appetizing.' True Lebanon sausage, now as then, is made of nothing by coarsely ground beef pre cured and aged in barrels, then seasoned with sweet herbs and assertive spices, forced into airtight casings, and smoked over smoldering sawdust for a matter of days. For those who applaud the pungent flavor, pieces of Lebanon sausages are frequently dipped in batter, or in egg and bread crumbs, and served with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, or in a white sauce to accompany flannel cakes. In recent years, as Pennsylvanians have come to absorb the Italian influence on American cooking, these sausages are sometimes diced, mixed with ground beef and tomato sauce, and served over spaghetti or German noodles. Some fans...slice Lebanon sausage as they would cheese and eat it with apple pie.'
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones, 2nd edition [Vintage Books:New York] 1981 (p. 88-9)
'In Pennsylvania, bratwurst could be either stuffed in skins or loose. In any case, it was the so-called father in the sausage trinity of Pennsylvania Dutch cookery. The other two, in their correct spiritual order, were Summerwarscht (summer sausage) and Panhas (scrapple). Of the three, summer sausage, as its name implies, was the standard hot-weather sausage. Today it is erroneously called bologna or sweet bologna (or more commonly, Lebanon bologna), although it has absolutely no resemblance to the mortadella sausage of Bologna, Italy. Summerwarscht is made mostly with beef; it is often sweetened with honey and is well smoked. It is a German sausage still made by some farmers in the Palantinate, where the Pennsylvania species originates. That Broadwarsht, Summerwarsht, and Panhas could be the most popular sausages among the Pennsylvania Dutch is readily explained. They were the easiest to make at home, and they could be preserved under conditions without refrigeration.'
---Sauerkraut Yankees: Pennsylvania Dutch Foods & Foodways, William Woys Weaver, 2nd edition [Stackpole Books:Mechanicsburg PA] 2002 (p. 40-1)
[1938]
---Sausage and Meat Specialties, Part 3: The Packer's Encyclopedia, The National Provisioner [Olsen Publishing, Milwaukee WI] 1938 ] (p. 207-8)
[NOTE: This source contains both recipe and detailed instructions. We can send them if you like.]
[1955]
Lebanon bologna was promoted as gourmet fare in the 1950s. It was available via mail-order:
'The Real Dutch Treat with the Deep-Smoked Flavor. You've neer tasted anything quite so hauntingly delicious as this grandall-beef Labanon Bologna that's been smoked 'n spiced the way only the Pennsylvania Dutch can do it. Here's the taste thrill of alifetime, delicately flavored with a secret combination of spices that's been jealously guarded for 75 years...and rich 100% governmentinspected beef--cured slowly in the hard wood deep-smoked process perfected so long ago. Only $3.50 brings you a 3 1/2 lb. FamousLebanon Bologna anywhere in the U.S. postpaid. Send check, money order, or oder C.O.D....Weaver's Famous Lebanon Bologna,...Lebanon, PA.'
---display ad (with product photo), Gourmet, October 1955 (p. 12)
What is 'London Broil?'
A quick-broiled flank steak introduced to American diners during the Great Depression.Specifically, 'London Broil' is a recipe, not a cut of meat. Flank steak was thefirst cut to hold this moniker. By the 1970s, meat purveyors were proferring this title to other cuts of beef.
Where did the dish originate?
Food historian generally agree 'London broil' originated in the United States. The dish is unknown in England. We're still searching for the chef responsible for morphing broiled flank steak. Some experts speculate the 'London' association was employed by USA butchers to encourage consumers to pay premium prices for lesser cuts of meat. Today we also have turkey London broil. to London broil.
The experts weigh in:
'Q. Can you tell me the origin of the term 'London broil' and the cut of meat used?...A. The origin of the term is unknown, but it is an American term. In her book 'Food of the Western World,'...Theodora Fitzgibbon, who was born in London of Irish parents, notes that London broil, usually a flank steak, broiled quickly on both sides and sliced thinly against the grain.'
---'Q&A,' New York Times, October 19. 1977 (p. C6)
[NOTE: This question was posed again, without further elucidation on the name: New York Times, January 6, 1982 (p. C7)]
John Mariani, noted food historian, observed:
'London broil. Flank steak that is broiled and cut into slices, though the term may also refer toanother cut of beef appropriate for cooking in this manner. The name obviously derives from theEnglish city of London, though the term is not used in England. It seems more specificallyAmerican in origin and dates in print at least to 1931, appearing in Charles G. Shaw's 'Nightlife:Vanity Fair's Intimate Guide to New York After Dark' as a recommended dish at KeensChophouse in New York City.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York]1999 (p. 189)
[NOTE: Gallagher's, a competing upscale NY City steak house, advertised 'London Broil' in the New York Times, November 1,1934 (p. 24)
Craig Claiborne confirmed:
'London broil is a distinctly American invention, and you will never find it--except in referenceto the American dish--in British cookbooks.'
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman[Times Books:New York] 1985 (p. 253)
Which cut?
'London Broil is not a cut of meat at all. It is a recipe. Cattle don't have London Broils. Recipe books have LondonBroils. And, if you will check most recipe books, the cut of meat called for is flank steak.'
---'The Butcher: A Test of Your Ability as a Canny Buyer of Meat,' Merle Ellis, Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1979 (p. H22)
'London broil was once synonymous with flank steak, for that is the cut of meat called for in the classic recipe for the dish. Butthroughout the years, this term has been used brazenly by butchers as they merchandized their meat. In 1973 the National Livestockand Meat Board (in its Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standards) recommended that the term be excluded from its recommendedlist of meat names. However, I see the term used nowadays to label at least half a dozen different cuts in markets around the country. Since you expect to pay a premium for an cut made to sound so tender, it might be helpful to know exactly what you're getting when you buy these cuts. The cut of meat so labeled in most markets these days is the thick first cut of top round, which is the most tenderof the three muscles that make up the hind leg of the steer...Anoother cut that many markets label London broil is a thick cut from thesirloin tip...A cut of meat that receives this label of distinction in many markets...is a shoulder clod or beef chuck shouldersteak...In many markets the skirt steak...is rolled into cute little roll-ups, stuck with a wooden skewer and labeled Londonbroil.'
---'The Butcher' London Broil Labeling is Falling Down--Don't Be Outflanked,' Merle Ellis, Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1982 (p. O24)
We searched through dozens of twentieth century American cookbooks looking for this recipe. There were some recipes for flank steak that might approximateLondon Broil, but they were not named such.
[1954]
'Flank steak is the cut used for London broil, a favorite with men, judging by the frequency with shich it is offered in downtown restaurants at lunch. It could be a favorite of housewives, too, for it requires only brief cooking...'LondonBroil: Preheat broiler ten minutes. Grease broiler rack and place flank steak on it. Broil one and one-half to two inches belowheat for five minutes on each side. To serve, slice diagonally across grain of meat. Season with butter, salt, and pepper. One steak servessix to eight.'
---'News of Food, Quick to Cook,' New York Times, April 14, 1954(p. 35)
[1955]
'London Broil
Order 2 1/2-lb. aged, top quality flank steak; it must be tender. Have excess fat and membranetrimmed, and surface scored on both sides. Preheat broiler 10 min., or as manufacturer directs.Arrange scored flank steak on greased broiler rack. If desired, rub with cut clove garlic. Brushwith salad oil. Place steak 1 1/2' to 2' below heat; broil just 5 min. On each side. Then place onheated platter. Season...top with butter or margarine. Cut, diagonally across grain, into very thinslices. Pass mushroom sauce. Nice too for hot grilled beef sandwiches.'
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, Dorothy B. Marsh editor [New York:1955] (p. 57)
[1960]
'London broil
This flank steak must be of a good grade of meat, should be cooked rare, and carved deftly in very think diagonal slices. Havethe steak at refrigerator temperature, remove the tough outer membrane, and slash any fat around the edge. Brush with a little meltedbutter and broil 8 minutes over a good fire, turning once. Slice on a very long diagonal, so that the red center will be framed by an appetizing brown crust.'
---James Beard's Treasury of Outdoor Cooking [Ridge Press:New York] 1960 (p. 25)Related steaks? Tri-tip steak, Carpetbag steak & Cube steak.
Our food history books and place/period cooking texts confirm humans have been consuming marrow from prehistoric times forward. This particular animal substance has been regarded through time as a delicacy. Most likely for its limited quantity and rich flavor. Ancient Greeks and Romans wrote about virtues of marrow in their literary epics. Medieval Europeans did not wait for conquering Romans to enjoy their marrow bones. Think: Osso buco.
'Bone marrow, the soft, nutritious substance found in the internal cavities of animal bones, especially the shin bones of oxen and calves. The French term is moelle...Medieval and early modern European recipes make clear how generally marrow was valued on its own...and as an enrichment to stews, ragouts, and, especially tarts and pies both sweet and savour, the most famous early modern English example being Tart de moy...When marrow was served on its own, it was roasted and presented in its bone from which it would be removed with a special silver marrow scoop. Dorothy Hartley...provides charming drawings which show how marrow bones were baked in Georgian times, with a small paste crust sealing the cut end, and how thy were boiled if the marrow was to be served on hot buttered toast. In the time of Queen Victoria, marrow was considered to be a man's food and 'unladylike', although Queen Victoria herself apparently ate marrow toast for tea every day...Shelia Hutchins...mentioned that baked marrow bones were 'still served hot in a napkin at City dinners and a few old-fashioned public houses' in London.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition 2007 (p. 90)
'Marrow. The primary application of marrow (an ancient word, which has been traced back to the hypothetical Indo-European base *mozgho-) is to the tissue that fills bone cavities. Traditionally this has been a considerable culinary delicacy...and it remains so in many cultures.'
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 205)
Prehistory
'During the whole history of man, bone marrow has served as food. The result is that at the majority of prehistoric sites, much of the bone debris is in the form of splintered shafts or separated proximal and distal ends of long bones. Even the mandible bodies of larger mammals may at times have been split for their internal organic content, as evidenced for example by French Paleolithic material.'
---Food in Antiquity: A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples, Don Brothwell and Patricia Brothwell, expanded edition [Johns Hopkins University Press:Baltimore MD] 1998 (p. 27)
'The meat eaters of Britain in about 5000BC...bones were stripped and broken to extract the marrow. The fatty tissue within the bone cavities was then, as later, prized as nourishing food.'
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago IL] 1991 p. 60-61)
Ancient Greece
'The softness of bone-barrow made of it a rich food for lucky children, as is said by Andromache in the Homeric Iliad. It was eaten by others too; it contributed to the food value of soups; it was often prescribed by physicians.'
---Food in the Ancient World form A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 208)
'At Frankhthi by this time [approximately 7000 BC] great trouble was taken to extract marrow and that meat was roasted on the bone--the earliest sign in Greek use of fire in preparing food...'
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 1996 (p. 38)
Medieval France
'Beef marrow was a medieval delicacy. The author of Le Menangier de Paris...tells us that 'at court of lords such as Monseigneur de Berry, when they killed an ox, they made the rissoles out of the marrow.'
---The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes form France and Italy, Odile Redon et al, translated by Edward Schneider [University of Chicago Press:Chicago IL] 1998 (p. 192)
Elizabethan England
'Byproducts of slaughtertime, blood, fat and marrow, were all utilized...Marrow was extracted from the cracked bones. Pliny had written: 'All marrow is emollient, filling, drying and warming', and his influence ensured its continued popularity all through the Middle Ages and beyond. Marrow bones were used to make broth and pottage, and the marrow was sometimes served separately, as in the recipe for cabbages boiled in broth. 'And when thou servest it in, knock out the marrow of the bones and lay the marrow two gobbets or three in a dish, as thee seemeth best, and serve forth. Gobbets of marrow were put into pies, too, especially those that contained fresh or dried fruit...Marrow was added to stuffings, and the contents of 'alaunder of beef'. It had a traditional association with puddings, and when these became more common in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, marrow was often an ingredient. Eaten alone, marrow was rather unctuous, 'and doth mollify the stomach, and doth take away a man's appetite; wherefore let a man eat pepper with it'.'
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago IL] 1991 (p. 90-91)
Marrow spoons
'In the late seventeenth through the eighteenth century, eating marrow became very popular among the upper classes, and special silver marrow spoons were all the rage. Some of these had a regular spoon-shaped bowl and a handle that was a long scoop. Others were composed of two scoops, one a shorter, wider channel to scoop the marrow from larger bones, one long and narrow, for smaller bones. These fine silver spoons...were a common target of thieves. The proceedings fo the Old Baily Courts in London reveal that, in May 1771, a certain Robert Toberts was found guilty of stealing sixteen silver marrow spoons; his punishment was transportation to Australia.'
---Bones: Recipes, History & Lore, Jennifer McLagan [William Morrow:New York] 2005 (p. 46)
[NOTE: this book is excellent for modern recipes. History & lore are offered as random (un cited) sidebars.]
Victorian recipes
Beef Bones, Broiled.--There are a few dishes more appetizing than broiled bones, whether of beef, mutton, or poultry. Great attention should be given to the fire. If not clear the bones will be blackened and lose their nice delicate flavour. Divide them, if necessary, rub them with a little clarified butter, then with pepper, salt, and mustard, and broil over the fire for about five minutes. Serve alone or with sliced potatoes and very hot.'
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 52)
'Bones, Deviled.--Make a mixture of mustard, salt, cayenne pepper, and a little mushroom ketchup; lay a coating of butter over the ones, then the mixture, and rub it well in, and broil rather brown over a clear fire.' ---ibid (p. 73-74)
'Marrow Bones.--Saw the marrow bones into neat pieces, cover the ends with a paste made of flour and water, tie them in a floured cloth and boil for two hours. Remove the cloth and crust, put a napkin in a dish, set the bones upright, and serve with dry toast. The marrow can be scooped out an spread on the toast with a sprinkling of pepper and salt, before sending to table; but it is so likely to get cold, that we suggest the above method. Marrow bones are bought generally with sliver-side of the round of beef, and weighed with the meat.' ---ibid (p. 409)
[NOTE: other marrow recipes in this book include: Marrow, Marrow Dumplings, Marrow Dumplings for Soup, Marrow Patties, Marrow Pudding, Marrow Pudding Boiled or Baked, Marrow Sausages, and Marrow Toast.]
- Meatballs:: Kofta & Swedish meatballs
About meatloaf, meatballs, & related ground meat products
Who invented meatloaf, why & when? Good question! Food historians tell us fromAncient times to present cooks have been mixing ground meat with mincedbread/rice/vegetables,spices, thickeners and serving them with sauce. For what reasons?
1. To distribute meat to more people (protein economy)
2. To conserve resources (use it up, don't throw it out)
3. To make tough meat more palatable (aid digestion)
Early ground (finely chopped or minced) molded meat recipes concentrated on sausages in skin casings, meat fritters (similar to meatballs), rissoles, hashes,terrines, andcroquettes. The meat employed in these early recipes was usually already cooked, as opposed tothe raw meat typically used by Americans to make meat loaftoday. Finished products were typically fried,stewed, or baked (in molds or pastry) and served with sauce. Meatballs (a diminutive form ofmeatloaf) are known in many cultures and cuisines. Recipes evolved according to localingredientsand tastes. Middle Eastern kofta and Swedish meatballs are two of the most well known.
Some of the earliest recorded ground meat recipes are found in Apicius, written in AncientRome.Book II is devoted to 'minces.'
Ancient Roman meat balls
Esicia omentata: pulpam cincisam teres cum medulla siliginei in vino infusi. Piper, liquamen, sivelis, et bacam mirteam extenteratum simul sonteres. Pusilla esicia formabis, intus nucleis etpipere positis. Involuta omento subassabis cum careno.
'Ground meat patties in omentum: Grind chopped meat with the center of fine white bread thathas been soaked in wine. Grind together pepper, garum, and pitted myrtle berries if desired. Formsmall patties, putting in pine nuts and pepper. Wrap in omentum and cook slowly in caroenum.
'Within the section dedicated to recipes with ground meat, the Apician manual includes thiscurious rating: 'The ground meat patties of peacock have first place, if they are fried so that theyremain tender. Those of pheasant have second place, those of rabbit third, those of chickenfourth,and those of suckling pig fifth.' (Apicius 54).'
---A Taste of Ancient Rome, Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa, translated by Anna Herklotz,forwardby Mary Taylor Simeti [University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1992 (p. 89-90)
[NOTE: omentum means pork caul fat; caroenum means reduced wine. This book contains amodernized recipe for above meatball dish.]
Modern Italian meat balls
Meat ball recipes evolved according to family tradition. The following recipe was published in the late 19th century by Pellegrino Artusi. He was as famous in Italy as Fannie Farmer was in the United States. They both cookbooks aimed at the average housewife.
'Polpette (Meatballs)Compare with this recipe for Italian meatballs published in an American cookbook circa 1922 (click on the book title for citation information).
Do not think for a moment that I would be so pretentious as to tell you how to make meatballs This is a dish that everyone knows how to make...My sole intention is to tell you how to prepare them when you have leftover boiled meat. Should you wish to make them more simply, or with raw meat, you will not need as much seasoning. Chop the boiled meat with a mezzaluna; separately, mince a slice of untrimmed prosciutto and add to the chopped meat. Season with grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, a dash of spices, raisins, pine nuts, and a few tablespoons of a mash made with an egg or two, depending on the amount. Shape the meat into balls the size of an egg, 'flatten at the ends like a terrestrial globe,' roll in bread crumbs, and fry in oil or lard. Then, transfer them to a baking dish with some chopped garlic and parsley, which you have fried in the grease left in the pan, garnishing with a sauce made with an egg and lemon juice....'
---Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, originally published in 1892, translated by Murtha Baca and Stepen Saratelli [Marsilio:New York] 1997 (p. 238-9)
Did you know??? Italian meatballs, as we Americans know them today, were not always served with spaghetti. They were an accomodation food.
'In the beginning (around the turn of the century) Italian-America restaurants did not serve meatballs with their spaghetti. These were added to satisfy Amerca's hunger for red meat.'---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 183)
'Mudaqqaqat Hamida.Cut red meat into thin slices, then mince fine, adding seasonings, coriander, pepper, cinnamonandmastic together with chickpeas and a little onion. Make in to cabobs smaller than oranges. Meltfresh tail, and throw in the cabobs, stirring until browned: then cover with water. Cut up two orthree onions and add. When cooked, remove the oils, and sprinkle on top a little lemon orgrape-juice, or a mixture of both, or sumach-juice, or pomegranate-juice. Rub over the saucepansomesprigs of dry mint, and throw in a little mastic, pepper and cinnamon. If desired, sprinkle in alittlewine-vinegar, and colour with saffron. Spray the saucepan with a little rose-water, and wipe thesides with a clean rag. Leave over the fire an hour: then remove.'
---'A Bahgdad Cookery Book,' Medieval Arab Cookery, Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry &Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 59)
'Muqarrasa
Take red meat and cut into slices, then mince fine with the usual seasonings and a little garlic.Melt fresh tail, throwing out the sediment: make the meat into cakes, and throw them into the oilto brown. The cover with water, and boil. When cooked, and the water has all evaporated, so thatonly the oils remain, sprinkle with a little fine-ground cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Leave tosettle over the fire for an hour: then remove.'
---'A Bahgdad Cookery Book,' Medieval Arab Cookery, Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry &Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 67)
'Mudaqqaqat Hamida [sour meatballs].
Cut lean meat into strips, then pound it fine and throw salt, the well-known spices and a bit ofonions minced small on it. Them make it into meatballs as large as you want, and boil it in waterand moderate salt. When it is done and the water has evaporated from it, take fat tail and fry itand discard its cracklings. The fry those meatballs in that fat with pieces of onion. As for the sourversion, some like to sprinkle it with sumac water, vinegar, verjuice or lemon juice, or both ofthem [viz. Verjuice and lemon juice] mixed together, and some like to dye it with saffron, so letit[viz. The additional of saffron] be on the vinegar or lemon juice, as much as needed. Sprinkle thedescribed spices on it. If you wish, crumble bunches of dried mint on it. Leave it until it settles,and take it up.'
---'The Description of Familiar Foods,' Medieval Arab Cookery, Maxime Rodinson, A.J.Arberry& Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 346-7)
Meatballs:
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
3/4 cup light cream
3/4 cup packaged dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground pork
2 eggs, slightly beaen
2 tablespoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Dash cloves
Sauce:
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup light cream
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1/2 teaspoon bottled gravy seasoning
Parsley sprigs
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1. Make Meatballs: In 1 tablespoon hot butter in skillet, sautee onion 3 minutes, or untilgolden.
2. In large bowl, combine cream, 3/4 cup water, and the bread crumbs. Add onion, ground meats,eggs, salt, pepper, allspice, and cloves; toss lightly, to mix well.
3. With teaspoon, shape into 75 meatballs, about 3/4 inch in diameter.
4. In 2 tablespoons hot butter in same skillet, saute meatballs, a few at a time, until browned onallsides. Add more butter as needed. Remove meatballs, and set aside.
5. Make Sauce: Remove all but 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Stir in flour untilsmooth.
6. Gradually stir in cream and 1 1/2cups water; bring to boiling, stirring. Add salt, pepper, andgravy seasoning.
7. Add meatballs; heat gently 5 minutes, or until heated through. Serve garnished withparsley.
---McCall's Cook Book, McCall Corporation [Random House:New York] 1963 (p. 681)
The raw, ground meat commonly used to make today's American meat loaf has a humblerheritage. In the 19th century, we know the Industrial Revolution made it possible forground meatbe manufactured and sold to the public at a very low cost. At first, many Americans were slow topurchase raw ground meat products and generally regarded them with suspicion. Lack of reliablehome refrigeration may have played into this decision. Cooks continued to mince their meat(oftenalready cooked, as was the practice for centuries) by hand. Companies selling meat grinders tohome consumers at the turn of the century endeavored to change this practice by provided recipebooks to promote their products. Some of these recipes were simple, others quite creative. A late19th century recipe for 'Meat Porcupine' instructs the cook to press her ground meat into ananimal-type shape mold and decorate it with pieces of bacon to achieve the desired effect.Eventually, the American public began incorporating ground meat into family meals.
Since that time, meat loaf variations have been introduced and promoted by women'smagazines, cookbooks, fairs, food manufacturers, diners and family-style restaurants. Meat loaf&gravy [often paired with mashed potatoes and canned green beans ] was very popular in the1950s. This meal is still considered by some to be the penultimate comfort food. Did you knowthat 'frosted meatloaf' is ground beef covered with mashed potatoes? Perhaps this recipe is adistant relative of shepherd's pie.
'Meat loaves
Was meat loaf too homely a recipe to make American cookbooks published in the nineteenthcentury or earlier?...I find no meat loaves in American cookbooks before the 1880s; these wereprimarily veal loaves (a more economical meat early on than beef) and altogether different fromthe meal loaves so familiar today...Sarah Tyson Rorer offers a slightly more elaborateveal loaf in Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Book [1886] along with something called'Cannelon,' which is clearly the precursor of meat loaf as we know it today...Cannelonsappear in cookbooks right into the 1920s, although by this time meat loaves wereoutnumbering them. Were meat loaves slow to come because of the lack of meatgrinders? Or was it because of unreliable refrigeration (ground raw meat is extremelyperishable)? Possibly a bit of both, but I can't say for sure... Though simple loaves ofchopped meat may have been made during America's infancy and adolescence, only inthe twentieth century did meat loaves truly arrive. And, yes, many of them did come outof big food company test kitchens. Like it or not.'
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, JeanAnderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 94-100)
[NOTE: this book contains classic meat loaf recipes, including the 1886 recipe forCannelon]
A sampling of meat loaf recipes printed in American cookbooks:
Veal Loaf &meat souffle, Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln
[1889]
Fleish Kugel(meat ball) & Spiced VealLoaf, Aunt Babette's Cook Book
[1902]
Cannelon & other recipes from the Enterprise MeatChopper Company, marketed at the Pan-American Exposition, BuffaloNY.
[1918]
Cannelon of Beef, Fannie Merrit Farmer
[1969]
Richard Nixon's favorite meatloaf (AKA Pat Nixon's Meat Loaf)
'Meatloafburgers'
These are hamburgers with stuff int hem. The stuff can be a beaten egg, some bread crumbs, finely chopped peppers and onions, orgrated cheese; you can also mix herbs and spices. A meatloaf has these same ingredients, usually with more eggs, and is baked in a baking dish woth some kind of sauce so it doesn't dry out. I top my meatloaf with grated cheese, bacon slices, and either leftoverSpaghetti Sauce, a can of tomatoes, or a can of Tomato Soup with a little water.'
---Alice's Restaurant Cookbook, Alice May Brock [Random House:New York] 1969(p. 61)
Donkers (April Morning/Howard Fast)
Howard Fast's classic book, April Morning, is chock full of colonial American food references. One of these items, 'donkers,'has puzzled literary critics and food historians. Mr. Fast's description suggests 'donkers' were economical meatball typeitems. The addition of fruit to minced meat dishes was common in 18th century Europeaninspiredcolonial American cuisine. Mincemeat pies on those days combined real meat, suet, spices and fruit encased inpastry for holiday dessert. They were typically baked, not fried.
The original reference:
'When I came into the house, Mother was frying donkers, and the kitchen was full of the smell. You save a week's meat leftovers to make donkers, and then it's chopped together with bread and apples and raisins and savory spice, and fried and served up with boiled pudding. I don't know of anything better...When I ate some of the raw meatstuff, she slapped my hand.'
---April Morning, Howard Fast [Bantam Books:New York] 1962 (p. 5) [First chapter, second section]
Over the years, many people have speculated about the origin of this particular food reference. Some assume the recipe mustbe Dutch, based on the fact 'donker' is a Dutch word. We can confirm colonial American Dutch made meatball-type foods butthey did not call them donkers. What does the word 'donker' mean? Our Dutch-English dictionaries offer several definitions; only one is consumable:
'Donker. dark [night, colour]...obscure, murky, gloomy, dull [weather]; dusky, strong [beer].'
---Nederlands-Engels Woordenboek, K. Ten Bruggencate [Wolters-Noordhoff:Groningen]1978 , volume II (p. 185)
Some sources state 'donkers' was a boiled pudding. Examining Mr. Fast's text confirms this isincorrect. His 'donkers' were served 'with a boiled pudding,' not 'like a boiled pudding.' The least correct conclusion is'donkers' were doughnuts. Mr. Fast is clearly describing a savory dinner item, not a yeast-based fried cake.
To date, we have found no references to anything called 'donkers' in historic cookbooks, dictionaries, colonial foodways texts, hearth cookery texts, academic journals or old newspapers. We also checked 1950s USA cookbooks in case this recipetitlesurfaced during Fast's time (think: Snickerdoodles). The recipe is definately period; the name is a mystery. Somesuggest 'donkers' were named such because you 'dunk' them. This theory does not hold much water, as it is offered by thedoughnut faction. Colonial Americans enjoyed gravy with their meat but we find no evidence they dunked their meats in the gravy. Case dismissed.
The other thing that bothers us about Mr. Fast's 'donkers' is that they were made with raw meat.Our research confirms 18th century minced meat products were made with cooked meat, typically leftovers. Making meatball type products ground raw meat became popular in the late 19th century, when meat grinders becamestandard household appliances.
Want to make donkers for class? Mr. Fast's description provides enough information to recreate from leftovers. Don'tworry about exact amounts; colonial cooks didn't. Bottom line: make sure your product sticks together before frying. If not, add more fat, breading, or egg. Fry until done. We ponder: was Mr. Fast purposely using 'donkers' as a culinary metaphor for figuring out things for oneself? This dovetails perfectly with the challenge presented to April Morning's primary character.
Modernized New Netherlands recipe (without apples, but you can add them):
'Meatballs with currants
1 pound ground beef
2 slices whole grain bread soaked in milk and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons finely minced onion
1/2 cup or more currants
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Oil for frying.
In a large bowl thoroughly combine all ingredients, divide into 6 parts and form into 6 meatballs. In a large frying pan heat the oil and brown the meatballs on one side. Use two spoons to turn them and brown the other side. Add some water to the pan, cover and reduce heat. Braise the meatballs for about 15 minutes until cooked through. Red cabbage, green beans or carrots make nice accompaniments.'
SOURCE: Peter G. Rose.
Porcupine meat balls
Meat/ball porcupines presumably take their name from their resmeblence of the animal by that name. Ground meat (beef, lamb, or chicken) is a perfect medium for simple food sculptures. The 'quills' are made of different foods, according to place and period. The concept of 'illusion food' (making one food look like something else, real or imaginary) dates to Medieval times. Recipes were introduced to American by European cooks. About illusion food (note recipe for ground meat to resemble hats)
Sample recipes through time
[1769]'To Make a Porcupine of the Flat Ribs of Beef
Bone the flat ribs, and beat it half an hour with a paste pin. The rumb it over with the yolks of eggs, strew over it breadcrumbs, parsley, leeks, sweet marjoram, lemon peel shred fine, nutmeg, pepper and salt; foll up very close and bind it hard. Lard it across with bacon, then a row of cold boiled tongues, a third row of pickled cucumbers, a fourth row of lemon peel. Do it all over in rows as above till it is larded all round, it will look like red, green, white, and yellow dice. Then spit it or put it in a deep pot with a pint of water, lay over it the caul of veal to keep it from scorching, tie it down with strong paper and send it to the oven. When it comes out skim off the fat, and strain your gravy into a saucepan. Add to it two spoonfuls of red wine, the same of browning, one of mushroom catchup, half a lemon, thicken it with a lump of butter rolled in flour. Dish up the meat and pour the gravy on the dish, lay round forcemeat balls. Garnish with horseradish and serve it up.'
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald [1769 facsimile], with an introduction by Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 59-60)
[1884] Meat porcupine, Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln [1884] with picture!:
[20th century]
'Porcupine meat balls. The sort of easy, novelty recipe that appealed to cooks in the 30s, yet it appears to have been developed during World War I as a way to stretch meat. In Conservation Recipes (1918) compiled by the Mobilized Women's Organizations of Berkeley and published by the Berkeley Unit, Council of Defence Women's Committee, there is something called 'Rice Meat Balls,' a clear forerunner of the recipes.'
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes fo the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 104)
[1936]
'Porcupines
6 servings
Combine:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped green peppers (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Roll these ingredients into balls. Press them into flat cakes. Roll them in:
1/4 cup raw rice
Heat in a heavy pot the contents of a:
1 1/2 ounce can tomato soup
2 cups boiling water
Add:
6 small skinned onions
6 ribs of celery cut into inch lengths
1 teaspoon chili powder
Add the meat cakes. Cover the pot. Simmer the meat for 45 minutes. Thicken the sauce with:
Flour
Season it, if needed with:
Salt Paprika.'
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill Company:Indianapolis IN] 1936(p. 92)
[NOTE: This recipe was not included in the inaugural 1931 edition.]
[1939]
'Porcupine Meat Balls
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 10 1/2-ounce can condensed tomato soup
1 can water
Select beef from neck, shank, or plate, and have ground. Combine meat, rice, seasonings, and onion; shape in small balls. Mix tomato soup andwater; heat. Drop in meat balls; cover and cook slowly 60 minutes. Serves 6.'
---My Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book [Meredith Publishing:Des Moines IA] 1939 (chapter 10, p. 6)
[1970]
'Yummy Porcupine Meatballs
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup
1 pound ground beef
1 cup packaged pre-cooked rice
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons shortening
1/2 soup can water
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Mix 1/4 cup soul with beef, rice, egg, onion, and salt. Shape firmly into 16 meatballs. Brown meatballs and garlic in shortening;pour off fat. Blend in remaining soup, water, and mustard. Cover; simmer for 20 minutes or until done. Stir now and then. 4 servings.'
---Cooking With Soup, Home Economics Department, [Campbell Soup Company:Camden NJ] revised edition, 1970 (p. 9)
Salisbury Steak
Salisbury steak is one of those rare foods with nine lives. Did you know this particular recipeoriginated as 19th century American health prescription? In some ways, food Dr. James H. Salisbury'shigh-protein diet was not unlike those avocated today. By the late 19th/early 20th centurySalisbury steak lost its health connection. It was resurfaced, obscured and commercialized, in the 1950s as glorified 'hamburg/hamburger' steak.
Compare these recipes:
'Salisbury steak appears to be giving remarkably good results as a diet for people troubled with weak or disordered digestion, but who require the supporting power of animal food. The manner of preparing it is described by Dr. Hopburn in the Philadelphia Medical and Surgical reporter. The surface of a round steak is chopped with a dullknife, the object being not to out, cut, but to pound the meat. As the meat pulp comes to the top it is scraped off while the though ad fibrous portion gradually reaches the bottom of the trough. The pulp is then made into cakes and lightly and quickly broiled so as to leave it almost raw inside. This diet is sometimes used exclusively in chronic cases, and as arule no drugs are employed with it except tonics.'
---'Salisbury Steak,' Chicago Daily Tribune, January 24, 1885 (p. 6)
[1935]
Salisbury Steak
The Salsibury steak does not differ much from the Hamburger. In cooking, the Hamburger isgenerally fried, while the Salisbury steak is usually broiled. In the composition of Salsibury steakmarrow is used in place of the suet, and in the Salisbury mixture the onions are omitted, and thebread is best left out. Water can be used to advantage. On the whole, the beef should be of achoice grade, as the Salisbury has more class, and sells for about ten cents more per portion.Some flavor with sherry wine. Following are some entree suggestions: Grilled Salisbury steakwith bacon; Broiled Salisbury steak with French fried onions; Combination Salisbury steak,cafeteria.'
---The Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel MonthlyPress:Chicago] 1935 (p. 22)
[1950]
Salisbury Steak
4 strips bacon
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (chuch or round)
1 tablespoon ground pork
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced green pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Chop bacon and mix lightly with meat, onion, green pepper, parsley and seasonings. Shape intocakes and place them 3 inches under broiler heat. Broil 12 minutes, turning once. Serves 6.'
---Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, Ruth Berolzheimer editor [CulinaryArts Institute:Chicago] 1950 (p. 361)
[1960-1990]
In the USA, Salisbury Steak waxes & wanes in popularity.Number of mentions of Salisbury Steak ProQuest Historic Newspaper database (USA, selected major metropolitan press...recipes/menus/commercial products/TV dinners) frame post-WWII acceptance:
[1950-1960] 174
[1960-1969] 615
[1970-1979] 1555
[1980-1989] 1601
[1990-1999] 508
'Dr. James M. Salisbury (1823-1904) had begun to put the art of therapeutics into order in 1854 with a study of baked beans. He was trying to locate the nutritive principles behindhealth and disease by living on one food at a time. After three days on beans alone, as he wrote, 'light began to break.' Using a microscope, he proved that bean food did notdigest well; rather, it fermented and filled the digestive organs with yeast carbon dioxide alcohol and acetic acid. He hired six hale and hearty men to feast for dayssolely on baked beans with the same poor results. Stomachs could not take to beans, as they could not take to thirty days of oatmeal porridge. He continued his experiments, feeding two thousand hogs to death on various diets and studying cholesterin (cholesterol). During the Civil War, as a nutritional consultant, he prescribed broiled beefsteak andcoffee to ward off camp diarrhea. The Union Army asked him to devise and army ration, but the manufacture of Salisbury desiccated food was cut short but Union victory. After the war, Salisbury published his Microscopic Examination of the Blood (1868) inspected skin diseases and fungus, treated nervous diseases and consumption and arrived at atherapeutic system that purified the blood, improved digestions and, almost inadvertently, reduced weight. Beans, with the double-walled sacs and gases of the typicallegume, had been the clue all along. Their gases paralyzed the stomach wall; their skins clogged the alimentary canal. Paralytic diseases, tuberculosis and dyspepsia, claimedSalisbury were caused by gluey, fibrous deposits in the body which thickened the mucus and blocked the intestinal canals. Beans, peas and many other foods left long, tackystreamers of themselves in the body. Even meat could be dangerous. Not just its fatty veins but its connective or 'glue tissue' and cartilage could clasp internal organs in the fatal embrace of embolism or tumor. The remedy was hot water and 'the muscle pulp of lean beef made into cakes and broiled.' Salisbury explained: 'hot water washesout the slimy stomach, gets it clean enough from bile and yeasty matter to digest lean meats which give maximum of nourishment with minimum of digestive effort.' Well-doelean beef, the only single food on which a human could live for long without harm, was good for the three years it could take to bring a particular patient back from the laststages of tuberculosis. And, 'Never mind the shrinkage in weight. It is natural and absolutely necessary, for the reason that those foods which upholster, or make fat, arethe very ones which produce the disease.' Salisbury had personally worked through the eras of indigestion and neurasthenia to come at last to obesity...While a physician was wondering whether 'the coming American is to digest his food himself at all or whether it will not be digested for him outside his body, and administered ready for absorption and assimilation,' Salisbury was transforming the banting for absorption into an industrial process. The large-scale processing of cattle in the Stockyards of Chicago...had its counterpart in the new meat grinding equipment of Salisbury's Cleveland kitchen. A diet of broiled beef pulp and hot water was far more than a cosmetic act of reducing;it bespoke a scientific reform of the body, a kind of physiological trust-busting. The spirit and the flavor of the new diet made eating tantamount to precisiontooling and domestic economy. Popular and enduring as the Salisbury steak was and is he reducing plan required 'a repulsive and ostentatious observance of details, a nauseating and monotonous diet, and a disregard of the claims of the palate which cannot fail to disgust.' This...was an English and old-fashioned critique. Skeptical modernAmericans thought Salisbury's 3 lbs of lean beef and six pints of hot water daily just plain too much food, especially for women...'
---Never Satisfied: A Cultural History of Diets and Fantasies and Fat, Hillel Schwartz [Free Press:New York] 1986 (p. 101-102)
[NOTE: Report from Salisbury's food experiments: The Relationship of Alimentation and Disease 1886]
[1884]Sketch of the Life of James H. Salisbury
[1905]
'Dr. James H. Salisbury, a specialist in chronic diseases, died last night at this country home at Dobbs Ferry after a lingering illness. Dr. Salsibury was in his eighty-second year. He was born in Cortland County, N.Y., was a graduate of the Troy Polytechnic Institute and of the Albany Medical College, and alos held degrees from Union College, and Amity College. He published numerous microsopical and therapeutical studies in The New York Journal of Medicine and in foreign medical reviews. He practiced in Cleveland and later in New York. He was a member of the American Antiquaraian Society, the Natural History Society of Montreal, the Philosophical Society of Great Britain and President of the Institute of Micrology. He was the author of numerous authoritative monographs on plant anatomy and anatomical chemistry. He was a pioneer in the work of medical micrcoscopy. Heleaves two children, a daughter and a son, Trafford B. Salisbury, who is also a physician.'
---'Death List of a Day: Dr. James H. Salisbury,' New York Times, August 24, 1905 (p. 7)
[1950/1]
Modern biography published in a scholarly journal (not online, free) & public interest renewed:'Dr. James H. Salisbury and the Salisbury Diet,' Clyde L. Cummer, Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, 59 (1950) 352-70...scholarly article
'Dr. J. W. [sic] Salisbury, who was ahead of his time in working on germ theory as the cause of disease, according to his biographer, is now only remembered in connection with steak.Dr. Clyde L. Cummer, who has just finished a short work on Salisbury's life from 1823 to 1905, says he was working on a germ theory for years before Louis Pasteur and might haegone down in medical annals as one of its giants of discovery. However, he enjoys but 'a slender claim to a place in medical history by lending his name to a steak,' Dr. Cummer said. Dr. Salisbury was a strong advocate of dietary disease, his biographer said, contending that the 'most sustaining and most easily digested is beef.'
---'Scientist Gives Steak a Names,' Eugene Register-Guard [OR], July 24, 1951 (p. 25)
[Accessed online, April 6, 2014]
In sum: Extreme dietary recommendations are always considered weird by social norms. Eating one food (in this case remediated steak, maybe/maybe not similar to modern hamburger) to the exclusion all others, for whatever reason, falls into this category. The original theory was tested with scientific method and acknowledged by the medical community. Our research suggests the Salisbury Steak regimen was never meant for general public consumption. Salisbury Steak recipes exist but float below public consciousness until the 1950s. At that time a new biography of Dr. Salisbury is published. Regional newspapers consider it news. A renewed interest in Salisbury Steak is evident in recipes and corporate products. Likewise, a renewed interest in the recipes namesake occurs. Dr. Salisbury is harshly judged by misinformed modern consumers and relegated to 'quack' status. Sales of frozen TV Dinners featuring Salisbury Steak soar. In the 21st century American consumers generally consider Salisbury Steak a vintage dish. Think: Swedish Meatballs.
The state of Iowa does seem to have a history of loose meat sandwiches:Taylor's Maid-Rites (est. 1926)
'Sloppy Joe's...any cheap restaurant or lunch counter serving cheap food quickly, since1940.'
---Dictionary of American Slang, Harold Wentworth & Stuart Berg Flexner, 2nd supp.edition [Crowell:New York] 1975 (p. 488)
The earliest print reference we have for 'sloppy joe' was published in Ohio, 1949. It cements the direct relationship betweenschool cafeterias/young people and this new version of the loose meat sandwich. 'The school cafeteria and one of the two first grade rooms willbe used for a floral displays. The other first grade room will be transformed into a 'country store' with all kinds of farm and gardenproduce to be offered for sale. The refreshment counter, where hcicken, sloppy joe and weiner sandwiches, homemade pie, coffee and soft drinks will be sold will be in the school kitchen.'---'Country Store to be Feature of Festival,' Masnfield News-Journal[OH], August 14, 1949 (p. 8)
[1950]'Sloppy Joe mixture for the sandwiches is made ahead of time. Have lots of potato chips, hardcooked eggs and marshmallows to toast over thecoals of a bonfire...
Sloppy Joe Sandwich
2 tablespoons sortening
1 1/2 pound ground meat
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cul sliced mushrooms
1/4 teasppon somosodium glutamate
1 cup tomatoes
1/4 cup catsup
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
Heat the shortening in a heavy pan. Add meat, chopped onions, diced celery, sliced mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes unti meat is browned. Add tomatoes, catsup, chili powder, water and cook for 15 minutes. Season to taste. Add tapioca and cook until mixture is slighly tickined,. Soreadup split buns. Eat potato chips with the sandwich to give crunchy texture.:
---'Over the Back Fence,' Naomi Deebel, Cedar Rapids Gazette, September 26, 1950 (p. 9)
[NOTES: (1) Tapioca is a natural starch used for thickening. (2) Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) was a popular artificial/chemical flavor enhancer.]
[1957]
'Last weeek we discovered that graduation parties were still in full swing, both for the high school set and college grads. Sloppy Joe sandwiches was the recipe most frequently asked for by mothers and chairmen planning these parties...
'Sloppy Joes
1/4 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup green pepper
2 tablespoons fat
2 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup tomato juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika.
Method: Cook onions and green pepper in hot fat untillightly borwned. Cut tomatoes in small wedges and add to vegetables. Cover and cook over very low heat 15 to 20 minutes. If desired, thicken sauce by sprinkling in a little flour and cooking until well blended. Serve over split toasted hamburger buns. Makes four to six servings.'
---'Like a Sloppy Joe? Here's the Recipe,' Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, June 17, 1957 (p. A7)
[1960]
'Sloppy Joe Sandwich
30 servings
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 pounds groudn beef
2 onions, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
1 1/3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 no. 303 cans whole kernel corn, drained, or 2 pkgs. frozen corn
Melt butter in large kettle. Add meat onions, garlic salt, salt, pepper and dry mustard. Saute until meat is brown. Add vinegar, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese and corn. Simmer 15-30 minutes. Serve on buttered buns over a slice of tomato.'
---'Eating at Home to Please a Young, Ravenous Crowd,' Chicago Defender, September 10, 1960 (p. 16)
[NOTES: (1) A No. 303 can was 2 cups, or 16-17 ounces. (2) This article also offers a recipe for Peanut Butter Milk Shakes.]
Minced meat recipes were common in colonial America. These economical dishes were generally composed of cooked leftovers. The practice originated in the Old World. Recipes varied according to culture and cuisine. In Colonial America, minced meat dishes could have been either sweet (mince meat pie) or savory (forced meat balls) served hot or cold, cooked with vegetables (shepherd's pie), pan fried for breakfast(hash) or sliced and fried (patties).
About hash
The idea of hash (pre-cooked meat cut up into tiny pieces andsimmered/fried until tender with or without vegetables and spices) dates back into ancient times. Ancient Romans composed similar dishes of various sizes and composition. Food historians tell us minced meat dishes of various sorts were quite popular in the Middle Ages. Mutton, a traditionally tough meat, was often used. Beef, veal, and venison were similarly rendered. Corned beef hash was inevitable.< />'Haricot of mutton
Cut it into small pieces, then boil for a moment, and fry it in lard, and fry with some onions finelycut up and cooked, and moisten with beef broth, and add mace, parsley, hyssop, and sage, andboil it together...'Haricot de mouton' is a classic of traditional French cooking--but there are notharicot beans in this early version...So what is the meaning of these terms--hericot, haricot, oreven hericoq-found in the titles of a whole series of medieval recipes for lamb or mutton stew?The most common theory is that *haricot* is derived from the verb *aricoter*--to cut into littlepieces-which is apt for a stew made with small chunks of meat.'
---Medieval Kitchens: Recipes from France and Italy, Redon, Sabban & Serventi [University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1998 (p. 93-94)...thisrecipe is from Le Menagier de Paris [approx. 1400]
The notion that hash was first introduced to the English in the mid-17th century is attributed tothe fact that it was mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his famous Diary:'Hashv. Taking the place of the earlier hache, hachee, hachey,..and hachis from French. Something cutup into small pieces' sec. A dish consisting of meat which has been previously cooked, cut small,and warmed up with gravy and sauce or other flavoring. 1662: Pepys Diary 12 Jan. 1663...'at fistcourse, a hash of rabbits, a lamb.'---Oxford English Dictionary
A sampler of Colonial American era minced meat recipes
Early English settlers used recipes from their country's cookbooks. Hannah Glasse's Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy [1747] was one of the most popular. Here are Mrs. Glasse's recipes for mince pie & hashed mutton:
'To Hash Cold Mutton.
Cut your Mutton with a very sharp knife in very little Bits, as thin as possible; then boil the Bones with an Onion, a little Sweet Herbs, a Blade of Mace, a very little whole Pepper, a little Salt, a Piece of Crust toasted very crisp; let it boil till there is just enough for Sauce, strain it, and put it inot a Sauce-pan, with a Piece of Butter rolled in Flour; put in the Meat, when it is thorough hot it is enough. Have ready some thin Bread toasted brown, cut thus (picture of a triangle), lay them round the Dish, and pour in the Hash. As to Walnut-pickle, and all Sorts of Pickles, you must put in according to your Fancy. Garnsih with Pickles. Some love a small Onion peeled, and cut very small, and done in the Hash.'
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1947 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 1995 (p. 59)
'To Hash Mutton like Venison
Cut it very thin, as above; boil the Bones, as above; strain the Liquor, when there is just enough for your Hash. To a Quarter of a Pint of Gravy, put a large Spoonful of Red Wine, a small Onion peeled and chopped fine, a very little Lemon-peel spread fine, a Piece of Butter, as big as a a small Walnut, rolled in Flour; put it into a Sauce-pan with the Meat, shake it all together, and when it is thorough hot, pour it into your dish. Hash Beef the same Way.'
---ibid (p. 59)
New England boiled dinner is a perfect convergence of culinary tradition, technologicalconvention, and practical sensibility. New Englanders didn't invent the boiled dinner, theyadapted/adopted/served it because it, quite simply, made sense.
'New England boiled dinner...A very hearty dish of various meats and vegetables that wasoriginally made with salt beef but that may also contain poultry. It was traditionally served atnoontime, but begun early in the morning when the meat would be boiled with cabbage in akettleover an open fire. Later the other vegetables would go in...Boiled meals have long been part ofmany countries' culinary heritage: In France such a meal is called pot au feu', in Italy bollitomisto', and New England Boiled dinners derive from English versions of the dish. The termed boiled dinner' was in print as of 1882, and New England boiled dinner' as of 1896.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Freidman:NewYork] 1999 (p. 216)
'In addition to cooking, much time was devoted to preserving food, with results that include suchclassic American fare as New England boiled dinner. It was originally a meal-in-one-dish of saltbeef cooked at the open fire where meat and vegetables could be combined in a single pothangingfrom a crane and bubbling gently for hours while the housewife pursued her dozens of otherchores. It remains a meal for the heartiest appetites, still in the repertoire of many women whoseancestors migrated across the country. The average Yankee recipe calls for corned brisket, flank,or beef rump to be simmered with a variety of root vegetables. As preparation, some Mainecooksrub a three-or four-pound piece of beef with coarse salt, then cover it with water so heavily saltedit will float a potato or an egg. They may take an old-fasioned iron doorstop to weight down themeat while it absorbs the brine for several weeks.
'Served as a midday meal on farms, a traditional boiled dinner goes to the stove soon afterbreakfast when corned beef and a piece of salt pork, along with a head of cabbage, are coveredwith water and simmered very slowly. In about three hours there may be added a dozen wholepeeled potatoes, and equal number of scraped carrots, and six to eight peeled white onions; wellscrubbed beets are usually cooked separately. When the meat has simmered about four hours, thebeef is drained and put on a hot platter, surrounded by the vegetables and garnished with parsely.Some Yankees call for a sprinkling of cider vinegar, but most common accents are homemadehorseradish sauce or strong mustard.'
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones, 2nd edition [Vintage:New York]1981 (p. 117)
'...most of the food New Englanders ate for more than two hundred years came out of heavyblack iron pots. The large dinner pot', in which meat was boiled with the suet pudding, hung onstout pot chains from wooden lug poles or later from the crane, a Yankee invention. Beanporridge was made in this pot, as were the fish stews of the daily bill of fare. The famous NewEngland boiled dinner--corned beef and root vegetables...-was a triumph of art over thelimitations of fireplace cookery and owed some of its popularity, among the wives at least, to thefact that it could simmer for hours with little attention. Accompanied by mixed mustard picklesand hores-radish and a dessert like baked apple dumplings, a boiled dinner could be counteduponto keep a man putting up a stone wall well-fueled until his afternoon snack.'
---American Heritage Cookbook, American Heritage [magazine], [AmericanHeritage:New York] Volume 1 (p. 83)
As noted by Mr. Mariani, New England boiled dinner was not commonly called such until thelate19th century. Early cook books refer to this dish simply as 'boiled dinner.' Here are some recipesfrom old cookbooks:
[1833]
'Veal should boil about an hour, if a neck-piece; if the meat comes from a thicker, more solidpart, it should boil longer. No directions about these things will supply the place of judgement andexperience. Both mutton and veal are better for being boiled with a small piece of salt pork...'
---American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child [Boston 1833] (p. 5)
[NOTE: this most well-known of early New England cookery books does not contain a recipe forboiled dinner. It does contain a wealth of information on popular meat cuts, properstorage/handling and cooking instructions. It does contain a recipe for beef soup. Soups wereusually made from bones and leftovers, not to be confused with boiled dinners. This book isoftenreprinted and should be relatively easy to find with the help of your librarian].
[1841] 'Beef Boiled
The perfection of boiling is that it be done slowly and the pot well skimmed. If the scum bepermitted to boil down, it sticks to the meat and gives it a dirty appearance. A quart of water to apound of meat is an old rule; but there must always be water sufficient to cover it well, so that thescum may be taken off easily. When beef is very salt (which it rearely will be if rightly cured) itmust be soaked for half and hour or more before it is put on to boil, when the water much bechanged. The Round is the best piece to boil--then the H-Bone. That part of a Round ofbeef--put into your boiler with plenty of cold water to cover it; set the pot on one side of the fireto boil gently; if it boil quick at first, no art can make the meat tender. The slower it boils thetenderer it will be....When you take the meat up, if any stray scum sticks to it, wash it off with apaste brush. Garnish the dish with carrots and turnips. Boiled potatoes, carrots, turnips andgreens, on separate plates, are good accompaniements. If the beef weigh ten pounds it requires toboil, or rather simmer, about three hours. In cold weather all meats need to be cooked longer timethan in warm weather. Always cook them till tender.'
---Early American Cookery: The Good Housekeeper, Sarah Josepha Hale, [Boston 1841](p. 39-40)
[Note: the details provided for boiling procedures, scum is the stuff that rises to the top of the potwhen boiling beef]
[1845]
'Boiled Dish--Meat
Corned beef should be boiled three hours, pork two hours. Beets need as much boiling as the beefin the winter; one hour will do in the summer, when they are more tender; carrots, cabbage andturnips, each an hour, parsnips forty-five minutes, potatoes twenty to thirty minutes.'---New England Economical Housekeeper and Family Receipt Book, Mrs. E. A.Howland, [Montpelier, VT 1845] (p. 56)
[NOTE: the details provided for the timing of the vegetables, even down to the seasons--it isclearthat making sure each ingredient was not over/under cooked was an important factor in preparinga good boiled dinner.]
[1884]
AnOld-fashioned Boiled Dinner
---Boston Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln
Suggested reading:
- A History of Cooks and Cooking, Michael Symons, 'The Stewing Pot,' (p. 67-74)
---overview of the evolution of the iron caudrons/pots and boiling as a cooking method - 300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles, Linda Franklin, 5th edition
---pictures/history of colonial New England cooking pots, cranes, & utensils - Foods of Old New England, Marjorie Mosser
- Saltwater Foodways : New Englanders and their food, at sea and ashore, in the nineteenthcentury , Sandra L. Oliver
'Pot roast,' as we Americans know it today, descends from a long tradition of slow cooking with water. Think: soups, stews & slowly braised dishes.
What is pot roast?
'Pot-Roasting. Poelage.--This is a method of slow cooking by steam. A casserole with a tightly fitting lid is used. The food is cooked in butter or fat and flavoured with vegetables which have been cooked slowly in butter until very tender. Pot-roasted meat, poultry or fish must be basted frequently during cooking. When it is ready, take it out of the casserole. Serve on a dish or, where appropriate, in a cocotte. Remove most of the cooking fat. Dilute the juices in the casserole with wine or stock as indicated in the recipe. Boil for a few seconds. Strain and pour over the dish. Pot-roasting a la Matignon. Brown lightly in butter the meat or fish to be pot-roasted. Cover with a thick layer of Matignon or Fondue of root vegetables...Wrap in buttered grease-proof paper and cook in the oven in a braising pan, or on the spit. After cooking unwrap, place on a dish, surround with appropriate garnishes and pour on the stock to which the matignon has been added before straining. Braising a la matignon can also be carried out by lining the braising pan with the fondue of root vegetables and placing the meat, fish or poultry, which should be liberally basted with butter, on top.'
---Larousse Gastronomique [Crown Publishing:New York] 1961 (p. 761)
'The familiar 'pot roast,' or smothered meat, is prepared by simply steaming it in its own juices. It is placed in the oven in a tight jar and left until the juice is partially drawn out, about an hour; then cooked by greater heat, allowing half an hour to each pound of the meat. If the meat is cut into small pieces, the cooking will not require so long a time. The juice can be made into a thick, rich gravy.'
---The Modern Cook Book and Household Recipes, Lily Haxworth Wallace [Warner Library Company:New York] 1904, 1912 (p. 26)
'The term pot-roast has almost the same meaning as braise, although the technique has a different origin, best explained by quoting the Irish author Florence Irwin (1949)...'Even 30 years ago there were a few ranges in farmhouses. These and also the cottages had hearth fires or open grates in their kitchens. All roasting was done in a pot-oven. These ovens were pots with flat bottoms standing on three legs. The lids were depressed. Sometimes they were suspended of the peat fire on the cook and on the lid red turn (peat) embers were placed. Then there was a hearth fire, some embers were taken to the side of the main fire, the pot placed over these on the hearth, and embers placed on top, thus having both upper and under heat. In this pot the fowls were roasted, also joints of beef. When basting had to be done the lid and embers were removed and replaced when the meat had had due attention.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2009 (p. 94)
[NOTE: the cooking pot mentioned in this section is known in the USA as a Dutch Oven.]
American pot roast recipes
'Pot Roast
Meat of any kind, beef, chickens, prairie fowl or pigeons may be cooked in this way. Slice an onion and a few slices of pork, and put in the bottom of a kettle. Place on top whatever meat is to be cooked, add just enough water to stew it. Be careful not to use too much water; it can be easily added if it cooks away, but is spoils the dish to the obliged to take any out. Keep turning the meat and let it stew or roast slowly till brown and tender; the take out the meat, strain and thicken the gravy, pour over the meat, and serve hot.'
---'The Household,' The Christian Union, November 29, 1876 (p. 446)
[1912]
'A New England Pot Roast
Lay a round of beef in a deep pot; pour in a cupful of boiling water, add 2 slices of onion; cover, and cook slowly, allowing ten minutes to a pound. Now put it in a dripping-pan, rub with butter and flour, and let it brown in a hot oven. Strain the gravy left in the pan, season with salt, pepper, and a little kitchen bouquet, and thicken it with browned flour. Let it boil for one minute, then pour into a gravy-boat or around the beef.'
---The Modern Cook Book and Household Recipes, Lily Haxworth Wallace [Warner Library Company:New York] 1904, 1912 (p. 531)
'Pot Roast of Beef
Get a 4- or 5-pound piece of rump or round of beef. If not a solid, well-shaped piece, skewer it closely, and fasten in between the skewered small pieces of clean fast or marrow. Put 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of beef drippings in the kettle, or fry out slices of the fat, and when very hot, put in the beef and brown it, turning it on all sides so that it will be well and evenly browned. Add a cupful of boiling water, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 teaspoonful of pepper, and 1 tablespoonful of vinegar. Cover the kettle closely and let it simmer three hours, adding water as often as necessary to keep it from burning, and keep it from burning, and keep about the same quantity in the kettle all the time. When done, remove the meat to a hot platter, and make a brown gravy of the liquor by stirring in a tablespoonful of flour moistened and made smooth with a teaspoonful of Worcester or a tablespoonful of tomato catsup. Let it boil up, and serve in a gravy-boat. Meat cooked in this way can be reheated by putting in the kettle with just water enough to keep it from burning, covering closely and giving it plenty of time to heat through, taking care that it does not scorch; or it is nice sliced thin and served cold for lunch or supper, with Worcestershire or sauce piquante.'
---The Modern Cook Book and Household Recipes, Lily Haxworth Wallace [Warner Library Company:New York] 1904, 1912 (p. 522-523)
'Braised Beef-Pot Roast
2 pounds brisket; 1 pint boiling waer; 2 even tablespoonfuls flour; 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls salt; 1 gill cold water; 1/2 teaspoonful pepper. To Cook.--Wash the meat with a wet cloth; trim and season it with the salt and pepper. Put it into a very hot iron pot and set it on the stove where it will brown quickly. Turn it frequently. Cook the meat in this manner until thoroughly browned and all sides; add a gill of boiling water, and draw the pot to a part of the stove where the contents will cook slowly for four hours. Add a gill of boiling water whenever the liquid in the pot becomes low. When the meat has been cooking three hours, mix the flour smoothly with a gill of cold water; stir it into the pot; add enough boiling water to make a full pint. Cook the meat an hour longer, then serve on a dish with a part of the gravy poured over it; serve the remainder of the gravy in a gravy dish. It is very nice to substitute for the last water a quart of tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or in winter, a can of nice tomatoes, chopped fine. In both cases, take out the cores of the tomatoes. Any inferior pieces of beef will answer for this dish.'
---The Modern Cook Book and Household Recipes, Lily Haxworth Wallace [Warner Library Company:New York] 1904, 1912(p. 175-176)
[1937]
'Beef Pot Roast
Select a 3- or 4-pound chuck or rump roast. Wipe with a damp cloth, dredge with flour, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and brown on all sides in 2 tablespoons hot fat. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer 2 1/2-3 hours or until tender, adding more water as needed. If desired, add whole onions and carrots the last 45 minutes; 15 minutes before serving, pour 1/2 cup chili sauce and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce over meat. Or, 2 cups unsweetened cranberry sauce may be poured over the meat immediately after browning. (Serves 6-8)'
---My New Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, Chapter 10: 'Meats-Fish-Fowl' [Meredith Publishing Company:Des Moines IA], revised edition, 20th printing, July 1937 (p. 5-6)
[1952]
'American Pot Roast
2 1/2 lb. rump of beef
2 tablespoons beef dripping
Hot water or stock
1 onion
Salt and pepper
2 tomatoes
Small pinch ground ginger.
This is an old 'Yankee' recipe. Heat the dripping; gently brown the chopped onion in it; add the piece of beef and brown it well on all surfaces, seasoning with salt and pepper. When well browned, add about a cupful of hot water or stock and two peeled and cut-up fresh tomatoes. A very tiny pinch of ground ginger is also here added; then the pot is closely covered and the meat very gently cooked for about three hours. A stalk of celery and a couple of carrots may also be added, as well as a dried bayleaf. In all cases, a heavy thick-bottomed iron pot must be used as slow simmering is essential.'
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon, complete and unabridged [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 407)
[1969]
'Pot Roasts and Stews
The basic idea is that you are using a less tender cut of meat (like chuck) so you cook it longer. Pot roasts or stews should be done in a heavy pot with a cover, either on top of the stove or in the oven. Sprinkle the meat with seasoned flour if you feel like it. Just like with a steak or chop, first seal in the juices by searing the meat, whether it's a large pot roast or cut-up stew meat. Sear in fat or oil until it is browned on all sides. With a large pot roast this may take form 15 to 20 minutes, but do it. If you are going to use onions, you might want to brown them first, too. After the meat is seared, add sauteed onions and some liquid. This can be water, tomato juice, beef or vegetable broth, wine, or Cream of Mushroom-or-something soup (half red wine and half Cream of Mushroom soup is real good). The liquid should be enough to cover the bottom of the pan to a depth of 1 to 2 inches if you cook it on the top of the stove, and maybe 3 or 4 inches if you cook it in the oven. The exact amount of liquid is up to you. Some people don't add any liquid at all. Personally, I like a lot of gravy--so do my friends. Figure on 45 minutes cooking per pound of meat. This is slow simmering, not boiling. About 45 to 60 minutes before the pot roast or stew is done, you may add any or all of the following vegetables: carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, parsnips, cauliflower, string beans, mushrooms. You may also add any form of seasoning, like a bay leaf, some thyme, caraway seeds, ginger, rosemary, chopped garlic, or whatever you have on your shelf. Of course use salt and pepper. To thicken the gravy, you use a few teaspoonfuls of flour. Don't just throw the flour in the pot; that makes lumps. About 20 minutes before the pot roast or stew is done, spoon out or pour off some of the juice, like half a cup. Put 2 or 3 tablespoons of flour in a small pan and slowly add the liquid to the flour, making a smooth paste, and gradually thinning it out over a low heat. The slowly pour the whole mixture back in the pot. Before you dish it up. taste the stuff and make whatever corrections you want to on the seasoning. Allow a hearty soup-bowlful per person. The perfect things to serve with pot roast or stew are shell macaroni or the kind of thin egg noodles that you're supposed to put in soup. Dumpling are a nice addition to stews and pot roasts (see page 49). Stew veal and lamb the same way. Marinated Pot Roast. You can marinate pot roast. Marinated pot roast can bee called 'beef al la mode' or sauerbraten.' Marinate in a glass jar or bowl or large casserole. Use a mild vinegar or wine, half a box of 'pickling spices,' 2 bay leaves, 2 sliced onions, 1/4 cup sugar and 17 peppercorns. Don't rub your eyes after counting the peppercorns. The marinade must cover the piece of meat completely. marinate in your icebox for at least two or three days--the longer the better--then cook as you would a pot roast, using the marinade as the liquid.'
---Alice's Restaurant Cookbook, Alice May Brock [Random House:New York] 1969 (p. 58-59)
The practice of braisingtough cuts of meat in order to make them tender is ancient. Historically, thistechnique is typically employed by the poorer/peasant classes, whose pocketbooks could not afford choicercuts of meat. Osso buco follows this tradition. Food historians generally attribute osso bucco type recipes toMilan and neighboring northern Italian regions, where veal marrow bones figured prominently on local tables sinceancient Roman days. They do not place an exact date or credit a specific person for 'inventing' this dish. Asurvey of Italian cookbooks confirms there are several variations for making osso bucco. Some requiretomatoes; others state the tradtional recipe does not include these 'New World' foods. Tomatoes enteredsouthern European cuisine in the 16th century.
What is Osso Buco?
'Ossobuco. 'Pierced bone,' Braised shank, usually veal, with a rich sauce of tomato and onion. Itis a specialty of Lombardy, where it is usually served with gremolata and risotto alla milanese. Thebone marrow is considered a delicacy, and a small, long spoon is commonly placed on the table withthe dish so that the marrow may be drawn out. From the Latin 'os'.'
---The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1998 (p.170)
'Ossobuco, cut from the shank of veal, is a classic of Milanese cuisine. This famous dish probablyhad its origins in a farmhouse during the nineteenth century and almost certainly did not originatewith tomatoes, a New World discovery which I believe was added by restaurant chefs. It came intoits own in the many osterie of Milan...The taste of veal as it melts away from the bone, the richnessof the marrow, and the flavors of the gremolada--a seasoning made of lemon zest, garlic, parsley,and anchovies--is truly memorable. A special little spoon is used by the Milanese gourmet fordigging out the succulent marrow from the bone; you can use a demitasse or baby spoon. Ossobucois traditionally served on a large platter surrounded by risotto alla milanese...'
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow and Company:New York] 1999 (p.92)
[1892]Pastrami
'358. Osso Buco (Braised Veal Shankes)
The preparation of thsi dish should be left to the Milanese, since it is a specialty of Lombard. I will describe it in the most straightforward manner possible, lest I should be ridiculed. The 'osso buco is a meaty piece of bone with a hole in it, taken from the end of the shank or shoulder of a milk-fed calf. It is stewed in such a way that it becomes delicate and tasty. Using as many pieces as there are people to be fed, place the veal shanks on top of a mixture of chopped onion, celery, carrot, and a bit of butter; season wtih salt and pepper. When the veal has absorbed the flavors of the seasonings, add another bit of butter rolled in flour to give it color and to thicken the sauce, and fishich cooking with water and tomato sauce or tomato paste. Strain the sauce, skim the fat, and put the shanks back on the fire. Season with lemon peel cut into tiny pieces in a pinch of chopped parsley berfore you remove it from the fire.'
---Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, translated by Murtha Baca and Stephen Sartarelli, introduction by Lorenza De'Medici [Marsilio Publishers:New York] 1997 (p. 266-267)
Food historians confirm spicy dried meat products pastrami (pastourma, pastirma, basturma) were enjoyed by ancient peoples. Recipes, as choices of meat, varied according to place, taste, and period. Pastrami is one of many meat products preserved by ancient wind-dried methods. There are many variations. It is generally associated with Central European countries, most notably Romania. Pastrami was introduced to America by Romanian-Jews immigrating in the late 19th century. The USA epicenter is New York City.
'Pastrami is a recent arrival in the English language...However, the product has a long history. The name probably derives through Yiddish from Romanian or Armenian pastrama, a type of wind-dried beef. Lesley Chamberlain (1989) says that' Wind-dried beef, pastrama, of Armenian origin, was observed to be a much-loved food among the poor [of Romania]. A nineteenth century traveler described it as thin, black, leather-like pieces of meat dried and browned in the sun, and with salt and squashed flies'.' Such products were widespread in the Levant and the Balkans. Pastirma, dried meat often seasoned with garlic and cumin, is the Turkish version, and it is under numerous variations of the Turkish name, e.g. pasturma in Bulgaria, that it is known in the Balkan countries. Maria Kaneva-Johnson (1995) explains that the meat can come from lamb, goat, calf or young water buffalo, cut into the thinnest possible spices and eaten uncooked or lightly grilled as meze'. She remarks that a version cooked with a paste of paprika, fenugreek or cumin, and salt (to protect and add piquancy to the meat) is a specialty of the Anatolian town of Kayseri (Caesarea in Roman times). The version which has become a feature of New York Jewish cuisine and is used for the famous pastrami on rye sandwich is adapted from these origins, but prepared in a somewhat different manner, which includes steaming the meat.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 579)
Turkish roots
'Though foreshadowed in earlier Aegean sources, yoghurt appears to have become a much more significant part of the diet in Ottoman times. The same may be said of dried meat, pastirma, which according to Michael Baudier was already a prized delicacy in his time.'
---Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 1996 (p. 200-201)
'...it was in Byzantine times that dried meat first became a delicacy in the region--a fore-runner of the pastirma of modern Turkey.'
---Flavours of Byzantium, Andrew Dalby [Prospect Books:Devon] 2003 (p. 63)
Balkan heritage
'There are many similar kinds of salted wind-dried meat to be found, such as the Armenian pastrami made with beef, described by a nineteenth-century traveler as 'thin, black, leather-like pieces of meat dried and browned in the sun, and with salt and squashed flies.' Turkish pastirma is seasoned with garlic and cumin, while pasturma is made in the Balkans from lamb, goat, calf, or young buffalo. The more recent and highly popular pastrami, eaten in New York Jewish restaurants, evolved from this group of cured meats. It was brought to America by Jews from Rumania and other eastern and central European countries...'
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World, Sue Shepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 74)
'Pasterma (Albanian), pastrma (Bosnian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croat), pastruma (Bulgarian), pastourma (Greek), pastrama (Romanian), from Turkish pastirma, is dry-salted air-dried fillet of beef (in Turkish bel pastirma), or fillets take from lamb, goat, calf or young water buffalo, cut into the thinnest possible slices and eaten uncooked or lightly grilled as meze. A specialty of the town of Kayseri (Caesarea of Roman times) in Anatolia, is pasturma coated with a paste of paprika, fenugreek or cumin and salt which protects and adds piquancy to the meat. The American pastrami, the cured, smoked underside of beef, is from the same linguistic root.'
---The Melting Pot: Balkan Food and Cookery, Maria Kanefa-Johnson [Prospect Books:Devon] 1999 (p. 62)
Armenian culinary tradition
'Basturma is the Armenian name for dried slices of lean beef pressed, cured in salt, and coated with a spicy mix called chaman. Unlike similar cured meats known in other cultures as pastrami and pastrama, the meat for basturma is neither cooked nor smoked. Dry curing with salt prevents bacteria growth and makes basturma safe for consumption Basturma might be described by a Westerner as a soft beef jerky. It's a great source of protein although, like so many cured meats, its sodium content is considerable. Basturma-making takes weeks and consists of four stages...There are two schools of thought about basturma's lineage. The first points to the practice of medieval Central Asian nomads, who supposedly would stick beefsteaks under their saddles before riding off to war...Food writers seem to prefer this version because it suggests an exotic primitivism in the origins of the dish. The second points to the city of Kayseri in Capadoccia, in modern Turkey. In Byzantine times, the city was called Caesarea Mazaca. There and throughout Byzantium, the technique called pastron was an accepted salt-curing tradition. Turks reintroduced pastron as pastirma. Naturally, Turks prefer the Central-Asian, nomadic version of basturma's origins in their narratives about national cuisine. In turn, the Greeks point to the possibility of Byzantine roots. Armenian claims to basturma are based on the fact that they were known as the most skillful basturma-makers in the Middle East. In Kayseri, the Mecca of basturma, Armenians had a monopoly on the basturma business. An Armenian name, Basturmajian, is living proof of historical meat-processing skills. In Ottoman times, tax collectors often assigned descriptive surnames according to the trades and businesses of the taxpayers, an easy way to remember who had paid their levies. In the modern-day market economy of Armenia, basturma is manufactured in big-scale, privately-owned meat processing plants...In Soviet Armenia, basturma was made in private homes by repatriated Armenians who had immigrated to Armenia from the Middle East in the 1940s and 1950s. They would sell it from their homes with extreme caution since any private business activity was considered illegal by the communist government.'
---Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore, Irina Petrosian and David Underwood [Yerkir Publishing:Bloomington IN] 2006 (p. 112-113)
How to make pastrami?1938 Kosher & 1971 Armenian.
PaupiettesFood historians confirm paupiettes (aka beef olives, rouladen, involtini) were known to 17th century cooks. These neat rolled, stuffed meat dishes were thought to have resembled small, headless birds. Hence the name. Traditional paupiettes are made with beef and veal.
'Paupiette. A thin slices of meat spread with a layer of forecemeat and then rolled up. Paupiettes may be barded with thin rashers (slices) of fat bacon and tied up with a string or secured with small wooden cocktail sticks (toothpicks). They can be braised in a little liquid or fried. Veal is most often used, but beef, lamb and turkey escalopes, or even slices of calves' sweetbreads, are often suitable. Paupiettes can also be made with cabbage (the leaves are blanched, stuffed in various ways, then rolled up, tied and braised) or with fish (thin slices of tuna, or fillets of sole, whiting or anchovy, are stuffed, rolled up and cooked in stock.).'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 856)
'A paupiette is essentially a slice of meat rolled round a savoury stuffing and then braised or fried. The meat used can by lamb or beef (paupiettes de boeuf are the French equivalents of English beef olives'.) But it is most usually veal. The word is a diminutive form derived ultimately from Old French poup, fleshy part', a descendant of Latin pulpa, pulp'. A common synonym for it in French is oiseau sans tete, literally headless bird'.'
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 245-6)
'Beef olives, familiar in England, originated in medieval times, when cooks would take slices of beef or veal (or mutton), spread them with a stuffing of, say, breadcrumbs, onion, and herbs, and braise them. When they call the result olives', this was a mistake; a corruption of the name of the dish aloes' or allowes'. This came from the Old French alou, meaning lark; the idea was that the small stuffed rolls looked something like small birds, especially ones which had lost their heads in being prepared for the table. In this connection it is interesting that, although the standard French word for these rolls is paupiettes, there is an alternative name, alouettes sans tete, literally 'larks without heads'. Also, in English they are still often called veal birds'. Corresponding terms in other countries are: Italy, involtini; Poland, zrazy; Czechoslovakia, ptachky; and Germany, Rouladen.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 69)
'Beef olives--slices of beef rolled up round a stuffing of, say, bread-crumbs, onions, and herbs, and braised--have not direct connection with olives. The term olive arose in the sixteenth century by folk etymology--the process of reformulating a less familiar word along the lines of a more familiar one--from an earlier aloes, allowes, or alaunder: Item, all chopped onions, boile them clean, water before they go to any work, except in alowes,' Gode Kokery (a fourteenth-century cookery book). This was a borrowing from Old French alou, 'lark' (modern French for 'lark' is alouette), a term applied to these small meat rolls on account of their supposed resemblance to small birds, particularly headless ones prepared for the table. The standard French word for this dish is paupiette, but an alternative is alouettes sans tete, literally 'larks without heads'. From the earliest times, mutton and veal had been used in the recipe as well as beef )Gervase Markham, in his English Housewife (1615), gives a recipe for 'Olives of Veal'), but gradually beef came to predominate--it is the meat specified by Elizabeth Raffald in the eighteenth century and Mrs. Beeton in the nineteenth century.'
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 25)
HISTORIC RECIPE SAMPLER
[1615] Markham'To roast olives of veal.
You shall take a leg of veal and cut the flesh from the bones, and cut it out into thin long slices; then take sweet herbs and the white parts of scallions, and chop them well together with the yolks of eggs, then roll it up within the slices of veal, and so spit them and roast them; then boil verjuice, butter, sugar, cinnamon, currants, and sweet herbs together, and, being seasoned with a little salt, serve the olives up upon that sauce with salt cast over them.'
---The English Housewife, Gervase Markham, originally published in 1615, edited by Michael R. Best [McGill-Queens University Press:Montreal] 1994 (p. 86)
[1769] Raffald
'Beef Olives
Cut slices off a rump of beef about six inches long and half an inch thick. Beat them with a paste pin and rub them over with the yolk of an egg, a little pepper, salt, and beaten mace, the crumbs of a half a penny loaf, two ounces of marrow sliced fine, a handful of parsley chopped small and the out rind of half a lemon grated. Strew them all over your steaks and roll them up, skewer them quite close, and set them before the fire to brown. Then put them into a tossing pan with a pint of gravy, a spoonful of catchup, the same of browning, a teaspoonful of lemon pickle, thicken it with a little butter rolled in flour. Lay round forcemeat balls, mushrooms, or the yolks of hard eggs.' ---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, originally published in 1769, with an introduction by Roy Shipperbottom [(p. 60)
[1861] Beeton
Beef Olives
I. 650. INGREDIENTS. 2 lbs. of rump-steak, 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful of minced savoury herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 1 pint of stock, No. 105, 2 or 3 slices of bacon, 2 tablespoonfuls of any store sauce, a slight thickening of butter and flour. Mode. Have the steaks cut rather thin, slightly beat them to make them level, cut them into 6 or 7 pieces, brush over with egg, and sprinkle with herbs, which should be very finely minced; season with pepper and salt, and roll up the pieces tightly, and fasten with a small skewer. Put the stock in a stewpan that will exactly hold them, for by being pressed together, they will keep their shape better; lay in the rolls of meat, cover them with the bacon, cut in thin slices, and over that put a piece of paper. Stew them very gently for full 2 hours; for the slower they are done the better. Take them out, remove the skewers, thicken the gravy with butter and flour, and flavour with any store sauce that may be preferred. Give one boil, pour over the meat, and serve. Time. 2 hours. Average cost, 1s. per pound. Sufficient for 4 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
II. (Economical.)
651. INGREDIENTS. The remains of underdone cold roast beef, bread crumbs, 1 shalot finely minced, pepper and salt to taste, gravy made from the beef bones, thickening of butter and flour, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup. Mode. Cut some slices of underdone roast beef about half an inch thick; sprinkle over them some bread crumbs, minced shalot, and a little of the fat and seasoning; roll them, and fasten with a small skewer. Have ready some gravy made from the beef bones; put in the pieces of meat, and stew them till tender, which will be in about 1 1/4 hour, or rather longer. Arrange the meat in a dish, thicken and flavour the gravy, and pour it over the meat, when it is ready to serve. Time. 1 1/2 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the beef, 2d. Seasonable at any time.'SOURCE: Mrs. Beeton's Household Cookery
[1907] Escoffier
'Paupiettes of veal are made from thin slices of veal approximately 12 cm (5 in) long by 5 cm (2 in) wide cut from either the cushion or under cushion. After having lightly flattened and trimmed the slices, cover them with a layer of forcemeat in keeping with their preparation, roll up into the shape of a cork, wrap in a thin layer of salt pork fat and tie them round with thread so that they keep their shape while cooking. When their garnish comprises tartlet cases, half tomatoes or sections of cucumber or aubergine, the Paupiettes should, for preference, be arranged on these items for service...In addition to their use as a dish in their own right, Paupietes of veal may be used as an extra item fro such garnishes as Financiere, Milanaise, Napolitaine, fresh Noodles, Lasagnes etc. When prepared for this purpose they should be made only half the usual size or in some cases may be made even smaller.'
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, first translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in its entirety [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1979 (p. 328-329)
[NOTE: Escoffier offers 10 variations: Algerienne, Belle-Helene, Brabanconne, Champignons, Fonbtages, Hussarde, Madeleine, Marie-Louise, Portugaise and with Various Garnishes.]
[1927] Madame Saint-Ange
'Stuffed Veal Scallops (Les Paupiettes). A very old dish, which can be found in cookbooks dating back more than a century and a half, referred to as pouiettes, polpettes, or 'headless birds.' It means a ribbon of raw veal meat spread with stuffing on one side and then rolled up on itself to make a large cylinder. By extension, you can apply this procedure to beef, and even fillet of sole or other fish. But when it was invented, and for a long time afterward, it was prepared with veal. Braising is used to cook the paupiettes. The accompaniment is usually a puree of sorrel, chicory, spinach, or fresh or dried beans, etc., and noodles or macaroni with tomato sauce, on which you serve the paupiettes. You can also accompany them with a jardiniere garnish, including asparagus tips, flageolet beans, etc., In short, use any of the garnishes that go well with braised meats. These paupiettes are made from a long scallop weighing about 125 grams (4 1/2 ounces) and, when possible, cut from a fillet of veal. If not, take it from the round roast. They must be at least 15-17 centimeters (6-6 1/2 inches) long and only 6-7 centimeters (2 1/2-2 3/4 inches) wide: however, it is often difficult to get these from the butcher, who is more used to cutting ordinary scallops for sauteing. But if the scallop for the paupiette is not thin and very long, it is very difficult to roll up once you have stuffed it, and the stuffing will come out while cooking and spoil the look of the paupiette. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a simple sausage meat will give the same results as a stuffing that has been specially prepared. Do not take off the bacon strip that is tied around each paupiette while cooking: this nourishes the meat and prevents it from browning. A paupiette, like a fricandeau and a grenadin, must retain a light color, and the meat should be as tender on the outside as on the inside. Given the thinness of the meat, it could dry and harden if it browns. Furthermore the paupiettes are colored by the final glazing.'
---La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange, translated and with an introduction by Paul Aratow [Ten Speed Press:Berkeley CA] 2005 (p. 279-280)
[NOTE: Complete instructions, a illustration of prepared paupiette follow. Happy to scan send this and/or original French text.]
[1961] James Beard
'Veal Birds with Sausage (Serves 6)
6 slices of veal
Flour
3/4 cup of sausage meat
Pepper
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of broth or white wine
1 onion stuck with 2 cloves
1 additional bay leaf
Sprig of parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
The veal slices should be about 6 by 4 inches and fairly thin. Buy larger slices for people with hearty appetites. Spread the meat out on a table top or working surface and sprinkle the slices lightly with flour. In the center of each place a few spoonfuls of sausage meat. Add a little freshly ground black pepper, a bit of crumbled by leaf and roll the slices up. Fasten them with toothpicks of small metal broth or white wine, the onion stuck with cloves, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley and salt. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Turn the rolls once during the cooking. Serve veal birds on buttered rice with apple slices sauteed in butter and glazed with a little sugar sprinkled over them. Sliced tomatoes and onions are a good choice for the salad course to follow.'
---The James Beard Cookbook, in collaboration with Isabel E. Callvert [E.P. Dutton & Co.:New York] 1961 (p. 278)
[NOTE: Variations offered in this book: With Ham & With Dill.]
Portable and tasty, this Native American energy bar provided sustenance for travelers. The primary meat was American bison (buffalo).
'Most land travelers, except in the great deserts or the frozen north, expected to live off the terrain, but took a store of provisions with they by way of insurance. Such provisions had to be light and compact when the traveler moved on his own feet and was his own beast of burden, and from native Americans, north and south, the European explorer learned the virtues of two sustaining and lightweight meat products, pemmican and charqui [jerky]. Pemmican was ideally suited to the chilly north. It was made by drying thinly sliced lean meat, usually for one of the larger game animals, over a fire or in the sun and wind. The dried meat was pounded to shreds and mixed thoroughly with an almost equal quantity of melted fat, some marrow from the bones and a few handfuls of wild cherries, and then packed in rawhide sacks that were tightly sewn up and sealed with tallow. Pemmican's name came from a Cree Indian word for fat, and its high fat content made it a valuable source of warmth and energy. It was pemmican that sustained the fur trader Alexander Mackenzie during his pioneering journey of 1793, when he became the first European to cross North America from coast to coast. Half a century later Arctic explorers were to be furnished with a refined version in cans, scientifically prepared by Mackenzie's fellow Scot and successor in Canadian exploration, Sir John Richardson. Richardson found that if the neat were slowly dried over an oak fire it improved pemmican's keeping qualities, and that first-grade currants or sugar made an acceptable substitute for wild cherries.'
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1973, 1988 (p. 228-229)
'Pemmican is the traditional iron rations of the North American Indians, made of dried buffalo or other meat pounded to a paste, mixed with rat and often fruit, especially cranberries, and shaped into small cakes. Carried on hunting trips, it could last almost indefinitely. The term has been take over for a small but rather less ethnic mixture of beef and dried fruit, used as emergency rations by explorers, soldiers, etc., in the Arctic. In origin it is a Cree word, pimikan, based on pimii, 'grease,fat.'
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 250)
'Pemmican. A form of hard, preserved meat, used by the N. American Indians...The meat, from buffalo, deer, or other animals, was air dried in strips until quite hard, then pounded to a powder and mixed with melted fat. It was usual to mix berries, especially cranberries, but also chokeberries. The resulting stiff paste was packed in skins, inside which it dried to a hard, chewy consistency. Pemmican made in this way keeps mainly because it is dry...Salt played no part in the original drying process, though it might be added later for flavour. The berries were probably also added for flavour, but had a useful effect because of their content of benzoic acid, a natural preservative, which represses the growth of micro-organisms. The fat also helps preservation by sealing the meat from the air. The skin wrapping is not a sterile container because the food is not cooked in it--in fact, the only heating is the melting of the fat--but at least keeps the contents clean. Pemmican was adapted by white explorers to suit their own needs and tastes. In the 1820s the Arctic explorer Sir John Richardson used the malting equipment of a brewery to make pemmican. The meat was dried in the malting kiln and ground in the malt mill. It was mixed with rendered suet, currants, and sugar, and packed in tin canisters. Soon pemmican was being canned in a conventional manner, which safeguarded its preservation and allowed it to be made in a slightly less dry and tough form. It could be chewed as it came, from the can, or made into a primitive stew. Canned pemmican remained a staple food of explorers and mountaineers.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, 2nd edition edited by Tom Jaine [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2007 (p. 594-595)
'It seems strange that the original Native American pemmican is almost never mentioned in the diaries and records of migrants on the western wagon trails...Despite the fact that they often took mountain men as guides during the summer months, the godly and respectable migrant seemed reluctant to eat Indian and wild men's food, sometimes with disastrous consequences. The value of the meat in pemmican was in its drying, which concentrated and preserved it, making it portable and lasting. Drying is probably the earliest and simplest way to preserve food, and it is possible that man was drying food even before he cooked it.'
---Pickled, Potted & Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Processing Changed the World, Sue Shepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 30)
How to make pemmican?
Native American cultures relied on oral traditions for preserving information. Europeans were the first to record in print cooking techniques & recipes.
Sioux recipe described by Meriwether Lewis, Lewis and Clark Expedition:
'After the meat is dried, it is pounded until pulverized and then placed in a mixing vessel. Various kinds of berries might be added to improve flavor, and as a counterpoint of sharpness against the next ingredient. Marrow from bones is melted until it reaches a liquid state, the high heat acting as a purifier for the grease. The sanitized fat is then poured over the meat particles, allowed to cool into a stiff paste, and then packed inside a rawhide sack. Another layer of pure fat is applied, much like sealing wax or paraffin is used to cap preserves, and this layer forms another anaerobic barrier that stretches the storage time.'
---Feasting and Fasting with Lewis & Clark: A Food and Social History of the Early 1800s, Leandra Zim Holland [Old Yellowstone Publishing:Emigrant MT] 2003 (p. 12)
[1867]
'Pemmican. --One of the most useful applications of buffalo meat consists in the preparation of pemmican, an article of food of the greatest importance, from its portabilityand nutritious qualities. This is prepared by cutting the lean meat into thin slices, exposing it to the heat of the sun or fire, and, when dry, pounding it to a powder. It is then mixed with an equal weight of buffalo suet, and stuffed into bladders. Sometimes venison is used instead of buffalo beef. Sir John Richardson, while preparing for his Arctic Expedition, found it necessary to carry with him pemmican from England. This he prepared by taking a round or buttock of beef cut into thin steaks, from which the fat and membranous parts were pared away, and dried in a kiln until the fibres of the meat became friable. It was then ground in a malt-mill, and mixed with nearly an equal weight of beef suet or lard. This completed the preparation of the plain pemmican; but to a portion raisins were added, and another portion was sweetened with sugar. These latter changes were subsequently highly approved of by the voyagers. The pemmican was then placed in tin canisters and well rammed down, and after the cooling and contraction of the mass, these were filled up with melted lard through a small hole left in the end, which was then covered with a piece of tin and soldered up.'
---The MarketAssistant, Thomas Farrington De Voe
[1934]
'Pemmican
A hardy, concentrated food, nutritious and balanced. one-third of a pound is a meal in itself.
10 lbs. jerky (lean beef or venison, dried)
2 lbs. seedless raisins
1 lb sugar
5 lbs. rendered suet (fat) Grind meat finely. If damp, heat slightly to evaporate moisture. Mix thoroughly meat, raisins, and sugar. Melt fat at lowest temperature and mix with meat. Pack into silk bags (bologna style). Tie well and dip in hot parrafine several times for protective coating. Pemmican will keep for months if properly handled. Amount of fat is increased or decreased according to climate. The colder the weather, the more fat required. On an entire lean meat diet in the cold north a man would starve to death. Pemmican may be eaten raw, fried or boiled. is best cooked in soup thickened with flour.' ---Sunset's Grubstake Cook Book, Charles M. Mugler [Sunset Magazine, Lane Publishing Co.:San Francisco CA] 1934(p. 63)
Food historians generally agree humans have been consuming pigeons (doves, quails, snipes, & other small game birds) from prehistoric times forward. Readily available, economically viable, and culinarily versatile, these birds graced tables across all socio-economiclines. Up until the 20th century. Today's mainstream American diners do not embrace pigeon on the menu. Nor do we find thesebirds in our supermarkets or serve them at home. But? We are intrigued by contemporary upscale restauranteurs enticing us to try delicious bites of squab. Some diners are surprised to learn there is a connection. This may be a classiccase of try it, you'll like it. Ask what it is later. Pigeon eggs are considered a delicacy in China. Bastilla is a Moroccan pigeon pie. In some cultures, pigeons symbolise faithfulness.
'Because humans seem to have had omnivorous ancestors, birds were probably a significant item in the human diet well before historic time. Many kinds of birds can be caught readily, and young adults are generally considered to be superior fare...Additionally, the eggs of many kinds of birds are highly prized...In the case of pigeons, the rock pigeon (Columba livia) is known to have frequented regions inhabited by our ancestors more than 300,000 years ago...The family Columbidae is widely distributed...There are some 300 kinds of pigeons known to biologists, and many have been and still are used for food by humans worldwide. The record of dietary use is, however, without detail for most such species, as for example, doves...The rock pigeon has a history in part coincident with that of humans for at least the past 12,000 years. The earliest information is of two kinds--the organic, subfossil, bony remains of pigeons in midden heaps in caves and the slightly later cultural record of human-pigeon interactions...so long as humans relied on catching wild pigeons--probably squabs from nests--pigeon would have been merely an occasional item of diet. Only after pigeons were domesticated and relegated to a life of confinement in cages did they make regular appearance on the table. The first such attempts are not recorded, but rock pigeons are readily domesticated...and as the following discussion shows, this practice doubtless occurred relatively early. The earliest evidence of domestication has been found in Sumerian statuary and cuneiform lists; in the remains at a funerary feast in a tomb at Saqqara, Egypt; in Sumerian culture, which includes a version of the Mesopotamian Flood Myth featuring a pigeon...It is not clear at what time pigeon husbandry on such a large scale was found in Europe, but substantial columbariums were in operation in medieval times...In post-Renaissance Europe, pigeon keeping was, to some extent, restricted to the privileged classes of society--to manor house lords and members of the clergy...Many large flocks were maintained, and recent estimates of numbers of dovecote pigeons in England and France in the sixteenth century run to the millions...Dovecote pigeonry in the Americas was introduced by settlers from England, France, and Germany to early seventeenth-century Nova Scotia and Virginia...Pigeons appear in the world's first cookbook, which is attributed to Apicius, a first-century Roman...If we judge only by the frequency of its pigeon recipes, which number 2 against 18 for chicken, then it would seem that the ascendancy of the latter in human diets was already marked in Mediterranean Europe by the first century..The recipes for pigeon are once dominated by raisins, honey, and dates, suggesting that perhaps the more pronounced flavor of pigeon is better able than chicken to emerge from such sugary dishes.'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] Volume One, 2000 (p. 561-564)
'Pigeons were probably first domesticated in Pharaonic Egypt, and were at least occasionally used in sacrifice and in food from the second dynasty onward. The fully domesticated birds were kept in pens. Pigeons could be force-fed to produce a fatter and better-tasting bird. The method is described by Cato, writing in Italy in the mid second century BC, but Cato assumes that the young bird will be taken from the wild, perhaps implying that domesticated pigeons had not then been introduced to Italy. In late Hellenistic times, not only in Egypt but also in Italy, dovecotes were introduced where flocks of semi-wild pigeons could be kept. Dovecotes are still a feature of the Egyptian rural landscape...A prolific breeder and a source of fine food, the pigeon is characterized by Varro as a highly profitable investment.'
---Food in the Ancient World From A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 260)
'The domesticated pigeon, Columba livia, is belived to be descended from the rock pigeon or rock dove, which is found wild today from the Atlantic shores of North Africa and Europe to India...The earliest representation of the pigeon, in Mesopotamia, dates to about 4500 B.C. Though evidence of the bird remains scanty until classical times, some scholars believe that it may have been the earliest ofdomesticated birds. In ancient times, the pigeon probalby enjoyed a loose relationship with man simialr to that found in parts of the Near East today, with humans providing a pigeon breeeding place and benefitting from the dung they collected for fertilizer and from the young birds they took for food...Over time the relationship would have developed from one of symbiosis to one of control and fulldomestication. The domesticated pigeon appeared in Inda at some unknown early date, and Indians probalby carried it to Malaysia, where one of its names derives from Sanskrit...From Malaysia, it may have been carried by sea to China, or it may have been carried overland from India or the Near East. In either case, pigeson were being kept in China by the sixth century A.D., and may have been there much...The domesticated pigeon (ko) has a many-sided position in traditional Chinese life which should be considered before we turn to itsuse as food. One should perhaps note first that Chinese farmers and others keep large numbers of them, of many breeds...for food, racing,or other purposes....Pigeion, though not a 'great dish' like duck, was also served as a delicacy at marriage banquets and on otherfestive occasions, and was offered daily at reseaturants, prepared in a variety of ways. Examples of recipes...many identified as Cantoneses, are: 'Broth of Pigeon,' 'Fried Pigeons,' 'Crisp Squab,' 'Deep-Fried Red-Cooked Pigeon,' 'Minced Squab with Oyster Sauce,' 'Deep-Fried Aromatic Pigeions,' 'lemon Squab,' 'Red-Cooked Lemon Pigeon,' 'South of the River Pigeon and Shrimp Cakes,'Casserole of Mushroomn Squabs,' 'Briased Pigeon in Fruit Juice,' and 'Steamed Pigeons.' Though some of these have simple names, they mayin fact be gourmet dishes...The braised pigeon dish is Cantonese, a savory 'semi-soup' made with salt and soy sauce as well as lemon juice, orange juice, apple sauce, tomato, chutney, and chive or scallions...Pigeon flesh is considered both 'heating' and strengthening, andmay be taken as a remedy for cold diseases and given to women during pregnancy and after birth...For medicinal uses, theChinese prefer white pigeions; their excrement...serves as an anthelmintic and antiscorbutic.'
---Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry, Frederic J. Simoons [CRC Press:Boca Raton FL] 1989 (p. 306-308)
'Pigeon. The Buddhist Jataka tales refer to the use of pigeons as food as does Sushrutha. A Sanskrit work that originates form Assam, the Kamarupa Tatra (c. AD 600-800), specially commends to the upper classes the meat of the duck, pigeon, tortoise andwild boar. Domingo Paes notes pigeons on sale in the markets of Vijayanagar in the sixteenth century AD. Writing in Bengal in about AD 1640, Father Sebastian Manrique notes however that 'pigeons are not generally eaten, as being of a blue colour they are heldsacred to Shiva, but does are generally eaten.'
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K.T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:Delhi] 1998 (p. 187-188)
'Pigeon. (1. Wood Pigeon--Columba palumbus. 2. Stock Dove-C. oenas. 3. Rock Dove-C. livia) The above are the three most commonvarieties of pigeon found in the British Isles, but the Turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a summer visitor to England. Relatedspecies are found almost all over the world. The good pigeon is extremely good eating, especially when it is young. Then itis known as squab...Probably the most delicious way to serve a tender young bird is to roast it, but the old pigeon can only be madesucculent in the casserole or stew pan. Allow 1/2 pigeon per person. Pigeon eggs are considered a delicacy in China, and are sometimesserved poached in a soup of bamboo shoots, celery and chicken.'
---Game Cooking: A Collection of Recipes with a Dictionary of Rare Game, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Andre Deutsch:London] 1963 (p. 116-117)
[NOTE: Recipes for Roast Pigeon stuffed with almonds and raisins, Pigeon with Artichokes or Celery, Grilled Pigeon withSauce Remoulade, Pigeon en Casserole, Pigeon with Cherries and Sour Cream, Braised Stuffed Pigeons, Pigeons and RedCabbage, Pigeons with Olives, Chinese Fried Squab, Chinese Minced Pigeon, Pigeon and Water Chestnuts, Braised Pigeon Eggs,Poached Pigeon Eggs and Boiled Pigeon Eggs follow.]
Pigeons in the USA
'One of the most important small birds on nineteenth-century tables was the pigeon. Most cook books contained directions for trussing and cooking these birds. Pigeon was eaten in every conceivable way--roasted, boiled, braised, broiled, stewed, and fricasseed. Pigeons were often stuffed before roasting and served with special sauces. Pigeons were also potted, dried, and pickled for future use. During some times of the year, pigeon was the most common food in many Midwestern and southeastern areas of America. The most colorful and common of these birds was the passenger pigeon...Throughout the nineteenth century, these birds were caught in rural areas and shipped by the millions to Pennsylvania and upper New York. Because the supply was so abundant, passenger pigeons made inexpensive food for the poor; leftovers were given to hogs.'
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] Volume 1, 2004 (p. 548)
Our survey of historic American newspapers [ProQuest Historic] confirms recipes & references for pigeon and squab were common in the 19th century. Menu (bill of fare) delicacy references appear most concentrated from the second half of the 19th century to the first quarter of the 20th. This survey also confirms squab remains a popular menu item in finer restaurants. Indeed, today squab is sometimes found on upscale restaurant menus. Historic century pigeon recipes published in USA cookbooks courtesy of Michigan State University's Feeding America digital cookbook collection, reveals several methods of preparation and serving. For details on each cookbook cited below, click the title (top of each page).
[1803]Pigeon PieGlobal recipe sampler
[1803]To Fricassee Pigeon
[1830] Pigeon cooking directions (potted, stewed, roasted, etc.)
[1839] Pigeon notes & various recipes
[1840] Pigeon Dumplings or Pudding
[1845] Stewed Pigeons (also Broiled Pigeons & Roast Pigeons)
[1864] Roasted Pigeon
[1877] Cutlets of Quails or of Pigeons
[1880] Pigeons in Jelly
[1884] Potted Pigeons (also Braised Pigeons)
[1885] Pigeon Pie, Very Nice (Creole recipe)
[1893] Pigeon Rotis (French method)
[1914] Hato Shiro (Stewed Pigeon, Japanese recipe)
[1919] Pigeon Surprise (Italian dish)
[1919] Pigeon Soup (Jewish recipe)
Kenneth Lo's Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking [1979] offers recipes for Red-Cooked Lemon Pigeon, Deep-Fried Pigeon, Braised Pigeonin Fruit Juice, Deep-Fried Aromatic Pigeons, Steamed Pigeons and Casserole of Pigeons with Mushrooms (p. 253-256).Greg and Lucy Malouf's Artichoke to Za'atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food [2008] offers recipes for Little Pigeon Bisteeya, Pigeonstock, Pigeon Stuffed with Cracked-wheat Pilaf, and Pigeon Tagine with Dates and Ginger (various pages, check index). ClaudiaRoden's A Book of Middle Eastern Food [1972] describes Hamam Meshwi/Grilled Pigeons (p. 199, no recipe). Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery [London, 1875] offers recipes for Pigeons, Pigeons a la St. Menehould, Braised Pigeons with Mushrooms, Broiled Pigeons, Compote of Pigeons, Pigeon Curry, Pigeon Cutlets, Pigeons en Papillotes, Pigeons en Surprise, Pigeon Fricandau, Fricasseed Pigeons, Fried Pigeons, Pigeon Galantine, Pigeons in a Mould of Jelly, Jugged Pigeons, Pate Chaudeof Pigeons, Pigeon Pie, Piquant Pigeons, Pigeon Pudding, Pupton of Pigeons, Pigeon Ragout, Roast Pigeon, Pigeon served withWater-Cresss, Pigeon Soup, Steweed Pigeons, Stuffed Pigeons, Trussed Pigeons, Vol-au-vent of Pigeons, and Pigeons with Rice and Parmesean (p. 559-566). Escoffier's Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery [1903] offers 35 recipes forPigeonneaux [squab].
Pigeon symolism
'...the pigeon is admired for the affection and care it shows to its mate and offspring. Thus to the Chinese it is symbolic of long life,faithfulness, family love and marital fidelity...which recalls its position as a sacred symbol of love and fertility in the Mediterranean,Near East, and India from ancient times onward...The pigeon's sacred role has led various Old World peoples to reject its flesh as food (i.e.many Moslem groups, Ethiopian Christians, and Orthodox Russians in Tsarist times)...the Arabs and Persians consider pigeonand pigeon eggs to be aphrodesiacs.'
---Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry, Frederic J. Simoons [CRC Press:Boca Raton FL] 1989 (p. 307-308)
[NOTE: Columba, a traditional Easter cake served in Italy, is shaped like a pigeon or dove.]
What is 'Squab?'
A very young pigeon. 'Pigeonneau,' as it's known in France, is a delicacy. Tender, tasty and delicious, squab is a deliciousalternative traditional small poultry. NOTE: squab served in upscale restaurants is not randomly harvested from city rooftops & windowsills. If you are concerned about health issues/product sourcing, speak to the manager.
'Squab. A young (about 4 weeks old) domesticated pigeon that has never flown and is therefore extremely tender. it was a popular special-occasion dish in Victorian England. Squabs usually weigh 1 pound or less and have delicately flavored dark meat.'
---Deluxe Food Lover's Companion, Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst [Barrons Educational Series:Happauge NY] 2009 (p. 408)
[1911]
Pigeon description from the Grocer's Encyclopedia circa 1911 indicates the bird had fallen from favor with average Americans. Squab, on the other hand, was commanding haute attention.
[1955]
'Thoroughly in the mood for a bird and a bottle, local cooks turn attention to squabs, those elegant morsels that even supermarkets stock. The tenderyoung of the pigeon, in which all activity is discouraged druig their six weeks' existence, have a succulent flesh of an off-white hue. Ready-for-the-oven-size is about a pound; one squab makes one serving. Raised to a great extent around Vineland, N.J., squabs come to town to sell in butcher shops, Gristiede'sand, on order, at the A. & P. for about $1.50 each...the meat across the breast should show streaks of white fat and that the breast bone, as indeed in alltender birds, should be pliable. Squabs boast not only elegance but practicability as wel. Bedcause they are so small, they cook quickly; because theyare so tender, they take well to any dry-heat method, whether it be roasting, broiling or sauteeing. An interesting way to roast squabs is attributed to thelate Crosby Gaige, a manu of many parts who was a bon vivant of first rank. Mr. Gaige's recipe is recorded by one of his friends, Mrs. Jeanne Owen, in her'A Wine Lover's Cook Book' (Barrows, 1953). The recipes is named after Mr. Gaige's Westchester farm, Watch Hill...Squabs Watch Hill Farm. Go to marketyourself and pick out six, fine, fat, jumbo squabs. Peel and seed three or four dozen juicy Miscat (or Ribier) grapes. In each bird put four grapes, mixedwith a few coarse bread crumbs, which hae been seasoned with salt, a little pepper and a few drops of brandy and port wine. Butter a baking dishwith a lavish hand, arrange the squabs in formation and dash them first with brandy and then with port. Let them rest for two hours to absorb theperfume. When birds are ready for the oven add to the pan four ounces of port and two of water. Roast in a hot oven, basting often, thirty to thirty-five minutes. (Or use a moderate oven for forty to forty-five minutes.) When they are cooked, take birds out of the pan, add a little more port ot the juices therein and the rest of the peeled grapes. Thicken this sauce with a little arrowroot (or potaot starch); season to taste and serve immediately. Delicious and unusual with squab in this fashion is a barley pilaf, which costs only a tiny fraction of the more conventional wild rice.'
---'News of Food: Squabs,' Jane Nickerson, New York Times, December 12, 1955 (p. 35)
[NOTE: Crosby Gaige authored the New York World's Fair Cook Book (c. 1939). In this book Mr. Gage offered three squab recipes: a la crapaudine, pot-roasted and roast with rice pilau. Happy to share if you want.]
[1963]
'In America, the term 'squab' is applied to the young pigeon, which is at its best when about 4 weeks old. At this age, by specialfeeding, they will average 8 to 12 lb or more, to the dozen birds and sometimes weight as much as a mature bird. The flesh of thesquab damages very easily and needs great care in handling. When buying squabs the pints to be noticed are size, plumpness, and lightcoloured flesh. Allow one squab for each person.'
---Game Cooking: A Collection of Recipes with a Dictionary of Rare Game, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Andre Deutsch:London] 1963 (p. 150)
[NOTE: Recipes for Squabs with White Grapes, Squabs with Tangerine and Prunes, Devilled Squabs and Squabs Michele follow.]
[1964]
'Looking for an elegant entree for a special occasion dinner? Try pineapple stuffed squabs. This gourmet main dish is made to order forholiday dinners. The squabs are stuffed with bite-size pieces of pineapple marinated in wine. Flecks of chopped green onion, celery and carrot accent the flavorful filling. The small birds are basted during baking with the tangy pineapple sauce. Morewine and raisins are added to drippings in the roasting pan and this sauce is served with the entree. Incidentally, if you can't findsquabs you can use Cornish game hens well...'
---'Squab is Elegant Entree,' Washington Post Times Herald, December 21, 1964 (p. C8)
Happy to share squab recipes in place/period/chef context: 19th century France? James Beard? Let us know what you want!
Pigs in BlanketsWhat are 'pigs in blankets?' Excellent question several answers. Our survey of historic American and British cookbookssuggests this term originally meant broiled skewers of bacon-wrapped oysters, sometimescalled Angels on Horseback.
What makes this item interesting is the variety of recipes offered with this name. Print evidence suggests ordering 'pigs in blankets' from menu in the first half of the 20th century might return bacon-wrapped oysters, potato-encased sausages, bacon-wrapped sausages, or pastry-enrobed frankfurters.
The 'Pigs in Blankets' (franks baked in flaky crust) we Americans know today descend from 19th century British sausage rolls.Small bites are classed with appetizers; entree-sized portions are served for lunch, dinner oroutdoor events.
'1439. Meat or Sausage Rolls
Ingredients.--1 lb. of puff-paste NO. 1257, sausage meat, and the yolk of 1 egg.
Mode.--Make 1 lb of puff-paste by recipe No. 1257; roll it out to the thickness of about 1/2 inch, or rather less, and divide it into 8, 10, or 12 square, according to the size the rolls are intended to be. Place some sausage-meat on one-half of each square, wet the edes of the paste, and fold it over themeat; slightly press the edges together, and trim them neatly with a knife. Brush the rolls over with the yolk of an egg, and bake them in a well-heated oven for about 1/2 hour, or longer should them be very large. The remains of cold chicken and ham, minced andseasoned, as also cold veal or beef, make very good rolls. Time.--1/2 hour, or longer if the rolls are large. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient.--1 lb. of paste for 10 or 12 rolls. Seasonable, with sausage meat, from September to March or April.'
---Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Managmeent, Isabella Beeton, London, 1874 (p. 708-709)
[1894]
'Sausage Rolls.
These are made either from beef, pork, or veal sausages; they should be first parboiled for five to ten minutes, according to thekind and thickness, then skinned and cooled, and cut in halves. Flaky paste is generally liked, and No. 8 will be found suitable, ora richer one can be used. It should be rolled the eighth of an inch thick, or a trifle over, and cut in pieces about four incheslong--a trifle longer than the sausages--and about three inches wide, so that it just folds over. The half sausage should be laidin the centre, and the edges of the paste moistened with a little beaten egg, and after folding, the ends should be trimmed ifnecessary, through if cut straight at first they will not need it. The join may either be made in the middle of the under-side, orat the edge like a puff; the first is the neater. Lay the rolls on a baking-sheet, and make a slanting cut or two on the tops; then bake them in a quick oven, and when three-fourths done, brush them over with beaten egg, as they should be nicely glazed when done. The will take about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Cost, about 2d. each. Plainer rolls, for taking on ajourney, &c., may be made by putting some beef sausage meat in a roll on a piece of plain paste, and need not be cooked beforehand; say thepaste No. 1 or 2 is used; roll it a quarter of an inch thick and put a couple of ounces of sausage meat on, forming it into shape; then fold over, and bake for about thirty to forty minutes, in a slower oven than the above. BHread dough is used for very substatial rolls.'
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and Company:London] 1894 (p. 791)
[1936]
Link Sausages in Pastry
Prepare: Small squares of Pie Dough (page 343), Roll them around Link sausages seasoned with mustard. Bake them in a hot oven450 degrees F.' (p. 18-19)
'Sausages in Pastry or Biscuit Dough
Spread: small sausages with mustard. Prepare Pie cruts...or biscuit dough...Roll it into the thickness of 1/8 inch thick. Cut intooblongs. Roll the dough around the sausages. Moisten the ends with a little water and pinch them so that the sausages are entirely closed. Bake the sausages in a hot oven 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.' (p. 84-85)
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianapolis IN] 1936
[1939]
'Pigs in Blankets.
6 uniform potatoes for baking
shortening
6 link sausages
salt and pepper
Method: 1. Wash potatoes and remove centers with apple corer. 2. Place a sausage in each cavity. 3. Grease potatoes; add salt and pepper. Bake for 60 minutes at 400 degrees.'
---Prudence Penny's Cookbook, Prudence Penny [Prentice Hall:New York] 1939 (p. 80)
[1944]
'Frankfurters in Blankets
Portion: 2 rolls. 100 portions.
Biscuit Dough (page 342) 10 pounds
Frankfurters 25 pounds
Eggs, slightly beaten 8 ounces
Milks, liquid 1 2/3 cups
Prepare Biscuit Dough, using 1/2 as much fat as usual. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into pieces, each to cover 1 frankfurter. Broil frankfurters on heated griddle until slightly browned. Roll 1 frankfurter in each piece of dough(blanket). Moisten edges of dough and seal together. Combine eggs and milk. Brush each roll with egg mixture. Place in greased bakingpans. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees F.) 20 minutes until golden brown. NOTE:--Serve hot with Tomato Sauce (page 184), ifdesired.Variation: Luncheon Meat, Canned Pork Sausage Links or Vienna Sausage in Blankets...may be used in place offrankfurters in blankets.'
---Cook Book of the United States Navy, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, NAVSANA Publciation No. 7 [U.S. Government Printing Office:Washington DC], revised 1944 (p. 156)
[1946]
'No. 378. Pork Sausages Links (Pigs) in Blankets
Yield: 100 servings, 3 to 4 links each.
Biscuit Dough
Pork sausage links, 35 pounds
Eggs, slightly beaten, 5 eggs (1/4 NO. 56 dipper)
1. Prepare biscuit dough (recipe No. 36) redusing the amoung ot shortening to onel half. Roll 1/4 inch ehick; cut into pieces, eachlarge enough to cover one sausage link.
2. Broil links on griddle until slighly brown
3. Roll each link in a piece of dough and seal the edges by moistening with water.
4. Dip each roll in slighly beaten egg.
5. Bake in hot ove (400 degrees F.) approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Note: Serve hot with or without gravy or a sauce.
No. 379. Frankfurters in Blankets Substitute 30 pounds frankfurters for pork sausage links in recipe for pigs in blankets. Use same weight of other ingredients.
No. 380. Vienna Sausage in Blankets Substitute 35 pounds of Vienna sausage for pork sausage links...'
---Army Recipes War Department Technical Manual TM10-412 [Government Printing Office:Washington DC] August 1946 (p. 140-141)
[1949]
'Pigs in Blankets
Roll biscuit dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into small squares, and wrap each square around a 2-inch piece of frankfurter. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees F.) for 20 minutes.'
---Sunset Cook Book of Favorite Recipes, Emily Chase editor [Lane Publishing:San Francisco CA] 1949 (p. 108)
[1950]
'Pigs in Blankets.
Wash and pare medium potatoes. Make a hole through each with an apple corer and force a link sausage into each cavity. Place potatoes in baking dish and bake in hot oven (425 degrees F.) 45 minutes or until tender, basting with sausage drippings several times during the baking. A slice of salt pork or bacon may be placed over each potato.'
---Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, Ruth Berolzheimer [Culinary Arts Institute:Chicago] 1950 (p. 479)
'Cocktail sausages in blankets.
2 cups sifted flour
3 teasooons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk (about)
8 cooked cocktail sausages
Sift dry ingredients together 3 times. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender. Add milk, stirring until a soft dough is formed. Knead on floured board for 20 seconds or until dough forms a smooth ball. Roll 1/4 inch thick and cut into small oblongs. Place sausages on oblongs of dough, fold over, moisten edges with water and press together to seal. Place on greased baking sheet and bake in hot oven (450 degrees F.) Until browned, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 8 rolls.'
---ibid(p. 226)
[1953]
'Sausage in blankets
Spread 1/3 to 1/2 slices of bacon with prepared mustard. Roll a cooked cocktail sausage in each bacon strip. Secure witha toothpick. Oven broil on a rack until bacon is cooked.'
---501 Easy Cocktail Canapes, Olga de Leslie Leigh [Thomas Y. Crowell:New York] 1953(p. 136)
[1956]
'Pigs in blankets.
The 'pigs' are sausages wrapped in blankets of fluffy biscuit dough. Follow the recipe for Typical Biscuits (p. 83)--except roll dough only 1/4' thick. Cut into oblong pieces, 4X3'. Roll each piece around a weiner or frankfurter, letting tip show at each end. Seal well by pinching edge of dough into roll. Bake with sealed edge underneath, about 15 mins. Serve hot with mustard, catsup, or relishes.'
---Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, Revised and Enlarged, second edition [McGraw-Hill Book Publishing Company:New York] 1956 (p. 84)
[NOTE: Also contains recipe for 'Tiny Pigs in Blankets,' using Vienna sausages.]
[1981]
'Franks N'Crescents
8 frankfurters, partially split
Heat oven to 375 degrees F., Fill each Frankfurter with strip of cheese. Separate crescent dough into eight triangles. Place frankfurter on wide end of each triangle; roll up. Place on greased cookie sheet, cheese side up; bake at 375 degrees F., 10 to 12 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown. 8 servings.'
---Favorite Brand Name Recipe Cookbook, Consumer Guide editors [Beekman House:New York] 1981 (p. 198)
Related dishes? Beef Wellington & Cornish Pasties.Porcupines
In the culinary world, there are three edible porcupines:
- A uniquely armored nocturnal game animal providing protein and fat to hungry people in both Old World & New
- A neatly formed ground meat dish resembling this quilly creature
- A stewed apple dessert sporting nut 'quills': Apple Porcupine & Porcupine pudding
Because wild game generally has a denser muscle mass (less fat) than domesticated animals, the meat is tougher. Long, slow cooking (soup, stew) is the perfect antidote. Game protected by a thick, insulating layer of fat below its skin is sometimes viewed somewhat differently in the culinary world. Such is the case of porcupines. In some cultures, porcupine fat & fried skin (cracklings) is considered a delicacy.
Our survey of historic American cookbooks uncovered several recipes for squirrel, opossum, venison and rabbit. Scant references to porcupine were more descriptive than culinary. This is not surprising. Cookbooks focus on norms; not adaptable exception. No matter how tasty they may be. Which means? We can't place Porcupine Stew to a specific place/period/people.
About porcupine cookery (general)
'Porcupine.--Animal, whose rather fat flesh is good to eat, especially when young.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961 (p. 749)
'Porcupine, the name used of several species of animal, belonging to two families (Erethizontidae for New World porcupines, and Hystricidae for those of the Old World) and having in common the long quills (spines) which constitute their protection...The common or crested porcupine...of the Old World is the largest...There are few records of its being eaten, save by gypsies and rural people who have nothing better and insofar as one can establish anything about methods of preparing and cooking these seem to be as for the hedgehog. For the Canadian porcupine...Faith Medlin...has collected a number of conflicting pieces of advice about which bits to cook and how to do the cooking. Leipoldt...reproduces from an early manuscript directs for cooking porcupine crackling, which is to be sent to table with plenty of rice and lemons cut in halves.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2006, 2nd edition (p. 623-4)
'The flesh of a young porcupine is said to be excellent eating, and very nutritious. The flavour is something between pork and fowl. To be cooked properly, it should be boiled first, and afterwards roasted. This necessary to soften the thick, gristly skin, which is the best part of the animal. The flesh of the porcupine is said to be used by the Italians as stimulant; but, never having tasted it myself, I cannot speak from experience as to the virtue of this kind of food. The Dutch and the Hottentots are very fond of it; and when skinned and embowelled, the body will sometimes weigh 20 lbs. The flesh is said to eat better when it has been hung in the smoke of a chimney for a couple of days. The flesh of the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) is good and very agreeable eating. Some of the Hudson Bay trappers used to depend upon the Hystrix dorsata for food at some seasons of the year.'
---The Curiosities of Food, Peter Lund Simmons, facsimile 1859 edition with an introduction by Alan Davidson [Ten Speed Press:Berkeley CA] 2001 (p. 72-73)
'Several authors mention game dishes of which little is known today. We read for example that porcupine meat was served to Augusta de Mist when she accompanied her father, Commissioner de Mist, on an official journey into the interior in 1803...The skin of the porcupine was considered a rare delicacy. The recipe was reproduced by Miss Allie Hewett in her 1890 cookery book, Cape Cookery, Simple Yet Distinctive. The spines are plucked and the air singed off. After the skin has been scraped clean, it is soaked for 24 hours in the brine and then boiled in fresh water. It is then cut into strips, broiled over live coals and served with butter and lemon.'
---The South African Culinary Tradition, Renata Coetzee [C. Struik Publishers:Cape Town, South Africa] 1977 (p. 26)
Porcupine eating in America
'Over the centuries, Americans have eaten an astonishing array of game animals and birds...Frontiersmen and trappers killed and ate a wide variety of animals, some of which became important culinary items...Small game was especially important for slaves and the rural poor. Because they were forbidden firearms, slaves focused on what they could acquire by trapping, snaring, and hunting with dogs. Slaves, poor whites, and frontiersmen commonly ate opossum, raccoon, porcupine, rattlesnake, squirrel, and occasionally skunk. In Kentucky and Tennessee, game meats were combined with vegetables to make burgoo, a soup or stew...'
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York], 2004, Volume 1 (p. 548)
[1910]
'Porcupine.--I quote from Nessmik: 'And do not despise the fretful porcupine; he is better than he looks. If you happen on a healthy young specimen when you are needing meat, give him a show before condemning him. Shoot him humanely in the head, and dress him. It is easily done; there are no quills on the belly, and the skin peels as freely as a rabbit's. Take him to camp, parboil him for thirty minutes, and roast or broil him to a rich brown over a bed of glowing coals. He will need no pork to make him juicy, and you will find him very like spring lamb, only better.' The porcupine may also be baked in clay, without skinning him; the quills and skin peel off with the hard clay covering. Or, fry quickly. As I have never eaten porcupine, I will do some more quoting--this time from Dr. Bresk: 'It may either be roasted or made into a stew, in the manner of hares, but must be parboiled at least a half-hour to be tender. One part of the porcupine is always a delicacy--the liver, which is easily removed by making a cut just under the neck into which the hand is thrust, and the liver pulled out. It may be fried with bacon, or baked slowly and carefully in the baker-pan with slices of bacon.'
---Camp Cookery, Horace Kephart, facsimile 1910 edition [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 2000 (p 73)
[1916]
'The oil fried out in cooking the meat of bear, racoon, porcupine, and other animals is kept and used for medicinal pupposes, such as rubbing on the back and chest for 'cramps' and for application to newly-born infants.'
---Iroquois Foods and Food Preparation, F.W. Waugh, facsimile 1916 edition [University Press of the Pacific:Honolulu, HI] 2003 (p. 134)
[1942]
'I cannot agree with the oft' heard statement about the porcupine being a harmless creature--at least not since I've been awakened (more than once) in the middle of the night by one of these walking pin-cushions gnawing at my belonings within an arm's reach. In the wilderness the 'porky' is considered the hunter's friend, as it may be killed with a club when ammunition runs short and in the absence of other game it may furnish the only sustenance for lost explorers. In some of the more civilized sections of the country, however, conservationists encourage the killing of porcupine because of the damage it does to trees. Meat of the porcupine has a goodreputation, even though it is dark and coarse looking. Onsome of hist trips into the North, Dillon Wallace, after a prolongued diet of venison, claims to have preferred porcupuine for a change although there was plenty of deer meat on had. Skinning the porcupine might appear a formidable task, but it is really quite simple. Hanghim up by his hind legs spread apart and start skinning the belly, which is free of quills. The hide may then be workd off very easily in a short time. The meat, which tastessomething like lamb, should be stewed...A young animal, however, may be roasted or broiled.'
---Come and Get It!: The Compleat Outdoor Chef, George W. Martin [A.S. Barnes Company:New York] 1942 (p. 175-176)
[1956]
'A nationwide search for recipes for cooking porcupine has been launched by the Western Pine Association. The purpose is to get rid of some of the porcupines which do millions of dollars of damage to pine woods in the west each year. The animals feed on the bark of young growing trees, killing some and stunting others with the result that forest productivity is drastically reduced. Recipes for porcupines may be sent to the Eastern Pine Association, Ycon Building, Portland 4, Oregon.'
---'Seek Recipes for Cooking Porcupine,' Daily Defender [Chicago IL], February 15, 1956 (p. 15)
How to cook your porcupine?
'Porcupine StewPork steak
Porcupine meat cut into cubes
1 sliced onion
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup sliced onions
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 chopped green pepper (optional)
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cups diced turnips
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon flour
8 ounce can tomato sauce
Parboil meat 45 minutes with sliced onion and salt. Drain. Saute onions in 2 tablespoons butter until clear, then add meat which has been dredged with flour. Add 1 quart water, vegetables and seasoning. Cook until tender then thicken slightly with flour dissolved in water.'
---Valley Independent [Monessen PA], October 31, 1979 (p. 63)
Dating Site For Professionals Over 50 In Charleston Sc Map
Identifying meat cuts can be challenging because names vary according to period, place, country, and consumer point of purchase (supermarketvs restaurant).Early 19th century USA print references suggest 'pork steak' and 'pork chop' might have been synonymous at that time. 20th century references reveal a larger & more interesting selection of 'pork steak' products. Most are cut from the shoulder (aka butt); some from the leg. In addition to 'pork steak' we also find'pork shoulder steak' and 'pork blade steak.' Generally touted as economical, pork steaks are mostly promoted when there was an overabundanceof product. Savvy advertisers capitalizing on popular health trends stated they were more nutritious, lower-fat and lower-calorie, healthier than familiar meat products.How is pork steak prepared? Most instructions recommend braising. This technique tenderizes tough meats. Othersuggestions include country frying (batter dipped), barbecuing, stewing (with spicy foreign sauces), cubing (meat balls,meat pies), and stir-fry (thin strips).
[1840]
Pork Steaks Eliza Leslie
NOTE: Leslie's pork steak recipe is ambiguous. We cannot tell in this case if pork steaks and or pork chopsare synonyms for the same cut or completely different cuts. Broiling instructionssuggest these pork steaks might not be the same as 20th century cuts with braising recommendations OR they were treated similarly.]
[1865]
'Pork steak, 25 cents/lb'
---'Family Marketing: Current Retail Prices at the Principal Markets,' New York Times, November 11, 1865 (p. 3)
[NOTE: Compare with bacon was 28 cents/lb, sirloin beef 30 cents/lb, veal cutlets, 45 cents/lb, cod, 12 cents/lb. Relative price and no listing for pork chops leaves roomto wonder if this 'pork steak' meat 'pork chops' in this context.]
[1866]
'Dinner.--Pork Steak, poached eggs, potatoes, onions, bread, butter and coffee.'
---'Fortress Monroe: Jeff. Davis' Bill of Fare,' New York Times, May 28, 1866 (p. 5)
[NOTE: This prison meal was served to the former President of the Confederacy.]
[1883]
'Just think of having a great thick piece of mince pie set before you for breakfast after a pork steak fried potatoes, and buckwheat cakes.'
---'How the Lumbermen Are Fed,' New York Times, February 12, 1883 (p. 2)
[1911]
'Stuffed Pork Balls. Buy 30 cents' worth of pork steak, cut it into four equal pieces, and fry on one side until slightly brown. Remove the meat from a pan on to a plate and let it get cool. Make a stuffing of two cups of bread crumbs, one tablespoon of butter, one-half teaspoon of sage, and one small grated onion. make the meat into four balls with the dressing inside and hold in place with wooden toothpicks. Put the balls back into the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add a cup of hot water, cover, and cook in a moderate oven one your. Remove the cover and let the balls brown; then take up on a hot platter and make a brown gravy to serve with them.--Mrs. March Green, Grinnell, IA.'
---'Economical Housekeeping,' Jane Eddington, Chicago Daily Tribune, January 13, 1911 (p. 8)
[1931]
'The main hygienic objections to the use of pork is that smoking the meat interferes with its digestibility, and also that even lean pork is so much fatter than other meats. ham is generally sold salted and smoked, but also salted only and fresh-boiled--in the latter named condition chiefly for retailing in slices or by the pound as 'pork steak' or 'fresh pork.'
---'Health and Diet Advice,' Dr. Frank McCoy, Los Angeles Times, October 30, 1931 (p. A6)
[1933]
'New England Pork Steak Pie. 3 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup flour, 3 cups rich milk, 1 teaspoon onion juice, 1 blade mace, 1/2 teaspoon salt dash of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon peppery sauce, 2 cups sliced mushrooms, 2 pounds pork steak, 12 small white onions, parboiled, 12 balls cut from cooked carrots. Pastry: melt the fat blend half the flour with it. When smooth add the milk, onion juice, and the mace blade. Add the seasonings and then the mushrooms. Simmer slowly for fifteen minutes, then cool. Meanwhile hammer the remaining flour and a generous flavoring of salt and pepper into the steak and boil until tender and brown on both sides. Now chop the steak into three-quarter in squares and blend with the sauce. While the mixture is cooling prepare a double recipe of pie paste sufficient to give a thin under and upper crust for six small individual pies. Roll out the lower crusts and put into the tins. Place two carrot balls and two small onions in each and pour over them the filling. Add the top crusts, first moistening the edges of the lower crust. Trim as for any pie. Cut two slits into the crust of each patty for the escape of steam, then brush with beaten egg and bake in a moderate oven 350 degrees F.) until heated through and brown.'
---'Foreign Lands Offer Recipes fro Meat Pies,' Mary Meade, Chicago Daily Tribune, November 3, 1933 (p. 22)
[1943]
'There seems to be a great deal more pork than beef available right now. Consequently the point value of pork is less than that of beef. Cuts such as pork shoulder steak are cheaper in points than loin chops, but the meat is just as flavorful and every bit as nutritious, if properly cooked. Cooking pork steaks slowly means less shrinkage and more flavor. Quick cooking over high heat dries out the steaks and causes them to lose tenderness. Purchase pork shoulder steaks about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Brown them well on both sides in a skillet. This can be done in their own fat. Season with salt and pepper, cover, then reduce heat and let the steaks cook very slowly for about 45 minutes. A small amount of water, not more than 3 or 4 tablespoons, may be added after browning, if desired. make gravy from the drippings and serve over rice or with new potatoes boiled in their jackets. The gravy is full of flavor and food value...Some cooks like to rub pork steaks lightly with garlic before cooking.'
---'Save Points with Pork,' Mary Meade, Chicago Daily Tribune, August 15, 1943 (p. C8)
[1949]
'The meat for the pork steak dinner should be cut from the boneless solid center into 1/2 inch thick slices. Prepare them as you usually prepare pork chops and serve them this way: Creole Style Pork Steak. Brown the steaks on both sides in a small amount of fat. Season with salt and pepper. if you like, brown a few onion slices with the steaks. Place them in a baking dish, cover with diced celery, and pour a No. 2 can of tomatoes over all. Add salt and pepper to the tomatoes, if they need it. Bake the dish, covered, in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for an hour.'
---'How to Stretch Pork Shoulder Butt,' Chicago Daily Tribune, June 17, 1949 (p. A2)
[1951]
'Pork shoulder steaks are cut form the fresh shoulder butt of pork which is often called 'Boston butt.' The shoulder butt makes a nice oven roast, but the steaks are cooked with moist heat, by braising. Brown them first, season, then cover, turn the heat low, and let them cook gently until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Delicious trick: Add sliced apples, well sprinkled with brown sugar, the last 15 minutes of cooking, and serve with the shoulder steaks.'
---'Economical Dishes Provided by Pork Hocks and Steaks,' Mary Meade, Chicago Daily Tribune, February 15, 1951 (p. A6)
[1952]
'Pork, now the most attractively priced item at meat counters, probably will continue plentiful through next month. Supplies coming to market currently are from the bumper pig crop last spring. The second largest on record, it totaled close to 62,000,000 porkers. Both the United States Department of Agriculture and the American Meat Institute...are urging housewives to take advantage of this plenty. Not only is pork abundant and comparatively reasonable in cost, but it is available in a wide assortment of cuts...Beside familiar pork cuts such as loin roast and chops, ham or bacon, the housewife at this season may make use of fresh ham or leg of pork, as it is sometimes called. While not a readily available as its more well-known cousin, smoked ham, it is apt to be on meat counters in these days of pork plenty. Steak cut from fresh pork leg is especially delicious.'
---'News of Food: Pork, at its Present Attractive Prices, to Continue Plentiful Through February,' June Owen, New York Times, January 26, 1952 (p. 10)
[1963]
'Next time you shop for pork chops, take a look at the meaty pork shoulder steaks. Three types are generally available: blade bone, round bone and boneless. These usually are more economical than chops and can be sued interchangeable in recipes directing that meat be braised or cooked in moisture...Like all cuts of fresh pork, shoulder steaks are an excellent source of complete protein and food iron as well as the important B vitamins.'
---'Pork Steak Economical Meat Treat,' Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1963 (p. D6)
[1969]
'The next time you're standing in front of a meat counter, desperate for an inspiration, here's one way you can make three dinners from one full-cut Boston butt (pork shoulder). The average weigh of a pork shoulder is between four and nine pounds...Ask the meat man to cut the butt into a boned, rolled shoulder...steaks for broiling ro barbecuing.'
---'One Pork Butt, Three Dinners,' Washington Post, February 27, 1969 (p. D3)
[1974]
'Have you tried pork cubed steaks? Boneless and quick to prepare, they can contribute to the success of a budget meal. Breading before panfrying stretches pork flavor and gives each steak a tasty crunchy coat. Simply dredge the pork cubed steaks in seasoned bread crumbs, dip in an egg-milk mixture (2 tablespoons milk per egg) and dredge in crumbs again to coat thoroughly. Light brown breaded pork steaks on both sides in lard or drippings. Cook at a moderate temperature 20 to 25 minutes, or until done, turning occasionally to insure even cooking.'
---'Pork Steak Builds Budget,' Los Angeles Times, August 1, 1974 (p. K18)
[1978]
'Would you believe, pork steak is one of the leanest and least-fattening 'steaks' a calorie-counter can consider? Well it is! Despite its pud[g]y image, many pork cuts are lower in calories than most popular beef steaks. A lean pork steak is only 667 calories per pound. Pork steak ( or fresh ham steak) looks like a cured ham steak but it hasn't been cured, cooked or processed.'
---'Teach an Old Favorite Some New Taste Tricks,' Philadelphia Tribune, October 24, 1978 (p. 17)
[NOTE: recipes for Broiled Fresh Ham Steak, Skewered Pork, Island-Style and Skewered Pork and Zucchini are included.]
[1980]
'For two years, pork has been a good value at the meat counter. And the outlook remains rosy for 1980. Pork supplies have increased by 15 to 20 per cent since 1978. This year pork production is expected to equal or exceed that amount...One of the cuts that always has been considered a good value by careful shoppers and butchers is a pork blade steak. One reason it carries a budget prices stamp is that it is a less familiar cut--not in as great demand as pork chops, for example. Yet it has all the good flavor of a pork chop. And, according to one meat man, it may even have a better flavor because of its slightly higher fat content. Thus, when it is cooked properly it is a little juicier...A pork steak is cut about 3/8 inch thick, has a portion of blade-shaped bone, and is ringed with fat. One steak weighs about 8 to 9 ounces and makes one generous serving for an adult, or two ample servings for young children. The meat generally should be braised--that is browned in fat, then covered and cooked on low heat with a little added moisture. Suggested liquids are barbecue sauce, broth, wine, water, or tomato juice, or a sweet-sour, soy-based sauce in the Far Eastern mode. The pork may be pounded think breaded, and cooked like a veal cutlet with enhancements such as lemon slices, apple wedges, wine, or herbs. Or the meat may be cut into thin strips for stir-fry dishes or squares for stews.'
---'Inflation Fighter: Pork Steak Sports Budget Price Stamp,' Joanne Will, Chicago Times, February 14, 1980 (p. D20)
[NOTE: This article offers recipes for Broiled Pork Steaks & Pork with Apples.]
[1988]
'The leanest cut of pork comes from the leg--the pork equivalent of a beef round steak. Trimmed of all fat, it's just 62 calories per ounce. This cut of pork is known by a variety of names: fresh ('uncured') ham steak, pork steak, pork leg steak, pork leg slice, fresh ham slice. If you have trouble locating it, explain what you're looking for to your butcher.'
---'Slim Gourmet: Choose Leanest Cut of Pork to Add Low-Fat Variety to Weekly Menu,' Barbara Gibbons, Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1988 (p. AI57)
Our food history sources confirm 'pulled pork,' as we Americans know it today, descends from the delicious lineage of slow cooked meats. The slower and longer the cooking, the softer and tastier the product (food chemistry at work here). This type of cooking has been popular from ancient times forward, as it renders tough meat deliciously easy to chew. New England Boiled Dinner New England Boiled Dinner, Jewish Brisket, pig roasts, and barbecue.
Contemporary American-style pulled pork is most closely related to barbecue. Slow cooked pork (on grill or in oven) with moisture (water, bbq sauce) results in a product that can easily separates (pulls) into strings (sinews). Pork is then cut, sauced and served (generally) served in sandwich form.
Our food history sources and dictionaries confirm the word 'pulled' in the culinary context refers to the practice of pulling pieces of food from the larger object (pulled bread). It is also a confectionery term (pulled sugar, taffy pulls, etc.). 'Pulled,' as it applies to meat,first surfaces in English culinary print during 18th century. 'Pulled Pork' belongs to the late 20th century. The Oxford English Dictionary confirms:
pulled, adj. 4. Of meat (orig. poultry, later esp. pork): prepared by being cooked (in later use spec. barbecued) until it is tender enough to be easily cut or torn into small pieces. Now chiefly U.S. 1737 E. SMITH Compleat Housewife (ed. 8) 24 Pull'd Chickens. Boil six Chickens..flea them, and pull the white flesh all off..put it in a stew-pan with half a pint of cream. 1749 Defoe's Roxana (new ed.) 358 We ordered for Supper a Cod to be boiled, a Fricasey of Rabbits, and two pulled Chickens. 1786 Yorks. Mag. July 199/2 There is not a cook between London and the Land's End who knows how to dress a turtle or a pulled fowl. 1800 E. MOXON Eng. Housewifery (ed. 14) 29 How to make pulled Rabbits. 1834 F. MARRYAT Peter Simple I. x. 123 (heading) A treat for both parties of pulled-chicken, at my expense. 1874 Belgravia Nov. 61 He found himself dispensing pulled chickens, pt de foie gras, and cup to his really lovely relatives and their buxom mamma. 1922 A. JEKYLL Kitchen Ess. 143 Here is a good recipe for a Rchauff after the stages of pulled, grilled, and devilled have been passed. 1977 New Mexican (Santa Fe) 2 June D7 (advt.) Barbecue pulled pork 1 lb..potato salad..cole slaw..all for $3.89. 1983 Nation's Restaurant News 21 Nov. 114/3 One large display case holds barbecued chicken, ribs and duck; North Carolina pulled pork with barbecue sauce [etc.]. 2006 Dallas Morning News (Nexis) 12 May (Guide section) 4 Barbecue platters offer pulled pork, pulled chicken, smoked turkey and sausage.
18th/19th century UK/USA recipes pull meat off poultry (chicken & turkey)
[1753]Fast forward: 1980s USA. 'Pulled Pork' is sold by processed meat companies (Armour, Heinz), mentioned in Southern heritage cookbooks & served in Colonial Williamsburg. A brisket morphing of epic proportion?
'Pulled Chickens.
Boil six chickens near enough; slea [sic] them and putt the white flesh all off from the bones; put it in stew-pan with half a pint of cream, made a few spoonfuls of that liquor they were boil'd in; to this add some raw parsley shred fine, give them a toss or two over the fire, and dust a little flour upon some butter, and shake up with them. Chicks done this way must be killed the night before, and a little more than half boiled, and pulled in pieces as broad as your finger, and half as long; you may add a spoonful of white cream.'---Compleat Housewife: Or Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion, E. Smith, facsimile 1753 edition [T.J. Press Ltd.:London] 1968 (p. 49)
[1982]'Armour...Pulled Boneless Pork Roast, $2.19/lb.'---display ad, The Hawk Eye Burlington OH], February 10. 1982 (p. 24)Sausages of Italy
[1983] 'Josiah Chowning's will serve you a pulled-pork barbecue...'---'No Cure for Ham Addiction: Virginia,' Beverly Beyer & Ed Rabey, Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1983 (p. G15)NOTE: This article profiles foods served in Colonial Williamsburg VA living history museum.
[1986] 'Heinz 5 lb. B-B-Q Pulled Pork, $15.99.'
---display ad, Chronicle Telegram [Elyria OH], May 25, 1986 (p. A10)
'The word 'sausage' comes from the Latin salsus, meaning 'salted.' The Romans, who lovedhighly spiced food, ate enourmous quantities of spicy...sausages...The Romans...developed awidevariety, including pendulus, a large slicing sausage, and hilla, a very thin sausage using the smallintestine, rather like today's dried mountain sausages. The first-century Roman gourmet gives thisrecipe for the still famous smoked Lucanica sausage from southern Italy: 'Pound pepper, cumin,savory, rue, parsley, mixed herbs, laurel berries, and liquamen, and mix with this well-beatenmeat, pounding it again with the ground spice mixture. Work in liquanum, peppercorns, plenty ofpate and pine-kernels, insert into an intestine, drawn out very thickly, and hang in the smoke.'Pepper, the most popular Roman spice, was a strong deterrent against bacterial growth. The fatan airtight skins protected the stuffing mixture from airbourne microbes and the spices and herbshelped to make the meat more palatable and easier to digest. Many of the preserved sausages stillmade today have their skins treated in some way to keep out bacteria. Often they are brushedwithoil and then covered in a mixture of dried herbs, crushed pepper, or ashes before being hung highup in the smokehouse or a cool, dry place.' In Italy...may types of sausages are preserved...Thenumber and variety of sausages and salami that have been dried, smoked, or lightly fermented isso great and the names so colorful that it is impossible not to mention a few. Italy boasts some ofthe finest sausages of all types, including the many famous regional varities of raw air-driedsalami. Served in thin, cherry-red slices dotted with white, waxy pieces of fat, they are eaten asantipasto. For travel and snacks there are the thin, hard, spicy straps of peperone...'
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed theWorld, SueShepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 112-4)
[NOTE: This book has much more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your librarianto help you find a copy]
'Sausages of Italy. These include one outstandingly large and important family, the salami. Thisname (the plural of the Italian word salame) applies to matured raw meat slicing sausages madetorecipes of Italian origin, either in that country or elsewhere. Within Italy there are scores of types.Salami are mostly medium to large in size, and those made in Italy are usually dried withoutsmoking. Charactaristically, when cut across, they display a section which is pink or red withmany small to medium-sized flecks of white fat. Pork, or mixtures of pork and beef or pork andvitellone (young beef), form the basis; seasonings and fineness or coarsness of cut vary toregionaltaste. Names denote style, a principle ingredient, or place oforigin... Salami made in south Italy and Sardinia are distinguished by their spiciness. Theyinclude: Napoletano...Sardo...Calabrese...Peperone (long, narrow, and highly spiced)...all thesebelong to the class of salame crudo, raw salame.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.701)
Pepperoni/peperoni/peperone belongs to the ancient family of spicy salt-cured air-dried salamisfamous in southern Italy and Sardinia. Food historians tell us there are many variations on thisrecipe and that it is very difficult to single out a specific one for study. One of the reasons weAmericans are so familiar with pepperoni is that many of the Italian people who immigrated toourcountry came from southern Italy. When they opened restaurants and pizzerias, they introducedus to the ingredients they knew from home. The tradition continues.
Sheep, mutton & lambSheep, like goats and hogs, are generally regarded as the first animals domesticated by man. Sheep wereespecially valued because they supplied wool in addition to meat and dairy products. Lambs play key symbolic roles in Jewish Passover and Christian Easter.
'Probably the earliest domesticated herd animal in the Old World, the sheep (Ovis aries) makes an unparalleled contribution of food and fiber...Sheep were domesticated on the flanks of the Taurus-Zagros Mountains, which run from southern Turkey to southern Iran. Within that arc is found the urial...a wild sheep now generally regarded as the ancestor of the domesticated sheep. Early archaeological evidence of sheep under human control comes from Shanidar Cave and nearby Zaqi Chemi in Kurdistan. Sheep bones recovered in abundance from these two sites have been dated to between 8,000 and 9,000 years old and contrast with other Neolithic sites close to the Mediterranean, where similar evidence of domesticated sheep is rare. However, accurate species identification has posed problems, for the bones of goats and sheep are often difficult to distinguish from one another...In spite of the many uses of sheep, domestication may have been motivated by religion rather than economics. Urials were animals of ritual significance, and to ensure a ready supply for sacrifice, humans may well have sought to tame and then breed them in captivity.'
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] Volume One, 2000 (p. 574-575)
What is lamb?
'Lamb is the meat of the young domestic sheep, Ovis aries. The age at which a lamb ceases to be 'lamb' and becomes a young sheep, technically yielding mutton, is not entirely clear. Biologically, this happens when the animal grows its first pair of permanent teeth. In culinary practice, two types of lamb are recognized. First, there is the sucking lamb, fed only on its mother's milk. Formerly this was popular in England, and, known as house lamb, was bred especially for the Christmas market...In France it is known as agneau de lait...the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese also hold meat in high esteem, and young lambs are eaten in the Middle East...Secondly, the meat of the weaned animal, between four months and one year old, is also called lamb, and forms the bulk of the sheep meat now sold in Britain. Older animals (from about one year) are properly called 'hogg' or 'hoggett', and their meet has to count as mutton... French pre-sale (salt meadow) lamb is that grazed on salt marshes. It has a distinctive and highly valued flavour, as has Welsh lamb similarly grazed.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, second edition edited by Tom Jaine [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2004 (p. 443)
Why do we pair mutton with mint?
Related dishes: Irish stew & Shepherd's pie & Mutton birds.
One of ten top iconic American manufactured foods, SPAM holds a special place on our national table & culinary folklore.
How did SPAM get it's name?
'The Birth of SpamJay Hormel inaugurated his Flavor-Sealed line of canned products in 1926 with a whole tinnedham. The next year he added spiced ham (the direct antecedent of Spam) and in 1928 cannedchicken. With the depression, Hormel's cherished Flavor-Sealed line began slipping badly, so heconceived the scheme of launching a grand-new product with a trick name and initiated a seriesofcontests climaxed by a New Year's Eve Party at his own home. Each of the 65 guests was greetedat the door with a contest blank. The price of each drink was a completed entry in thecontest...Finally the butler delivered to the host a slip of paper marked with the word SPAM. In1937 Spam went on public sale, ballyhooed by on fo the earthiest, corniest and most successfulpromotion campaigns in U.S. advertising history....'
---'Hormel: The Spam Man,' Frances Levison, Life, March 11 1946 (p. 63+)
'...the product sat for two years waiting for the right name. The delay is understandable when youhear some of the entries in a company naming contest Jay [Hormel] launched. 'Brunch' was anearly favorite. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis, a native Minnesotan who had used the quite-new wordbruncheon in his 1915 nove 'The Trail of the Hawk,' the name may have been nixed because thenovel's hero comes down with typhoid fever immediately after eating a fashionably late morningmeal. Jay and company also apparently considered the name 'Spic.' The word was already aderogatory term for Hispanics but in this case was more likely derived from an Old English termfor fat of grease. Spam still had no name until in late 1936 when, as legend has it, Jay decided tothrow a New Year's Eve party...The Reward for suggesting the now-famous name--a hundreddollars--went to Kenneth Daigneau, the visiting actor-brother of Hormel Vice President RalphDaigneau....'---Spam: A Biography, Carolyn Wyman [Harcourt Brace & Company:San Diego]1999 (pages 7-8).
How much did SPAM cost in 1937?
'New Hormel SPAM, Spiced Ham, 12-oz can 31 cents.'
---Giant Market food advertisement, Daily Record Newspaper [Morristown NJ], September 23, 1937 (p. 3)
SPAM recipes?
Full page color SPAM advertisements, featuring recipes, ran regularly in popular women's magazines throughout the 1940s. The back cover of Woman's Day, November 1938 shared recipes for Hot Velveeta SPAMwich (on toast place 2 thin slices of SPAM, sliced tomato, Bermuda Onion or pickle. Cover with a thin slice of Velveeta and place in oven until it melts), SPAM'N' Eggs (Quickly fry slices of SPAM, and serve with eggs...Or dice SPAM and have SPAMbled eggs). Woman's Day January1941: SPAM Burgers (We just grill or fry thick SPAM slices, pop them on buns-top them off with relish or ketchup-and there's our quick indoor picnic!). Woman's Day, November 1942 offers recipes for SPAM 'N' Pancakes, SPAMwiches (All you need is bread, butter, and a can of SPAM. If you like, add chili sauce, relish, sliced hard egg...) & SPAM 'N' Spaghetti (Prepare spaghetti and tomato sauce in casserole, sprinklewith grated cheese and crumbs. Bake till top is brown and crusty. Cut thick slices of Span and grill. It's a Victory meal--nutritiousand delicious!). Woman's DayMay, 1946: SPAM 'N' Macaroni Loaf. Woman's Day May, 1947: SPAM for Luncheon (grilled and served with carrots, peas cauliflower with a crown of hollandaise), Baked SPAM (for dinner...Score whole SPAM, sutd with cloves) & SPAMwiches (for anytime...Make Spamwiches of cold sliced Spam, with: chopped olives, pimiento, sweet pickle, mayonnaise--sliced hard cooked egg, dressing--creamed cheese,horse-radish--sliced tomato, cheese, mustard.).
The competition
'Spam luncheon meat was a tough sell at first, partly, according to former Hormel public relations chief Stuart H. 'Tate' Lane, because housewives of that era had 'been raised by their mothers to believe that if you ate meat that had not beenrefrigerated, you'd be sick the next day.' But it quickly picked up in poplarity. One measure was in the number of monosyllabiccompetitors it spawned. Treet, MOR, PREM, Snack, TANG, and more than a hundred others came on the market within the next twoyears, most leaving just as quickly.'---Spam: A Biography (p. 9-10)
PREM
According to the records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, this Swift & Company product was introduced to the American public September 16, 1939. PREM was one of several brands competing with Hormel's famous SPAM canned luncheon meat product. We're not finding any references to 'poor man's spam' except on the Internet. Possibly? Competing products were priced lower as a way to entice thrifty consumers from the ubiquitous SPAM. Note how the ads below all tout the same positive points. Color photo: Woman's Day September 1946 (p. 44)
'Tonight we'll have hot Prem dinner!' Ready-To-Eat, Prem is a tiptop meat for summer meals. You can serve it hot without heating the kitchen. Try it as shown above with cauliflowers and lima beans. Or you can chill the can and serve it cold. Hot orcold, it hselps make meal preparation quick, cool, easy. All meat, no waste, it's economical, too. Swift & Company: Purveyorsof fine foods. Sugar-Cured, by the makers of Swift's premium ham. Now packed three ways--but all the same quality of the samegood Prem.'
---Woman's Day, October 1944 (p. 7)
TREET
Armour's product was introduced May 27, 1939. 'New middle of the tin opener' with key, color photo Woman's Day,April 1949 (p. 10)'Treet is the meat for extra good baked beans. Buy the Best, Buy Armour's Treet. A little Treet makes a lot of hearty eating! This Treet-Bean Casserole is a good example. Ready much faster than the ordinary way...tastier too!
Quick Baked Beans with Treet
4 slices (1/2 can) Treet
1 No. 2 Can Armour's Star Pork and Beans
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsps. chopped onion
2 tbsps. chopped green pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
18 tsp. pepper
Salt, if desired.
Combine heans, sugar, onions, green pepper, mustard and pepper. Place in uncovered casserole. Bake in 375 degrees F. oven for 40-45 minutes.Brown slices of Treet in margarine or Cloverbloon butter for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Arrange on the top of beans. 4 servings.You'll love Treet any way...sliced hot or cold for sandwiches...fried or baked for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This pure pork shouldermeat is vacuum cooked in its own rich juices , right in the tin. Rich in important B Vitamins, too. Keep a tin of Treet on hand always. Armourand Company.'
---Woman's Day, October 1944 (p. 52)
MOR
Wilson & Company, Chicago IL (sorry, not finding a start date for this product)
'Eating Pleasure on the Double Quick. Menu (Nutritionally Balanced)
Broiled Mor and Tomato Halves
Broiled Whole Kernel Corn, Hard Rolls
Cherry Cream Pie, Milk
Recipe: To assemble platter: In center of round platter place brouled whole kernel corn, flecked with green pepper and pimientos(chopped). Around the corn arrange alternate slices of broiled MOR and broiled tomato halves, topped with chopped onions. Garnish withgreens.'I have tried all the meats of the MOR type. I use and recommend MOR for its finer flavor, extra tender texture and uniformquality.' George Rector, Food Consultant to Wilson & Co. Delicious, appetizing MOR comes read to eat. Saves time and work in busy wartime kitchens. MOR is all good meat. No wastefulbone or gristle. Every bit edible. Each can makes 8 dinner-size slices or 16 sandwich-size slices. Rich in energy and a natrual sourceof Vitamin B1. No refrigeration needed. By the Makers of Tender Made Ham, Wilson & Co.'
---Women's Day, October 1942 (p. 2)
TANG (the meat product, not the orange powdered beverage)
We can confirm the existance of this product from newspaper ads, but not the manufacturer or introduction date. If you have information please let us know!
'Treet, Prem, SPAM, Tang, 51 cents/can'---display ad, Delta Democrat-Times [Greenville Miss.], January 15, 1948 (p. 16)
SquirrelFood historians confirm squirrel, along with other small scampery rodentia-type game, played an integral role as human food from prehistory to present. Readily available, easily caught, economically feasible, tasty & versatile. Tastes like chicken.
Native dwellers, European settlers, foraging pioneers, and established frontiersmen often relied on the daily 'shoot' to provide meat for meals. This might explain why squirrel recipes were not typically featured in period cookbooks. We also find references to squirrel as a substitute for preferred cuts in certain recipes, including stew. In the USA two celebrated examples of squirrel-based food are Brunswick Stew & Kentucky Burgoo. Big socio-political feeds featuring local game make perfect sense in this particular context.
Prehistoric applications
'As Ewer says: 'The [human] taste for meat would have been first acquired by eating relatively easily killed things such as tortoises, lizards, porcupines and small mammals like ground squirrels.'
---Food in Antiquity: A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples, Don Brotrhwell and Patricia Brothwell [Johns Hopkins University Press:Baltimore MD] 1998 (p. 32)
English cuisine
'Squirrel. A tree-dwelling rodent of the family Sciuridae, to which the woodchuck and prairie dog also belong. Squirrels have a global distribution. All species have a long bushy tail and strong hind legs; and eat nuts and seeds. Squirrels can be cooked like rabbit or even chicken...The slight gamey taste present in most game meats is not so pronounced in the squirrel. The young ones can be fried or broiled the same as rabbits.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2007 (p. 752)
'The red squirrel was a dish for a lord. 'Browet farsure' was an early fiftneeth-century pottage which contained the meat of partridges and coneys 'or else rabbits for they are better for a lord...And for a great lord, take squirrels instead of coneys.' By Tudor times they were going out of favour. Dr Moufet wrote, 'Squirrels are much troubled with two diseases, choler and the falling-sickness; yet their hinder-parts are indifferent good whilst they are young, fried with parsley and bitter: but being no usual nor warrantable good meat, let me skip with them and over them to another tree...' Meat was cooked by roasting, broiling on a gridiron, frying and stewing. In addition, the pie was developed, which allowed meat to be sealed within a strong crust and baked, often accompanied by several other ingredients.'
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago Publishers: Chicago IL] 1973, 1991 (p. 83-84)
'Squirrels as food are not much sought after in England, although their flesh is quite tender and their flavour resembles that of the wild rabbit. During World War II squirrel pies and roast stuffed squirrels appeared on Soho menus, but never found favour, and it is safe to assume that further available supplies were used as rabbit. Those seeking adventure in the culinary field might well try roast squirrel without suffering indigestion.'
---Master Dictionary of Food & Cookery, Henry Smith [Philosophical Library:New York] 1952 (p. 228-229)
American cookery
'Other animals eaten are the woodchuck...the muskrat,...rabbits, hares and all kinds of squirrels.'
--- Iroquois Foods and Preparation, F.W. Waugh, facsimile 1916 edition [University Press of the Pacific:Honolulu HI] 2003 (p. 135)
'Of all the denziens of the Southern woods, none is more common than the squirrel, and the bushy-tailed rodents have been there in great numbers since long before Columbus. Indians roasted them over the open fire or stewed them in clay pots; later, new Americans from Europe and Africa fried them in skillets. Thomas Jefferson and many another Southerner after him...considered squirrel an essential ingredient of Brunswick stew, Kentucky burgoo makers...have always felt the same way. According to most contemporary preferences, the favored way to cook squirrel is smothered in a rich gravy made from pan liquids and flour. The same basic recipe is also used with other small game, such as rabbit and quail.'
---Southern Food: at home, on the road, in history, John Egerton [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 1993 (p. 248) [NOTE: This book includes a recipe for preparing squirrels supplied by Bart Stephenson, Hermitage Sportsmens' Club. We can send if you want.]
'Southerners took game of all kinds throughout the ueart, but fall and winter were the preferred hunting seasons. This provided dame during the period whenpoultyr and eggs were least abundant. Wild turkey, rabbit, and squirrel tended to replace domestic poultry and eggs in the diet during the winter. The cooking of game wassimilar to that for domestic meats. Frying was a favorite method of preparing young rabbit, but older animals were boiled. Squirrel meat was tougher than rabbit and requiredmore cooking, but the results were considered superior to rabbit dishes. Squirrel broth or pie with dumplings were considered delicacies.' (p. 47) 'Like rabbit, squirrel was a common food animal, and it was tenacious enough to survive in large numbers in most of the areas throughout the antebellum period. Squirrels were common whereveradequate food could be found, and the woodlot or forested stream course that was part of every southern landholding provided as many animals as one mightwish. Gray squirrels abounded throughout the area and were especially numerous in the deciduous forests. In the Coastal Plain and Mississippi Valley the much largerfox squirrel also was found. Both were relished by whites and slaves though squirrel may have been less common in the slave menu than rabbit since it usually was obtainedwith firearms. But is is certain that many white farmers, particually the smaller ones located in the oak-pine, oak-hickory, and chestnut forest areas, had as muchsquirrel as they desired.'(p. 79-80)
---Hog Meat and Hoecake: Food Supply in the Old South 1840-1860, Sam Bowers Hilliard [Southern Illinois University Press:Carbondale IL] 1972
'Squirrel: a small rodent with slender body and bushy tail, of familiar appearance and habits, found wild in every part of the world except Oceania. By residents of the larger cities it is best known as the protected, semi-domesticated pet of public and private parks, but it is also esteemed by many people as among the most desirable of small game animals, all varieties--black, red, grey, etc.--being equally acceptable.'
---The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [New York] 1911 (p. 589)
Vintage recipe sampler
[1839]'Stewed Squirrels. Take a couple of fat young squirrels, case and cut them into small pieces, rinse them very clean in cold water, sprinkle on enough salt and pepper to season them well; stew them in a smalll quantity of water, wiht a few slices of bacon, till nearly done. Make a thick batter with eggs, milk and flour; drop it by spoonfuls in with the squirrels, add a large spoonful of butter, rolled in flour, stew it fifteen or twenty minutes longer, then our in a cup of sweet cream, and serve it up. Or you may omit the dumplings, and serve with the squirrels a handful of chopped parsley having it stirred in the gravy.
'Fried Squirrels. Prepare them as for the stew season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, dredge them with flour, and fry them a handsome brown, in lard or butter. Stir into the bravy a spoonful of flour, one of tomato catchup, and a glass of sweet cream, and serve the squirrels with the gravy poured round.
'Broiled Squirrels. Case and clean two fat young squirrels, (old ones will not do;) split them open on the back, rinse them very clean in cold water, season them with salt, pepper, and grated lemon; broil them on a gridiron, over clear coals, turing and basting them two or three times with butter. When they are well done, place them in a warm dish, sprinkle on them a handful of grated bread, and pour over them two ounces of drawn butter.'
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile 1839 edition [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 136-137)
[1879]
'To Barbecue Squirrel.
Put some slices of fat bacon in an oven. Lay the squirrels on them and lay two slices of bacon on the top. Put them in the oven and let them cook until done. Lay them ona dish and set near the fire. Take out the bacon, sprinkle one spoonful of flour in the gravy and let it brown. Then pour in one teacup of water, one tablespoonful of butter, and some tomato or walnut catsup. Let it cool, and them pour it over the squirrel.'
---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree, facsimile 1879 edition [Favorite Recipes Press:Louisville KY] 1965(p. 108)
[1886]
'Stewed Squirrels. Skin two pairs of fat squirrels, wash them quickly in cold water, or carefully wipe them with a wet cloth to remove the hairs, and cut them in quarters, rejecting the intestines. Put a layer of slices of fat salt pork in a saucepan, then place the squirrels in the saucepan, with a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper, and either a little more salt pork, or a quarter of a pound of good beef or veal dripping, or butter; add enough water to prevent burning, cover the saucepan, and cook the squirrels gently until the meat is tender. When the squirrels are nearly done, uncover the saucepan, so that the water in which they were cooked can stew away. Then put in enough cream or good milk to moisten them, let them heat again, see that they are palatably seasoned, and then serve them hot.
'Squirrel Pie. After a pair of squirrels have been skinned, wipe them all over with a wet cloth to remove the hairs, and cut them in joints, saving the blood, and removing the entrails. The liver, heart, and kidneys may be used. Chop a pound of beef-suet fine, rejecting all the membrane; mix it with a pound and a half of flour, two level teaspoonfuls of salt, and a level saltspoonful of pepper. Butter an earthen baking-dish; add enough cold water to the suet and flour, to make a crust which can be rolled out about three-quarters of an inch thick. Line the dish with the crust, put in the squirrel meat and blood, adding enough cold water to half fill the pie; season it highly with salt and pepper, and cover with the crust, wetting all the edges to make them adhere so closely that the gravy cannot escape. In the middle of the top crust, cut a little slit, to permit the escape of the steam while the pie is being baked. Bake the pie in a moderate oven for about two hours; when the crust is nearly brown enough, cover it with buttered paper. When the pie is done, serve it hot in the dish in which it was baked.'
---Miss Corson's Practical American Cookery and Household Management, Juliet Corson: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/books/misscorson/pach.html
[1887]
'Squirrel Soup. Wash and quarter three or four good sized squirrels; put them on, with a small tablespoonful of salt, directly after breakfast, in a gallon of cold water.Cover the pot close, and set it on the back part of the stove to simmer gently, not boil. Add vegetables just the same as you do in case of other meat soups in the summer season, but especially good will you find corn, Irish potatoes, tomatoes and Lima beans. Strain the soup through a coarse colander when the meat has boiled to shreds, so as to get rid of the squirrel's troublesome little bones. Then return to the pot, and after boiling a while longer, thicken with a piece of butter rubbed in flour. Celery and parsley leaves chopped up are also considered an improvement by many. Toast two slices of bread, cut them into dice one half inch square, fry them in butter, put them into the bottom of your tureen, and then pour the soup boiling hot upon them. Very good.'
---White House Cook Book, Mrs. F.L. Gillette: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/books/whitehouse/whit.html
[1910]
'Squirrels, Fried.--Unless they are young, parboil them gently for 1/2 hour in salted water. Then fry in butter or pork grease until brown. A dash of curry powder when frying is begun improves them, inless you dislike curry. Make gravy as directed on page 63. Squirrels, Broiled.--Use only young ones. Soak in cold salted water for an hour, wipe dry, and broil over the coals with a slice of bacon laid over each squirrel to baste it. Squirrels, Stewed.--They are best this way, or fricasseed. Squirrels Barbecued.--Build a hardwood fire between two large logs lying about two feet apart. At each end of the fire drive two forked stakes about fifteen inches apart, so that the four stakes will form a rectangle, like the legs of a table. The forks should be about eighteen inches above the ground. Choose young, tender squirrels (if old ones must be used, parboil them until tender but not soft), Prepare spits by cutting stout switches of some wood that does not burn easily (sassafras is best (beware of poison sumach), peel them, sharpen the points, and harden them by thrusting for a few moments under the hot ashes. Impale each squirrel by thrusting a spit through flank, belly, and shoulder, on one side, and another spit similarly on the other side, spreading out the sides, and, if necessary, cutting throught the ribs, so that the squirrel will lie open and flat. Lay two poles across the fire from crotch to crotch of the posts, and across these lay your spitted squirrels. As soon as these are heated through, begin basting with a pice of pork on the end of a switch. Turn squirrels as required. Cook slowly, tempering the heat, if needful, by scattering the ashes for a final browning. When the squirrels are done, butter them and gash a little that the juices my flow.'
---Camp Cookery, Horace Kephart, facsimile 1910 edition [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 2001 (p. 69-70)
[1926]
'Squirrel Fricassee
1 squirrel
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup canned tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 tablespoons fat
Flour
Salt and pepper
Clean and wash thoroughly. Cutt off legs, and cut other part of body in pieces. Soak in salted water on hour, drain, wipe each piece dry; season with salt and pepper, and roll in flour. Heat fat in fryer, add onion, let brown lightly, add squirrel. When nicely browned, add water, celery, parsley, tomatoes, and Worcestershire. Cover and let cook slowly about two hours. If gravy is too thin, thicken with a little flour.'
---Every Woman's Cook Book, Mrs. Chas. F. Moritz [Cupples & Leon:New York] 1926 (p. 150)
[1930]
'Barbecued Squirrel.
Wash the squirrel with water in which you have poured a little vinegar. Skewer flat and wipe dry. Rub all over with butter or fat and put under the flame in a shallow pan. Baste constantly with a mixture of one third vinegar and two thirds water, well seasoned with salt and black pepper. Take the pan out several times and turn the squirrel so that it will be cooked on both sides.'
---Old Southern Receipts, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride:New York] 1930 (p. 65)
[1940]
'Roast Squirrels
Squirrels
Salad oil
Lemon-juice or tarragon vinegar
1 cup bread-crumbs
Cream
1 cup button mushrooms
Pepper and salt
Onion-juice
Oil
Brown stock
Worcestershire sauce
Paprika
Clean the squirrels thorougly, wash in several waters and cover with salad oil mixed with lemon-juice or tarragon vinegar. Let stand for an hour on a platter. Soak a cup of bread-crumbs in just enough cream to moisten them, add a cup of button mushrooms cut in dice, pepper, salt and onion-juice. Stuff each squirrel with this mixture, sew and truss as you would a fowl. Rub with oil, place in a dripping-dish, and partly cover with brown stock diluted with a cup of boiling water. When the squirrels are well roasted, make a gravy out of the liquor in the pan, by adding a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and paprika, salt and lemon-juice to taste.'
---Amercian Woman's Cook Book, edited and revised by Ruth Berolzheimer, Culinary Arts Institute [Consolidated Book Publishers:Chicago] 1940 (p. 301)
[1950]
'Squirrel and Rabbit.
Best in the fall and early winter. Prepare like Chicken. When roasting, truss the forelegs back and hind legs forward. Fasten bacon over the shoulders and back. Baste with a mixture of 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup boiling water. Turn several times. The Stuffing is made as for Chicken. Garnish, when served, with lemon slices on watercress.'
---Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, revised and enlarged [McGraw-Hill Book Company:New York] 1950 (p. 287)
[1952]
'Squirrels en Casserole
3 squirrels
1/2 lb. chopped salt pork
1 cupful chopped onions
1 1/2 cupfuls sliced parboiled potatoes
1 cupful green corn
1 cupful Lima beans
Black and red pepper to taste
1 quart (2 cups) peeled, cut tomatoes
1 tablespoonful sugar
1 tablespoonful salt
4 heaping tablespoons (4 oz.) butter
2 heaping tablespoons (2 oz) flour
4 quarts (16 cups) boiling water
Clean, wash and joint the squirrels. Lay them in salted water for 30 minutes. Put the ingredients into a large casserole in the following order: First a layer of the pork, then one of the onions; next, of potatoes; then follow with successive layers of corn cut from the cob, the beans and the squirrels. Season each layer with black and red pepper. Pour in the water, put on the cover, and seal with a paste made of flour and water. Cook gently for three hours, then add the tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook for one hour longer; stir in the flour and butter mixed together, boil for five minutes, and serve in the casserole.
[NOTE: this recipe is very similar to Brunswick Stew.]
'Squirrel Pie
'It may interest your readers to learn that grey squirrels, a pest from which it is admittedly desirable to rid this country, are not merely edible but provide an agreeable food. Young members of my family have been shooting them recently in a neighbourhood where they abound and are most harmful, and we are now finding them as useful as rabbits as a table dish. The meat is as tender as rabbit, can be similary cooked, and resembles it is taste. If it were widely used to supplement the meat ration the double purpose might be served of addition to our food supply and the extermination of an animal desctructive of that supply and of all bird life. Yours faithfully, Frances M. Rowe, Deancroft, Cookham Dean.' (A letter to 'The Times', 19th February, 1941.)
'Sauteed Squirrel
1 pair squirrels
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, minced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 tablespoons minced ham
1 tablespoon flour
Bit of thyme, minced
1/2 bayleaf, minced fine
1 teaspoon grated rind of lemon
Salt and pepper
Cayenne
1 12/ cup claret
Wash and wipe the squirrels dry; cut in quarters; rub with salt and pepper. Slowly fry onion and garlic in butter until golden; add ham and squirrel, sprinkle with flour, and fry until brown. Heat claret and add with remaning ingredients. Simmer until tender.'
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon, complete and unabridged [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 490)
[1992]
'Squirrel. Gladys Nichols: 'People say I make good squirrel dumplings. You just boil your squirrel like you would a chicken. Get it good and done and put your seasonings in it. Then make up your flour like you're going to make biscuits. Squeeze you of a little dough and roll it or cut it out. Have your squirrel boiling and just drip the flour dough in there, pepper and salt it, and boil it till it's good and done. I have got a lot of compliments on my dumplings. And then you can make gravy in your squirrel with just a spoonful or two of flour mixed with milk. Pour it in your pot and cook it. Most people, I think, like the gravy even better than they do the dumplings.'
---The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, Linda Garland Page & Eliot Wigginston editors [Gramercy Books:New York] 1984, 1992 (p. 139)
[2010]
'Fried Squirrel with Gravy
Sarah Thomas ate a lot of squirrel when she was growing up in French Creek., West Virginia. 'They grow way bigger there,' she recalls. 'This is how my mom, Nancy Loudin, taught me to cook squirrel. May dad and brothers always shot the suqirrels through the head with .22 rifles to avoid anyone breaking a tooth on buckshot. We usually helped Dad skin out the squirrels. And there was often a battle over who got the tail.'
Makes 4 servings
2 large squirrels
Salt and ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil or lard, for frying
Milk, mixed with equal parts water (about 1 cup each)
Gut and skin the squirrels. If they were shot with buckshot, check thoroughly for any pieces of shot and remove. Soak the squirrels in a pan of water in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, covering the squirrels. Cut into pieces but don't throw out the backs; there's food flavor there. Discard the heads. Put the pieces in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the meat is tender but not falling off the bone, then drain. Season the squirrel pieces with salt and pepper and roll in the flour. Heat oil to shimmering in a cast-iron skillet and add squirrel pieces. Fry until golden brown on both sides. You are not cooking the meat here but rather adding flavor and texture. Remove the meat to drain on paper towels or a brown paper bag. Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet and add 2 tablespoons of the flour left over from dredging the squirrel. Make a roux (turn the heat down or it'll get away from you). Once the flour is golden, add half milk and half water and good splash at a time, stirring furiously, until your gravy is the consistency you like. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the squirrel and gravy with mashed potatoes and green beans cooked with bacon fat. Biscuits wouldn't be a bad idea either.---Sarah Thomas of Black Mountain, North Carolina.'
---The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook, edited by Sara Roahen & John T. Edge [University of Georgia Press:Athens GA] 2010 (p. 202)
BRUNSWICK STEW
Great American meals are often 'claimed' by many places. Such is the case with Brunswick Stew. This large community feed is tradtionally connected with the AmericanSouth and Appalchian regions. Kentucky Burgoo and Wisconsin/Minnesota Booyaand possibly European Hodge Podge are related by ingredients and method. Classic recipes for Brunswick stew feature squirrel. Modern interpretations sometimes omit that local ingredient. Purists, we understand, still insist on the squirrel. Our surveyof historic cookbooks reveal several variations, many of them redacted for home cooks.
The history of Brunswick stew is an excellent lesson in culinary folklore. Historians are fond of recounting stories regarding the origin of the name. These explain the name, but not the recipe. In the broadest sense, the history of this Brunswick stew (essentially squirrel soup with onions) and be traced to neolithic times, when hunter-gatherers put whatever game they were luck enough to catch in the pot with whatever vegetables were in season.
'Brunswick stew. A stew made originally with squirrel, now made with a chicken or other meats. There have been many claims as to the dish's origins, especially from the citizens of Brunswick County, North Carolina, but the most creditable claim comes from Brunswick County, Virginia, where in 1828 Dr. Creed Haskins of the Virginia state legislature requested a special squirrel stew from 'Uncle Jimmy' Matthews to deed those attending a political rally. This original Brunswick stew was said to have contained no vegetables except onions, but it soon went through several transformations before the squirrel itself dropped from most recipes after the turn of the century. The first mention in print of the dish was in 1856.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 44)
'Brunswick County, North Carolina, has for years been attempting to lay claim to Brunswick Stew. The best documented case, however, is held by Brunswick County, Virginia, which argues that in 1828 Dr. Creed Haskins of Mount Donum, a member of the Virginia state legislature, wanted something special for a political rally he was sponsoring. Haskins had eaten a squirrel stew created by Jimmy Matthews, and he turned to Matthews for a new variation on that stew. Squirrels gradually disappeared from the recipe for Brunswick Stew, and chicken is now accepted as its major ingredient, but it remained for many years--in its original form--one of the principal attractions of political rallies conducted by the Whigs and Democrats, and of cockfights, family reunions, tobacco curings, and other Virginia gatherings.'
---The American Heritage Cookbook, American Heritage editors [American Heritage Publishing Company:New York] 1964 (p. 475) [NOTE: This book contains a modernized (chicken, not squirrel) recipe.]
'The origins of Brunswick stew--initially based on squirrel meat, then on chicken or rabbit or all three--are shrouded in mystery. Brunswick, Virginia; Brunswick County, North Carolina; and Brunswick, Georgia, all claim they were the birthplace, either in the 1700s or 1800s. Others credit Britain's Earl of Brunswick, who, visiting the South, discoverd the derivative dish being served to Virginia workmen...Nashville's John Egerton [states]: 'It seems safe to say that Indians were making stews with wild game long before any Europeans arrived, and in that sense there was Brunswick stew before there was a Brunswick.'
---Smokehouse Ham,. Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Applachian Cooking, Joseph E. Dabney [Cumberland House:Nashville TN] 1998 (p. 212) [NOTE: recipe for Kentucky, Crock-Pot and Smoky Mountain Brunswick Stews are offered in this book.]
'Hare soup.
Cut up two hares, put them into a pot with a piece of bacon, two onions chopped, a bundle of thyme and parsley which must be taken out before the soup is thickened, add pepper, salt, pounded cloves, and mace, put in a sufficient quantity of water, stew it gently three hours, thicken with a large spoonful of butter, and one of brown flour with a glass of red wine; boil it a few minutes longer, and serve it up with the nicest parts of the hares. Squirrels make soup equally good, done the same way.'
---The Virginia House-wife, Mary Randolph [facsimile edition of 1824 edition] with Historical Notes and Commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia] 1984 (p. 35)
[1879]
'Brunswick Stew.
A Twenty-five cent shank of beer.
A five-cent loaf of bread--square loaf, as it has more crumb, and the crust is not used.
1 quart potatoes cooked and mashed.
1 quart cooked butter-beans.
1 quart raw corn.
1 1/2 quart raw tomatoes peeled and chopped.
'Brunswick Stew
Abour four hours before dinner, put on two or three slices of bacon, two squirrels or chickens, one onion sliced, in one gallon water. Stewsome time, then add one quart peeled tomatoes, two ears of grated corn, three Irish potaotes sliced, and one handful butter-beans, andpart pod of red pepper. Stew altogether about one hour, till you cna tiake out the bones. When done, put in one spoonful breadcrumbs and one large spoonful butter.--Mrs. M. M. S.
'Brunsiwck Stew
Take one chicken or two squirrels, cut them up and put one-half gallon water to them. Let it stew until the bones can be removed.Add one-half dozen large tomatoes, one-half pint butter-beans, and corn cut from a half dozen ears, salt, pepper, and butter as seasoning.--Mrs. I. H.
'Brunswick Stew
Take to chickens or three or four squirrels, let them boil in water. Cook one pint butter-beans, and one quart tomatoes; cook with the meat. When done,add one dozen ears corn, one dozen large tomatoes, and one pound butter. Take out the chicken, cut it into small pieces and put back; cookuntil it is well done and thick enough to be eaten with a fork. Season with pepper and salt.-Mrs. R.'
---Housekeeping in Old Virginia, Marion Cabell Tyree, facsimile 1879 edition [Favorite Recipes Press:Louisville KY] 1965 (p. 211-212)
[1908]
'Brunswick Stew
This is made from the large Southern gray squirrels. Cut into joints and lay in cold salted water for one-half hour to draw out theblood. Put into a large pot one gallon of water, lightly salted, and bring to a boil. Add the jointed squirrels, one half dozenpotatoes parboiled and sliced, one-half pound of fat salt pork, sliced, a quart of tomateos peeled and sliced, one pint Limabeans, six ears of corn cut from the cob, or canned corn, and a sliced onion. Cover closely and simmer gently for three hours,stirring occasionally from the bottom. Fifteen minutes before serving add one-half cup of butter, beaten to a cream with a tablespoonful of sugar, and pepper to season. Stir until smooth and slightly thickened, then pour into a hot tureen.'
---New York Evening Telegram Cook Book, Emma Paddock Telford [Cupples & Leon:New York] 1908 (p. 85)
[1910]
'Brunswick Stew.
--This famous huntsman's dish of the Old Dominion is usually prepared with squirrels, but other game will serve as well. The ingredients, besides squirrels, are:
1 qt. can tomatoes,
1 pt. can butter beans or limas,
1 pt. can green corn,
6 potatoes, parboiled and sliced,
1/2 lb. butter,
1/2 lb. salt pork (fat),
1 teaspoonful black pepper,
1/2 teaspoonful salt,
2 tablespoons white sugar,
1 onion, minced small.
Soak squirrels half an hour in cold salted water. Add the salt to one gallon of water, and boil five minutes. Then out into the onion, beans, corn, pork (cut in fine strips), potatoes, pepper, and squirrels. Cover closely, and stew very slowly two and a half hours, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the tomatoes and sugar and stew an hour longer. Then add the butter, cut into bits the size of a walnut and rolled in flour. Boil ten minutes. The serve at once.'
---Camp Cookery, Horace Kephart, facsimile 1910 edition [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 2001 (p. 68)
[1930]
'Brunswick Stew. This is a famous Virginia dish.
Take three of four young squirrels. Cut them up, put into a good-sized kettle, and just cover with cold water. When they have boiled about fifteen minutes, put in
1 quart tomatoes, peeled and sliced
1 quart tender corn, cut from the ear and scraped to get all the milk
1 quart butter beans, fresh
1 pint tender sliced okra, or diced okra
1 pint peeled and sliced Irish potatoes
1 pint sweet peppers, if you can get them
Cook these together until the meat falls from the bones, and take out the largest bones. If all the ingredients are now thoroughly done, work together one tablespoonful of cornstarch and one-fourth pound of butter, and stir until it thickens. Season with salt to taste, and if you have not put in the peppers, season with red pepper and celery salt. The water should be replenished, so as not to become too dry. A good pinch of celery seed is like by some instead of celery salt.'
---Old Southern Receipts, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride & Company:New York] 1930 (p. 65-6)
'City Brunswick Stew. When Game is not available.
Use ham and veal or chicken and beef, or chicken and veal. Cook three and one-half pounds of the meat to six sliced carrots, eight large potatoes cut up and three bit onions sliced, until the meat drops from the bone. Thicken with three tablespoons flour, add one tablespoon of sugar and one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, stir for a moment and serve in hot dishes.'
---ibid (p. 78)
[1940]
'Brunswick Stew
2 squirrels
1 tablespoon salt
1 minced onion
1 pint Lima beans
6 ears corn
1/2 pound salt pork
6 potatoes
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 quart sliced tomatoes
1/2 pound butter
This dish is named for a county in Virginia and is a favorite dish in that section of the country. It is served in soup-plates. Cut the squirrels in pieces, as for fricassee. Add the salt to four quarts of water and when boiling add the onion, beans, corn, pork, potatoes, pepper and the squirrels. Cover closely and simmer for two hours, then add the sugar and tomato, and simmer one hour more. Ten minutes before removing the stew from the fire, add the butter, cut into piece the size of a walnut and rolled in flour. Boil up, adding salt and pepper if needed, and turn into a tureen.'
---Amercian Woman's Cook Book, edited and rebised by Ruth Berolzheimer, Culinary Arts Institute [Consolidated Book Publishers:Chicago] 1940 (p. 302)
KENTUCKY BURGOO
Classic example of a large outdoor meal simmering with local flavor. Like New England clambakes, Texas chili cook-offs, Southern/Midwestern Barbeque, and Hawaiian Luaus, Kentucky burgoo brings people together tocelebrate community. Brunswick stew and Wisconsin/Minnesota Booya are close relatives. The common ingredient in Brunswick stew & Kentucky burgoo is squirrel. Theunifying thread for all three 'B' stews is celebratory community feed built on pride with a generous side of 'secret ingredient.' Where there are large groups of people, stew-meisters prevail.
'Some say burgoo originated in contental Europe and arrived on these shores in the nineteenth century with sailors from France and Belgium. They maintain that burgoo's name resulted from a mispronunciation of the French word burgout, or perhaps, closely related to ragout, a red-hot vegetable/meat stew. Old time 'burgoomaster' Jim Looney of Lexington, Kentucky, claimed that his burgoo predecessor, Colonel Gus Jaubart, introduced the stew to Kentucky around 1810, and that it was indeed a version of a stew fed to French sailors at sea. Looney claimed the original version dictated 800 pounds of lean beef, a dozen squirrels (provided they were in season) for each hundred gallons, 240 pounds of fat hens, plus a bunch of vegetables. Noted Kentucky historian Thomas Clark looked at burgoo's beginnings a bit differnetly: '(Burgoo) originated back in the days when hunters counted up their day's kill in the thousands of squirrels and when pigeons flew through the woods in veritable clouds, and bear, deer, buffalo and hundreds of turkeys were avialable. The idea came from Virginia, where Brunswick stew was popular. Vegetables of all kinds were boiled along with the game meats, and the whole mas was highly seasoned with spices. This was a fine temptation with which to attract a crowd.' Some feel Clark's references perhaps relate also to what was known a Appalchian 'hunter's stew' or 'Daniel Boone stew.'
---Smokehouse Ham,. Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Applachian Cooking, Joseph E. Dabney [Cumberland House:Nashville TN] 1998 (p. 217) [NOTE: this book offers a modern squirrel-free Burgoo recipe.]
'Kentucky Burgout.
Mrs. Garrard
6 squirrels,
6 birds,
1 1/2 gallons of water,
1 teacup of pearl barley,
1 quart of tomatoes,
1 quart of corn,
1 quart of oysters,
1 pint of sweet cream,
1/4 pound of butter,
2 tablespoons of flour,
Season to taste.
Boil the squirrels and birds in the water till tender and remove all the bones. Add barley and vegetables and cook slowly for 1 hour. Ten minutes before serving add the oysters and cream with butter and flour rubbed together. Season and serve hot.'
---The Blue Grass Cook Book, Minnie C. Fox, facsimile 1904 edition with an introduction by John Fox Jr., new introduction by Toni Tipton-Martin [University Press of Kentucky:Lexington KY] 2005 (p. 37-38) [NOTE: this recipe was reprinted in the New York World's Fair Cook Book, Crosby Gaige, 1939.]
[1938]
'Kentucky Burgoo
200 pounds fat hens
2000 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
200 pounds onions
5 bushels of cabbage, chopped
60 ten-pound cans of tomatoes
24 ten-pound cands puree of tomatoes
24 ten-pound cans of carrots
18 ten-pound cans of corn
Red pepper and salt to taste
Season with Worcestershire, Tabasco, or A#1 Sauce
Mix the ingredients, a little at a time, and cook outdoors in huge iron kettles over wood fires from 15 to 20 hours. Use squirrels in season...one dozen squirrels to each 100 gallons.'
---The Southern Cook Book of Fine Old Recipes, compiled and edited by Lillie S. Listig, S. Claire Sondheim and Sarah Rensel [Three Mountaineers:Asheville NC] 1938 (p. 6)
'Burgoo for Small Parties. Meat from any domestic beasts or barnyard fowls may be used along with any garden vegetables desired. Originally, the burgoo was made from wild things found in the woods of Kentucky. Cut meat to be used into inch cubes; do not throw away bones; add them to meat cubes. Add any dried vegetables which will enchance flavor of stew. Put all materials into large stewing kettle, unless beans and potatoes are being used, If this is the case, cook meats first, and add beans and potatoes about an hor before seving. Fill kettle half full of water and place over fire to come to a boil. Prepare other vegetables for stew. Peel and halve opnions, scrape and dice carrots, pare and cube potatoes. When liquid in kettle is boiling, add vegetables. Lower heat than continue to simmer stew until vegetables are tender. Add salt and seasonings when stew is almost cooked. There should always be enough water to cover the vegetables. Canned tomatoes will add to the flavor of the broth. In a real burgoo, no thickening like meal or rice is used, because the broth is to be strained and served clear. Likewise, sweet vegetables were not used in th real burgoos.'---ibid (p. 13) [NOTE: this recipe was reprinted in The New York World's Fair Cook Book, Crosby Gaige, 1939.]
BooyaBooya (booyah, boowyaw) descends from the grand culinary tradition of community feeds. Akin to Kentucky Burgoo, Brunswick Stew, and down-home barbecue, midwestern Booya is the perfect dish for political events, church suppers and firehouse dinners. Men generally cook these big meals; they are masters of quantitative culinary unification. Ingredients are local, filling, secret, and delicious. Specialities require hours of attention before achieving serving perfection. All this brewing, bubbling & slow-slathered grilling give people plenty time to talk before sitting down to share their common table. What better recipe for satisfying hungry folks with divergent opinions?
There is some debate regarding the direct culinary lineage of the booyahs served in northern Great Plains states. The French connection is linguistically defensible (bouillion, boulliablase). The Belgium/Flemish/Low Country connection is likewise plausible. Hochepot (hutspot, hodgepodge) is a similar 'down home' hearty stew composed of local meats and vegetables.
'Booya. A Minnesota and Wisconsin dish of meats like turtle, oxtail, beef, or chicken, carrots, potatoes and, commonly, rutabagas. Because the dish is usually cooked n enormous batches for large social gathering and church suppers, 'booya' has also come to refer to the outdoor feast itself. Most booyas are held in the fall when the harvest comes in. The origin of the word is unknown, perhaps from the French bouillir, or Canadian French bouillon, 'broth,' although it has been suggested the dish is of Belgian or Bohemian origin.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 35)
'Booya, a stew of chicken and fresh vegetables, can be found in scattered pockets from Minnesota to southern Indiana. Simmered for hours in large pots over outdoor wood fires, booya is served at family reunions, church picnics, community celebrations, and fund-raisers. Wisconsin's chicken booyah (with and added 'h') is said to be Belgian in origin and can also include beef, corn, and beans.'
---Oxford Companion to Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 101)
'Hunters in the Michigan woods make a catch-all stew from game which they call booyaw or boolyaw; it is an echo of the state's French past, for it represents an attempt to reproduce the French pronunciation of the word bouillon.'
---Eating in America: A History, Waverly Root & Richard de Rochemont [William Morrow:NY] 1976 (p. 169)
RECIPES
Wisconsin Booya, from Green Bay Gazette.Minnesota Booya
'Good booya cooks guard their recipes as zealously as any self-respecting chili contest winner. Everyone has a secret ingredient...that separates his batch from his neighbor's....Pine City Booya. Here's a respectable booya (the recipe makes 15 generous servings that the home cook might find manageable. Ann Burckardt, food editor of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune's Taste section, calls booya a 'highly personalized highly individualized' dish; indeed, her recipe files include versions using cabbage, green pepper and pork, in addition to the beef and chicken. This rendition, submitted by a Pine City, Minn., reader, illustrates the point. For best results, Burckhardt suggests making the booya a day before serving, and heating it over low heat. The burned taste ('part of the secret' associated with booyas cooked out of doors) is missing from this recipe, but Burckhardt adds that 'a little hovering the last hour' might be necessary to prevent the mix from sticking to the bottom of the kettle. Like any good booya, this freezes well, she adds.
1 cup navy beans, soaked overnight
4- to 5-pound stewing chicken
1 pound carrots, cut into chunks
4 lbs celery, sliced
2 large onions, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup barley
16-ounce can whole tomatoes
16-ounce package whole kernel corn
2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 ounce pickling spices, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with string
salt and pepper to taste
allspice to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste.
On cooking day, cook beans about 1 hour, in the largest, deep bottomed kettle you can find, add the beans, chicken and beef; cover with water and simmer, covered, over low heat 2 hours. Remove meat and skim excess fat from the surface. Remove skin from chicken, separate meat from bones and cut up coarsely. Replace meats in stock. Add vegetables, pickling spices and salt to tastes. Simmer, covered, until flavors are well blended, stirring occasionally from the bottom, 1 hour. Season as desired and serve hot.'
---'Booya: A Cross Between Soup and Stew, a 24-Hour Potboiling Tradition,' [reprinted from the Washington Post], Post-Standard [Syracuse NY], November 25, 1985 (p. B4)
According to the food historians, the true history of Steak Diane is a complicated affair. Theanswer may be one of semantics rather than straight culinary history. Why? There are as manynames for this dish as there are recipe variations. One of the closest variations is Steak au Poivre,also sometimes served flambe.
The history of cooking and serving meat with spiced sauces dates back to ancient times. Sauceswere employed to tenderize cuts and add flavour. Pepper was highly favored by Ancient Romanand Medieval cooks and figured prominently in many recipes. According to the LarousseGastonomique, Sauce Diane (Diana...aka Artemis...a powerful mythological huntress) istraditionally associated with venison (a tough meat), which makes it a curious choice for thefinestbeef cuts that are used today for Steak Diane.
'Diane, a la
The description 'a la Diane' is given to certain game dishes that are dedicated to the goddessDiana (the huntress). Joints of venison a la Diane are sauteed and coated with sauce Diane (ahighly peppered sauce with cream and truffles). They are served with chestnut puree andcroutonsspread with game forcemeat.'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Competely Revised and Updated edition [ClarksonPotter:New York] 2001 (p. 416)
'Steak Diane was originally a way of serving venison, and its sharp sauce was intended tocomplement the sweet flavor of deer meat. It was named for Diana, Roman goddess of the hunt,and since Diana was also the moon goddess, the small pieces of toast used to sop up the deliciousjuices are traditionally cut in crescent shapes.'
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [OhioUniversity Press:Athens OH] 1998 (p. 100)
When was Sauce Diane invented? The earliest mention we find of a sauce with this particularname is 1907, from Escoffier:
'Sauce DianeSo, when and where did Steak Diane begin? None of the culinary history texts or old cookbooksprovide a definative answer. Based on culinary evidence this is a possible explanation:
Lightly whip 2dl of cream and add it at the last moment to 5dl well seasoned and reduced SaucePoivrade. Finish with 2 tbs each of small crescent shaped pieces of truffle and hard-boiled whiteofegg. This sauce is suitable for serving with cutlets, noisettes and other cuts of venison.'
---Le Guide Culinaire, A. Escoffier, translated by H. L. Cracknell and R. J. Kaufmanrecipe 44[1907] (p. 12)
Steak Diane is an evolution of an ancient dish that was *rediscovered* in the late 19th andearly 20th centuries by European chefs. Interestingly enough, this time period coincides with thepopularity of the chafing dish and table cookery [though none of the chafing dish recipes we havefrom that time period approximate Steak Diane]. These dishes were not called Steak Diane. They were known by several names, most famously'Steak au Poivre.' Recipes for sauce poivre (pepper sauce) are found in both American andBritish cookbooks in the 1880s. The American Wine Cook Book, Ted Hatch [1941] has arecipefor 'Noisette of Beef Rossini,' (p. 118) which would produce something quite similar to SteakDiane. The Waldorf Astoria Cookbook, Ted James and Rosalind Cole [book published in1981,recipe undated] prints a similar recipe (p. 157). Neither Rossini recipe is cooked at the table orserved flambe.
Evidence suggests Steak Diane is an American invention of the late 1950s/early1960s,when French cooking (think Julia Child & the Kennedy White House menus) was allthe rage. Rich wine sauces and flamboyant presentation were the norm for many top restaurants.If Steak Diane is an American recipe, then New York City is the most likely place or origin. JaneNickerson's article 'Steak Worthy of the Name,' (New York Times, January 25, 1953 p.SM 32) offers three likely candidates: 'The Drake Hotel, the Sherry-Netherland Hotel and theColony Restaurant each said, not knowing that any other dining place had done so, that theirpatrons praised their steak Diane. Nino of the Drake claimed he was the first to introduce thisdishto New York and, in fact, to the entire United States. Essentially it consists of steak cooked inbutter and further seasoned with butter mixed with fresh chives; usually the beef is pounded thin.The chef of each establishment has his own version.'
The earliest recipes we find for Steak Diane were printed inNickerson's article.Craig Claiborne's Steak Diane(New York Times Cookbook [1961]) is not served flambe. Julia Child's The FrenchChef Cookbook, [1968] contains a recipe for 'Steak au Poivre' with optional flambe.
'Steak Diane...I always associated this recipe with New York City's Colony Restaurant becausethat was where I first tried it. Yet I find no mention of it in 'The Colony' [1945], in Brody'sportrait of that restaurant. It is featured, however, in Michael Lomonaco's 'The 21 Cookbook'[1995] together with this description: 'At 21 Steak Diane is traditionally prepared tableside bythe captains or Maitre Walter Weiss. The beef, sizzling in a large copper pan with brandy flamingand cause bubbling, makes a wonderful show reminiscent of the days when Humphrey Bogartandfriends would bound in at midnight following the newest opening on Broadway...'
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, JeanAnderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 92)
Steak Diane (Colony Restaurant)
1 to one and one-half tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly gound black pepper to taste
1/2 to one teaspoon each finely chopped chives and parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Individual steak of any thickness (one pound with bone, eight to ten ounces without bone andfat)
Mix all ingredients except meat in heavy fry pan and when very hot place steak in pan, cookingatvery high heat until done. Serve immediately, pouring residue of sauce over meat.<
---'Steak Worthy of the Name,' Jane Nickerson, The New York Times, January 25, 1953(p. SM 32)
[1961]
'Steak Diane, 1 serving
1 ten-ounce sirloin steak
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon congnac, heated
2 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1 teaspoon chopped chives.
1. Trim the meat well and pound very thin with a mallet.
2. Heat one and one-half tablespoons butter in a chafing-dish platter. Add the steak and cookquickly, turning it once.
3. Add the congnac and flame. Add the sherry and the sweet butter creamed with chives.
4. Place the steak on a warm platter and pour the pan juices over it.'
---The New York Times Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1961(p. 91)
Descending from Steak Diane, the true orgins of 'Steak Au Poivre' are sketchy at best.
'The origins of steak 'au poivre', a steak coated with crushed peppercorns or served with apeppercorn sauce, are controversial. Chefs who claim to have created this dish include E. Lerchin1930, when he was chef a the Restaurant Albert on the Champs-Elysees; and M. Deveau in about1920, at Maxim's. However, M.G. Comte certifies that steak 'au poivre' was already establishedas a specialty of the Hotel de Paris at Monte Carlo in 1910, and O. Becker states that he preparedit in 1905 at Palliard's!'
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated Edition, [ClarksonPotter:New York] 2001 (p. 1142)
Craig Claiborne's New York Times Food Encyclopedia (p.429-30) contains informationthatsuggests the origins of steak au poivre may be traced to Leopold I of Germany in 1790. Yourlibrarian can help you find a copy of this passage if you would like to read it in full.
'...the classic French Steak au Poivre (pepper steak), a restaurant showpiece demandingpyrotechnical skills, remains popular in some quarters. The recipe appears to be relatively new:Escoffier doesn't include Steak au Poivre in Ma Cuisine (1934) but his contemporary,Henri-Paul Pellaprat, does give a recipe for it in Modern Culinary Art (1953)...Foodhistorians of solid reputation dismiss the Prince Leopold theory as apocryphal. Or pure fantasy.Whatever the origin, though, Steak au Poivre became the culinary tour de force of many stylishbig-city American restaurants early this century.'
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century,JeanAnderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 122)
Which cuts to use? Depends upon the recipe's author. Julia Child observes 'This famous dish usually calls for individual tenderloin or loin strip steaks, but other cuts may be used if they are of top quality and tender.'
SOURCE: The French Chef Cookbook [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1972 (p. 262). Craig Claiborne recommends 'boneless sirloin steak.' SOURCE: New York TimesMenu Cook Book [Harper & Row:New York] 1966 (P. 180)
'Tartare has two culinary applications in English, both of them inspired by the supposed fitness of the Tatar people of central Asia.'
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford Univeristy Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 338)
'One of the great old food legends, right up there with the tale of an English king dubbing aparticular cut of meat 'Sir Loin,' is the one about Mongol horsemen (sometimes Huns)supposedly sticking steaks under their saddles before riding off to war. Thus tenderized, the storygoes, the steaks could be cooked quickly, and from this, it continues, descends the dish of rawchopped beef we call steak tartare. A Berkeley, Calif., scholar named John Masson Smith notes that there's no reference to thispractice in Chinese historical records, and medieval observers in the Middle East never wroteanything about it either. Smith says there's a theory that European observers got this idea becausecentral Asian nomads do sometimes put pieces of meat on horses' backs. But the reason they do itis to lubricate and soothe their mounts' sores, much as Americans put a piece of beefsteak on ablack eye. They don't eat the 'tenderized steaks' afterward. Traditionally, Turkish nomads suchas the Huns and Tatars didn't even eat steak as such. They would cut meat in small pieces for shishkebab or mince it fine for frying, or they'd boil it, so the toughness issue scarcely arose. As forthe Mongols, they cooked nearly everything by boiling. '
---'Steak tenderizing legends have been marinated in myth,' Chicago Tribune, May 16,2001 (p.7A)
'The English word 'Tartar' comes via the Latin. Because the Romans considered the Taatatrs-the Central Asian Turkic nomads--savage, they inserted an 'r' in their name, thereby linking them with Tartarus, or Hell. Even in our day, the idea of barbarism underlies the names of these foods. In the case of Steak Tartare, legend holds that the fierce horsemen of the Golden Horde tenderized their meat by packing it under their saddles. When they retrieved the meat, now so tenderized from the saddle's friction that they could eat it raw, as befits barbarians,. In fact, there is no historical evidence that the Tatars ate raw meat. More often than not, they boiled meat for soups and stews, as they still do today, or placed it on skewers to grill, or minced it to fill rounds of dough that they fried. Nevertheless, the myth lives on. As for Tartar sauce, the Tatars were certainly not eating mayonnaise int he fourteenth century!'
---'Scratch Russian Cuisine,' Darra Goldstein, Russian Life, September/October 2005 (p. 61)
'Steak tartare is raw steak (beef or horsemeat), chopped and seasoned and presented with accompaniments such as onion, parsley,and capers, often with a raw egg yolk as a finishing touch. In Belgium, particularly in Flanders, it is known as filet americain.The origins of steak tartare are weighted with myth, usually involving the Russians learning the dish from their Tatar conquerors,then exporting it to Europe via German contacts in the 19th century. American scholars suggest it reached their shores throughGerman migrants, figuring on German-American restaurant menus...It was first known in France in the late 19th century. The firstcitation in the OED [Oxford English Dictionary] is for 1911.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 786-7)
[1935]
'Steak a la Tartare
Tartare steak is another chopped steak, and you find it on a majority of a la carte bills of fare. It isso seldom called for, however, that many cooks are 'up in the air' when they get an order for it,never having served it, even after years of service as a cook. This steak is served raw, and shouldbe made of tenderloin. Cut the meat finely, season with salt or pepper, rather highly. Add somefine chopped onions, and bind with a little egg yolk. Mold for platter service. Indent the centerand in the hollow so made place an unbroken raw egg yolk. Garnish with lettuce leaf, scatteredcapers, onion rings soaked in vinegar, and fancy cuts of spiced beets and pickles.'
---The Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel MonthlyPress:Chicago] 1935 (p. 23)
Current food experts tell us eating raw beef and raw eggs ishazardous to your health. This information is uploaded for informational/historical purposesonly.Do not try this recipe.
Why is steak tartare called steak (filet, beefsteak) Americaine in some countries?
It's not. The French have developed a rich and complex vocabulary when it comes to the culinary arts. For these chefs, and thosein neighboring countries, two recipes are similar but not synonymous. The earliest examples we find are from Escoffier. Unfortunately,he chose not to enlighten us with regards to the American connection. The classic 1961 edition of Larousse Gastronomique notes in the entry for Beefsteak a l'americaine 'This dish is often prescribed in a building-up diet.' (p. 120).
[1903]
'Beefsteak a l'Americaine. Cut off a piece of the head of the fillet, remove any fat or sinew and finely chop the flesh, seasoningit with salt and pepper...
Beefsteak a la Tartare. Prepare the steak as for Beefsteak a l'Americaine but without the egg yolk on top. Serve Sauce Tartare separately.'
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, first translation into English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in its entirety [John Wiley:New York] 1979 (p. 278-9)
Madame E. Saint-Ange (La Bonne Cuisine, circa 1929) notes 'Steak Tartar is a culinary fantasy made of raw ingredients.' She does not offer any other information regarding the origin of the name, nor does she offer a recipe for SteakA L'Americaine.
Chicken Tartare is a fully cooked dish served with Tartare sauce.
SweetbreadsThe practice of using all parts of an animal for human consumption/use dates back to prehistoric times.Food historians confirm all parts of animals, including offal and organ meat, were consumed regularly. Infact? Some of these parts were considered delicacies because they were rare. The term 'sweetbreads' asit pertains (most commonly) to thymus [throat glands] of calves and lambs traces back to the 16th century. Noteshere:
'Precisely which internal organ of a calf, lamb, etc. the word sweetbread ought to be applied to is a matterof considerable controversy, but in practice it is clear that for centuries it has been employed for both the'pancreas,' and the 'thymus gland' used for food. And historically these have been distinguished as,respectively, the heart, stomach, or belly sweetbread and the throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread. It is notcertain where the name comes from (it first turns up in the middle of the sixteenth century, in TomasCooper's Thesaurus) but, unless it originally had some deeply-dyed euphemistic undercurrents, it wouldseem to reflect the glands' reputation as prized delicacies (unusual amongst offal) which survives to thisday. It is possible that the second element represents not modern English bread by the Old English wordbroed, meaning 'flesh'.'
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 331)
'Although sweetbreads (fr. Ris de veau and Ris d'agneau) are always sold under that name alone, as if there were but one sort,there are two distinct white glands, taken from calves or lambs, covered by that name, and one placed immediately below the throat and the other, rounder in shape, lying nearer the heart, and very much the better from the gastronome's point of view. Thefirst or 'throat' sweetbreads are elongated in form and neither so white nor so fat as the other sort, which would always be chosen bydiscriminating cooks.'
---Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon, complete and unabridged [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 491)
'Sweetbread: the soft, milky thymus glands of the young calf and lamb, the former being the more highly esteemed andconsidered one of the greatest of all meat delicacies...The glands are divided into the 'throat sweetbread' and the 'heart sweetbread,' the latter being generally preferred because of its special tenderness and large size. They aremost delicate when obtained from a young calf, and they gradually disappear after it is turned out to grass...The Pancreasof the older animal, frequently but incorrectly styled 'sweetbread,' and also known as the 'Belly Sweetbread,' is an entirelygland, but it bears a resemblance sufficiently close to warrant its consideration under this heading.'
---The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [New York] 1911 (p. 610-611)
A survey of sweetbread notes through time
[16th century Italy: Martino]
'How to Make Veal and Kid Sweetbreads Pottage
Take a libra of sweetbreads and boil well; when cooked through, crush thoroughly on a cutting board as you would with the best of them;and take five hard eggs yolks that have been well crushed and add together with the sweetbreads in a mortar and grind; then take alittle good fatty capon broth or sukling calf broth and thin; put in a pot on hot coals away from the flame, and when it boils,add a little verjuice, if it pleases your master; and when it is done, remove from heat and add a bit of saffron and ginger; thentake three or four well-beaten egg yolks and add, stirring vigorously so that the pottage does not go bad; and before dividingin bowls, add a half ounce of rose water, and when you serve, top with sugar and cinnamon. Veal and kid sweetbreads can beprepared similarly. Note that they should be only lightly seasoned.'
---The Art of Cooking, Martino of Como, edited and with an introduction by Luigi Ballerini, Translated and annotated by Jeremy Parzen[University of California Press:Berkeley] 2005 (p. 119)
[17th century England: May]
'To make Pies of Sweet-breads or Lamb stones
Parboil them and blanche them, or raw sweetbreads or stones, part them in halves, & season them with pepper,nutmeg, and salt, season them lightly; then put in the bottom of the pie some slices of interlarded bacon,& some pieces of artichocks or mushrooms, then sweet-breads or stones, marrow, gooseberries, barberries, grapes, or slic't lemon, close itup and bake it, being baked liquor it with butter only. Or otherwise with butter, white wine, and sugar, and sometimes add some yolks of eggs.'
---The Accomplist Cook, Robert May, facsimile 1685 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 1994 (p. 231-2)
[17th century France: La Varenne]
'Sweetbreads stuck. Take the fairest you can get, and best shaped, whiten them in cold water, stick them and put them on a prick; rost them very neatly, and after they are roasted, serve them with the juice of a lemon upon them.'Sweetbreads with ragoust. After they are whitened, cut them into slices, and pass them in the pan, or whole, if you iwll, with large, and well seasoned with parsley, chibol whole, mushrums and truffles, and after they are well stoved with good broth, and the sauce being short and well thickened, serve.'
---The French Cook, Francois Pierre, La Varenne, translated into English in 1653 by I.D.G. [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 83-84)
[18th century England: Glasse]
'There are many Ways of dressing Sweetbreads: You may lard them with thin Slips of Bacon, and roast them with what Sauce you please;or you may marinate them, cut them into thin Slices, flour them, and fry them. Serve them up with fry'd Parsley, and eitherButter or Gravy. Garnish with Lemon.'
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1747 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 1995 (p. 30)
[19th century France: Ude]
'Sweetbreads a la Dauphine
If you use round dishes, you must have four sweetbreads; if a long dish, three large ones will be sufficient. Mind, at anyrate, to select them of a large size and very white. Pare the sinews and the fat; threw them into warm water, and let themdisgorge, to draw out the blood, and make them as white as possible. When thoroughly disgorged, blanch the a little in boiling water to make themfirm, that you may lard them with greater facility. As soon as they are larded, rub a stew-pan all over with butter, cut a few carrots and onionsover the butter; cover this with some fat bacon, lay the sweetbreads over the bacon, powder them over with salt, and stew themwith a great deal of fire on the top, and very little beneath. When they are of a fine brown, cover them with a round of paper, and lessen thefire on the top. If they are large, it will require three-quarters of an hour to do them. If they are too much done, they become soft, and are not so palatable. When properly done, drain them, and put in a pan with some glaze till dinner-time; then drain themafresh, and glaze them of a fine brown. Serve them up with sorrel or endive. There is no necessity to moisten a sweetbread, as they have so muchoriginal moisture, that they will never be too dry.'
---The French Cook, Louis Eustache Ude, orignally published in Paris 1828 [Arco Publishing:New York] 1978 (p. 143-144)
[NOTE: recipes for Sweetbreads a la Financier and a la Dreux included.]
[19th century Italy: Artusi]
'Animelle alla Bottiglia (sweetbreads with wine sauce)
While lamb sweetbreads do not need any prior preparation, sweetbreads from larger animals must first be cooked halfway in water, and skinned if necessary. Leave the former whole but cut the latter into pieces. Dredge well in flour, brown in butter, andseason with salt and pepper. The moisten with Marsala or Madeira wine, and bring to a boil. Tou can also make a sauce separatelywith a pinch of flour, a bit of butter, and the wine. If you enhance them with brown stock, instead of being just good, they willbecome delicious.'
---Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, originally published in 1891 [Marsilio Publishers:New York] 1997 (p. 249)
[NOTE: this book also offers a recipe for Crochette D'Animelle (sweetbread croquettes).]
[19th century England: Cassells]
'Sweetbreads should be chosen as fresh as possible, as they very quickly spoil. There are two sorts--heart sweetbreads and throatsweetbreads. The heart sweetbreads are the best, and also the most expensive. In whatever way sweetbreads are dressed, they should firstbe soaked in lukewarm water for a couple of hours. They should then be put into boiling water and simmered gently for five or ten minutes, according to size, and when taken up they should be laid in cold water. Sweetbreads vary considerably in price, according to thetime of year. They are quite as frequently employed as ingredients in sundry made dishes, such as vol-au-vents, ragouts, &c., as served alone, and as they do not possess a very decided natural flavor they need to be accompanied by a highly-seasoned sauce, or they will taste rather insipid. They are in full season from May to August.'
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with numerous illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1875 (p. 947)
[NOTE: this book offers recipes from Sweetbreads a la Dauphine, Sweetbreads a la Maitre d'Hotel, Sweetbread Kromeskies,Pie of Sweetbreads and Palates, Sweetbreads and Palates Stewed, Sweetbreads au Gratin, Baked, Broiled,Browned, Cold, Cotolets, Croquettes, Cutlets, Fricasseed cutlets, Fried, Larded, Minced in paper cases, Patties, Ragout, Roast, sStewed, Vol-au Vent, White, with Mushrooms, and with Truffles.]
[20th century France: Child]
'Sweetbreads and brains have much the same texture and flavor, but brains are more delicate. They both receive almost the sametreatments. Both must be soaked for several hours in cold water before they are cooked, to soften the filament which covers themso that it may be removed, to dissolve their bloody patches, and to whiten them. Some authorities direct that they always be blanchedbefore cooking--that is, poached in salted and acidulated water or a court bouillon; others do not agree. If the sweetbreads or brains are to bebraised, blanching is a useless and flavor-losing step. If they are to be sliced and sauteed, blanching firms them up so they areeasier to cut, but removes some of their delicacy and tenderness. Both brains and sweetbreads are perishable, and if they are notto be cooked within 24 hours, they should be soaked and blanched which will help to preserve them. Soaking Sweetbreads and Brains. Washin cold water, then place in a bowl and soak in several changes of cold water or under a dripping tap for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Delicatelypull off as much as you easily can of the filament which encloses them, without tearing the flesh. This is a rather slow process.Soak them again for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, this time in several changes of cold water containing 1 tablespoon of vinegar per quart. Peel off as much more filament as you can, and they are ready for trimming and cooking. Trimming. A whole sweetbread, which is theythymus gland of a calf and usually weighs about 1 pound, consists of 2 lobes connected by a soft, white tube, the cornet. Thesmoother, rounder, and more solid of the two lobes is the kernel, heart, or noix, the choicest part. The second lobe, called throat sweetbread or gorge, is more uneven in shape, broken by veins, and is often slit. Separate the two lobes from the tubewith a knife. The tube may be added to the stock pot.
'Blanching SweetbreadsSweetbreads, trimmed and soaked as in preceding directions
An enameled saucepan just large enough to hold them
Cold water
Per quart water: 1 Tsp salt and 1 Tb lemon juice
Place sweetbreads in saucepan and cover by 2 inches with cold water; add salt and lemon juice. Bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, atbarest simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and lunge into cold water for 5 minutes. Drain. The sweetbreads are now ready forsauteeing.'
---Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle & Julia Child [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1963 (p. 408-409)
[NOTE: This book offers recipes for Ris de Veau Braises (braised sweetbreads), Ris de Veau a la Creme, Ris de Veay a la Marechale(creamed sweetbreads), Ris de Veau a la Creme et au Champignons (creamed sweetbreads with mushrooms), Ris de Veau au Gratin(sweetbreads au gratin) and Escalopes de Ris de Veau Sautes (Sweetbreads sauteed in butter).]
[20th century England: Grigson]
'Skuets. I first came across this recipe in French, in Careme's L'art de la cuisine francaise au dix-neuvieme siecle, which first came out in 1833.He describes it as an English recipe, and praises it. I imagine he may have come across it in England while he was working for thePrince Regent. The odd thing is that it is not in the most popular cookery books of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. I came across it eventuallyin The Compleat Housewife, by E. Smith, a reprint from the fifteenth and eighteenth editions, of 1753 and 1773...This early recipelacks the bread sauce, and the crumbs are pressed into the skuets of meat before they are hung up to roast before the fire. Careme's refinements really make the dish.
For 4
500 g (1 lb) veal or lamb sweetbreads
Salt
Light veal or chicken stock
2 teaspoons lemon juice or wine vinegar
8 thin rashers of smoked streaky bacon
16 mushrooms
Chopped parsley and thyme
Freshly ground pepper
Browned breadcrumbs
Bread sauce
To prepare sweetbreads, place them in a bowl and ocver them with water. Stir in a tablespoon of salt. Leave for an hour or longer if youlike. If they are frozen, leave them for several hours. Drain them, rinse them with cold water and place them in a pan. Pour enought stock over them to cover them by about 1/2cm (1/4'), and add the lemon and vinegar. Bring slowly to the boil, and simmer gently until they lose their raw pinkish whitelook and turn opaque. This takes a couple of minutes with lamb's sweetbreads; veal sweetbreads, being much larger, can take 20 minutes. Pour off the cooking liquor, which can be used in soups and sauces (some sweetbread recipes use the stock to make the appropriate sauce).Run the sweetbreads under the cold tap and pull off the gristly bits. Go carefully, though; if you pull off too much, sheep'ssweetbreads will disintegrate into very small knobs. Put the sweetbreads on a plate, with another plate on top to press them. Theycan now be left in the refrigerator for later use, or overnight. To assemble the skuets, cut the sweetbreads into slices or chunksabout an inch wide, and divide them into four even rows. Cut the bacon into enough small pieces to go between them, and put them in place.The mushrooms should be fitted in at appropriate intervals. Scatter with chopped parsley and thyme. Now take four skewers and runthem through the four lines of sweetbreads and bacon, etc. Brush them over with melted butter and grill them under a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Serve them on a long dish over with the browned crumbs. The bread sauce should go in a separate bowl.'
---English Food, Jane Grigson, originally published in 1974 [Penguin Books:London] 1992 (p. 148-149)
[NOTE: Bread Sauce recipe is included in this book. We can send if you like.]
Our survey of American cookbooks confirms recipes called 'Swiss steak' debuted in American during the early 20th century. Recipes vary and cooking methods varied. Generally, it was a favorite of War and Depression years, as the baking would render tougher cuts of meat palatable. The concept of 'Swiss steak' is ancient. Thoughout time, thrifty cooks have cooked tough cuts for long periods of time with sauces and seasonings. Stews, burgoos, and pot roast all belong to this family. Earlier recipes are called different names (stewed steak, tomato steak, steak casserole) and can be identified by examining ingredients and method. The primary beef cut, round steak, is known to betough. Cutting, pounding & baking/braising this cut makes sense. Swiss steak was promoted as an economical recipe in times of war andmeat shortage.
Why call it 'Swiss steak?'
'Swiss steak. Sliced beef rump or round baked with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and sometimes seasoning such as thyme, rosemary, basil or chile. In England it would be called 'smothered steak,' but there is really no direct corollary for the dish in Switzerland, the closest being carbonades. The name may derive instead from an English term, 'swissing,' which refers to a method of smoothing out cloth between a set of rollers, because Swiss steak is usually pounded and flattened before cooking.'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 319-320)
'Swiss steak. The original name of this recipe was 'Schmor Braten.' It is three centuries old.'
---The Gold Cook Book, Louis P. De Gouy [Galahad Books:New York] 1946 (p. 345)
[NOTES: (1) No additional history provided; recipe follows. (2) Schmor Braten is German for braised beef (3) Mimi Sheraton's German Cookbook 1965 (p. 153-154) contains a recipe for Vienna Steak withBraised Onions, Weiner Rostbraten, which treats steaks as Swiss steak.]
Swiss steak recipe evolution
'The first recipe I've been able to find for Swiss Steak appears in the Larkin Housewives' Cook Book (1915). Nothing more than browned, inch-thick beef round in water with bottled onion extract, it barely resembles the tomato-rich versions we know and love today. Two years later Ida Baily Allen (Mrs. Allen's Cook Book) offers a Swiss Steak nearer our own except that it cooks stovetop. The tomatoey baked variety seems to have surfaced in the 1930s. In Meals, Tested, Tasted, and Approved, a 1930 Good Housekeeping cookbook, there is an early Swiss steak called Tomato Steak. In 1934, John MacPherson, radio's famous 'Mystery Chef,' offers a true Swiss Steak and calls it that, too, in the Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book.'
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Reicpes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 91)
[NOTE: New recipes are uploaded to article databases & the Internet daily.]
'When ground beef palled and sirloin steak or standing rib roast were out of reach for the postwar pocketbook, Swiss steak was an inexpensive, hearty substitute...Who, exactly, invented Swiss steak is a muster...the dish was not common in cookbooks until the Forties. The method of pounding the meat wtih flour and then braising it would seem to point to Pennsylvania Dutch origins, but there is no hard evidence of this. Cora, Rose, and Bob Brown identified it in the Forties as a Wyoming specialty, while Clementine Paddleford spotted it in Indiana.'
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:New York] 1995 (p. 141-2)
'Swiss Steak.
Take a round steak, about two to two and a half inches thick, and pound into it as much flouras it will take. When the flour has been pounded into it on both sides put the meat into aniron skillet and cook as you would any steak. The cover it with water, set it on the back of the stove, cover skillet tightly, and cook for one hour, adding water when necessary and flourto make a thick gravy.-R.'
---'Hints and Recipes to Aid the Practical Housekeeper,' Chicago Daily Tribune, October 3, 1909 (p. F3)
[1913]'Swiss Steak.
Use round steak, about an inch thick, at seventeen to twenty cents a pound; pound well on bothsides; dip in flour and cook, without cutting, in skillet containing hot lard; season well with salt and pepper, and keep turning until both sides are nicely browned. Then pour over it boilingwater until the meat is covered. Keep it boiling about an hour with skillet covered, adding morewater uf necessary unntil the meat seems very tender; then let it cook slowly on the back lid ofthe stove until the gravy thickens. The result will be a delicious steak, with rich brown gravy.'
---Econoomy Administration Cook Book, [W.B. Conkey Co.:Hammond IN] 1913 (p. 196)
[NOTE: This recipe was submitted by Miss Mairian M. George, Los Angeles CA.]
'Swiss Steak
Use a piece of round steak about two inches thick into which pound half a cup of flour, a little salt and pepper. Brown in a little fat or butter, cover with hot water, simer with lid oer it for twohours.'
---ibid, (p. 219)
[NOTE: THis recipe was submitted by Mrs. George H. Hodges, Kansas.]
[1915]
'Swiss Steak.
Have two pounds of round steak cut one inch thick. Melt two tablespoons of fat (suet will do)in a frying pan, season steak with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, brown quickly on bothsides then put into a Larkin Casserole. Brown a scant half cup flour in fat left in fat, add threecups hot water, pour over meat. Cook for two hours in a slow oven. If onion is liked, flavor with Larkin Onion Extract, or cook a raw onion in the fat before the meat is browned. The toughest meat willbecome tender and delicious.--Mrs. D. H. Dager, LaFayette Hill, Pa.'
---Larkin Housewives' Cook Book [Larkin Co.:Chicago IL] 1915 (p. 20)
[NOTE: Larkin Company was a food & kitchenware manufacturer. (2) Cook book was compiled by the company.]
[1930]
'Swiss Steak.
Round steak (1 inch thick) 2 pounds.
Butter 2 tablespoons.
White onions (small) 3.
Salt 1 teaspoon.
White pepper to taste.
Trim steak and pound to half inch thickness. Cut into 5 equal portions. Dredge meat with flour. Heat butterand drippings in skillet, sear both sides of each piece of meat. Cut carrots in rounds 1/8 inch thick. Brown and place on bottom of baking dish, add meat, the onions cut in 1/2-inch rounds and browned. Brown remainder offlour in skillet. Add water or stock, salt and pepper. Pour over meat and cook covered for 1 hour in moderateoven--Mrs. Katherine L. Neilson.'
---Chicago Daily News Cook Book, Edith G. Shuck editor [Chicago Daily News:Chicago IL] 1930 (p. 140)
[1934]
'Swiss Steak
2 lbs. round or flank steak
1 small can tomatoes
3 tablespoons drippings or shortening
1 medium sized onion chopped fine
1 cup water
1/4 teaaspoon pepper
1 teaaspoon salt
1/2 cup sifted flour
Sprikle a little water over the steak. Sift into arge bowl or onto large plate, then put oour steak into flour and press as muchflour into the steak as you can. Put the drippings or shortening into a large frying pan and when sizzling hot put the floured steakin. Brown the steak thoroughly on both sides. The steak can either be cooked on top of the stove or in the oven; whichever way youcook it the pot or baking pan should have a lid. Grease the pot or baking pan with a litte dripping and transfer the browned steakto it. Now put the cup of water into the frying pan the steak was browned in, and let the water boil while you run a fork over the pan to loosen up any of the steak juices and flour that may be sticking to the pan. Then pour the boiling water from the frying panover the steak, add 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped, and add a small can of tomatoes; add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn flame down and cover the pan or pot with a lid, and allow to simmer for 2 hours, If cooked in the oven, cover the baking pan and bake in a slow oven for 2 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes (See page 101).'
---Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, John MacPherson [Blakiston Company:Philadelphia PA] 1934, 1945 (p. 88-89)
[1942]
'Swiss Steak
1 1/2 b. round steak
1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 c. cannned tomatoes
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 lb. fat
[NOTE: Other recipes under the Swiss Steak heading in this book are: Spanish Round Steak, Swiss Steak en Casserole andSwiss Steak with Rice. Happy to scan/send free of charge.]
[1945]
'A tender, juicy Swiss steak is excellent fare for fall dinners. Buy no-point beef and cook it slowly for full, meaty flavor and tenderness. A piece of chuck cut from the shoulder of beef is a good choice...Add very little liquid. The juice of a small lemonin half a cupful of hot water is about right...The lemon is an effective tenderizer and adds zest to the gravy. Red table wine is the rightkind if you like to cook meats with wine...The oven temperature for Swiss Steak is 325 degrees, allow three hours for a three-pound steak.
Swiss Steak
3 pound piece utility beefsteak
1/2 cup flour
Seasonings
1 onion
1/2 cup hot water
Juice small lemon
Method--Cut meat into serving-size pieces and pound well. Rub with seasonings and flour. Heat suet in heavy pan, add meat and brownwell on both sides. Sprinkle chpped onion over meat, add water and lemon juice. Cover pan and cook over very low heat for threehours Make brown gravy from drippings in pan. To improve the flavor and brown color of gravy add two teaspoons taste-type beef extract.'
---'Swiss Steak Cookery Secret Told,' Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1945 (p. A5)
[1949]
'Swiss steak
The steak should be cut at least 2 inches thick. Use 1/2 cup flour for a slice of meat weighing 2 pounds and mix wellwith salt and pepper. Pound flour thoroughly into the meat with a wooden potato maher, or the edge of a heavy plate. Heat 1/4 cup of the fat strained from ham or bacon, and brown eat on eac side in this fat. Then add a few slices of onionsand 1/2 green pepper, chopped fine, 2 cups of boiling water or part strained tomato. Cover closely and let simmer 2 hours, or cook in acasserole in the oven. Swiss Steak may be cooked without any liquid, if preferred, as its own moisture is sufficient. The onionmay be omitted or other vegetables added as desired. Swiss Steak is popular not only in Wyoming, but throughout the cattle country, wherever folks are still able to get hold of steaks2 inches thick without going bankrupt. And incidentally, out West a slice of ham still weighs at least 1/4 pound, while in the effete East it hasshrunk to about 1/4 ounce (For Swiss Cream Steak see Nebraska.)'
---America Cooks: Favorite Recipes from the 48 States, The Browns, Cora, Rose, and Bob [Garden City Books:Garden City NY] 1949 (p. 929-930)
[NOTE: This recipe is listed as a Wyoming specialty.]
'Swiss Cream Steak.
2 pounds round steak
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Flour
1/4 cup butter or lard
2 onions, sliced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons grated cheese
Cut meat into pieces for serving. Dust with salt, pepper, paprika, and flour; brown on both sides in fat in which onions havebeen cooked and removed. Add cooked onions water, and cream, to whoch grated cheese has been added Cover pan tightly and let simmer until meat is tender.'
---ibid, (p. 519)
[NOTE: This recipe is in the Nebraska section.]
[1960]
'Swiss Steak
3 1/2 pouds round steak, cut 1 inch thick
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bacon drippings
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon finely chopped green pepper
1 can (1 pound, 13 ounces) tomatoes
1 can (14 ounces) tomato juice (optional)
Place meat on board, sprinkle half of the combined flour and salt on one side and pound with a meat hammer for 1minute. Turn over, sprinkle with the remaining flour and pound for 1 minute. Heat drippings in heavy skillet, and addmmeat; brown on each side until golden brown. Add onion and let cook for about 1 minute, the add remaining ingredients,except tomato juice. Cover pan, reduce heat and cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours. If liquid isn't sufficient, open a can of tomato juice and add as needed. Yield: 6 portions.'
---How America Eats, Clementine Paddleford [Charles Scribner's Sone:New York] 1960 (p. 384)
[NOTE: This dish appears in the Indiana section.]
[1964]
'The thing that makes 'swiss steak' out of round steak is the thickness of the cut more than the preparation, tho a swiss steak is almost always braised and almost always has a tomato sauce. The meat should be cut at least an inch thick; sometimes it is sliced asthick as 1 1/2 inches. Saucy swiss steak is a new variation of one of our favorite dishes. It is seasoned with chili powder and the sauce has bigchunks of ripe olives to give it more interest.
Saucy Swiss Steak
[Six to eight servings]
2 1/4 pounds round steak cut thick
Salt, pepper, flour
2 tablespoons shortening
2 cans [8 ounces each] tomato sauce
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup ripe olives
Cut steak into serving pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. Heat shortening in skillet. Add meat and brown well on bothsides. Add tomato sauce and hot water. Cover; simmer until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Moisten chli powder in cold water. Cut olives into largewedges. Stir chili powder and olives into meat mixture and simmer 15 minutes more.'
---'Swiss Steak Bites Back,' Mary Meade, Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1964 (p. A2)
[1972]
'Family-Best Swiss Steak
Dinner's always a hit with this easy-fix beef boice. And the rich gravy tastes so good over fluffy mashed potatoes! Makes 4 servings.
1 boneless chuck or round beefsteak, weighing about 2 pounds
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoos vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup chopped celery
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon leaf marjoram, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1. Rub steak with flour to coat generously; brown in vegetable oil in a large heavy frying pan or in an electric skillet; remove and setaside for next step.
2. Saute onion and celery until soft in same frying pan; stir in remaining ingredients. Return steak to pan; cover.
3. Simmer 2 hours, or until meat is very tender. Remove to a heated serving platter; keep hot while fixing the gravy.
4. Let gravy stand in pan about a minute, or until fat rises to top; skim off all fat; reheat gravy to boiling.
5. Cut steak into 1/4-inch-thick slices; serve with gravy.'
---Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking [Rockville House Publishers:Rockville Centre NY] 1972, volume 15 (p. 1896)
[1985]
'According to Webster, Swiss Steak is 'a slice of round steak into which flour is pounded on both sides and which is thenbrowned in fat and smoothered in tomatoes and other vegetables and seasonings.' The other vegetables are, as a rule, onionand celery. Why Swiss Steak is called 'Swiss' is anyone's gudess. Culinary history buffs have not yet, to my knowledge, trackeddown the origin of its name. Recipes for Swiss Steak started croppig up in the last half of the 1920s. It was considered economical because the round steak called for offered little waste and it became a favorite family dish. In one well-circulated cookbook of that period,bacon drippings were used for browning the steak and green peas were added. Nowadays cooks are still devising variations. In the followingrecipe, recently developed by a California cook mushroos are used. Seasonings, too, have changed. In early recipes only salt, pepper and garlic might have been added. In the following recipe basil, oregano and thyme are called for.
Swiss Steak
1 1/2 pounds round steak about 1-inch thick
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons (about) vegetable oil
1 large (6 ounces) onion, sliced
1 large rib celery, sliced
1/4 pound (generous) mushrooms, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
8-ounce can stewed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed basil
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed thyme
Trim excess fat from a round steak. With edge of heavy saucer or meat mallet pouund flour into both sides of steak, Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add steak and brown well on both sides over medium-high heat. Place steak in baking dish (about 12 by 8 by 2 inches).In drippings in skillet, lighty cook onion, clelry, mushrooms and garlic. Stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano and thyme. Pour over steak. Covertightly with foil. Bake in 300-degree oven (no need to preheat) until steak is tender-1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Place steak on a hot platter, keepingvegetables on meat. If necessary, skim excess fat from juices and pour around steak. Serve at once. Makes 4 servings.'
---'Swiss Steak Can Take on Many Variations,' Cecily Brownstone, Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1985 (p. 44)
Food historians tell us 16th century Portuguese cooks may have been the first to deep-frybatter-dipped shrimp. The recipe was inspired by Catholic dietary regulations requiring theabstinencefrom meat during certain days. Portuguese cooks subsequently shared their fried shrimp recipewith the Japanese, where the dish was renamed tempura.
'The earliest record of tempura is from the end of the sixteenth century, and it probably camefrom a cooking method introduced by Portuguese missionaries. In the late Edo period the termmeant different things in Kansai and Edo, according to an encyclopedia of customs from themid-nineteenth century...The Tempura of Kyoto and Osaka was what is now known assatsuma-age...Frying with pil or fat was rare in the Japanese diet that developed throughmedievaltimes.The main exception was the vegetarian food eaten in and around Zen temples, with its deep-friedbean curd and wheat gluten. It was during the Edo period that the general population acquired ataste for food cooked in oil, due to the stpread of oil-based cooking styles introduced fromabroad: Portuguese-inspired tempura in the sixteenth century, and the Chinese-style fucha andshippoku cooking that crystalized in Nagasaki during the seventeenth century. Only sesame oil,which was expensive, had been used for cooking until the Edo period. Then, as cheaper rapeseedoil came into production, mainly for lighting, the new oil-pressing techniques were introduced,thestage was set for the popularization of deep-fried foods. Tempura is one of the national dishes ofJapan that developed into its current form in the city of Edo...Tempura became popular in the1770s as a snack food sold at street stalls, where the customers ate standing and did not usechopsticks. The morsels of fish, prawns and vegetables were stuck on bamboo skewers, coatedwith batter, deep-fried and eaten on the spot, as an inexepensive food for the common people.Tempura restaurants first appeared at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and by the middlefo the century were lsited in Edo restaurant guides, indicating tempura had come to beappreciated by people of higher social standing.'
---The History and Culture of Japanese Food, Naomichi Ishige [Kegan Paul:London]2001(p. 246)
'The cooking technique which is said to owe its name to a shrimp is Japanese deepfrying--tempura--variously ascribed to the influence of Jesuit missionarie or Portugueseexplorers.Theywere supposed to have explained to the Japanese that they could not eat meat on the fast daysdescribed in ecclasiastical Latin as the quatuor tempora, the 'four times' included in the Emberdays, and must have fish. The Japanese thought tempora the key word in this context, and aresaidto have applied it first to shrimp and then to other fish or vegetables cooked in the same fashion.Ido not vouch for the story, I simply pass it on.'
---Food, Waverley Root [Smithmark:New York] 1980 (p. 458)
'The history of tempura goes back about 400 years, to the time when Portuguese missionariesarrived in Japan. The Portuguese word 'tempuras' means Ember Days, when meat was not eaten.It has been plausibly suggested that on these days the missionaries cooked fish and vegetables inthe manner most palatable to them, by frying in batter, and that the Japanese adopted thetechnique and the name from them. Since then tempura has come to be regarded as on of themostimportant Japanese dishes...'
---The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford]1999 (p. 788-9)
'Tempura or Tendon: In 1550, batter-dipped and fried shrimp was introduced ot the Japanese byPortuguese traders. The Portuguese did not eat meat on Catholic Ember Days (four timesannually); these days came to be known as Quator Tempora and the fried shrimp that became thespecialty was called Tempura. Tempura now refers to the Japanese cooking method of coatingcleaned cut or sliced foods in a light batter and frying quickly in a light vegetable oil. Tendonrefers specifically to fried crustaceans.'
---You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions, Thelma Barer-Stein[Firefly:Ontario] 1999 (page 275)
Related foods? Corn dogs & Fried chicken & Fried ice cream.
TetrazziniTheories of origin:
'Turkey (or Chicken) TetrazziniThere's plenty of speculation about this recipe but scanty documentation. What is known is that itwas created early this century for the Italian coloratura soprano Luisa Tetrazzini, who made herAmerican debut in 1908 at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York...According to JamesBeards...she of the 'astounding girth and thrilling voice' loved San Francisco and that's where hebelieves the recipe was created. Beard's recipe is made with chicken although Louis De Gouy(The Gold Book, 1947) says the original contained turkey. Barbara Haber, Curator of Books, TheSlesinger Library at Radcliffe College, traced Turkey Tetrazzini to a 1912 printing of The BostonCooking-School Cook Book. Yet according to Barbara Kuck, director of the Culinary Archivesand Museum at Johnson & Wales University...no Tetrazzini (turkey or otherwise) appears in TheSunday American Cook Book, an uncatalogued pamphlet of the singer's favorite recipespublished in 1911 by The American, a Hearst newspaper in New York City.'
---The American Century Cookbook:The Most Popuar Recipes of the 20th Century, JeanAnderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 188)
'An 'Italian' dish of U.S. origin was the main course at President and Mrs. Eisenhower's White House luncheon yesterday for the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic and Mrs. Segni soon after their arrival...'Chicken Tetrazzini'was the Italian-American culinary gen served mid-way in the five course meal. Thought by many to be 'typically' Italian, chickentetrazzini was actually concoted in New York for Itlay's famous opera stars, the late Eva and Louisa Tetrazzini. The delectable mixtureof chicken, extra thin spaghetti and a delicately seaonsed white sauce was the brain child of the late Nicolas Sabatini--the headchef of the old Delmonico Hotel, later master mind of the Mayflower Hotel kitchen here in Washington. Since Sabatini whipped the dish together in theearly 1900s, it has become famous 'round the world and is even claimed as 'native' by some Italians.'
---'For Italy's VIPs: Luncheon Dish Wears Label: Made in the USA,' Wendy McLendon, Washington Post, October 1, 1959 (p. C1)
'Chicken tetrazzini...It is not known when or where the dish was created, though some say it wasin San Francisco (the dish was first mentioned in print in 1931), and Tetrazzini herself does notmention the dish in her autobiography, My Life of Song (1921).'
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York]1999 (p. 73)
'The legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier may have been the creator of this dish for theequally legendary Italian coloratura, Luisa Tetrazzini. As rich and heavy as its namesake, it continues toget standing ovations as is did when it was conceived 100 years ago. Turkey is often substituted forthe chicken.'
---'Succotash, anyone? Recipes' odd histories', Ross Atkin, Christian Science Monitor (Boston,MA), May 24, 2000 (Food p. 16)
The New York Public Library's online menu collection confirms 'Tetrazzini' dishes were available in city restaurants in 1917. The earliest recipe we found with this name is from 1928. As expected, variations are all over themap. Additional citings & early recipes courtesy of Barry Popik.
[1928]'Emince of Breast of Chicken Tetrazzini
Mix two parts of shredded breast of chicken, previousl roasted of boiled, with one part of cooked spaghetti cut about 1 1/2 incheslong and enough cream sauce to make the mixture about as thick as chicken hash. Season well with salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg and grated Parmesan cheese. Place in a deep dish and sprinkle the surface with Parmesan cheese and small pieces of butter. Brown in theoven and serve hot.'
--'Favorite Recipes of New York Chefs,' Theodore La Manna (Chef, Hotel Woodward), Washington Post, January 8, 1928 (p. SM8)
[1936]
'The leftover turkey or chicken from New Year's dinner can be served today for luncheon or dinner in one of a number of many interestingdisguises...The following recipe for turkey Tetrazzini is sugested as an attractive disguise for the leftover fowl if it is to be servedfor the dinner menu:
Turkey Tetrazzini
1 cup white sauce (medium thickness made of cream)
1 cup cooked turkey, cut in thein strips
1/4 cup cooked spaghetti, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 fresh mushroom caps, sliced and sauteed in butter
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup buttered cracker crumbs
Season sauce with celery salt. Bring to boiling point and add turkey, spaghetti and mushrooms. Fill buttered ramekin dishes with mixture, sprinkle with cheese and crumbs, and bake in hot oven (425 degrees F. until crumbs are brown.'
---'Leftover Fowl May be Served in Many Ways,' Dorothea Duncan, Washington Post, January 2, 1936 (p. 9)
[1940]
'Chicken Tetrazzini
Three cupfuls of julienne of chicken, 1/2 cupful of julienne of tongue, 2 tablespoonfuls of truffles cut in julienne, 1/2 cupful of cream or milk, 1 teaspoonful of paprika, 2 cupfuls of cream sauce, 1/2 cupful of julienne of ham, 1 cupful of julienne of freshmushrooms. Smother fresh mushrooms in 4 tablespoonfuls fo butter, add ham, tongue, chicken and paprika, smother some more. Then addtruffles, milk or cream and cream sauce. Season to taste and serve in rings of buttered spaghetti.'
---Palmer House Cook Book, Ernest E. Amiet (Executive Chef, Palmer House, Chicago) [John Willy, Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago IL] 1940 (p. 169)
[1950]
'Chicken Tetrazzini
2 young chickens (2 1/2 lbs. ea.)
1/2 lb. mushrooms sliced
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup truffles sliced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. spaghetti
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 tablespoons sherry
1 pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Quarter chickens, place in boiling water and simmer slowly until tender, adding salt to taste. Let cool in broth, then remove andcut meat into strips. Place bones and skin back in broth and allow to simmer a while longer; then strain and set aside. Saute mushrooms in 3 tablespoons butter until lightly browned. Cook spaghetti, drain and keep warm. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in pan and addflour. Slowly add 2 cups of broth and stir until smooth. Add cream and sherry, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Cook slowlyfor 10 minutes. Mix half of this mixture with mushrooms and spaghetti and place in buttered baking dish. To other half of sauce addchicken and truffles. Place this mixture over spaghetti and mushrooms. Sprinkle cheese over all and place in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 10 minutes.'
---Love and Dishes, Niccolo de Quattrociocchi [Bobbs-Merril:Indianapolis IN] 1950 (p. 270-271)
[1967]
'Chicken Tetrazzini
8 ounces thin noodles or fettucini
1 garlic clove, mashed
6 fresh parsley sprigs, leaves only
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons fresh sweet butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup hot chicken broth
1/2 cup light cream, warmed
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup diced cooked chicken (from wings, legs, etc.)
8 thin slices breast (from poached chicken or capon)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cook the noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes and drain. Chop garlic and parsley together. Place the oil in a skillet, heat, and addmushrooms, bay leaf, garlic and parsley, salt and pepper. Cook slowly for 4 minutes; stir. Place the butter in another saucepan, melt, and add theflour; blend. Add hot chicken broth, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add cream and wine and stir well. Place drained noodles in a buttered oven casserole, spoon mushroom mixture over the noodles, and arrange chickenover mushrooms. Pour the cream sauce over all and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake in preheated moderate oven (350 degrees F.) forabout 15 minutes. Serve with a green salad, a ripe pear, a slice of Fontina cheese, and a glass of dry Orvieto. Serves 4. NOYE:This can be cooked under the broiler. Cover casserole with foil and place on lowest shelf of a preheated broiler. Cook for 10minutes and remove foil. Keeping a close watch, broil until al light brown crust appears.'
---Leone's Italian Cookbook, Gene Leone [Harper & Row:New York] 1967 (p. 138-139)
[NOTE: 'Mother Leone's' aka 'Mama Leone's' was a popular recipe in New York City's Broadway area.]
>why is toad-in-the-hole so named when there are no toads or holes involved??
Food historians have been wondering about this for years. No toads, certainly. The hole,however,presumably refers to the position of the meat in the recipe. Batter puddings are remarkablyversatile.
'Toad-in-the-hole. Nowadays this British dish typically consists of sausage cooked in batter, butin its earliestincarnations in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (when it was usually called toad in a hole)various cuts of meatwere used. Mrs. Beeton, for instance, used steak and kidney, and recipes recommending thefinestfillet steak are to befound, but often enough toad in the hole was a repository for leftovers. Even today lamb chopsare occasionally foundlurking in batter, and sausage 'toad' is the unappetizing colloquialism that distinguishes theorthodox version. Thenotion of secreting delicacies in 'holes' in a batter pudding goes back to Roman times, and in theearliest recorded usesof this actual expression in the eighteenth century they do not contain only 'toads': HannahGlasse, for example, gives arecipe for pigeons in the hole.'
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 344)
'Toad in the hole...provokes historical questions of exceptional interest. What are the origins ofthe dish and how did itget its name? Enquiries are best commenced from two starting points. The first is that batterpuddings (whether baked inthe oven by themselves or cooked under the spit or jack in the drippings falling from a joint--inthe latter case they couldbe classed as Yorkshire pudding) only began to be popular in the early part of the 18th century...Jennifer Stead's essayis the best reference for studying the complex historical questions regarding batter pudding andYorkshire pudding...Thesecond is that the earliest recorded reference in print to toad in the hole occurs in a provincialglossary of 1787, quotedby the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as saying: the dish called toad in a hole meat boiled inacrust.' That gives thename, but the technique is different from that subsequently established...Mrs. Beeton (1861)describes the dish as homely but savoury.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.796)
About Yorkshirepudding.
None of the definitions for the word 'toad' in the OED connect it to a particular type offood---includingslang/colloquial meanings. This infers the use of the word toad' in this recipe might have beenselected to describe theappearance of the final product. Perhaps Mrs. Beeton thought toads were homely?]
RECIPES THROUGH TIME
'Pigeons in a Hole
Take your Pigeons, season them with beaten Mace, Pepper and Salt; put a little Piece of Butter inthe Belly, lay them in aDish and pour a light Batter all over them, make with a Quart of Milk and Eggs, and four or fiveSpoonfuls of Flour;bake it, and sent it to Table. It is a good Dish.'
---The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1747 edition[Prospect Books:Devon]1995 (p. 46)
[1769]
'Pigeons in a hole
Pick, draw, and wash four young pigeons, stick their legs into their belly as you do boiledpigeons. Season them withpepper, salt, and beaten mace, put into the belly of every pigeon a lump of butter the size of awalnut. Lay your pigeonsin a pie dish, pour over them a batter made of three eggs, two spoonfuls of flour and a half a pintof good milk. Bake in amoderate oven and serve them to table in the same dish.'
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, 1769 reprint edition with anintroduction by RoyShipperbottm [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 65-6)
[1850]
'513. Toad in a Hole.
Make a batter as directed for the Yorkshire pudding, but with the addition of a spoonful more flour and six ounces of choppedbeef suet; butter a rather deep baking dish, into which pour the batter, lay a solid piece of lean gravy beef, about three pouns, in thecentre, and bake it an hour and a half in a hot oven. Another metod is to cut up about three pounds of rump-steaks into about sixpieces, and putting them into the batter at various distances apart, but the former melthod is most common. Any remains of cookedbeef, veal, mutton, pork, roasted or boiled, salt or fresh, or game and fowl, cut in pieces, and seasoned to taste, may be usedin this dish, by adding it to the batter when in the dish.'
---The Modern Housewife or Menagere, Alexis Soyer, edited by an American Housekeeper [D. Appleton & Company:Philadelphia] 1850 (p. 208-209)
Dating Site For Professionals Over 50 In Charleston Sc Area
[1861]
'No. 59. Toad in the Hole.
To make this cheap dinner, you should buy 6d. Or 1s. Worth of bits or pieces of any kind ofmeat,which are to be hadcheapest at night when the day's sale is over. The pieces of meat should be first carefullyoverlooked, to acertain if therebe any necessity to pare away some tainted part, or perhaps a fly-blow, as this, if left on any onepiece of beat, wouldtend to impart a bad taste to the whole, and spoil the dish. You then rub a little flour, pepper, andsalt all over the meat,and fry it brown with a little butter or fat in the frying pan, and when done, put it with the fat ithas been fried in into abaking-dish containing some Yorkshire or suet pudding batter, amde as directed at Nos. 57 and58, and bake the toad-in-the-hole for about an hour and a half, or else send it to the bakers.'
---A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, Charles Elme Francatelli, facsimile1861 edition [Prior Publications:Kent] 1993 (p. 36)
[1874]
'Toad-In-The-Hole (a Homely but Savoury Dish)
Ingredients.-1 1/2 lb of rump-steak, 1 sheep's kidney, pepper and salt to taste. For the batter, 3eggs, 1 pint of milk, 4tablespoonfuls of flour, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt.
Mode.--Cut up the steak and kidney into convenient-sized pieces, and put them into a pie-dish,with a good seasoning ofsalt and pepper; mix the flour with a small quantity of milk at first, to prevent its being lumpy;addthe remainder, andthe 3 eggs, which should be well beaten; put in the salt, stir the batter for about 5 minutes, andpour it over the steak.Place it in a tolerably brisk oven immediately, and bake for 1 1/2 hour.
Time.--1 1/2 hour. Average Cost, 2s.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Note.--The remains of cold beef, rather underdone, may be substituted for the steak, and whenliked, the smallestpossible quanitie of minced onion or shalot may be added.'
---Mrs. Beeton's Cook Book [London] 1874 edition (p. 320-1)
[1894]
'Toad-in-the-Hole.--Required: a pound and a half of lean meat (mutton or beef), a pint of milk,two eggs, half a pound of flour, a little salt, pepper, baking powder and dripping. Costs, about 1s.9d. Melt the dripping in a baking tin, let it get hot, and grease it well. Make a batter of the milk,flour, &c., as if for Yorkshire Pudding. Pour it in the tin, then pepper the meat a little; lay it in thebatter and bake. The oven should be quick at first for the batter to rise, then rather slow for themeat to cook. Time, about an hour. If the meat is cut up into four or six pieces it is moreconveniently served, but if in one piece, the gravy is better preserved. Tender meat is a necessityfor this dish. Kidneys and liver can be cooked as above, and sausages make a savoury dish of thekind, though somewhat rich.'
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell andCompany:London] 1894 (p.293)
[1936]
'Tomato Toad-in-the-Hole (vegetarian version)
6 firm Tomatoes
1 tablespoonful chopped Parsley
1 pint Milk
3 Eggs
1 tablespoonful melted Butter
2 tablespoonfuls Breadcrumbs
1/2 lb. Flour
Seasoning
Utensils--3 basins, wooden spoon, sieve, tablespoon, egg-beater, grater, knife, Yorkshire pudding tin. Enough for 6 persons.
Sift the flour and salt into a basin. Make a hollow in the centre, and stir in the sell-beaten eggs, diluted with half the milk. Rinse out the egg basin with the remainder of the milk and stir this into the batter. Then beat till the batter is smooth, and let itstand while you prepare the tomatoes. Cover the tomates with boiling water, stand them for 1 minute, then remove them from the water andpeel, with a sharp-pointed, saw-edged, stainless knife. Remove a little pulp from the centre of each. Mix the crumbs, meltedbutter, parsley or chopped chives, pepper, salt, paprika, and garlic salt, if liked, to taste. Moisten with beaten egg andtomato pulp. Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture, then place them on a well-greased Yorkshire pudding tin. Cover with batter, and bakein a moderate oven for from 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve cut into squares and sprinkled with grated cheese.'
---Cookery Illustrated and Household Management, Elizabeth Craig [Odhams Press:London] 1936 (p. 414)
Beef/Cattle have been supplying humans with protein for thousands of years. The meat is what it is. Beef cuts, on the other hand, are historically dynamic. Cuts/names serve up accurate reflections of national preference tempered by consumer demand. The earliest print reference we find in USA print for Tri-Tip (& culotte) steak is from the 1930s. Our survey of historic newspapers confirms Tri-Tip sales proliferated in the late 1960s, took off in the 1970 and blossmed in the 1980s-1990s.All for what? It's hard to say. Earliest print evidence strongly suggests 'Tri-Tip' sirloin cuts originated in mid-California. Think: Santa Barbara, Van Nuys, Bakersfield, Placerville. The period? early 1960s. By decade's end, this decidedly Californian steak swallowed East Coast meatrentrepreneurs whole.
[1935]
'In cutting steaks from the larger steer butts, the butt should first be freed of flank, then cut in two. That gives you the lower, or triangle part, and the upper or oblong part...In the former the triangle part is much the choicest for steaks. It is more tender, and well interspersed with fat. Cut these in slices one inch thick, across the grain.'
---Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago IL] 1935 (p. 24-25)
[1955]
'Jack's Corsican Room...All Jack's dinners, no matter what the price, are...generous. The chopped sirloin dinner s $1.50; a succulent prime rib, $2.45...In addition there's triangle tip a la Jack $1.85 (a special cut of roast beef)...'
---'Southland Dining Directory, Long Beach Press Telegram [CA], May 24,1955 (p. 45)
[1956]
'Jack's Corsican Room, 5430 E. 2nd St. Naples,...Owned by Jack and Rose Bass...Chef Bass offers one of his favorites, Triangle Tip a la Jack, a scrumptious beef-cooked-in-wine affair for only $1.95 on the big dinner.'
---'Guide to Southland Dining,' Long Beach Press-Telegram [CA], May 22, 1956 (p. 50)
'Hurrah for Jack's New Sauce:---Hey, have you heard the news? Chef Jack Bass, owner of Jack's Corsican Room... had created a new sauce for his famed Triangle Tip a la Jack. The old sauce was great, but the new one's even greater. For $1.95 complete, the Triangle Tip includes tender beef, superb soup du jour, big chilled salad, baked potato, another vegetable, beverage and dessert.'
---'Stepping Out,' Press-Telegram [Long Beach CA], August 14, 1956 (p. B7)
[1960]
>'Boneless Beefeater Roast. World's tenderest roast. Cut from the triangle tip of USDA Choice Steer. Comes out a significant medium-rare in one hour from a 400 degree F. oven. Average roast weighs 3 lbs. $1.99 per lb.'
---display ad, Glen Joe, Inc [Bakersfield, Fresno, San Jose, Mojave and Los Altos CA], Los Angeles Times, October 8. 1960 (p. 10)
[1962]
'To impress your gourmet guest, serve the Beefeater Roast--$1.24lb/ A choice cut from the Tringle tip of the Loin.'
---Bakersfield Californian, December 13, 1962 (p. 36)
[1967]
'Meat men...often tell customers a sirloin tip (also called a rotisserie roast), rump, English clod or triangle tip can be dry roasted if of high quality. Home economists call these 'borderline' roasts. They may be perfect dry roasted. On the other hand they may be tough. Treating them with meat tenderizer helps. These roasts also have the illusion of tenderness if cooked only until rare and sliced very, very thin with a razor sharp knife.'
---'Traditional Roast Beef Takes Loving Care to Be Tender,' Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1967 (p. H8)
[1968]
'Sirlon Steak, U.S.D.A. choice beef...lean and tender small steaks, cut from triangle tip...just right for our Far East special recipes! $1.29/lb.'
---Independent [Pasadena CA], Feburary 26, 1968 (p. 4)
'Super Special Triangle Tip Roast, always tender, $1.09/lb, we marinate free, if you desire. These can also be cut into steaks by our live butchers.'
---The News [Van Nuys CA], March 12, 1968 (p. 10A)
[1969]
'Boneless Culotte Steaks, can be used for beef fondue also brochette of beef, $1.59/lb...Triangle Tip Roasts, seasoned free, while they last, $1.25/lb.'
---The News [Van Nuys CA] September 9, 1969 (p. 6A)
'Fancy Choice Tri-Tip Steak Roasts...$1.39/lb. If you buy 6 or more tri-tips, $1.29/lb. (Order these early! Let us season them for you with our specially prepared seasoning. We have several cooking instructiosn available for the tri-tip.'
---display ad, Valley News and Green Sheet [Van Nuys CA] , September 11, 1969 (p. 13B)
[1971]
'Taylor's Steak House was a little place that had to be discovered...Taylor's philosophy of food is easily stated. 'The best you can buy and cook it simply.'...essentially this is a steak house, and the variations are all in the key of beef. Six are regularly listed, and there may be a pepper steak added as a special of the day. A pot roast is made from the triangle tip, the cuttings saved (and not frozen) only till there is enough for sirloin tips, served once a week.'
---'Roundabout,' Lois Dwan, Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1971 (p. R65)
Related steaks? Cube steak, Carpetbag steak & London broil.
Turducken: modern American invention, reinvented Yorkshire stand pie, or traditional Medieval dish?Turducken, as we know it today, first surfaced in the second half of the 20th century. Food historians generally credit celebrity Cajunchef Paul Prudhomme for its fame. Turducken was trademarked by Prudhomme in 1986, stating introduction was November 27, 1980. The following year The Prudhomme Family Cookbook [1987] shared the elaborate recipe with the culinary world. A decade later Turducken took USA newspapers by storm.
Medieval legacy:
Historians tell us Medieval English feasts sometimes included 'illusion food' and 'incredible food.' These dishes ranged from simple 'mock' dishes to extravagant presentations of imaginary beasts and other unlikely delights. Of the latter genre, the Cocatrice (half hen, half sucking pig, sewn together to appear as one animal) is one of the most famous. Roast peacock with the skin and feathers reinstated before serving to appear as a live bird was similarly documented. Of course, there is the legendary 'four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.' What most people don't know is that sometimes toads were used to create the 'surprise effect' of this dish. About illusion & incredible foods.
The Yorkshire connection:
'Hannah Glasse offered an interesting recipe for 'A Yorkshire Christmas-Pye,' which has boned turkey, goose, fowl (i.e. chicken),and pigeon. Although the directions do not specify placing the smaller birds inside larger ones, they do direct that only theturkey be visible. Subsequent recipes such as the one of 'Yorkshire Pye' in Elizabeth Raffald's The Experienced Housekeeper, firstpublished in 1769, explicitly state that the birds should be placed inside one another. This was common practice in Europe during theRenaissance. The recipes survives in various forms, the most famous of which is the turducken...which was created in Louisiana...The dish was made famous by the celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme, who served it beginning in the 1960s at his family's restaurant, K-Paul's, in new Orleans.'
---The Turkey: An American Story, Andrew F. Smith [University of Illinois Press:Chicago] 2006 (p. 36)
Yorkshire Christmas Pye, Mrs. Glasse.
[1850]
'A New Year's Pie.
Boil a neat's tongue, skin it, and put it into a boned chicken; put the boned chicken into a boned duck; put the boned duck into aboned turkey; put the boned turkey into a boned goose; season the whole with lemon and spice to your taste, and bake it in ahot oven. Make a jelly of beef's feet, as are baked, and put them into a deep dish, or into a deep-plated dish cover, wtiht the breast of the goose downwards; the pour upon them the jelly, covering the fowls with it; set the whole away, for the jelly to harden; when it has become hard and stiff, turn the whole out carefully upon your dish, and serve, cutting through it all. The dish may be garnished with small moulds of the jelly.'
---The Practical Cook Book, Mrs. Bliss [Lippincott, Grambo & Co.:Philadelphia] 1850 (p. 244)
[1873]'Roast a L'Imperatrice.
The Trojan roast pig, stuffed with figpeckers, oysters, and thrushes, and the whole basted with good wineand fine meat broth--which the Roman Senate felt itself obliged to forbid by sumptuary law because of its extravagance--must yield to the luxury of this recipe. Take the pit out of an olive and replace it with an anchovy. Put the olive into a lark, the lark into a quail, into a partridge, the partridge into a pheasant. The pheasant in its turn disappears inside a turkey, andthe turkey is stuffed into a suckling pig. Roasted, this will present the quintessence of the culinary art, the masterpiece of gastronomy. But don't make the mistake of serving it whole, just like that. The gourmand eats only the olive and the anchovy.'
---Dictionary of Cuisine, Alexandre Dumas, [originally pubished in 1873] Edited, abridged and translated by Louis Colman [Simon & Schuster:New YOrk] 1958] (p. 212)
[1885]
'Boned Turkey,' Lafcadio Hearn. This recipes was also published in mainstream American cookbooks. After boning, turkeys are typicallyscooped of flesh, then stuffed with combinations of pork, veal, turkey, bacon, minced vegetables and traditional herbed breads. The fancieritems are stuffed in layers, creating a pleasing visual effect. Reconstructed birds are sewn before roasting.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records confirm Paul Proudhomme secured the Turducken trademark in 1986. Date of first use? November 27, 1980: 'Word Mark TURDUCKEN Goods and Services IC 029. US 046. G & S: COMBINATION TURKEY, DUCK AND CHICKEN ENTREE FOR CONSUMPTION ON OR OFF THE PREMISES. FIRST USE: 19801127. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19801127 Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING Serial Number 73576432 Filing Date January 6, 1986 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Published for Opposition June 3, 1986 Registration Number 1406947 Registration Date August 26, 1986 Owner (REGISTRANT) PRUDHOMME, PAUL DBA K-PAUL'S LOUISIANA KITCHEN INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES 406 CHARTRES STREET NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA 70130'
[1987]
Turducken
---The Prudhomme Family Cookbook, Paul Prudhomme [William Morrow and Company:New York] 1986 (p. 109-115)
Our survey of newspaper articles confirms news of Turduckens spread across America during the fall holiday seasons from 1987 forwards. The were promoted as trendy, novel, dazzling alternatives to 'ye olde bird.' Articles also reveal conflicting stories regarding origination. This is not unusual in the food world.
'Call it Turducken. Call it Chucky. Call it irresistible to a Louisiana cook. It's three birds in one. Not since deep-fried turkey has a recipe for the Thanksgiving bird so intrigued inquisitive diners and cooks as has this poultry puzzle of a turkey stuffed with both a duck and a chicken with dressings for each. The boneless trio of birds that, when sliced, presents itself almost in the style of a French terrine, has become a hot holiday item since a few meat markets began making them. The original Turducken was introduced here in the 1970s by chef Paul Prudhomme. He invented the concept a decade earlier in Sheridan, Wyo., while working on a restaurant buffet line carving meats. Everything looked pretty except the turkey, he said. So the inventive chef set out to create something smashing. He eventually ended up with three birds, each with its own dressing. After moving back to New Orleans, Prudhomme gave it its name, then copyrighted Turducken in 1986. 'It's that wild imagination I have and the physical abuse I give myself to make it happen,' he said, explaining the creation. 'One of the greatest pleasures of my life has been to be able to do things like the Turducken that make people happy. It's a huge effort but once you taste it, it is literally the best.' A new version is Chucky, the product of Carroll Angelle, a native of Cecelia who brought the birds to Metairie at his Talk-of-the-Town Specialty Meats. ...But can you do it at home? 'It's hard work. It's tedious,' he says, but 'yes,' it can be done at home...He divulges his recipe in 'The Prudhomme Family Cookbook' (Morrow, 1987)'
---'IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A BIRD! A TURKEY, A DUCK AND A CHICKEN TRIPLE THE TREAT OF THANKSGIVING DINNER,' Dale Curry, Times-Picayune [LA] , November 17, 1994 (p. F1)
'The newfound popularity of the dish has chefs and butchers clamoring to claim credit for its invention. Mr. Prudhomme says he first made a turducken in Wyoming in 1962 when he was working as a young beef carver at a ski resort; he says he later introduced the recipe on a Louisiana radio show in 1982. But Mr. [Phillip] Faul also takes credit, as does Mr. Hebert, who says that 12 years ago an elderly gentleman simply walked into his shop and asked if he could make one. The next year, Mr. Hebert says he sold a few more, and the novelty spread until 'it just got out of hand.' His most memorable creation was for a customer from neighboring Texas: a pigturducken, which is basically a turducken in a boneless pig.'
---'For Holiday Diners Fickle About Fowl There's Turducken --- An Odd Cajun Concoction Frankenstein Would Love Flies Off Grocery Shelves,' Mark Robichaux, Wall Street Journal, 27 November 27, 1996 (p. A1)
'From the bayou land that brought the nation gumbo, jambalaya and etoufee comes a holiday hybrid of birds--a triple play offestive fowl. Tired of turkey? Let's talk turducken. 'It gives you a taset of everything. It's the best of all worlds,' said JackGreene, an Orange Park Fla., businessman whose family surprises Thanksgiving guests with the Cajun combination of turkey, duck,and chicken...'It makes a massive beast,'...The long knives are out for the birds. Blades flash and workers quickly debone 20-to-25pound turkeys and small ducklings and chickens., leaving the turkey wings on for recognition's sake. Duck meat is wrapped around the chicken, then stuffing scoops are arranged around the other birds put inside the gaping turkey. He uses shrimp etoufee in this one;other stuffings for turducken chefs include crawfish, andouille sausage, oyster, broccoli and cheese; sweet or japlapeno cornbread.The big bird is sewn back up, dusted with seasonings and placed in the oven...The chef and a half-dozen workers at the center here, setup recently by Birmingham-based Creoles Inc., produced up to 200 turduckens a day leading up to Thanksgiving...Duane Donner...a Lafayette, La. native who started Creoles in 1995, expects to sell 5,000 turduckens over the holidays...'It started real slow, but now it gets bigger every year,' says Charlie Paul of Franklin La. Prudhomme says he made his first in the 1960s, but Paul says they didn't start catching on in Louisiana until a decade a go...Predictably, turducken is no longer the latest thingthere. Widley Hebert, introduced to turducken 14 years ago when an elderly man walked into his Maurice, La., specialty meats store to request one, has prepared pigturduckens. There also is experimentation with quail and other meats.'
---'Cajuns develop terducken, a spicy poultry hybrid,' Dan Sewell, Associated Press, Philadelphia Tribune, December 2, 1997 (p. 2C)[NOTE: This AP article was widely published in local newspapers around the country.]
'Once upon a time, possibly at a lodge in Wyoming, possibly at a butcher shop in Maruice, La., or maybe even a plantationin South Carolina, an enterprising cook decided to take a boned chicken, a boned duck and a boned turkey, stuff them one inside the other like Russian dolls, and roast them. He called his masterpiece turducken. In the years that followed its mysteriousbirth, turducken has become something of a Southern specialty...I called Paul Prudhomme, the Louisiana chef who has longproclaimed himself the inventor of the turducken...Mr. Prudhomme would not reveal the hame of the lodge in Wyoming where he sayshe came up with the dish, when exactly he created it, or even his age...Recipes other than Mr. Prudhomme's for what follows are scarce. But it is not difficult to find in the annals of culinary history examples of birds stuffed into birds. There is a reference in the diaries of John B. Grimball from 1832 for a Charleston preserve of fowl. It consisted of a dove stuffed into a quail, a quail into a guinea hen, a hen into a duck, a duck into a capon, a capon into a goose, and the goose into a peacock or a turkey. The whole thing was then roasted and cut into 'transverse sections.' It makes turducken seem like the lazy way out. Barbara Wheaton, a food historian, said that in the 14th century, peacocks were boned and roasted and re-stuffed into their feathered skin. In his Encyclopedia of Practical Gastronomy, published at the turn of the last century, Henri Babinski, who used the pseudonym Ali-Bab, gives instructions for stuffing boned ortolans into truffles.'In the Republic of Georgia,' Darra Goldstein, a professor of Russian at Williams College and the editor of Gastronomica, a journal of food and culture, wrote in The Georgian Feast (University of California Press), 'there's a very old feast dish that calls for a huge ox roasted on a spit, stuffed successively with a calf, a lamb, a turkey, a goose, a duck, and finally a young chicken, and seasoned throughout with spices. The art lay in ensuring that each type of meat was perfectly roasted.' Mr. Edge said, 'If this was going on in Charleston in the 19th century, it is likely that some other enterprising cooks in places around the South were preparing this dish previous to Paul Prudhomme's so-called invention of the turducken.''
---'Turkey Finds Its Inner Duck (and Chicken),' Amanda Hesser, New York Times, November 20, 2002 (p. F1)
[NOTES: (1) Article includes recipe (2) Ali-Bab's recipe is titled 'Ortolans en Sarcophages. The ortolans are boned, stuffed with foie gras, roasted then stuffedinto hollowed truffles. In our book it appears on p. 302; we can supply the recipe (English). (3) Darra Goldstein's observation appears on p. 40 of her book. ]
Related Louisiana specialty? Cajun (deep) fried turkey. About Christmas birds.
Turkey & dressingThere are many theories regarding the history of the dispersion of turkey. In fact? There are alsomany theories regarding the definition of a turkey. Some early food historians believed turkeyswere orginally an old world birds, originating in India. They contended it was known to theGreeks and featured in the famous Bayeaux tapestry. Modern food historians believe thisold-world bird was probably the guinea fowl. True turkeys (Melieagris gallopavo) are native toNorthAmerica. Adding to the confusion? Etymologists tell us in early times, the words turkey andguinea fowl were often used interchangeably. About Guinea-fowl.
The stories of the introduction of new world turkeys to Europe are likewise full of conflicts,legend and lore. Food historians do not credit a specific person with the introduction of this birdto the old world. They do agree, however, the bird was most likely introduced in the earlysixteenthcentury by Spanish or Portuguese explorers. Recommended reading: The Turkey: An American Story, Andrew F. Smith
[Best source for overall history:origins, distribution, economics, linguistic challenges, symbolism, cookery & historic recipes. Includes copious footnotes and extensive biblography.] ]
'There were many large fowl in the tropical New World. Two of them were domesticated: theturkey (Meleagris gallopavo) and the mucovy duck (Cairina moschata)....The original range ofMeleagris gallopavo, the turkey we all know, seems to have been north of the Rio Balsas inMexico, that is to say among the mountains of the central plateau. It is a paradoxical creature,being at the same time wild and tame, wary and stupid. People who have lived in its territory inthe southwestern United States decribe it as aggressively being to be domesticated, but at thesame time it is considered one of the craftiest birds. The earliest bones of turkeys that could beconsidered domesticated were found in bones of turkeys that could be considered domesticatedwere found in Tehuacan and date from between 200B.C. and A.D. 700. Their use must havespread rapidly, because by the time the Europeans came exploring, turkeys seem to have beenavailable far beyond their natural range. Columbus may have brought them back from the islandson his first voyage, or perhaps he first saw them when he landed in Honduras on his fourthvoyage,. By 1511 the king of Spain was ordering every ship returning to Spain from the NewWorld to bring back ten turkeys, five males and five females. It was one of the most rapidsuccesses as far as the adoption of New World foodstuffs goes, speedily replacing the tough,stringy peacock as a spectacular dish for banquets....The turkey so quickly became an article ofconspicuous consumption that it early attracted the attention of legistlators anxious to quell theconumerism of the epoch. As early as 1561, the vote was 60 to 18 in Vincenza, Italy, to excludeturkeys from banquets as being overly luxurious.'
---America's First Cuisines, Sophie D. Coe [University of Texas Press:Austin] 1994 (p.124-5)
'The first European country to receive the turkey from the New World was Spain; Pedro AlonsoNino took some birds to that country in the early 1500s. The birds were established on Spanishpoultry farms by 1530, were in Rome by 1525, were in France by 1538, and then spread rapidlytoother parts of the Old World.'
---The Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild ConeeOrnelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 581)
'When turkeys reached the Old World, they appear (unlike other foods from the Americas, suchas tomatoes and potatoes) to have diffused swiftly and been consumed enthusiastically. InEngland in 1541, they were cited amongst large birds such as cranes and swans in sumputarylaws; their prices had been fixed in the London markets by the mid- 1550s...Reasons for thisspeedy acceptance are not hard to find. The turkey would have been seen as similar to thedomestic poulty familiar in Europe since ancient times, and confused with guinea-fowl; and therewas anyway a firm medieval precedent for eating all sorts of fowl, wild and tame, large andsmall...In England, turkeys were being made into pies during the reign of Elizabeth I, and soonafterwards Gervase Markham (1615) recommended that they be roast, and served with a sauceof onions, flavoured with claret, orange juice, and lemon peel.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.809-810)
- Did you know Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey for our national symbol? He thought theeagle too violent. Notes from the Franklin Institute here.
- Why do we pair cranberries with turkey?
- What to do with the leftover turkey?
- Wild Turkey, Andrew F. Smith
- American Turkey andThanksgiving, Alice Ross Journal of Antiques
- Related dish: Mole poblano
b. Cookery. Forcemeat or other seasoned mixture used to fill the body of a fowl, a hollow in a joint of meat, etc., before cooking. 1538 ELYOT Dict., Fartile, stuffynge, or that wherewith any foule is crammed or franked. 1598 Epulario Hjb, If you can deuise a better stuffing, you may: then fry them in oyle.
'Dressing.
4. concretely. That which is used in the preceding actions and processes; that with which anything or person is dressed for use or ornament.
a. Cookery. The seasoning substance used in cooking; stuffing; the sauce, etc., used in preparinga dish, a salad, etc...
a. 1504. Nottingham Rec. III. 319. For floure and peper, and dressing.'
'Turkey.
Truss your turkey as directed for roasting; make a stuffing as follows: take the crumb of ahalfpenny roll, rub it through a cullender, a quarter of a pound of beef-suet chopped fine, somesweet herbs, parsley, and lemon-peel shred fine, grate in a little nutmeg, season it with pepperandsalt, mix it up with a egg, and put it in the breast of the turkey, put the skin over and fasten it tothe back with a skewer; spit it, singe it, and tie paper over the breast, put it before a moderatefire,and baste it well all the time it is roasting; when it is done take off the paper, baste it with butter,sprinkle a little salt on it, and dredge it with flour then take it up, put it on a hot dish, with goodgravy, or brown celery sauce under it; garnish with lemon and beetroot, with onion and breadsauce in boats. A middling-sized turkey will take one hour and a quarter, bigger or less inproportion. N.B. You may stuff the breast with sausage-meat, or veal force-meat, as you like itbest.'
---New Art of Cookery According to Present Practice, Richard Briggs [W. Spotwswood,R. Campbell, and B. Johnson:Philadelpha] 1792 (p. 137)
'Turkey with chestnuts.
Truss your turkey for roasting, take half a hundred of chestnuts, boil them till they are tender,peelthem, chop half a dozen very fine, and put in the stuffing as above; take the marrow out of twobeef marrow-bones, cut it into pieces, and stuff the belly of the turkey with the marrow andchestnuts; spit it, and tie the vent close to the spit with a string, singe and paper the breast, put itdown to a good fire, and baste it well all the time it is roasting; then take off the paper, baste itwith butter, sprinkle a little salt on it, and dredge it with flour, to make the froth rise; take it up,and put it into a hot dish; have ready a dozen of the chestnuts split into two, stew them in half apint of brown gravy, a gill of white wine, two shallots chopped fine, thicken it with a little butterrolled in flour, boil it smooth, pour it in the dish; and garnish with lemon and beet-root, withbreadsauce and gravy in boats. N.B. It will take a quarter of an hour longer roasting than without themarrow and chestnuts.'
---ibid (p. 137-8)
[1796]
To Stuff a Turkey/American Cookery, Amelia Simmons
[1803]
To Roast Turkey/Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter
Oyster stuffing
While Native Americans may have combined oysters with grains and herbs we do not find evidencethey used this combination to stuff fowl. 'Classic American' oyster stuffing appears to have been agift from our European forefathers. Culinary evidence suggests the French originated oysterdressings in conjuction with modern cuisine [17th century]. This practice was adopted by theEnglish and neighboring countries. About oysters.
'As in the case of fungi, the sixteenth-century French cookbooks show no great interest in oysters,again revealing a cultural split between what the humanists were reporting and what the cookbooksspecify. The great oyster vogue began in France in the seventeenth century. Now a legion of oysterstroop through the cookery works in sauces, ragouts, and stuffings. Oysters are even larded intoroasts. The use of oysters reaches its zenith in eighteenth-century England, there they become oneof the most important tastes in fashionable food.'
---Acquired Taste: The French Origins of Modern Cooking, T. Sarah Peterson [Cornell UniversityPress:Ithaca] 1994(p. 86,88)
American cookbooks confirm oyster suffing recipes were published throughout the easternseaboard during the 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest of these were printed in the southerncolonies. Early 19th century New England cookbooks did not suggest using oysters in fowldressings. By the middle of the 19th century oyster dressings were ubiquitious. Today, oysterstuffing is generally associated with southern/cajun cuisine. Presumably there is a connectionbetween this and the French immigration patterns. There is little doubt that Cajun/Creole Louisanacooks love their oysters!
Historic oyster stuffing recipes
[NOTES: (1) Check the variety of poultry cooking methods (boiling, roasting) preparation methods(ingredients, combinations) and serving suggestions (inside or out). (2) 17th and 18th centurycookbooks also suggest oyster stuffing for mutton, veal, and fish.
[1651:Paris]
'58. Capon with Oysters.
After your Capon is dressed, and barded with lard, and with butter'd paper over it, rost it, and as itrosteth, put under it a dripping pan. After you have well cleansed your Oysters, you shall whitenthem, if they are old. When they are well cleansed and whitened, pass them in the pan with what isfallen from your Capon, and season them with mushrums, onion stuck, and a bundle of herbs. Afterthey are well fried, you shall take out the bundle of herbs, and the rest you shall put it in the body ofthe Capon, which you shall shove with a few capers, then serve.'
---The French Cook, Francois Pierre, La Varenne, Englished by I.D.G. 1653, Introduced by Philipand Mary Hyman [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 56)
[1683:Netherlands]
'To stuff a Capon or Hen with Oysters and to roast [them].
Take a good Capon cleaned on the inside then Oysters and some finely crushed Rusk, Pepper,Mace, Nutmeg-powder and a thin little slice or three fresh Lemons, mix together, fill [the bird] withthis. When it is oaosted one uses for a sauce nothing but the fat from the pan. It is found to be good[that way].'
---The Sensible Cook, translated and edited by Peter G. Rose [Syracuse University Press:SyracuseNY] 1989 (p. 58)
[NOTE: The recipes in this book were also used in New Netherlands, later renamed New York.]
[1685:London]
'To boil the aforesaid Fowls otherways, with Muscles, Oysters, or Cockles; or fried Wickles inButter, and after stewed with Butter, white Wine, Nutmeg, a slic't Orange, and gravy.Either boil the Fowl or roast them, boil them by themselves in water and alat, scum them clean, andput to them mace, sweet hergs, and onions chopped together, some white-wine, pepper, and sugar,if you please, and a few cloves stuck in the fowls, some grated or strained bread with some of thebroth, and give it a warm; dish up the fowls on fine sippets, or French bread, and carve the breast,broth it, and pour on your shell-fish runt it over with beaten butter, and slic't lemon or orange.'
---The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, facsimile 1685 editon [Prospect Books:Devon] 2000 (p.90)
[1769:London]
'To stew a Turkey brown.
When you have drawn the craw out of your turkey, cut it up the back and take out the entrails thatthe turkey may appear whole, and take all the bones out of the body very carefully. The rump, legsand wings are to be left whole. Then take the crumb of a penny loaf, and chop half a hundred ofoysters very small with half a pound of beef marrow, a little lemon peel cut fine, and pepper andsalt. Mix them well up together with the yolks of four eggs, and stuff your turkey with it, sew it upand lard it down each side with bacon. Half roast it, then put it into a tossing pan with two quarts ofveal gravy, and cover it close up. When it has stewed on hour, add a spoonful of mushroomcatchup, half an anchovy, a slice or two of lemon, a little Chyan pepper and a bunch of sweet herbs.Cover them colse up atain and stew it half an hour longer. Then take it up and skim the fat off thegravy and strain it, thicken it with flour and butter. Let it boil a few minutes, and pour it hot uponyour turkey. Lay round it oyster patties and serve it up.'
---The Experience English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, with an introduction by RoyShipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 62)
[1796:Albany]
NOTE: Amelia Simmon's American Cookery contains two recipes for stuffed turkey/fowl. Neitherof these employs oysters.
[1824:Virginia]
'To Boil a Turkey With Oyster Sauce.
Grate a loaf of bread, chop a score or more of oysters fine, add nutmeg pepper and salt to yourtaste, mix it up into a light forcemeat to your taste, mix it up into a light forecemat with a quarter ofa pound of butter, a spoonful or two of cream, and three eggs; stuff the craw with it, and make therest into balls and boil them; sew up the turkey, dredge it well with flour, put it in a kettle of coldwater, cover it, and set it over the fire; as the scum begins to rise, take it off, let it boil very slowlyfor half an hour, then take off your kettle and keep it close covered; if it be of a middle size, let itstand in the hot water half an hour, the steam being kept in will stew it enough, make it rise, keepthe skin whole, tender, and very white; when you dish it, pour on a little oyster sauce, lay the ballsround, and serve it up with the rest of the sauce in a boat.'
---The Virginia House-wife, Mary Randolph, with historical Notes and Commentaries by KarenHess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia] 1984 (p. 81)
[1884:Boston]
'Roast Turkey.
Clean as directed...Stuff with soft bread or cracker crumbs highly seasoned with sage, thyme, salt,and pepper; mositen the stuffing with half a cup of melted butter, and hot water enought to make itquite moist. Add one beaten egg. Some use salt pork chipped fine, but stuffing is more wholesomewithout it. Oysters, chestnuts, chopped celelry, stoned raisins, or dates mae a pleasing variety.'
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, facsimle 1884 reprint [DoverPublications:Mineola NY] 1996 (p. 256)
[1885:New Orleans]
'Oyster Stuffing for Turkey.
Take three or four dozen nice plump oysters, wash and beard them, add to them a tumblerful ofbread crumbs; chop up a tumblerful of nice beef suet; mix together, and moisten with three eggs;season with salt, pepper, a little butter, a teaspoonful of mace, and some cayenne pepper. Rollforce-meat into cakes, and fry them. They are pretty laid around a turkey or chicken.'
---La Cuisine Creole: A Collection of Culinary Recipes, second edition [F.F. Hansell & Bro.:NewOrleans] 1885 (p. 27)
[1901:New Orleans]
'The Creoles claim that oysters, eggs, chestnuts or truffles are the only elegant dressings for poultryor game, and oysters or egg stuffing for fish...Oyster Stuffing for Poultry (Farci d'Huitres)All depends upon the size of the fowl. For the ordinary-sized fifteen or sixteen-pound turkey, take
3 Dozen Oysters
1 Quart of Stale Bread, Wet and Squeezed
1 Tablespoon of Butter
1 Tablespoon of Parsley
1 Sprig of Thyme
1 Bay Leaf. 3 Tablespoons of Sage
Salt and Pepper to Taste.
Drain the oysters; wet the stale bread with hot water, squeezing thoroughly. Chop fine the liver andgizzard of the fowl, and put a tablespoonful of lard into the frying pan. Mix in the chopped onionsand add the chopped liver and gizzard. As it begins to brown, throw in the chopped herbs, and thenadd the bread which has been mixed well and seasoned with the chopped sage. Mix well. Add tothis one tablespoonful of butter and stir, blending all thoroughly. Now add the pint or so of oysterwater, and as it is reduced mix in the oysters. Stir for three or four minutes and take off and dressthe fowl. This dressing is highly recommended.'
---The Picauyne's Creole Cook Book, second edition, facsimile 1901 reprint [DoverPublications:New York] 1971(p. 155-6)
[NOTE: This book contains a separate recipes for 'Oyster Dressing.']
No doubt about it. Americans love turkey. Once or twice a year. Generally regarded by Americans as holiday 'whole bird' item, turkey marketers face a uniquely challenging situation positioning their products for year round sales. Whole birds are heavy, challenging to store, require hours to cook, demand a supersized roasting pan, and yield more leftovers than any other meat product.
The result? The turkey industry has a long tradition of employing creative ways to sell their product. They are brilliant marketers on several levels.The most famous example is the TV dinner. Swanson (turkey grower) needed a way to dispose of an overabundance of unsold Thanksgiving turkeys. With a little experimentation, they confirmed this product froze well. Voila! A brand new culinary genre ensuring year-round product sales. Sliced turkey continually outsells chicken in the sandwich/deli market.
Turkey marketers pay close attention to health recommendations resulting in consumer trends toward low-fat, non-red meat health recommendations. Turkey 'london broil,' burgers, turkey meatballs, turkey sausage and turkey bacon are marketed to consumers on the health (less fat, white-meat is better for you) angle. In the case of items imitating cured pork products, consumers question the healthier-for-you claim. Commercially cured meats, of any sort, contain chemicals, nitrates, preservatives and other items cited by health officials as unhealthy. Today's bacon-loving consumers have several choices but one common goal: getting the most flavor for the money. And? The flavor of bacon comes from fat, anyway you slice it. About bacon.
Our survey of American newspaper articles suggests turkey bacon was introduced to the American public in the early 1990s. The product is viable today, but the health claims are debunked. These articles chronicle the evolution of turkey bacon.
[1991]
'After nearly a dozen years of development, the Louis Rich Company of Madison, Wis., is introducing turkey bacon on a national basis beginning now. The product has been in market test for more than a year, and consumers love it. 'Consumers looking for an alternative breakfast meat are pleased with this new choice. As purchased, turkey bacon is 80 percent fat-free, 20 percent fat, and offers good news for those consumers who are eating less bacon made from pork,' stated Charlie Etmekjian, director of marketing research. Louis Rich, the nation's number-one turkey processor, pioneered this new breakfast meat product. A major challenge was to develop a turkey bacon product with the look, taste and texture of regular bacon. Test market results indicate overwhelming positive results. Each satisfying slice is made up of dark and white turkey, and, because it is fully cooked, there is very little shrinkage. Turkey bacon contains 30 calories per heated slice. A 12-ounce package contains 18-28 slices. Louis Rich turkey bacon will be located in the refrigerated meat case next to regular bacon. It will be available in supermarkets nationwide within the next few weeks.'
---'LOUIS RICH INTRODUCES TURKEY BACON NATIONWIDE,' PR Newswire, February 5, 1991
'Your nose tells you it's time to wake up by the essences assailing it. You stagger into the kitchen and mumble, 'What's for breakfast?' 'The coffee's made and there's turkey in the microwave,' comes the answers. 'Turkey for breakfast? Yecch!' you grumble. 'Don't say that until you taste it,' the cook says defensively. 'You won't believe this new turkey bacon. They just got some at the store. And, it's even Kosher. You try it. You like it. So do a lot of people. Sales of turkey breakfast meats have taken off like crazy. First there was bulk sausage, then various types of patties and links. Now, turkey bacon. It's good news for consumers -- less total fat, less saturated fat and more protein. And it's also good for turkey processors. Ever since the country began stampeding for turkey breast products, there's been a surplus of dark meat. Now it's being gobbled up in breakfast meats, ground turkey, lunchmeats and hams. Does turkey bacon have a downside? At first glance, statistics show it has more sodium per slice than regular bacon. Then, you notice the cooked yield is 58 percent, compared to only 28 percent cooked yield for regular bacon. There are 21 milligrams of sodium per gram of cooked turkey bacon and 16 milligrams per gram of cooked regular bacon. Yield weight ignored, however, if you eat a slice of turkey bacon, you'll get double the sodium of a regular slice of bacon, partly because you're getting more meat. The fat content is encouraging. Even though a slice of turkey bacon weights 50 percent more, it has less saturated fat and less total fat than regular bacon while yielding more protein. The calorie comparison per slice is 30 for turkey bacon and 35 for regular. The truly amazing thing is that the white ribbon running through turkey bacon is white turkey meat, not fat as in regular bacon. It took Louis Rich nearly 12 years to develop this product. Turkey bacon is fully cooked and can be eaten right out of the package. However, brief heating and crisping brings out the qualities you associate with regular bacon.'
---'Turkey bacon . . . it's not just for breakfast anymore,' CiCi Williamson and Ann Steiner, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 3, 1991 (P. 29)
[1992]
'Q. My husband and I are trying to lower our consumption of fat. According to a package of turkey bacon, three slices contain 105 calories and nine grams of fat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 'Nutritive Value of Foods' lists three slices of regular broiled bacon as having 110 calories and nine grams of fat. Other than the five calories, is there any advantage to using turkey bacon? - M.E., Grand Rapids A. There's one minor advantage: The fat in turkey bacon is mostly turkey fat. It has less saturated fat than pork bacon and shouldn't raise your blood cholesterol levels as much. Were you surprised to learn that turkey bacon had so much fat? An oven-roasted turkey is quite low in fat (from 15 to 30 percent calories from fat), but a lot of fat can be Do you have a question on nutrition? Vicky Ferguson, a registered dietitian, has a weekly column. Send questions to Ask the Dietitian, in care of Ann Wells, Food Editor, The Grand Rapids Press, 155 Michigan St. NW, Grand Rapids 49503. added when turkey is processed into various forms. Turkey bologna is a good example; about 74 percent of its calories come from fat. (To compare, beef and pork bologna has 80 percent calories from fat.) As a rule, if a turkey-based product is imitating a high-fat beef or pork product, you can bet the turkey will be high in fat too. If you're trying to lower your fat consumption, both the regular pork and turkey bacon should be 'once in awhile' foods.'
---'Pork and turkey bacon are high in fat.' Vicky Ferguson, Grand Rapids Press, February 10, 1992 (p. D2)
'In the mid-1980s, tobacco giant Philip Morris Cos. thought it had found the formula for future growth: food...Putting its cash behind the concept, Philip Morris acquired General Foods in 1985 and Kraft in 1988...The company's marketers...are racing to revive the company's troubled Oscar Mayer processed-meat business, which has been hurt by consumers' increasing health preoccupations. As pork prices dropped late last year,the company quickly cut prices on bacon, hot dogs and bologna. It is discontinuing nearly 300 slow-moving products and adding such 'heathful' fare as light bologna and turkey bacon.'
---'After Some Key Sales Strategies Go Sour, Kraft General Foods Gets Back to Basics,' Kathleen Deveny, Wall Street Journal, March 18, 1992 (p. B1)
'Today of all days finds America's turkey growers puzzled and distressed. While ever more Americans are roasting turkeys at home, the big bird still hasn't found a large market among those seeking fast food or convenient everyday meals. Turkey meat...is healthful and cheap--better for you than beef or pork. Why shouldn't people make it part of their daily diet instead of reserving it for special occasions? The growers may be forgiven for not facing up to the answer: Turkey, however storied its tradition, has no taste...turkey comes to the table like a dull old uncle...Butchers in swanky neighborhoods do a big holiday business in 'fresh killed' turkeys, supposedly more flavorful than those piled up like boulders in a freezer. But in the experience of more than one New Yorker, turkey that has escaped the indignity of being frozen offers only more juice, not more flavor. Some turkey marketers tacitly admit the problem by offering new products that combine turkey with salt and chemicals to create fake beef or pork--smoked turkey, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, even turkey pastrami. They also market ground turkey, a gray, bloody substance that runs off-white in the pan, as a stand-on for hamburger...Now turkey growers are trying to sell fast-food chains on turkey sandwiches and burgers. That may be overreaching. Old Uncle Turkey remains an agreeable holiday guest. Why insist that he also pile into the car with the kids and the dog for the weekly trip to McDonalds?'
---'Talking Turkey About the Bird,' New York Times, November 28, 1992 (p. A26)
'The 10 foods most frequently sacrificed or cut back for the sake of health have been burgers, butter, bacon, sausage, lunch meat, eggs, fast food, fried food, cheese and whole milk, said Mona Doyle, president of Consumer Network, a market research company in Philadelphia...But the focus may be starting to tilt back toward pleasure...For instance, to promote Mr. Turkey, a turkey bacon, [Mathhew Crisci's] company is producing ads that tout the taste first, and the reduction in fat only secondarily. A few years ago, hew said, 'you probably would have been banging harder at the problems of bacon having a lot of fat.'
---'Guiltful eaters may be ready to rebel,' Trish Hall, New York Times, December 30, 1992 (p. C1)
[1996]
'Paul Hanowski steps into the 33,000-square-foot barn, lets out a high-pitched whistle and, within seconds, 15,000 turkeys stand at attention and gobble in unison...None of these particular tomes, at home on one of the Gessell Turkey Farms in central Minnesota, will become the centerpiece bird for a special dinner. Once they reach their peak weight of 38 pounds, they will go into a Jennie-O Foods Inc. processing plant that will turn them into deli meat, hot dogs and turkey bacon...The amount of turkey Americans consume is...increasing. In 1975, Americans only ate about 8 pounds of turkey per person a year. Today, the average American eats nearly 20 pounds a year. Consumer desires have driven the changes in the turkey industry...For example, people like white meat, so the industry raises birds with larger breasts.'
---'Turkeys getting fatter to meet public demand,' Patty Mattern, Philadelphia Tribune, January 30, 1996 (p. C2)
[2009]
'Diet friend or foe?'It may be a leaner choice than the pork version (most brands have half the saturated fat), but you shouldn't go hog wild with this processed food. 'Any kind of bacon- turkey or otherwise- packs high levels of sodium,' says Maria Pan-Keener, R.D., a dietitian in New York City. 'Just a few strips may have 500 milligrams, a quarter of what you should get daily.' Like most cured meats, turkey bacon is made with sodium nitrite, a preservative some studies suggest may be carcinogenic. While the research isn't conclusive (other studies have deemed it safe for humans), Pan-Keener suggests eating no more than 2 ounces of cured meat products per week. Or choose a nitrite-free brand, like Applegate Farms.'
---'Eat right news: turkey bacon,' Shape (magazine), March 1, 2009 (p. 154)
Related food? Chickenfurters!
What is an 'unturkey?'
A turkey composed of different ingredients, none of which are turkey. Tofurkey brand product shapes the bird from soy curd (c. 1995). Creative cooks have been approaching traditionalholiday turkey with a variety of alternatives. This one is especially interesting.
Food historians generally agree the practice of dredging meat (all kinds) in flour/spices,frying/baking it up and serving it with a sauce/gravy dates back to ancient times. This cookingmethod tenderizes the meat and enhances its flavor. When the Roman legions marched throughthe Alps around 100BC they left their culinary mark. Culinary evidence suggests schnitzel-typefoods (typically veal-based) were served during the Medieval and Renaissance periods in manyparts of central Europe, most notably Northern Italy (Milan) and the region that is now known asAustria. Schnitzel can be made with other white' meats, most notably chicken and pork.
There are many variations on the schnitzel theme. Viennese Cooking by O. and A. Hess[Crown Publishers:New York] 1952 lists these: Pariser Schnitzel (Parisian style), Naturschnitzel(plain veal cutlets), Holsteiner Schnitzel (topped with friedegg), Sardellenschnitzel (with anchovies), Kalbsscnhitzel auf italienische Art (Italian style),Florentiner Kalbsschnitzel (with tomatoes and risotto), Paprikaschnitezel (with paprika sauce),Wiener Schnitzel (Vienna style).
What is schnitzel?
'Schnitzel. Etymologically, schnitzel is a diminutive form of a now obsolete German noun sniz, slice', which is related to modern German schneiden, cut'. German for escalope', especially ofveal, it made its debut in English in the middle of the nineteenth century. Its appearance onEnglish menus is virtually restricted to Wiener schnitzel, Viennese escalope', and Austrian dishinwhich the thin boneless cutlet of veal is coated with egg and breadcrumbs andshallow-fried.'
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2003 (p. 304)
About Wiener Schnitzel:
'Wiener Schnitzel and its Italian counterpart, Cotoletta Milanese, involved two Hapsburgdomains in a culinary quarrel. Both branches of the family, Austrian and Italian, claimed creditfor the invention of the dish, the latter branch tracing their claim all the way back to a banquetgiven in 1134 for the canon of Milan's St. Ambrogio Cathedral.'
---Horizon Cookbook and Illustrated History of Eating and Drinking Through the Ages,WilliamHarlan Hale [American Heritage:New York] 1968 (p. 516)
'Costeletta alla milanes, one of the most famous dishes of Milan, is a breaded flattened veal ribchop with the bone, fried in butter and served with lemon, which actually antedated the AustrianWiener Schnitzel it is sometimes said to be copied from.'
---Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York]1998(p. 83)
'...it's the Wiener Schnitzel that is Vienna's most favorite meat dish outside of Austria. ASchnitzel is traditionally a veal scallop, but not all Schnitzel are made of veal. Some economicalViennese housewives use a thin, well-flattened slice of beef to make a Weiner Schnitzel, andsomecooks, often Czechs, use pork. Many Viennese cooks claim that the Schnitzel would burn in hotbutter, and so today, for the most part, the Viennese fry their Wiener Schnitzel in lard, orsometimes a mixture of lard and butter. Some people even claim that the lard gives it thecharactaristic taste...Experienced 'schnitzlers' plan well ahead. First they prepare the potato salador green salad that goes with it, and the roasted or mashed potatoes. They make their own toastedbread crumbs rather than buying them ready-made...'
---Cooking of Vienna's Empire, Joseph Wechsberg, Time-Life Books [Time Life:NewYork] 1968 (p. 47)
[NOTE: This book offers a wealth of information on the history of Austrian cuisine. Yourlibrarian can help you find a copy of it.]
Related recipe? Swiss steak.
About veal:
'A name derived from the Latin vitellus, a calf, via Norman French, means the flesh of calves,young cattle of the species Bos taurus. National and regional variations in its consumption arestrongly marked. In Europe it is important in the cookery of the Netherlands, France, Italy,Germany, and...Spain...How much distinction had been made between the flesh of calves andthatof mature cattle in the remote past is unclear. By classical Roman times, however, veal was beingprescribed in some recipes. Later, in the Middle Ages, there are enough references to veal inFrance and England to show that it was known and appreciated... Perhaps partly because veal recipes owe so much to Italian cookery, there is considerableconsensus amongst cooks from different countries about appropriate flavours andaccompaniments...Costoletta alla milanese, a well-known Milanese dish, is a veal chop (or cutleton the bone), dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, fried gently in butter and served with lemonwedges. This bears a resemblance to but is not the same thing as Wiener Schnitzel which is sopopular on the other side of the Alps, in Austria and Germany.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999(p.822-3)
Historic USA recipes, courtesy of Michigan State University's Feeding America digitized cookbooks (search recipe: venison)
General culinary observations
'Venison...The name used to apply to the flesh of any sort of game or wild beast hunted for food, but is now restricted to the flesh of any kind of Deer. The flesh of the male, or buck, is of better flavour than that of the doe, but neither the one nor the other should be over three years old; they are at their best from eighteen months to two years. All venison is by nature dry and inclined to be tough, two faults which it is easy to correct, the first by larding the meat before cooking, and the other by hanging in a cool and airy place from 12 to 21 days, according to the temperature prevailing at the time, provided the animal has been well shot or killed and has not suffered in transit from kill to larder. The best parts of the deer are the haunch, the fillet, the loin and the chops.'
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon, complete and unabridged [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 501)
[NOTE: This book offers several venison & deer recipes.]
'Venison. The name for the flesh of any kind of deer. Venison is inclined to be dry, and also tough if the animal if over two years old. Therefore I would advise marinating all joints, except those known to be from young animals. Before marinating, the meat should be hung in a cool, airy place for at least a week, and sometimes up to three weeks depending upon the weather. The best parts of the deer are the fillet, the haunch, the loin, chops, and the liver which is considered by some people to be the best. All recipes for venison are suitable for antlered game, which includes moose, deer, reindeer, caribou, gazelle, etc.'
---Game Cooking, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Andrew Deutsch:London] 1963 (p. 160)
[NOTE: This book offers several venison & deer recipes.]
Related food? Humble pie.
Schnitzel dishes traveled to America where they adapted to local tastes. Think chicken-fried steak. Related food? Fast food Chicken sandwiches.
BeefaloBeefalo, as we Americans know it today, is a hybrid animal developed specifically for human consumption. Beefalo is3/8 Buffalo (bison) and 5/8 cattle (of various breeds) officially recognized in the USA as a specific breed onto itself.Originally marketed in 1973 to cattlemen as an economic solution to conventional beef, Beefalo sparked interest on all fronts. Early promoters envisioned the general public embracing this new meat because it would becheaper, healthier (leaner), and tastier than beef. Our survey of USA newspaper/magazine articles suggests this lofty goal was not achieved asplanned. When Beefalo was introduced in American supermarkets it cost more, not less,than the beef counterpart. Initial sales soared due to savvy promotion and American's hunger for novelty foods. This successproved unsustainable. Beefalo farms & products still exist today. The product is generally sold direct from farm to local markets.
Where did the idea come from?
'Accidental crosses were noticed as far back as 1749 in the southern English colonies of North America. Cattle and buffalo were first intentionally crossbred during the mid-1800s. Charles Goodnight was one of the first to succeed and called his hybrid cattalo. After seeing thousands of cattle die in a Kansas blizzard in 1886, Charles Jesse Buffalo Jones also worked to cross buffalo and cattle with the hope that they would survive the harsh winters. He called the result cattalo in 1888. Mossom Boyd of Bobcaygeon, Ontario first started the practice in Canada. After his death in 1914, the Canadian government continued experiments in cross-breeding up to 1964 with little success. Lawrence Boyd continues the crossbreeding work of his Grandfather on a farm in Alberta. It was found early on that crossing a male buffalo with a domestic cow would produce few offspring but that crossing a domestic bull with a buffalo cow apparently solved the problem. The female offspring proved fertile but rarely so for the males. Although the cattalo performed well, the mating problems meant that the breeder had to maintain a herd of wild and difficult-to-handle buffalo cows. In 1965, Jim Burnett of Montana produced a hybrid bull that was fertile.'
SOURCE: Barry Popick
Modern Beefalo perfected:
'Beefalo had its official debut in a Time Magazine Article entitled. 'Have a Slice of Roast Beefalo' published in July, 1973. The article described how a California Rancher, DC 'Bud' Basolo had developed a thoroughly fertile bison-cattle hybrid. Beefalo, it was noted, were a far cry from the old-time Cattalo which suffered from fertility problems, and Bud Basolo was credited for breaking through the Bison-Bovine fertility barrier...From the publication of the Time article, Beefalo took off like wildfire. Basolo had made his money in meat sales, distribution and meat packing, and soon exerted his business savvy toward a high powered marketing program. Basolo and Beefalo were featured in numerous publications as well as an NBC Television Documentary...By 1976 nearly 6000 cattlemen had signed on to the Beefalo Program. The year before, Basolo amazed the cattle industry by selling HB-15, one of his foundation bulls to a Canadian Breeders Syndicate for 2.5 million dollars. This was a record price paid for any bull up to that time. Beefalo became one of the hottest new cattle breeds, and serious competition for the exotic breed imports coming in from Europe at that time.'
SOURCE: American Beefalo Association [NOTE: this article provides breed/breeder and early marketing details.]
[1973]
'Cross a cow with a buffalo and what do you get? Cowed and buffaloed, as frustrated cattlemen have found after many crossbreeding attempts over the past century. Instead of turning out as beefy as a black Angus and as large and hardy as a bison, the hybrid offspring were sickly and infertile. Now, a rancher in Stockton, Calif., has apparently hit on the right combination of bovines to produce a meaty, tasty, economical animal. After 15 years of trying and more than 1,000 experimental mixed marriages, D.C. ('Bud') Basolo has produced a herd of 5,000 hardy cow-buffalo hybrids. The animals, says Buffalo Bud, are cheaper to feed and more resistant to disease than standard breeds of cattle. They fatten faster than regular steers (less than twelve months to reach market weight of 1,000 Ibs ) and reproduce readily. Basolo expects to send off a herd of 2,000 for their meat-counter debut this fall in Los Angeles. The hybrid meat will not soon replace filet mignon at finer restaurants, but compared with regular beef, it is more tender, contains significantly more protein and less fat. It tastes much like conventional beef but is slightly richer. Best of all, Basolo figures that it will eventually be priced 25% to 40% cheaper than the real thing. The nomenclatural possibilities seem irresistible: 'Cattalo,' after an 1880s progenitor; 'bisontennial,' to commemorate the nation's forthcoming 200th birthday; or perhaps 'beefalo.' Basolo is leaning, understandably, toward calling his breed 'Basolo.' There are some 30,000 buffalo roaming in the U.S. these days, but instead of trying to emulate Basolo's combination, cattlemen will probably find it easier to start with the hybrids themselves.'
---'Have a Slice of Roast Beefalo,' Time, July 9, 1973 (p. 73)
[1974]
'The beefalo came to town yesterday...The beefalo that arrived here, named Steve's Pride, was introduced to the press in the parking lot of Mama Leone's Restorante.'
---'High-Protein Beefalo Comes to Town,' Nancy Hicks, New York Times, November 6, 1974 (p. 22)
'Both by itself and, especially, as the progenitor of a new cattle breed, the once-endangered American bison shows signs of becoming an important part of future U.S. meat supplies. Meat from bison...has been sold in increasing amounts in recent years at food stores, restaurants, state parks and by wild-game distributors. National Tea Co. supermarkets have staged two buffalo-meat sales in the past seven months; the company says both were sellouts. Meat from beefalo...has been sold largely in test markets so far, but its supporters are optimistic about its future. Would-wide interest in beefalo is growing rapidly...Persons familiar with the current financial woes of a U.S. cattle industry plagued by overabundant supplies might think that new meat sources are the last thing the industry needs. But beefalo meat probably won't be commercially available for three to five years. By that time, industry observers day, the present cattle oversupply will have been worked off and meat consumers and producers might well be thankful for the new breed. That is particularly so because beefalo appear to offer significant economic advantages over traditional cattle raising. Foremost among them is that beefalo reach desirable market weight (1,000 to 1,100) pounds in 12 to 14 months on grass alone, or six to eight months faster than beef cattle fattened on grain. The high cost of grain has been a key reason why U.S. cattle feeders have had an estimated $2 billion loss in the past two years, so the prospect of raising animal on grass is increasingly attractive to producers...From the consumer's point of view, beefalo meat is said to be more tender, leaner and tastier than regular beef, and to have twice the protein. Most important...is that because beefalo appears cheaper to produce, it probably will cost less than regular beef--perhaps as much as 40%, some say...The new breed is largely the result of much effort and patience on the part of C.D. Basolo Jr., a former buffalo raiser from Tracy, Calif. It took Mr. Basolo 15 years and more than 1,000 experimental crosses before he came up with what he calls 'the perfect marriage' that resulted in the new hybrid. His animal is three-eighths buffalo, three-eighths Charolais--a cattle breed developed in France and growing in in the U.S. popularity--and one-fourth Hereford...Consumer acceptance of the new meat will be 'the big test'.'
---'Commodities: Hybrid Beefalo Is Seen Playing Big Role in Filling Meat Needs More Economically,' Norman H. Fischer, Wall Street Journal, November 29, 1974 (p. 16)
[1975]
'The [beefalo] were on display to demonstrate a crossbreed between buffalo and beef cattle that is gaining popularity in herds across the country and may help to put lower priced steaks on dinner tables. The crossbreeds, called 'beefalo,' have the tasty, mild flesh of cattle but the digestive tracts of American buffalo,...Beefalo...will happily eat tough range brush that conventional cattle leave alone. What's more, beefalo grow twice as fast as regular cattle (gaining a hefty three to five pounds a day, like buffalo) and can be slaughtered at a younger age without being fattened at feedlots. The popularity of beefalo among cattlemen is rising with the soaring coast of grain feeding...ranchers hope to cut feed costs and pass the savings to the public...[industry experts predict] beefalo meat will be sold for 25% to 40% less than other beef...So far, beefalo meat is not available in supermarkets...estimates there are 250,000 beefalos on hoof in the world, most of which are being mixed into herds to improve the stock.'
---'Cowboys Meet the 'Beefalo,' Leslie Berkman, Los Angeles Times, June 30, 1975 (p. OC-A7)
[1977]
'What is a Beefalo? Just as the name 'Beefalo' suggests It's a cross breed that is 3/8 buffalo and 5/8 steer. 'Beefalo is your opportunity to serve your family a delicious, nutritious alternative to conventional beef. Why a Beefalo? For over 75 years American cattlemen have been striving to meet the increasing demand for red meat at acceptable market prices. The hybrid Beefalo matures rapidly, is grass fed and produces a full-flavored quality meat. Now, for the first time you can have the chance to try Beefalo meat. Ralph's is proud to be the first and only supermarket chain in Southern California to offer Beefalo....Why should you try Beefalo? Due to limited supplies, the price is slightly higher than conventional beef, but think about the quality: Leaner Meat: Beefalo meat is leaner than conventional grain-fed cattle and that means less fat. Valuable Protein: There's also valuable protein in Beefalo. Beefalo offers rich, full-flavored taste, lean yet tender. How to prepare Beefalo? Don't overcook! Beefalo has less fat than conventional beef and that means a much shorter cooking time. Prepare Beefalo as you would a conventional roast, steak or burger. Just be sure to reduce your cooking time by at least one third. Want to see a live Beefalo? As part of Ralph's Villa Grande Anniversary Celebration, a real, lie Beefalo will be exhibited at Ralph's Northridge, Torrance and Whittier stores. Your kids will love it...Special Purchase! Due to limited supply we can only make this super offer this week! 'While supply Lasts' Beefalo-Blade Cut Chuck Roast, .79/lb
Any Size Package Ground Beefalo, .89/lb
Beefalo Boneless Round Steak, 1.59/lb
Beefalo-Loin Top Sirloin Steak, 2.69/lb
Beefalo Chuck Boneless Clod Roast, 1.69/lb
Beefalo Rib Steak, 2.19/lb
Beefalo-Loin Porterhouse Steak, 2.79/lb
Beefalo-Lean Cubes Boneless Stew, 1.39/lb
Beefalo-Whole Brisket, 1.39/lb
Beefalo-Chuck Round Bone Roast, 1.29/lb
Prices effective August 18 thru August 24, 1977'
---display ad, Los Angeles Times, August 18, 1977 (p. G3)
'...a promotion at Ralph's supermarket...The bull--no ordinary bull...It's name was Joe's Pride, and a group of Canadian investor had paid $2.5 million for it. It's claim to fame is it is a hybrid beefalo...'
---'Beefalo Oudraws Girl Model,' Tom Gorman, Los Angeles Times, August 25, 1977 (p. SE2)
'Six persons were indicted in an international beefalo stock scheme that bilked buyers of more than $1 million...'
---'The State: Six Indicted in Beefalo Stock Scheme,' Los Angeles Times, December 22, 1977 (p. A2)
[1980]
'The Department of Agriculture now recognizes the beefalo as a separate breed...The herd of 1,000 head of beefalo at Al Dowd's Punchbrook Farms in Millerton in Dutchess County [NY] is the largest in the East...Mr. Dowd estimates that he sells 1,000 beefalo burgers a week at the small stand, which is set among trees and surrounded by picnic tables. A more permanent beefalo stand is being constructed on Northern Boulevard in Roslyn, next to Manero's...Mr. Dowd hopes to develop a beefalo dog.'
---'Steering Diners to the Beefalo Burger,' Florence Fabricant, New York Times, August 31, 1980 (p. L16)
[1982]
'In the early 1970's it was touted as the meat of the future--higher in protein than conventional beef while much lower in fat and calories. The animal that produced the meat was hybrid normally three eighths buffalo and five-eighths cattle breed...These animals were described as 25 percent cheaper to raise than cattle; they were said to be more resistant to disease and harsh weather. Proponents contended the meat was at least as flavorful, if not more so, than top-grade beef...Ten years later, there are few beefaloes on the range. The several New York City wholesalers that once distributed beefalo meat to restaurants and butcher shops have discontinued ding so, citing a lack of sales and inadequate supplies. There is now relatively little publicity about the animals, and those who seek beefalo meat need the cunning of an Indian scout to locate a source. In 1980, the Mr. Beefalo retail chain went out of business in California amid charges filed in Sacramento by franchisees who contended that they were being supplied with ordinary beef by the franchiser. Was beefalo just another food fad, the meat equivalent of Billy Beer and Pop Rocks? Not at all, maintain beefalo boosters...the American Beefalo Association...which began in 1975 now has 950 members worldwide...'You still have to know someone to get some meat.'... the beefalo supply still had not reached a point at which supermarket and large-scale restaurants distribution is feasible. 'It probably will be at least another four or five years before we reach that level.' Many in the beefalo business grant that the 'wonder breed' was described a decade ago by overly enthusiastic promoters in terms a bit too glowing. 'There was a lot of hype'...When Bud Basolo, a California rancher, announced his successful breeding of the beefalo, he was quoted in press reports of the period as contending its advantages were numerous...As for the meat itself? Tests conducted by the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory indicated beefalo was much leaner than beer. Beefalo meat had less shrinkage when cooked, a faster cooking time and 5 percent more protein than beef. It was described as slightly sweeter than beef and just as tender...The retail price of beefalo is roughly 10 cents a pound more than comparable beef cuts...Not everyone shares [a favorable] opinion regarding the flavor. Stanley Lobel of Lobel Brothers Prime Meats in Manhattan says he tasted beefalo meat when all the publicity first came out. He rejected it for sale in his store. 'I found it to be very, very dry, flavorless and not tender at all...The crossbreeding seems to have removed the distinctive flavor of buffalo and lost the tenderness of good beef. It has no distinction of its own.' Beefalo fans contend that Mr. Lobel must have sampled an inferior cut. The American Beefalo Association...estimates its member own about 25,000 beefaloes, the World Beefalo Association and the International Beefalo Breeders Registry...claim roughly 20,000 head each... Ranchers say part of the problem of beefalo availability is that there are not enough registered bulls to increase the breed...It takes four generations of breeding, a total of six to 10 years, to produce a certifiable beefalo. In 1980 the National Cattlemen's Association recognized the breed in its official roster.'
---'Beefalo: There Are Few on the Range,' Bryan Miller, New York Times, January 6, 1982 (p. C3)
Contemporary American society eschews the consumption of blood. When we think of blood consumption, we think of religious taboos and legendary vampires.Health professionals recommend our meat be cooked beyond rare; leaving no trace of blood on the plate. This was not always the case. From ancient times forwardall parts of slaughtered animals were used. Including blood. Food historians confirm blood was consumed by our ancestorsin sausages, puddings and soups. The term 'black' or 'noir' in a recipe sometimes denoted blood. About Blood Pudding.
'Blood. Of all the component parts of an animal the one which is most apt to engender the kinds of emotion which underlie, or accompany, food taboos. Yet in many cultures it is highly esteemed as food and free of inhibitions. In the past, and even to some extent in present times, blood has been a staple food of nomadic tribes (Berbers, Mongols, etc.), for whom it is a renewable resource; they draw it from living animals (horses, cattle, camels), then staunch the wound. In some instances the blood was drunk just as it come from the animals. In others it was mixed with milk before being drunk. Yet others, it was cooked before consumption. Reference is often made to the Masai of E. Africa, who obtain blood from their cattle by firing an arrow, at close range, into a vein in the neck of the live animal. The wound is plugged after the desired amount has been extracted the bleeding of horses was also a common practice of early trappers and explorers in the days of settlement of America. If the blood was not consumed in liquid form, it was preserved with salt, cut into squares and reserved for eating during times of scarcity. This employment of blood was indeed common among pastoral societies. English observers noted 'the cutting of cattle for blood to be eaten in jellified form or mixed with butter and salt and made into puddings as universal among the Irish of the 17th century, for example, while hunter-gatherers such as the Arrente of C. Australia would drink the blood of the Kangaroo before butchering the animal. In a wide-ranging essay, Birgit Siesby (1980) draws attention to a striking contrast between attitudes which have their origin in the Middle East and those of the Nordic peoples. All concerned seem to have started from the premiss that blood is the very soul of the animal, but opposite conclusions were drawn. In the Middle East, Jews banned the eating of blood and so did early Christians and Islam. The Nordic peoples on the other hand did not find it proper to waste the souls of animals, but thought on the contrary that by drinking the blood they might partake of the strength and qualities of the slain beasts. The introduction of Christianity did not make the Nordic people give up their traditional blood dishes (black soup, black pudding, paltbread--a kind of black rye bread made with blood, dark beer, and spices). It should not be thought, however, that Nordic attitudes to blood were free of superstition...Siesbku also goes into the nutritional aspects, demolishing...the myth which gained currency in the 1920s that the iron in animal blood could not be absorbed by the human body...Blood is used as a thickener in stews such as civet and in dishes liked jugged hare or lampreys stewed in their own blood. The Vietnamese, among other peoples of SE Asia, have a great liking for (duck) blood soup.'
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition 1997 (p 83-84)
[NOTE: The essay cited above is: 'Blood is Food,' Birgit Siesby, Petits Propos Culinaire, volume 4 (Oxford:1980). Your librarian can help you obtain a copy.]
Culture & mythology
'People in traditional cultures consumed blood and flesh based on the mythological notion that blood contained life force and soul. This reflected the early belief that a human body had magical properties. Early people made a connection between death, flesh, blood, and spirit...People have long expressed the belief in blood as the essence of life in sacraments ranging from holy communion to rituals involving cannibalism and human sacrifice. Participants in these rituals consumed blood and flesh, or a representative of blood and flesh to partake of a divine spirit...In some religions, blood served as a communal drink shared between humans and gods...'
---Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, Tamra Andrews [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara CA] 1999 (p. 38-40)
Ancient Greece & Rome
'Blood, spilt on the altar as part of the ceremony of sacrifice, was sometimes incorporated in food in Greek and Roman cuisines. It was, however, forbidden to Jews by their written law. Christians were enjoined to follow the same rule. Pig's blood was used in cooking as a constituent of black puddings. Hare's blood as incorporated in jugged hare and...in Archastratus's recipe for roast hare at supper, 'hot, simply sprinkled with salt, taken from the spit while still a little rare. Do not worry if you see ichor seeping from the meat, but eat greedily' (ichor is the blood of the gods). Bull's blood was widely regarded as a poison.'
----Food in the Ancient World From A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 56)
China
'Pig's blood, like the blood of other animals, is considered heating and invigorating, beneficial for the blood of the person consuming it; it is taken in various ways, sometimes in a coagulated form that may be fried or added to soup. (p. 297) ...the Chinese make good use of all parts of fowl, including the fat and blood, the latter highly regarded as a strengthening food. The blood of a fowl may be served along with its flesh or used in other ways, with solidified chicken blood a traditional ingredient in 'Hot and Sour Soup' and 'Chicken Blood Soup' (p. 300)
---Food in China: A Historical and Cultural Inquiry, Frederick J. Simoons [CRC Press:Boca Raton FL] 1989
Europe
'Blood was an important ingredient in the Scandinavian households and had to be take care of immediately after the killing. It was mixed with groats and eaten as a soup or porridge as in the kams dishes, sometimes with lumps of meat as in a dish called lummer. A very common use of blood, as of offal. was to make sausages, especially of pig's blood. The blood was poured into casing with flour or groats, dices of leaf fat, and spices or herbs, for instance, thyme or marjoram. The blood sausages were eaten cold or hot. often fried in a pan. Blood was also prepared without casings, as blood pancakes, blood puddings, or dumplings, where the blood was mixed with flour. The culinary use of blood was widespread and not characteristic of the lower layers of society only. An early description of the importance of blood in the cuisine is given by a Polish officer who visited Denmark in the seventeenth century: 'When they kill cattle, swine and sheep they don't waste a drop of blood, but pour it into a vessel with groats of oats of buckwheat. They fill this in the guts of the animal, boil it in a kettle, put these sausages in a circle around the head of the animal, take it to the table and enjoy it as a delicacy. Yes, even in aristocratic homes they behave like this, and I was served it until I felt disgust and finally said that it was not suitable for a Polish person to eat such things, because I would fall out with the dogs, since it was their food. The Sami people had a special method to preserve blood. They freeze-dried it and ground it into a powder, so it could easily be transported and made into dishes when mixed with liquids.'
---Food Culture in Scandinavia, Henry Notaker [Greenwood Press:Westport CT] 2009 (p. 21)
Cannibal context:: Flesh and Blood: A History of the Cannibal Complex/Reay Tannahill
Zoo animals [Paris]In the 1850s, the French government actively promoted horsemeat as a nutritious protein source. Twenty years later,when Parisians were facing starvation, the zoo became a source of protein. This desperate move was extremely controversial and not all animals were consumed. Castor and Pollux, the elephants, became the icons of this dark period.
'The first substitute for the regular meat diet was the horse. Parisians disdained it, at first, and it took the Horse-Eating Society to inform the public of the advantages to eating horse. When it finally came down to eating them, all breeds were included, from thoroughbred to mules. With time even this type of nourishment became rare, so other meats were introduced into the diet. Dogs, cats, and rats (14) were frequently eaten. The animals of the zoo were added to this diet, including Castor and Pollux, the two elephants that were the pride of Paris. Only the lions, tigers, and monkeys were spared; the big cats for the difficulty of approaching them, the monkeys because of 'some vague Darwinian notion that they were the relatives of the people of Paris and eating them would be tantamount to cannibalism.' (15)'
---'The Seige of Paris and the Franco-Prussian War,' Roberto Naranjo
'Towards the end of December 1870, we had the greatest difficulty making up menus that were fairly 'suitable,' declared the famous chef, Thomas Genin (he died in 1887). 'There was scarcely anyting to be had but horse. Beef and veal had long since disappeared. Mutton had been replaced by dog which was sold by chicken dealers, and rats were substituted for young rabbits. Cat was considered a rare tidbit. The rat was repulsive to the touch but its flesh of tremendous quality: delicate by not too insipid. Well seasoned, it is perfect,. 'I have served grilled rats a 'pigeons a la crapaudine' but more often as potted meat, with a stuffing of donkey's meat and fat. I called that terrine of rats a la Parisienne. A terrine of rats cost fifteen francs. 'Donkey was rare: it cost 15 to 20 francs a pound. Donkey meat has a slight taste of hazel nuts: it cannot be compared to horse meat. As roast beef, with beans a la Bretagne, it is a real treat. The quality of the mule is somewhere between the donkey and the horse. 'Dog meat is tough. I has a disagreeable taste which all the spices in the world cannot disguise. 'As for the meat of the billy-goat,' Tomas Genin winds up, 'I have a very definate opinon about that. The Culinary Art will never succeed in making it an edible dish. I have used oxalic acid...It is impossible to get rid of the odor. It was not goat that was eaten on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1870, at the famous restaurant Noel Peter's, Passage des Princes. To celebrate his recent appointment the new Mayor of the 3rd arrondissement, M. Bonvalet, gave a dinner for twenty people. He had been one of the people who suggested killing the animals in the Zoo to feed the sick in hospitals and old people in almshouses. As he had connections in high places, he was able to help Fraysse--the proprietor of the restaurant--by obtaining a few supplies and making out the menu which would be served at his table on New Year's Eve. Hors-d'oeuvre: sardines, celery, butter, olives. Soup: Sago au vin de Bordeauz. Second Course: Salmon a la Berzelus. Entree: Escalope d'elephante, with shallots sauce. Roast: bear a la sauce Toussenel. Dessert: Apples and Pears.'
---An Illustrated History of French Cuisine: From Charlemagne to Charles de Gaulle, Christain Guy, translated by Elisabeth Abbott [Bramhall House:New York] 1962 (p. 186-8) [NOTE: This book contains three recipes utlizing animals from the zoo.]
'Extravagant poster-size prints like Grand Diner Parisien by Charles Bloquet commemorated a 'typically' exotic wartime menu, embodying a specific model of gastronomic patriotism. The menu itself, crowned by the militarized allegorical figure of the city of Paris and encircled fancifully by zoo animals, preserves the hierarchies and codes of the national diet, French haute cuisine. Popular prints like Abbatage de l'Elephant helpted to instate the legend of the sacrificed elephant in the manner of the fable of patriotic rat cuisine. The print caption reads in part' 'The Elephant, for reason of its massive volume, was one of the first to be sacrificed, and served as food for the starving.' A page in Gustav Dore's sketchbook is dedicated to this infamous event. Titled Les Elephants du Jardin it depicts the moment when an elephant is conducted out of its zoo shed to be shot by a marksman. But the famous menus composed entirely from the flesh of animals from the Jardin d'Acclimation were the results of ingeniuos exhibitionism rather than necessity. Indeed, the elephants, yaks, and zebras were all sold at high prices to Courtier and DeBoos, elite merchant butchers located on the chic Boulevard Haussmann. The fiction of need disguised and enabled a daring and profitable commerce in slaughter-to-order exotic animals. Gustav Dore's drawing Maison Debos [sic] Boulevard Haussmann which precedes the elephant picture in his sketchbook, showes that he grasped the discretionary nature of the sale of exotic foods on the Boulevard Haussmann. His drawing shows the gentry ogling slaughtered animals in chic surroundings. Whta function was served by the legend of the 'need' to eat rats and the 'necessity' of shooting the beloved zoo elephants, Castor and Pollux, on 30 December for food? Take on its face, the (false) claim that the numerous Parisians were forced to eat rats functioned to demonstrate that these citizens were brave, because they could not be made to surrender by any shortage of 'ordinary' foods. But Kyri Claflin has argued that the legend of the rat did not survive, simply because it symbolized seious humiliation and patriotism at the level of the palate. The myth of having 'eaten rat' was instae the 'perfect symbol of the French belief in the superiourity of [their] culture.' People who were able to prepare a rat for the table were well-off enough to purchase other food. The poor preferred cat or dog meat. Cooking a rat, usually prepared as a pate or salmis, required access to the technologies of the highest levels of haute cuisine. The rich ate rat not because they had to, but 'because of what they were, and [that] was revealed in the Franco-Prussian war...Eating rat was a clever, self-mocking send-up of the French at talbe that showed the worls that they had not forgotten who they were.' Therefore, under the circumstances, a claim to have eaten a rat might have passed as an emblem of patriotism, but the smell of elephant meat on the breath was a less-stable marker of cuisinary nationalism. The legend of the sacrifical elephant has managed to survive, however, and has long obscured an unequivocally luxurious, egotistical, and savage gourmet practie. Yet there may be another side to the elephant legend: the elephant could be a figure for the privileged classes themselves. Thus, another kind of imaginary cannibalism may have lurked within the oft-told (if distorted) tale about the survival of ordinary Parisians being linked to the savage image of the innocent, slaughtered zoo exotics.'
---Paris in Despair: Art and Everyday Life Under Siege (1870-1871), Hollis Clayson [University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 2002 (p. 174-177)
[NOTE: This book offers a picture of the lithographed menu by Monsieur Bloquet (p. 174). It is too small and light to for us to read.]
'The slaughter of the zoo is not a story of the angry, starving crowd of the moral economy's grain riot, revenging itself on plump and coddled quadrupeds. No mothers demanded rhino meat to feed their hungry children, and subsistence issues were raised with no mentins of yaks, To understand the fascination exerted by this episode in French history 'provisioning' is an inadequate category of analysis. The need for food was a necessary condition for eating the zoo (and for writing about doing so), but it was not a sufficient one....the best known images of the siege all suggest that brave Parisians known for their gastronomic curiosity, could not be brought to surrender by any shortage of 'ordinary' foods...Most accounts of eating a 'zoo animal' set the scene in a restaurant. Unlike most other meals, one eaten in a restaurant both follows laong and leaves behind a printed script--the menu. Here again we find that siege memoirs recylced familiar images. To reveal the disparity between items listed on a menu and ingredients found in a kithchen had long been a commonplace in descriptions of Paris. The siege tales of 'fantastical cookery' built on the suspicions and assumptions of urban mythology. In...'Fantastical cookery'--whether practiced, anticipated or discussed--gave material substance both to meals and to conversations. Stews of 'urban game' were visible, as tunnelling mole-like Prussians never are. All the details of daily life were of interest and were far more quotidian...In commemoration, the palque at the Jardin des Plantes acribes agency neither to the hungry Parisians, not to deBoos the profit-seeking butcher, but to the beasts who 'serve.' 'During the seige of 1870, the zoo animals serve as food for the Parisians.'...'Serve as food,' not 'are eaten' the words create an image of zoo animlas actively involved in the war effort This sense of self-sacrifice is both a meaning hinted at by the plaque and a strategy suggested by several commentators. The carnivorous animals from the zoo, starved and loosed on the Prussians, might prove to be among the beseiged city's secret weapons. Despite the claim made by the sign at the Jardin des Plantes, the zoo animals who served in the siege came not from there, but from the affiliated Jardin d'Acclimation.'
---'And They Ate the Zoo,' Rebecca Spang, MLN [Modern Language Notes] (107) 1992 (p. 752-773)
[NOTE: This scholarly article contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. Your librarian can get you a copy.]
About culinary research & about copyright
Research conducted by LynneOlver, editor The FoodTimeline. About this site.