From: grm+@andrew.cmu.edu (Gretchen Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.food.historic
Subject: Lamprey sauce
Date: 3 Sep 92 20:48:53 GMT
Organization: Comp & Comm - Computer Operations, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

In a translation of Du Fait de cuisine, (Chiquart'd "On Cookery": A
Fifteenth-century Savoyard Culinary Treatise/ed and transl by Terence
Scully, 1986. American University Studies : Set. 9, History; Vol 22. 
ISBN 0-8204-0352-0) I have come across what sounds like a wonderful way
to get rid of left-over roast beef (and, for the sca folks, a decent
beef stew(ish) recipe).  I'm going to try to redact it, but, since
there's no quantities, I'd like some considered opinions before I do so.

Here's the translation/description (I don't have a copy of the original):

Next, a Lamprey Sauce on loin of beef. (According to footnote, so called
because it is the sauce used on Lampreys). He who is charged with making
this sauce should take his fat loins of beef and should wash them
carefully and mount them on good clean spits.  Then he should take his
bread and cut it in round slices and roast it on the grill until it is
thoroughly toasted, and get a big two-handled pot there in which to put
the toasted bread.  he should have a barrel of very good red wine--and
if one is not enough he should get two--and put his bread into it.  He
should taste the beef bouillon to see that it is good and mild, and put
the necessary amount of lean bouillon (according to footnote, skimmed
broth) into the bread, and add in red vinegar very carefully--and not
too much, so that if necessary he could put in more.  Then he should get
his powdered cinnamon, white vinger [sic], grains of paradise, pepper,
nutmeg, galingale, cloves, mace and all other spices, and mix them with
that bread and strain everything very well.  And see that you have
enough good clean cauldrons and kettles to boil the quantity of the
sauce you have made.  And those loins of beef, when they have roasted as
much as they should, take them and cut them up into decent small chunks
(according to footnote, "The cook had always to keep in mind that the
person eating this meat would want to be able to put each piece into his
mouth with his fingers, as a single bite, without having to cut it or to
tear at it gracelessly with his teeth.) and put them to boil in the
sauce.  When everything has boiled together, set it all out in good
dishes, that is, with two chunks to a dish and with that sauce over top.

Now, my guess is that the sauce should have the consistency of a good
gravy, the proper ratio of bread to liquid and the straining of the
sauce should produce that.  So here's my guess on quanties and
procedure. Please, PLease PLEase PLEASE! comment on this:

For 2 lbs of roasted beef:

Take 2 slices of white bread ( grocery store bakery Italian or
homestyle) and stick in a 200 F over until dry.  Put the toast in a
single layer in a cake pan.  Take a sweetish red wine, (if you don't
mind spending money, perhaps a Gamay Beaujelois, though Gallo Hearty
Burgundy would probably do) and pour a little into the bottom of the
pan.  Let the bread soak up the wine.  Repeat until the bread won't soak
up any more. (then measure and see how much you used).  Add a 12 oz cans
of beef broth (College Inn is really good) or instant bouillon,  a 
tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar, a bit less white wine vinegar, and
spices to taste (personally, I'd go easy on the cloves, nutmeg and mace,
and add a little more cinnamon, GofP, pepper, and ginger, but that's
just my tastes.  By the way, is galingale available, and if not, what's
a good substitute?).  Stick the whole mess in a blender and blend until
smooth (or run it through the food processor a couple of times).  Cut up
your beef into bitesized chunks, and heat in the sauce.

So?  By the way, I'll be testing this next week, and if anyone's
interested, I'll let you know how it turned out.

toodles, gretchen
Newsgroups: rec.food.historic