A Boke of Gode Cookery Presents
Medieval Recipe Translations

Chike endored

PERIOD: England, 15th century | SOURCE: Harleian MS 4016 | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Chicken glazed with a golden batter


ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

Chike endored. ¶ Take a chike, and drawe him, and roste him, And lete the fete be on, and take awey the hede; then make batur of yolkes of eyron and floure, and caste there-to pouder of ginger, and peper, saffron and salt, and pouder hit faire til hit be rosted ynogh.

- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.


GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

Take a chicken, and eviscerate him, and roast him, And let the feet be on, and take away the head; then make batter of yolks of eggs and flour, and cast there-to powder of ginger, pepper, saffron and salt, and powder it fair til it be roasted enough.


INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 whole chicken
  • Egg yolks
  • Flour
  • Ginger
  • Pepper
  • Saffron
  • Salt
DIRECTIONS:

Roast the chicken until done; remove from oven. Have ready a thin batter made of the egg yolks and flour and seasoned with the ginger, pepper, saffron, & salt. Brush this over the entire chicken. Return to the hot oven and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute, then remove from oven. Brush the chicken once again with batter and repeated the previous procedure. Do this several times until the chicken is well covered in a yellow batter-glaze. Do not over cook this glaze as it will quickly turn brown.

Why the head is removed from the chicken in the original recipe and not the feet is a bit curious; it could be that this instruction insured that the Medieval cook did not remove what we now call the drumsticks, or perhaps the feet were left on for decoration.

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Chike endored © 2000 James L. Matterer

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