Conyng

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

DESCRIPTION: Ginger Sauce for Rabbit

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

Take a Conyng, fle him, And draw him aboue and beneth, And parboile him, And larde him, and roste him, And late the hede be on; And vndo him, and sauce him with sauce, ginger, And vergeous, and powder of ginger, And thenne serue hit forth.

- 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.

MODERN RECIPE:

• 1 three-pound rabbit or chicken
• 1/2 C drippings from the roast
• 2 T cider vinegar
• 3/8 C unsweetened apple juice
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp powdered ginger

2. Put the rabbit or chicken on a rack in a roasting pan, and put it in the oven. Reduce heat to 350°, and roast for twenty minutes per pound, or until roast is cooked through.

3. With a basting nozzle, draw off half a cup of the drippings from the bottom of the roasting pan.

4. In a bowl, stir together the drippings and all the remaining ingredients.

5. Cut up the rabbit into serving pieces, arrange on a serving dish, and pour the sauce over it.

Yields one and a half cups of sauce. Serves four to six.

Notes on the Recipe:

By sauce him with sauce, I am guessing that the drippings from the roast rabbit are meant. I substitute unsweetened apple juice and cider vinegar for verjuice. I do not parboil the rabbit or lard it before roasting it.

Conyng is featured in In Festo Sancte Trinitatis in Cena