Chykenes or Connyng in Grauey

Chicken or Rabbit in Almond Gravy

Source: This recipe taken from Forme of Curye, ab. 1390 A.D. (Page 13r). The images below are from the original manuscript as digitized by the John Rylands University Library and the 1780 printing edited by Samuel Pegge.

Original Recipe:

Connyngs in Grauey.

Take connyngs smyte hem to pecys. parboile hem and drawe hem with a gode broth with almands blanched and brayed. do þereinne sugar and powdor gynger and boyle it and the flessh þerewith. flour it with sugar and with powdor gynger and surve forth.

Chykens in Gravey

Take Chykens and surve in the same manner and surve forth.

My Translation:

Rabbits in Gravy

Take rabbits smith them to pieces, parboil them and draw them with a good broth with almonds blanched and brayed. Do therein sugar and powder ginger and boil it and the flesh therewith. Flour it with sugar and powder ginger and serve forth.

Chicken in Gravy

Take chickens and serve in the same manner and serve forth.

My Interpretation:

Bring broth to a simmer in 8 quart pot. Take 2 cups of the broth and the almonds and make almond milk (see recipe for Almond Milk). Mix sugar and powdered ginger together and reserve ½ teaspoon. Add newly made almond milk to remaining broth along with spice mixture. Cut meat into pieces and place in broth, and additional water as needed to cover. Cover pot and cook until meat is tender. Place cooked meat on serving platter and sprinkle remaining spice mixture on top.

Notes on the Recipe:

The broth from this recipe can be used in other dishes.

Notes on the Transcription & Translation:

The original text and transcription preserve the shorthand of writing that was common practice in the late 14^th century. I have taken the liberty of spelling each word fully in my transcription for clarity.

References:

Media Information. Digital image. Caboches in Potage. The John Rylands University Library, Jan. 2009. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/Man4MedievalVC~4~4~3028~100052:Connynges-in-cyuee?sort=Reference_Number%2CImage_Sequence_Number%2CPage%2CImage_Title&qvq=w4s:/what/Cookery;sort:Reference_Number%2CImage_Sequence_Number%2CPage%2CImage_Title;lc:Man4MedievalVC~4~4&mi=35&trs=171>.This is a digitized image of page 13r of the Forme of Cury housed at The John Rylands University Library in Manchester, England. This codex, written on vellum, dates from the late 14^th century.

Pegge, Samuel, ed. Forme of Cury London: Society of Antiquaries, 1780. The Forme of Cury. Greg Lindahl. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/

Pegge, Samuel. The Forme of Cury. London: J. Nichols, 1780. Google Books. 5 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 June 2012. <http://books.google.com/books?id=L1JAAAAAYAAJ>.

Pegge, Samuel, ed. The Forme of Cury The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forme of Cury, by Samuel Pegge. Project Gutenberg, May 2005. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8102/pg8102.html. This is the transcription of Forme of Cury of the Samuel Pegge edition originally published in 1780.