Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 17 Pylets yne sarcene

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany (Beinecke MS 163)

This manuscript is dated about 1460.

The 200 (approx.) recipes in the Wagstaff miscellany are on pages 56r through 76v.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the Yale University Library website.

I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, the letters thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.

Copyright © 2013 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

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17.  Pylets yne sarcene.
Take fresche porke or motyne sodyne peke out the bonys hew the flesche smalle grynd hit smal yne a morter and temper hit withe eyrone yne the gryndynge putt there to pepyre safferyne & salt take fresche brothe clene tryede set yt over the fyre in large vesselle lete hit boyle thene sesyne hit withe the same coloure thene make smal rounde ballys put heme yne a boylyne broth & lete heme boule there yne tyll they be y now thene take heme up lete heme drye lete thy brothe keyl blow of the fat take almondys wesche heme temper heme up withe the same brothe draw there of a kynde mylke put the mylke in a swete potte set hit one the fyre put there to powdyre of pepyre & canell & a portyone of sawndrys to coloure hit sarcene coloure loke thy most coloure be of hys owne kynde put there yne clowys macys reysons of coraunce lete hit boyle as thy seyyst that good ys yf hit be tt thike a lay hit withe swete wyne and do there to sugure whene thy spycer bethe tendour put yne peletys in the same brothe zyf hyme atarage of poudyre pf pepyre of gynger and vergys & serue forthe the pelets withe the bruet iij or iiij yne a dysche as a potage for the secunde course.

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This recipe is similar to the recipe below for "Pompys" - essentially meatballs in an almond milk based sauce.

Pompys. Take Beef, Porke, or Vele, on of hem, and raw, alle to-choppe it atte the dressoure, than grynd hem in a morter as smal as thou may, than caste ther-to Raw 3olkys of Eyroun, wyn, an a lytil whyte sugre: caste also ther-to pouder Pepyr, and Macys, Clowes, Quybibys, pouder Canelle, Synamoun, and Salt, and a lytil Safroun; then take and make smale Pelettys round y-now, and loke that thou haue a fayre potte of Freysshe brothe of bef or of Capoun, and euer throw hem ther-on and lete hem sethe tyl that they ben y-now; then take and draw vppe a thryfty mylke of Almaundys, with cold freysshe brothe of Bef, Vele, Moton, other Capoun, and a-lye it with floure of Rys and with Spycerye; and atte the dressoure ley thes pelettys .v. or .vj. in a dysshe, and then pore thin sewe aneward, (Note: on it) and serue in, or ellys make a gode thryfty Syryppe and ley thin (Note: Thine) pelettys atte the dressoure ther-on, and that is gode seruyse.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

The word "sarcene" in the recipe refers to the dark red color of the sauce, which may be connected to a belief at the time that Saracens had dark red skin.