Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 96 Cold bruet of rabets

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 © 2014 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

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96. Cold bruet of rabets
Grynd reysons or datys draw hem up with osey put ther to creme of almond & poudyr of canel a grete dele drawyn with swete wyn poudyr lumbard poudour of greynez & poudyr of gynger & a lytyll of venyger a swete sygure set hit on the fyre when hit ys boylyng take hit of & put hit in a boll have rabets boyled & that in good broth & salt take hem unlace hem by the bake fro thy bonys on both sydes ley hem in a sewe serve hem forth ley hem in dyshys & poure on the sewe ther to serve hit forth & yf thu wylt thu may chop hem in pecys & yf thu have chikenys reys the whynges & the thyes of hem kepe hem & chop the body & when hit ys in the sewe serve hit forthe in the same maner as sewe qyall.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 38 in A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To mak cold bruet for rabettes tak and grind raissines or dates and drawe them up with ossay put ther in creme of almonds and pouder of cannelle a good quantite drawen with swet wyne and with pouder lombard pouder of guinger venygar and sugur then sett it on the fyere and when it is at boilinge tak it doun and put it in a bole then tak a rabet and boile it in good brothe then tak hym up and unlace hym by the bak from the bones on bothe sides and lay them in the sewe and when ye serue them furthe chop them in peces and raise the wings and leggs of chekkins and kerue them hole and chop the bodis and put them in the sewe and serue them furthe in the manner of sewe ryalle or egre douce.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There are other recipes for rabbit stew in medieval cookbooks, but I haven't seen any with this combination of ingredients.

Based on a comparison of the two versions, I believe that the word "qyall" in Wagstaff is a copy error of "ryalle" (royal).