Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 146 Bytare Rostyd

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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146. Bytare Rostyd
Sle hym in the mouth as a heyron draw hym as a henne reys up his leggys as a crane let hys whyngys be on & take a wey the bone of the necke as of a heyron & putt the hedde in at the golet or in the shulder reys up his leggys & his whyngys as of a heyron & no sause but salt.

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This recipe is a close match for recipe 83 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

A Bittur take and sley him in the mouthe as a heron drawe him as a henne and fold up his leggs as a crayne and lett the wings be on then tak a waye the bone of the nek as ye did a heron and put the hed into the gullet or in to the shulder then raise hym and raise his leggs and his wyngs as a herone and no sauce but salt.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There are also two versions of this recipe in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books.

Bitore roste. Capitulum cxj. Slee a bytour in the mouth as an heron, and draw hym as an henne, and fold vppe hys legges as a crane; and lete the wynges be on, and take the boon of the necke all awey as of an heron: and putt the hedde in the golet or in the shuldre, and rost hym; and ryse the legges and the wynges as thou dost of an heron, and no sauce butt salt: and sett hym forth.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

Bytor rosted. Take a Bitour, sle him in the mouthe, skalde him, serue him in all poyntes as thou doest a Crane, but lete him haue on his winges when he is rosted, And serue him forthe.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]