Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 160 Chikenes Farsyd

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 © 2015 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

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160. Chikenes Farsyd
Scall chikens breke the skyne at the necke byhynd & blow hym at the skyn a ryse fro the flesch draw hem chop of the heddys wesch hem take farsure of fat porke sodyn pekyd & hewyd small with yolkes of eyron & hard yolkes cromyd small safron & salt do to gedyr & fasse youre chikens ther [f.74r] with by twyne the flesch & the skyn & blonge hem in hote broth then make hem smoth with thy the safron lye undyr the skyn then perboyle hem a lytyll & rost hem yf wilte endore hem & serve hem forth or els serve hem as they ben.

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There is a related recipe in Ancient Cookery.

Farsure for chekyns. Take fressh porke, and fethe hit, and hew hit smal, and grinde hit wel; and put therto harde zolkes of egges, and medel hom wel togedur, and do therto raifynges of corance, and pouder of cancl, and maces, and quibibz (cubebs), and of clowes al hole; and colour hit with saffron, and do hit into the chekyns; and then parboyle hom, and roste, and endore (baste) hom with rawc zolkes of egges, and fiaume hom if hit be nede, and serve hit forthe.  [Ancient Cookery, (England, 1425)]

The Wagstaff recipe seems slightly confused, so this might be a combination of two or more recipes. The use of the word "plunge" ("blonge") instead of parboil is a bit strange.