Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book - 39 Tarts of Flesch

Recipes from John Crophill's Commonplace Book (Harley MS 1735)

This manuscript is dated before 1485.

The 68 recipes in John Crophill's Commonplace Book are on pages 16v through 28v.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the British 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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[39.] Tarts of Flesch
Tak fleysch of capouns or of hennys & pork & fyggys & reysings & eyren hard soden wel gronden alle to gidre brod & raw eyren do to saffron & pouder of ginger & canel and galingale & sugre & do ther to clowes & maces hole than make thin cofyn & do a cours of fleysch of perterkys or of ploverys or other volatyl al hewy & nother cours of the grounde mete & menge it togider. [f.24r]

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There are recipes in Liber and Noble that appear to be related to this recipe, but then there are many variations of meat pies in medieval cookbooks, so the common aspects could be a coincidence.

Tartlotes. Take porke sothun, and grynde hit wele With safroune, and medel hit ylkadel With egges and raysyns of corouns. þo Take powder and salt, and do þerto. Make a fole of doghe, and close þis fast, This flesshe þat hewene was open þo last Kover hit with lyddes, and pynche hit fayre, Korven in þe myddes two loyseyns a payr, Set hit with fryed almondes sere, And coloure þe past with safroune dere, And bake hit forthe, as I þe kenne, And set in sale before gode menne.  [Liber cure cocorum (England, 1430)]

To mak tartes of fleshe tak pork and pik out the bones and grind it smale then boile figges in the freche brothe of flesche of wyne or of ale hewe it and grind it with egge then paire tender ches and grind ther with and let the most part stand by flesche then tak pynes and raissins and fry them a litille in grece and put it to the other with hole clowes maces poudur of pepper and cannele a goodele of guinger saffron sugur or hony clarified then salt it and toile them welle to gedur while the grece is hot, and mak gret coffynes with lowe liddes and ye may strawe ther to clowes maces and mynced dates whedur ye wille mold them with the stuf or strawe them aboue, and lay on the liddes wild werks and endor them with mylk of almondes and saffron and endore them as ye bak them and serue them furthe.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

Tartes of Flesch. Take porke sodyn pyke hit clene from thy bonys grynd hit small boyle fyggys in the broth of the flesch or yn wyn or in ale hew hit & grynd hit with eyron pare tendyr chese grynd hit to gedyr that the most perte stond by the flesch & the lest by the chese take pynes & reysons fry hem in a quantite of fresch grece & do hit in that othir with hole clowys macys & poudyr of pepyr & canell a grete dele & poudyr of gynger & sygure claryfyd or hony claryfyd safron & salt toyl hit well togedyr tyl thy grece be hote then make brode cofnys with the brerdys as thyn as thu may make hem thu nay chese of clovys or mynsyd datys whethir thu wilte medyl hem with the stuff or els strew hem above & ley on the ledys close hem & thu may put ther yn lyghte worke & make endoryng with mylke of almondys & safron & endore hem or thu bake hem.  [Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany (England, 1460)]

Interestingly, it's a recipe from Forme of Cury that comes closest to the Crophill version.

TARTES OF FLESH. XX.VIII. VIII. Take Pork ysode and grynde it smale. tarde harde eyrenn isode & ygrounde and do þerto with Chese ygronde. take gode powdour and hool spices, sugur, safroun, and salt & do þerto. make a coffyn as to feel sayde & do þis þerinne, & plaunt it with smale briddes istyned & counyng. & hewe hem to smale gobettes & bake it as tofore. & serue it forth.  [Forme of Cury (England, 1390)]