My Medieval Kitchen, bursews and sauge yfarced, transcription redaction, & analysis of medieval recipe for pork meat balls By chef Dave WeinbergI have recently been planning for another medieval feast, so have been scouring over my recipes to find just the right ones for the facilities I have available and the people who will be attending.
This (and seeking out a new job) has kept me from my blog-ly duties, but now comes to benefit us as a source for this recipe.
Bursews are a pork meat ball that is battered and fried. I have chosen to include Sauge yfarced in this post because of the great similarity between the two. Slight seasoning differences aside, the one thing that truly distinguishes one from the other is that sauge yfarced (stuffed sage) has the cook wrap the small meat balls in sage leaves before battering them.
My Medieval Kitchen, transcription redaction, & analysis of medieval recipe for pork meat balls bursews and sauge yfarced By chef Dave Weinberg
Bursews:
My transcription:
Burſews.Take
pork ſeeþ hyt &
grynde hyt ſmale wiþ
ſoden ayroֿn. do þerto gode poudours
and hole ſpyces & ſalt wiþ
sug۶
make
þ۶
of
smale balles & caſt hem ī
a bato۶
of
ayroֿn.
& wete hem in flo۶
&
frye hē ī
grece as frytour۶
&
ſuē forth.
My modern translation:
Bursews.Take pork boil it & grind it small with soden egg. do thereto good powders and whole spices & salt with sugar make thereof small balles & cast them in a batter of egg. & wet them in flour & fry them in grease as fritters & serve forth.
Sawge yfarced:
My transcription:
Sauge
yfarced.Take
pork and seeþ hit wel &
grynd hit ſmal. & medle hit wiþ
ayroֿn
& brede y grated. do þ۶to
poudo۶
fort
& saffroֿn
wiþ pyn9 and ſalt take &
cloſe litulf balles ī
foyles of sauge. wete hit wt a bato۶
of
ayroֿn
& fry hit and serue hit forth.
My modern translation:
Stuffed sage.Take pork and boil it well & grind it small. & meddle it with egg & breadcrumbs. do thereto powder fort & saffron with pinenuts and salt take & close little balls in leaves of sage. wet it with a batter of egg & fry it and serve it forth.
These two recipes have little that needs to be interpreted.
-"Soden" has meaning which may be interpreted as
wet (as in soggy, waterlogged, sodden) or in some cases
boiled (the similarity being that it has been put into water.)
-Powder fort is the common mixture of strong flavored spices conceptually similar to
curry powder,
chili powder,
garam masala, or "
pumpkin pie spice"- this doesn't mean it has the same spices as these (though it does share some) simply that it is a spice mixture known by a certain name, and though it may have a similar content to others bearing the same name, it varies in content and proportion by who made it. See my
Spice Page.
-"pynes" likely refers to
pignolia nuts (pine nuts), though in certain recipe it also seems to refer to mulberries (some say likely because they have a pinecone-like structure) I say go with either or both if the recipe can handle it.
The breakdown:
Cooking technique: deep fry
nothing complicated here, we are battering and frying in grease, a technique which requires enough oil to cover the entire fritter, thus a deep fry.
The cooking of the pork before grinding is a less critical step in the process. Nearly any method which cooks it through may be used, or it may be done with raw pork- the size of the balls and the cooking temp is more critical in this case.
Note also that putting the meatballs into egg then flour is rather similar to the standard 3 part breading process we use today. Basically, stuff fries the same now as it did then, so similar techniques for breading would be used.
Special Ingredients: fresh sage, pine nuts, powder fort
-Most grocers carry fresh herbs, sage being commonly available. Check a local farmers market, try a larger market, or a whole food type market or coop, ask a neighbor with a garden, or grow your own. Whole consistently sized leaves matter to this recipe, though I make an adaptation to adjust for that.
-
Pine nuts- commonly available. sometimes even bulk. these are not cheap, most of them you will find to be the korean variety, which I find to be perfectly acceptable for most uses. They are available from major brands like Fisher and Diamond and in all sizes (don't buy much unless you really use them a lot)
-Powder Fort- I will be covering this in a future post. The key is to use stronger flavored spices when it is called for. I prefer to think of it as a list of common ingredients and I simply adjust and use them as I find appropriate and balance for the recipe at hand. In this case I will break it down within the recipe itself, simply including the spices I find to work the best.
Equipment- fryer or pot suited to frying, a spider or fryer scoop
If you have or can easily get a deep fryer of any variety (
fry daddies work just great, I have a
steamer/fryer and have been happy with it.)
Don't be scared- but be careful!
Pots for stove top frying- A thicker walled/thicker bottomed pot is better for transferring and maintaining heat. It is easy to over heat your oil on a stove top, so watch your temperature closely. The pot should be wide enough and deep enough to allow the balls to freely float. It needs to be wide enough to easily get the spider in and out. You also need enough depth to avoid boiling over. The steam bubbles released when frying can easily double the volume of the oil, depending on how much oil you are using. You have to leave enough space for what you are frying and all the steam bubbles, or you can be severely injured or burn your house down. Stove top deep frying ALWAYS takes extra care.
NEVER OVER FILL A FRYER. TOO MUCH OIL OR TOO MUCH OF WHATEVER YOU RE FRYING CAN HAVE EXPLOSIVE RESULTS OR CAUSE GREASE FIRES.
***When putting out grease fires, do not use water!!! SMOTHER THE FIRE- Salt is an excellent way to do so.*** On a stove top turn off the stove and dump salt all over the flames and areas where grease has spilled.
Modern recipe:
meatballs:
1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1/2c breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp grains of paradise, ground
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground ginger
pinch fresh grated nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
Optional:
pinch ground cubeb
pinch ground long pepper
1 Tbsp pine nuts toasted and chopped
egg batter:
1 egg
3/4 c flour
pinch salt
about 1/4 c water or beer
1 Tbsp oil (optional)
1 to 2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage (optional)
pinch of saffron
-extra 1/2c flour for coating meat balls.
-2-4 c oil for frying ( or up to the fill line of your fryer)
Procedures:
- In a bowl, spread out ground pork wash your hands then add spices to it evenly over the surface. Gently break up the pork, and fold it together, to evenly spread out seasonings through the meat, without turning it to goo. *
- At this point you can cook the pork-Additional instructions below.
- Add your egg, gently mix through, then add breadcrumbs (and pinenuts if you so choose) and gently fold the mixture until it is evenly distributed- no clumps of egg or breadcrumb or meat without either.
- Make sure your mixture is moist but not gooey, and holds together well. Form balls no bigger than 1/2 ounce, and let them rest while you begin heating your oil. Chill them if you arent ready to proceed right now.
- Keeping an eye on your oil as it heats, whisk together egg, water and oil for batter, add them to flour and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth, you may add sage and or saffron at this time. Adjust your batter so it is thick enough to coat the balls well, but not glob up on them (to use the technical term.)
- When your oil is ready* put the meat balls in the extra flour, and give them all a very light even coating before dipping them in the batter. Too much will make the batter fall off. Coat them fully and let the excess batter drain, then using tongs or a spider, touch them to the oil and gently release them into it, letting them roll/fall AWAY from you. Put as many in as you can while still allowing them to move freely in the oil.
- Use the spider to gently turn them as the begin to brown. When they are a nice golden brown all around remove them to a rack or tray with paper towel to drain. You may lightly salt them at this time if you think they need it. They should be heated all the way through and the egg fully solidified. They should technically peak at about 165 F while resting, but if your pork is nice and fresh, I personally would be happy and pretty safe at 145 F. Remember that the FDA tells us that undercooked meats can be harmful to your health, this being ground (or precooked as the case may be) 145 is "undercooked."
NOTES:
- Ground Pork- Ask the butcher, it isn't often available, but I have frequently found that if you ask, they will grind a cheaper cut of pork for you at no additional charge, butts often cost me half the price of typical ground pork. They can use the trimmings from the cuts they sell, making it cheaper for you and more profitable for them.
- Bread crumbs Sometimes they are cheap, but usually-make your own. seriously. let a piece or two of bread sit out and dry up for a day or two and crush it in a plastic bag.
- Spices- Check the My Medieval Kitchen Spices Page for more info. on spices, how to use them, and where to find them. You also can scroll down to my Stewed Beef posting and get the info there. The spices page is a work in progress, so I will be adding more info over time.
- "Pynes" As I said earlier this could mean pine nuts or mulberries, either of which would be a nice addition to this dish.
- For a more savory option, use the pine nuts and maybe add a little grated parmigiana to the meat ball mix.
- Want to try it with mulberries? Add about 1/2 c of them with the bread crumbs. Best place to get mulberries is off of a tree. They are tart and fruity, a mild blackberry like flavor.
- Too much spice? If you want a milder version I recommend keeping only the salt, pepper, coriander and maybe a tiny bit of nutmeg.
- Cook it first? This is a good way to ensure doneness, and fits the recipe, you may also substitute already cooked pork- extra chops off the grill, left over loin roast, etc. Start with unseasoned pork, add your salt, when it is partially cooked, pour off the fat, add the spices evenly and finish cooking the pork, until it has begun to brown just a little and the fat has mostly rendered- keep this fat. If you can, allow the pork to cool and put it into a food processor, and proceed to the next step, pulsing a few times to mix- this helps to bind the already cooked pork and fits the recipe's instruction to grind the cooked pork, the less you pulse, the more texture it will have. You can also make larger balls with out fear of over cooking the outside before the pork is cooked. This doesn't make a difference by government standards for a restaurant, but it makes it easier at home- the FDA requires that food be reheated to 165 F, but at home, as long as your egg is cooked and your pork isn't raw- you can do as you choose (assuming you don't want raw pork or eggs, if you do- I do not recommend it, but good luck with that, just don't feed it to anyone else.)
- OIL!- Peanut, corn, or canola get the best results for deep frying, soy might be okay. Don't over fill your pan, leave room for the meatballs and the boiling oil. It is ready when it is 325 F to 350 F. The more you put in the lower it drops, but it should be in that range to brown your breading. Lower gives it more time to heat the meatballs through before the outside browns. Too low makes them soggy and oily and probably under cooked, to hot make them over done crispy critters on the outside and raw inside. To test your oil, drop a small drop of batter in, it should not hit the bottom (unless you are using a shallow pan.) It should quickly be surrounded by bubbles and float to the surface, solidifying quickly.
- Batter up!
- A standard three stage breading process would also work well for this. in this case, have a tray of flour, a shallow dish of beaten egg, and a tray of flour or breadcrumbs (panko is great for this type of thing.) Season your first flour tray (sage can go here or in the final tray.)
- With your right hand coat the balls with flour and shake off the excess then drop them in the egg.
- With your left hand coat them with the egg and allow all the excess to drip off- at this point there should be a thin glue like coating of flour and egg on the meat ball- and drop it in the final tray.
- Again using your right hand, coat the ball withe the flour or breadcrumbs in the final tray, and place them on a tray to be taken to the fryer. When they are coated, wash and dry your hands thoroughly and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- Want a lighter version? - just coat the balls with a thin layer of flour, rice flour, or corn starch, let them rest a moment then fry. This reduces carbs and fat and still gives you the nice crispy coating and juicy inside. You can also substitute rice crispies or crushed cheerios for the bread crumbs to make it gluten free.
Resources:
"Forme of cury" MS7 Rylands Collection
As usual this blog is intellectual property David Weinberg and any use beyond personal or for non profit anachronism requires my express written permission.
