According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "rare," counterbalancing "done" describing the doneness of meat, descends from the word "rear," meaning imperfectly cooked or underdone. The original culinary use described eggs. The earliest print reference to the word "rare" relating to meat cookery is circa 1615. This early reference notes this stage is unwholesome [Markam].
Late 19th century food scientists examined meat doneness, offering temperature/time recommendations according to type of meat, cut, and method of cooking. Like their 17th century predecessors, early 20th cooking texts warn against rare meat. Rare vs. Underdone (opposite of Done?) are noted [Rorer 1902]. Medium/medium rare were introduced about this time. Meat thermometers (1930s) took the guesswork out of judging doneness.
Oxford English Dictionary
RARE
Etymology: Originally a variant of rear adj.1
As a result of the lowering influence of r on preceding vowels in southern varieties of English, rear remained homophonous with rare adj.1 at least as late as the 17th
cent. and remains so in some regional varieties. This gave rise to the variant rare, which retained the early modern pronunciation in standard English (compare the
current pronunciation of e.g. wear v.1 and pear n. and the variants at these entries). Compare also rare v.
REAR
a. Originally only of eggs: slightly or imperfectly cooked, underdone. Also in extended use. Cf. rare adj.2 Now regional.In quot. a1450: †(of sins) unconfessed (obs.).
†b. As complement with verbs. Obs.
c1150 (OE) Peri Didaxeon 23 Sule hym supan ?ebræddan hrere æ?eran and huni? to.
1528 T. Paynell tr. Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. F j b, Poched egges are better than egges rosted hard or rere.
1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth (1870) xii. 264 Let the egge be newe, and roste hym reare.
1607 J. Harington tr. J. de Mediolano Englishmans Docter sig. A7, Egges newly laid, are nutritiue to eat, And rosted Reere are easie to digest.
1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis viii. 167 Coole endiffe, radish, new egs rosted reare, And late-prest cheese; which earthen dishes beare.
1700 Dryden tr. Ovid Baucis & Philemon in Fables 159 New-laid Eggs, which Baucis busie Care Turn'd by a gentle Fire, and roasted rear.
†With participial adjectives, as rear-boiled, rear-brede (see brede v.1), rear-dressed, rear-poached, rear-roasted, etc. Obs.
lOEHrerenbræden [see sense a]. c1150Hrere bræd [see sense a].
1542 A. Boorde Compend. Regyment Helth xiii. sig. G.iii, Newe reare rosted egges be good in the mornynge.
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) at Ouum, Sorbile ouum, a reere rosted egge.
1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health ii. f. 54v, The hearbe [Eiebright]?eaten euerie day in a reare potched Egge.
1586 T. Bright Treat. Melancholie xxxix. 261 Eggs?reare dressed somwhat.
1626 Bacon Sylva Sylvarum §53 Eggs (so they be Potched, or Reare boyled).
1656 P. Heylyn Surv. Estate France 260 A dish of Egges, rear-roasted by the flame.
1722 D. Turner Art of Surg. I. v. 384 Let him be fed with thin Panada, Water and Barly-grewels, Chicken or other small Broath, Harts-horn Jelly, sometimes a rear poach'd or a new laid Egg.
1754 A. Berthelson Eng. & Danish Dict. at Rere A rere-boiled egg.
RARE
Of meat, esp. beef: lightly cooked; underdone. Cf. medium rare at medium adj. 3d.Formerly often regarded as an Americanism (see quot. 1861), although it was current in English writing from the 18th cent. and in many English dialects (cf. rear adj.1).
1615[implied in: G. Markham Eng. Hus-wife in Countrey Contentments ii. 54 To know when meate is rosted enough, for as too much rareness is vnwholsome, so too much drinesse is not nourishing. [at rareness n.2]
1776 G. Colman Spleen ii. 26 For which reason they leave the food without any juices at all. Without them, Sir, instead of beef or mutton, you might as well eat mahogany?. Eat your meat as rare as possible, Sir.
1823 C. Lamb Christ's Hosp. in Elia 28 The same flesh, rotten-roasted or rare, on the Tuesdays.
1830 M. Donovan Domest. Econ. II. v. 289 The meat was in all cases a little rare at its centre.
1861 G. F. Berkeley Eng. Sportsman 26 The wood-cock and snipe?should be underdone or what the Americans call ‘rare’.
1904 N.Y. Sun 6 Aug. 5 The waiter took his order for a sirloin rare.
1911 E. Ferber Dawn O'Hara ii. 20 I've devoured rare porterhouse and roast beef day after day for weeks.
MEDIUM
d. Of meat: cooked to a degree between well done and rare. Also in extended use. Also in medium done, medium rare (cf. rare adj.2 1).
1901 G. Ade 40 Mod. Fables 267 He was accustomed to Bolt his Food,and let the Fried Sweets come along with the Medium Sirline.
1939 P. K. Newill Good Food iv. 72 Beef?medium?22–25 [minutes per pound].
[1902]
[1907]
[1919]
[1932]
[1936]
[1939]
[1942]
How do we prefer our meat cooked? That depends...
[Meat science 101: cooking methods/times of cooking effects flavor, texture & taste]
"We cook meat for four basic reasons: to make it safe to eat, easier to chew and to digest (denatured proteins are more
vulnerable to our digestive enzymes), and to make it more flavorful...Raw meat is tasty rather than flavorful. It provides
salts, savory amino acids, and a slighlt acidity to the tongue, but offers littel in the way of aroma. Cooking intensifies
the taste of meat and creates its aroma. Simple physical damage to the muscle fibers causes them to release more of their
fluids and therefore more stimulating substances for the tongue. The fluid release is at its maximum when the meat is only
lightly cooked, or done 'rare.' As the temperature increases and the meat dries out, physical change gives way to chemical
change, and to the development of armo as cell molecules break apart and recombine with each other to form new molecules
that not only smell meaty, but also fruity and floral, nutty and grassy (esters, ketones, aldehydes)...The texture of raw
meat is a kindk of slick, resistant mushiness. The meat is chewy yet soft, so that chewing compresses it instead of
cutting through it. And its moisture manifests itself if slipperiness; chewing doesn't manage to liberate much juice. Heat
changes meat texture drastically. As it cooks, meat develops a firmness and resiliance that make it easier to chew. It
begins to leak fluid, and becomes juicy. With longer cooking, the juices dry up, and resiliance give way to a dry
stiffness. And when the cooking goes on for hgours, the fiber bundles fray away from each other, and even tough meat
begins to fall apart...Generally, we like meat to e tender and juicy rather than tough and dry. The ideal method for
cooking meat would therefore minimize moisture loss and compacting of the meat fiers, while maximizing the conversion of
tough connective-tissue colllagen to fluid gelatin. Unfortunately, these two aims conflict with each other...So there is
no ideal cooking method for all meats. The method must be tailored to the meat's toughness. Tender cuts are best heated
rapidly and just to the point of their juices are in full flow. Grilling, frying, and roasting are the usual fast methods.
Tough cuts are best heated for a prolonged period at temperatures approaching the boil, usually by stewing, braising, or
slow-roasting."
"Many traditional meat recipes were developed at a time when meats came from mature, fatty animals, and so were fairly
tolerant of overcooking. Fat coats and lubricates meat fibers during cooking, and stimulates the flow of saliva and
creates the sensation of juiciness no matter hwo dry the meat fibers themselves have become. Recipes for hours-long
braising or stewing were developed for mature animals with substantially cross-linked collagen that took a long time to
dissolve into gelatin. However, today's industrially produced meats come from relatively young animals with more soluble
collagen and far less fat; they cook quickly, and subber more from overcooking. Grilled hops and steaks may be just right
at the center but dry elsewhere; long-braised pot roasts and stews are often dry throughout."
[Ancient Rome]
"Already during the last two centuries before Christ, meat began to appear with increasing frequency in the homes of
Rome's wealthier citizens...It was virtually everyone's aspiration to have meat on his table...Naturally there were
serious problems in keeping the meat fresh, since mechanical refrigeration was unavailable. It was salted, smoked, and
even preserved in honey... Meat was oven-roasted, spit-roasted, used in patties, stuffings, and stews, or...cooked on a
grill...It is important to remember that because meat was relatively tough and frequently salted to prevent spoilage, it
was often necessary to rinse it in milk and boil it once or twice before using it in a specific recipe."
[Medieval France]
"Modern physicists tell us that cooking changes the chemical characteristics of a substance. Medieval physicists--or
physicians--told their contemporaries that cooking added either warmth and moisture or warmth and dryness to their
foodstuff that was cooked: the cook chose his cooking method according to the inherent nature of the foodstuff and any
need he had to correct this nature. Roasting, the application of direct heat at close proximity, was appropriate for a
cold, moist meat such as pork because the open fire would warm and dry. A grill was convenient for flat meats, a spit for
larger cuts. The distance of both grill and spit from the flame could be regulated fairly well...Boiling, on the other
hand, offered a relatively constant heat, and boiling better suited beef because it cold dry nature needed to be both
warmed and moistened. If the ignorant cook were to subject beef to a roasting, so further drying its already dry nature,
this could be quite dangerous to the unfortunate person who was to eat it later, and could even put him or her at risk of
an attack of melancholia or a bilous upset. That medieval French cooks too this warning seriously and rarely roasted their
beef is evident in the large stocks of beef bouillon that our recipes imply was always on hand for ready use in other
preparations."
[16th-17th century France]
"In 1560 Bruyerin avowed that he had 'more than once' seen '[half-cooked meats devoured so that blood almost flowed from
the mouths of those who were eating. The leading lights like eef wee cooked, though some of them nevertheless devour it
bloody after the fashion on the Cyclops. They commend the wether almost raw, but pork cooked until it almost melts [that
is, until it falls apart]. And indeed, among winged creatures they can eat with pleasure wood pigeons still running with
blood and scarcely touched by fire.' Bruyerin advocated the middle way, warning that there would be a penalty to pay for
eating either half-raw or 'melting' meat. When today we ask for our steak well done, medium or rare, we are repeating a
choice that the Renaissance writers revived form Hippocratic writings. In 1626 Pierre Duchatel noted the physical
reactions to be expected from meat prepared in each of the thre ways '(1)...well-Boiled meat is suitable to the digestion.
Well-roasted meats are more sluggish. (2)...those meats that have been medium boiled or medium roasted add moderately to
vigor and digestion. (3)...rawer meats are conduucive to vigor but in fact rather poor for the digestion.' Because bloody
meat was thought to increase one's vitality and zest, eating half-raw meat became intertwined with the goal of arousing
the body at table."
[20th century France]
"Broiling is the procedure best suited to preserving the basic taste of red meats. For four people buy a nice slice of
beef filet, at least two inches thick and weighing two pounds. To cook it, use a broiler with an overhead flame, and
preheat it to avoid having the meat stick...Put the meat on a broiler rack, brown it quickly under a hot flame, then
continue cooking it for eight to ten minutes at a lower temperature. Turn and do the same for the other side. Shortly
before it is ready season it with salt and pepper, to taste. The meat is just right when droplets of blood appear on the
surface of the meat."
[20th century USA]
"Steak should be cut at least 1 1/2 inches thick. It may be cut thicker. Sprinkle both sides with sald and spread with
butter or good fat. For rare steak broil under hot fire about 8 minutes on each side for a a 1/2 inch steak, or 10 minutes
on each side for a 2 inch steak. For medium done allow a few minutes extra."
"Since childhood, I have been fascinated with people's preferences about how well or little done they like red meat. Years
ago, a great deal more was made of the matter, as there were those who felt that rare meat was fit only for cannibals.
Others thought that eating red meat, meaning rare, was synonymous with being a genuinely red-blooded American...Today such
thinking is far less widespread. The fact is that there are national kitchens that perfer meat rare and those that prefer
it exceedingly well done...I have observed, both in this country and in Greece, that the Grecian method of preparing a leg
of lamb also involves a good many hours of cooking and that the Greeks prefer the meat quite well done...To my mind,
there is a simple explanation for these cooking preferences. The lamb of France is quite tender and can be eaten with
pleasure if it is not cooked to the well-cone state. The lamb of Haiti and Greece requires that it be tenderized through
one long-cooking technique or another. The lamb of America is more like that of France and comes off exceedingly well when
cooked to the rare or medium-rare stage."
Recent wisdom promoting well done meats is understandable given outbreaks of food poisoning:
"The penchant of Northeasterners for eating their beef rare may be why that part of the county recorded seven outbreaks of
food poisoning traced to commercially prepared roast beef last year. At least that it the theory of a New York State
health official, who said there had been no reported outbreaks in the rest of the country where people prefer to buy
cooked cold roast beef medium or well done...[the blame for this outbreak is the]1978 change in Federal regulations
governing the commercial preparation of roast beef, which permits it to be cooked to 130 degrees internal temperature
instead of the previous low of 145 degrees."
"The Agriculture Department recommends cooking beef to an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees, the temperature at
which most potentially dangerous microoganisms are destroyed. It calls meat at this degree of doneness 'medium rare,' meat
at 160 degrees 'medium' and meat at 170 degrees 'well done.' But do the Government's criteria for safety match up with
most steak lovers' tastes or with common restaurant practices? As a test, Victor H. Cahvez, the executive chef at Smith &
Wollensky, the Manhattan steakhouse, broiled four prime boneless 16-ounce New York strips the way he usually does. The
degree of doneness was based mostly on timing. As soon as the steaks came out of the broiler, they were tested with an
instant thermometor. The rare steak registered 120 to 125 degrees; the medium rare, 130 to 135, and the medium steak, 145,
still pink in the center but going to gray-brown at the edges. The medium-well steak was 150 to 155 degrees. There was a
difference of 15 degrees between the Government and the steakhouse....'Lately, we have been getting more requests for
meat a little more cooked, mor medium rare to medium, instead of rare. Maybe people think it's safer.'"
Airline chicken can be several things, depending upon who you talk to. It can be a fancy cut, a
special
presentation, or a negative appelation directed at inflight foodservice. The airline connection?
Again, several
theories. These range from practical (chicken travels well, this cut of chicken fits neatly into an airline tray/dish
compartments) to
artistic (it looks like it's about to take off).
Culinary professionals generally agree modern "Airline Chicken" descends from traditional European cuts. Most notably
"Hotel Cut," "French Cut," and "Supreme." The airline version leaves the meat on the first joint of the wing. Traditional
European cuts are bone only. All version are skin-on.
"Chicken had been a mainstay for
inflight foodservice since foods were first offered to passengers in the 1930s. Fried chicken was one of the few foods that
could be held hot over long time periods and still be of an acceptable quality. Prepared other ways, chicken still held
up much better than many other protein products such as beef or pork. It could be cooked, held, chilled, frozen, rethermalized
and still be tender and moist if properly cooked and plated. Idle Wild farms' development of the oven-ready stuffed rock cornish
game hen brought product consistency and a gourmet quality to the use of poultry products for inflight meals."
According to the National Chicken Council "The term "airline chicken breast" first became
popular in the
1960s when major commercial airlines included full service meals on air flights that were of
sufficient
length/time to serve such meals. Airlines required a relatively small breast portion for a number
of
reasons
and kept part of the wing on to give a presentation that made the serving portion appear to be
bigger than it
actually was and also to give it a certain differentiation from the non-airline breast. It was and
still
is a
relatively costly product. My guess is a chef on PanAm or similar top airline developed the
concept and
other airlines quickly followed. Few, if any, domestic airlines still have "meals" that include
"airline chicken
breasts." Some caterers have this type of product for special occasion events. The Council adds:
"The
term "airline chicken" goes back a long way. It used to be called a "hotel cut.""
OTHER OBSERVATIONS:
"Country music fans, take note: Statler chicken has nothing to do with those singing brothers
from Virginia, who retired in 2002. This Statler a term for a boneless chicken breast with the
drumette attached is decidedly urban, with its roots in Boston's Hotel Statler, built in 1927 by
E.M. Statler."
"Judging from the friendly and casual atmosphere, I suspect that no one ever is allowed to feel
embarrassed for not
knowing that airline chicken is the European way of preparing chicken breast. On the plate, the
chicken might look
poised for flight, with its wing drum bone left intact for extra flavor."
"We were expecting it to come on a little plastic tray if it's airline chicken," one of my
companions
told the
waitress."Do you see how the chicken breast is spread out to look like wings?" the waitress
asked. "That's why
they call it airline chicken."
As for ''airline'' chicken . . . well, its not quite what you'd find in United's friendly skies. We're
thankful for
that. The sobriquet describes the way the chicken breast is displayed. Sliced down the middle, the
breast is
splayed out with the ''drumstick'' ends of the wings poised for takeoff.
About inflight catering.
Food historians tell us human consumption of pork is ancient. So is cured (smoked, salted, dried)
pork, aka ham. Notes here:
"Bacon. The side of a pig cured with salt in a single piece. The word originally meant pork of any
type, fresh
or cured, but this older usage had died out by the 17th century. Bacon, in the modern sense, is
peculiarly a
product fo the British Isles, or is produced abroad to British methods...Preserved pork, including
sides salted
to make bacon, held a place of primary importance in the British diet in past centuries....British
pigs for both
fresh and salted meat had been much improved in the 18th century. The first large-scale bacon
curing
business was set up in the 1770s by John Harris in Wiltshire...Wiltshire remains the main
bacon-producing
area of Britain..."
"Bacon. Etyomologically, bacon means meat from the 'back of an animal'. The word appears to
come from
a prehistoric Germanic base *bak-, which was also the source of English back. Germanic bakkon
passed
into Frankish bako, whcih French borrowed as bacon. English acquired the word in the twelfth
century, and
seems at first to have used it as a synonym for the native term flitch, 'side of cured pig meat'. By
the
fourteenth century, however, we find it being applied to the cured meat itself..."
"Hams and bacon were either dry-salted or barrelled in their own brine. The Romans recognized
ham (perna) and shoulder bacon (petaso) as two separate meats, and different recipes for
preparing them for the table. According to Apicius both were to be first boiled with dried figs,
but
ham could then be baked in a flour with paste, while bacon was to be browned and served with a
wine and pepper sauce...Bacon fat or lard was in particular favour among the Anglo-Saxons who
used it for cooking and also as a dressing for vegetables...[Medieval] Country folk ate their bacon
with pease or bean pottage or with 'joutes'."
"...the most important products from the pig were bacon and ham. Once the pig was ready to be
butchered,
the tueur skillfully cut the larger joints to be put aside for salting, or more commmonly in France,
drying into
hams and sides of "lard" (bacon). Bacon was the cheapest, most popular pork product, and a
mainstay of
the European peasant diet for centuries. William Ellis, one of many sixteenth and
seventeeth-century
English rural gentlemen who produced books on agricultural and domestic improvements, wrote
in 1750
that "Where there is Bread and Bacon enough, there is no Want....In the Northern Parts of
England,
thousands of families eat little other Meat than Bacon; and indeed, in the southern parts, more
than ever
live on Bacon, or Pickled Pork." Some flitches of bacon were salted and then plain dried while
the
best
bacon was hung in the chimney breast to smoke. Sliced bacon collops were a special English cut
of bacon
that was fried with eggs, the forerunner of our "greasy breakfasts" of bacon and eggs. In the past,
as we
have seen, most home-cured bacon was cooked into a pease or bean pottage. Commercial bacon
production was started as early as 1770, when it is said that John Harris of Clane in Wiltshire,
watching pigs
resting there on their way from Ireland to London, had the idea of curing them on the spot.
Special huge, fat
bacon pigs, were bred to be killed at any time of year. The meat was cured quickly, and meant
that it tainted
quickly as well. As the quality was not so good, this bacon was sold quickly and cheaply to the
poor in
country markets. In spite of this, William Ellis considered bacon to be a "seviceable, palatable,
profitable,
and clean meat, for ready Use in a Country house;..." Bacon could also be spiced. A recipe from
1864, in
The Art and Mystery of Curing, Preserving, and Potting all kinds of Meats, Game and Fish by
a
Wholesale Curer of Comestibles, for "superior spiced bacon," suggested taking some pieces
of pork
"suitable for your salting tub," rubbing them well with warmed treacle, and adding salt, saltpeter,
ground
allspice, and pepper, rubbing and turning them every day for a week. The meat was then
suspended in a
current of air and later coated with bran or pollard and smoked."
Brown 'N Serve
About pork & turkey bacon.
Food historians generally agree that cows, as we know them today, descended from
prehistoric aurochs. Domestication occured approximately 10,000 years ago and this
process produced smaller animals. Cross-breeding and limited gene pools also resulted
in different species with unique characteristics.
ABOUT CATTLE DOMESTICATION
"European domestic cattle and the Indian zebu are thought to share an ancestor in the
shape of Bos primigenius, the wild cattle or auochs common in Eurasia between about 30
degrees and 60 degrees N. At the end of the last ice age. ..Domestication of cattle
probably started because wild cattle were attracted to the fields of grain grown by early
farmers and robbed these abundant supplies of food. Cross-breeding with wild stock no
doubt continued for some time. Exactly when domestication took place is uncertain, but
by 3000BC there is evidence for several well-defined breed in representations of cattle
from both Mesopotamia and Egypt..."
"Although cattle have been domesticated for less than 10,000 years, they are the world's
most important animal, as judged by their multiple contributions of draft power, meat,
milk, hides, and dung...Evidence for the domestication of cattle dates from between 8,000
and 7,000 years ago in southwestern Asia. Such dating suggests that cattle were not
domesticated until cereal domestication had taken place, whereas sheep and goats
entered the barnyard of humans with the beginning of agriculture...As with sheep and
goats, the process of domesticating cattle resulted in animals smaller than the wild
progenitor. Dated osteological material from Neolithic sites establishes the transition from
wild to domesticated...The Fertile Crescent has long been considered the place of initial
cattle domestication, but that view tends to reflect the large number of excavations made
there. Early signs of Neolithic cattle keeping have also been found in Anatolia (Turkey),
where the osteological material at Catal Huyuk provides evidence of the transition from
the auruchs of 8,400 years ago to cattle by 7,800 years ago. In short, it is still premature
to specify where the first cattle were domesticated...
"The extraordinary usefulness of cattle would superficially seem to have been the
motivation for their domestication. In other words, given all the benefits that cattle impart,
it was logical that the aurochs would come under human control, which is an extension of
a deeply rooted Western concept that nature exists to serve the practical needs of people
and that necessity has always elicited human ingenuity to provide technical
solutions...Such a practice [domestication] would have required a supply of animals that
was initially met by capturing them from the wild. But in the holding pens, some captive
bulls and cows (both having long horns) bred, and from these matings, calves
occasionally were born that had physical different from their parents. Their overall size
was smaller, their temperament more docile, and their markings and hide color had
unusual variations. Viewed a special, these aurochs born in captivity were also kept as
objects of sacrifice but were allowed to breed, and phenotype distinctiveness enhanced
their sacred status. Some of the next generation to follow may have reinforced the
characteristics of the parents, and a gene pool that distinguished these bovines from their
wild forebears gradually formed. No longer were they aurochs, but rather cattle...Their
milk was perceived to be a ritual gift from the goddess, and the most docile cows let
themselves be milked by a priest in the presence of their calves."
ABOUT EUROPEAN CATTLE
"Westward diffusion of cattle throughout Europe was tied to the invention of the wooden
plow. The harnessing of a powerful animal to that device made it possible to greatly
extend cultivation without a corresponding increase in human population..." Farther north
in Europe, where wet summers provided abundant forage, cattle had a bigger role to play
in livestock husbandry...The relative isolation of each region resulted in locally limited
gene pools for Bos Taurus (European cattle), which led to different cattle phenotypes.
Three of these, Aberdeen Angus, Shorthorn, and Hereford, have diffused overseas to
become modern ranching stock in the Americas...Characteristic of British livestock
tradition was the close management and selective breeding that imparted a generally
docile behavior to the animal."
ABOUT VIKING CATTLE
Medieval
Cattle Remains from a Scandinavian Settlement in Dublin
ABOUT CATTLE IN THE NEW WORLD
"We have noted that for English yeomen of the seventeenth centiry, their own pigs were the principal source of the meat in their diet. Cattle were kept primarily for
dairy production and were slaughtered and eaten only when they could no longer be maintained through the winter. This pattern was long established...As early as 1638 live cattle
were driven to Boston, where they commanded high prices...By the nineteenth century, the United States was famous for meat-eating as England had already become by the
seventeenth century..."
"Americans have been great meat eaters from the beginning of their history and still are...Americans have no doubt always preferred beef, but what they actually ate was necessarily
that which was available, and for the first three centuries of white history in America, what was most readily available was pork. Nevertheless as early as 1854, Harper's Weekly reported that
the commonest meal in America, from coast to coast, was steak; and at the beginning of the Civil War, Anthony Trollope...reported that Americans ate twice as much beef as
Englishmen...At the beginning supplying this demand presented no problem, Each settlement was capable of raising for itself as much beef as it needed...But the
population of the East Coast increased rapdily; its inhabitants discovered they were not quite as rich in space as they had thought; and much of the land could be
better employed for other purposes than grazing. If Americans were to eat beef in the quantities to which they wanted to become accustomed, more spacious
grazing lands had to be found. They were found, on a scale which once again seemed unlimited, in the Far West...There is a story which attributes the discovery that
the West was ideal for cattle raising to the mishap of a heavily loaded governmental ox train which was blocked by blizzards in Wyoming toward the end of the
Civil War. To save themselves, the drivers abandoned wagons and oxen. Returning in the spring to salvage anything that might be salvageable, they were amazed to find theri
oxen not only still alive, but well fed and healthy...it wasn't to a question of climate, it was a question of grass...Texas not only had food for cattle, it had the cattle, waiting
to be taken, whose ancestors had been imported by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century and abandoned in Texas, where they had drown wild and become "more dangerious
to footmen than the fiercest buffalo."..The first Texas herds were thus composed of wild cattle, captured at considerable risk to life and limb, which in the next generation
would become domesticated as the famous Texas Longhorns. They were very far from being the best beef critters in the world...The original Spanish stock had come from dry
parched country and their descendants had retained, in another dry parched country, the ability to stand up to hot Texas summers and to make do with a minimum
of water...Taken in hand by the Western cattlemen, the herds multiplied and prospered...The legendary epoch of the cattle trails, the routes over which herds of
Longhorns were driven north to the markets, dates back to before the Civil War. These movements occurred on a prodigious scale, hardly comparable to the
placid processions of fifty or a hundred head which had earlier moved north from Georgia or east from Ohio..."
"The opening up of the American plains transformed cattle farming in the United States. Until the early 1870s Texas ranchers had held great cattle drives of hundreds of
thousands of lanky longhorns, urging them along a 700-mile Chisolm Trail from San Antonio direct to the stockyards of Abilene, at a rate of about a dozen miles a day.
From Abilene they were taken by rail to the new meat processing plants in Chicago and Kansas City. But when the Great Plains were cleared of bison and the Indians who
had depended upon them, the new land was opened to range cattle. What happened then was that the land Texans sent their cattle to the plains on the hoof to rest and fatten
up before the last, easy journey to the stockyards, while new ranchers went into business on a massive scale, financed by the capital poured into the industry by
American and foreign investors. The profits were substantial...In 1880 Kansas had sixteen times as many cattle as twenty
years earlier."
The origin and history of Beef Stroganoff is an excellent lesson in food lore. While food
historians
generally agree the dish takes its name from Count Stroganoff, a 19th century Russian noble,
there are conflicting theories regarding the genesis of this "classic" dish. Certainly, there is
evidence confirming the recipe predate the good Count and his esteemed chef.
"Despite the allusion of the name "stroganoff" to Count Paul Stroganoff, a 19th century Russian
diplomat, the origins of the dish have never been confirmed. Larousse Gastronomique
notes that similar dishes were known since the 18th century but insists the dish by this specific
name was the creation of chef Charles Briere who was working in St. Petersburg when he
submitted the recipe to L 'Art Culinaire in 1891, but the dish seems much older. It did not appear
in English cookbooks until 1932, and it was not until the 1940s that beef stroganoff became
popular for elegant dinner parties in America."
"Unlike the French, who name dishes after the chefs who devised them, the Russians have
usually
attached the names of famous households to their cuisine--the cooks were usually serfs. For
example, we have Beef Stroganoff, Veal Orlov, and Bagration Soup. One of the few exceptions
is
a cutlet of poultry of real named after Pozharskii, a famous tavern keeper...The last prominent
scion of the dynasty, Count Pavel Stroganoff, was a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, a dignitary at the court of Alexander III, a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts,
and a gourmet. It is doubtful that Beef Stroganoff was his or his chef's invention since the recipe
was included in the 1871 edition of the Molokhovets cookbook...which predates his fame as a
gourmet. Not a new recipe, by the way, but a refined version of an even older Russian recipe, it
had probably been in the family for some years and became well known through Pavel
Stroganoff's
love of entertaining."
"Beef stroganoff is a dish consisting of strips of lean beef sauteed and served in a sour-cream
sauce with onions and mushrooms. The recipe, which is of Russian origin, has been known since
the eighteenth century, but its name appears to come from County Paul Stroganoff, a
nineteeth-century Russian diplomat. Legend has it that when he was stationed in deepest Siberia,
his chef
discovered that the beef was frozen so solid that it could only be coped with by cutting it into
very
thin strips. The first English cookery book to include it seems to have been Ambrose Heath's
Good Food (1932)."
"Count Pavel Stroganov, a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, was a noted gourmet
as well as a friend of Alexander III. He is frequently credited with creating Beef Stroganoff or
having a chef who did so, but in fact a recipe by that name appears in a cookbook published in
1871, well ahead of the heyday of the genial count. In all probability the dish had been in the
family for some years and came to more general notice throughout Pavel's love of
entertaining."
Elena Molokhovets' Beef Strogonoff:
Two hours before service, cut a tender piece of raw beef into small cubes and sprinkle with salt
and some allspice. Before dinner, mix together 1/16 lb (polos mushka) butter and 1
spoon flour, fry lightly, and dilute with 2 glasses bouillon, 1 teaspoon of prepared
Sareptskaja mustard, and a little pepper. Mix, bring to a boil, and strain. Add 2
tablespoons very fresh sour cream before serving. Then fry the beef in butter, add it to the sauce,
bring once to boil, and serve.
Ingredients:
We also find this interesting piece of information regarding the possible 15th century Hungarian
origins of this dish:
"One of the most interesting versions of tokany is the ancient dish of sour cream vetrece (savanyu
vetrece), which was already mentioned as a part of the dinners of King Matthias in the fifteenth
century. In this type of ragout, beef is cooked with smoked bacon, garlic and black pepper; later
bay leaves, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and grated lemon rind are added, and finally
sour
cream. The only flavors lost over the centuries are mace, ginger and saffron. In the dining rooms
of the Transylvanian gentry, paper-thin slices of peeled lemon were served on top of this more
sweet than sour dish."
Beef Stroganoff resurfaced as a popular dish in the United States during the second half of the
20th century. Recipes varied from classic cuisine to ersatz Americana.
"Although considered a 50s dish, Beef Stroganoff began appearing in American cookbooks at
least two decades earlier. The first recipe I find for it is in John MacPherson's Mystery Chef's
Own Cook Book, (1934). Two Stroganoffs appear in Dinaa Ashley's Where to dine in '39, a 1939 guide to New York City
restaurants, one from the defunct Russian Kretchma...the second from The Russian Tea Room...Both recipes seem to me
Americanized: both contain Worcestershire sauce, both are made with sweet cream rather than
sour, and both contain mushrooms, which a Russian friend told me is not authentic. Indeed, they
do not appear in Alexander Kropotkin's recipe in The Best of Russian Cooking,
(1964)...Beef Stroganoff--with mushrooms and sour cream--shows up in The Joy of
Cooking, (1943 edition). Unfortunately, America was then immersed in World War II, red
meat was strictly rationed, and few cooks could afford the luxury of Beef Stroganoff. Once the
war was over...Beef Stroganoff became the signature dish of 'gourmet' cooks across the
country."
Here is the Mystery Chef's recipe, circa 1934:
About sour cream.
[1955]
The addition of tomatoes (tomato soup, tomato soup mix, tomato paste, tomato catsup) appears to be an uniquely American variation. We are a nation
devoted to packaged condiments. The earliest print references we find including tomatoes are from the early 1960s.
"Tomato Beef Stroganoff
[1968]
[1970]
"Stroganoff
[1970]
[1982]
"Beef-Mushroom Mix
The history of Beef Wellington is a matter of historic contention. Food historians generally agree
the dish is named for Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, the man who crushed
Napoleon
at Waterloo.
"Volumes have been written about Wellington the soldier, but the dish that bears his name is
surprisingly elusive. Almost certainly the pastry covering was at first a mere paste of flour and
water, wrapped around the uncooked tenderloin so that it would roast without browning, a
culinary fad of the era. In time the covering became puff pastry and an integral part of the dish.
Then the chefs on the continent, with their oft-noted penchant for lily-gilding, inserted a layer of
truffles and pate de foie gras, today often simplified to mushrooms and chicken livers...In Ireland
Beef Wellington, sometimes called Wellington Steak, remains a simple combination of excellent
rare beef and flaky pastry. The dish is also known in France, where, not surprisingly, it is simply
called filet de boeuf in croute."
"I am persuaded that beef Wellington is of Irish origin. In Irish Traditional Food,
Theodora FitzGibbon offers a recipe for Steig Wellington, using the Irish spelling for steak. She
prefaces the recipe with the statement that "this was said to be a favorite of the Duke of
Wellington, and it is sometimes also known as beef Wellington.""
"Jane Garmey includes it [Beef Wellington] in Great British Cooking: A Well Kept
Secret,
(1981), but admits that the recipe's origin is a mystery. "I have never been able to find a reference
to Beef Wellington in any British cookery book, old or new," she writes in her recipe headnote.
"However, since...cooking meat in a pastry case was fairly common at the end of the eighteenth
century and since this is a rather special way to prepare a beef fillet, it would seem unfair to omit
Beef Wellington for its dubious heritage." Strangely, Adrian Baily makes no mention of Beef
Wellington in The Cooking of the British Isles, (1969), a time when this fussy recipe was
in vogue in this country (it was said to be President Nixon's favorite).
Beef Wellington...became a showpiece of ambitious 60s hostesses...Before long there were
shortcut versions with canned liver paste substituting for foie gras, canned mushrooms for
duxelles, and refrigerator crescent rolls or any frozen pastry shells for puff pastry. There was
even
Hamburger a la Wellington (House Beautiful Magazine, January 1970). By the 80s,
however, it was over. Beef Wellington had lost its cachet."
"Beef Wellington was the premier party dish of the 1960s...it was rich, dramatic, expensive, and
seemed difficult and time-consuming to prepare. In short, it was everything a gourmet dish
should
be. In Masters of American Cookery, Betty Fussell credited beef Wellington's
phenomenal
popularity in the Sixties to "the discovery that anybody, with a little care, could make an edible
crust."...Exactly who invented beef Wellington is not known, but there is a long
Anglo-Irish-French tradition of meat cooked in pastry. Undoubtedly what we in the Unted States
call beef
Wellington is based on the Wellington steak of England and the steig Wellington of Ireland...In
France the dish is known as filet de boeuf en croute, but whether it originated on the west of the
east side of the English Channel is unkown."
"Despite such ethnic fervor, one of the most popular dishes of the day was the very classic, very
British Beef Wellington a fillet of beef tenderloin coated with pate‚ de foie gras and a duxelles of
mushrooms that are then all wrapped in a puff pastry crust. Some believe that Wellington's
popularity had more to do with America's competitive spirit than with any deep passion for
British
cuisine.
It began in the '60s when couples started dabbling in a bit of culinary one-upmanship. Dinner
parties with friends became elaborate as complicated recipes appeared on tables with greater
regularity. Beef Wellington was considered the height of difficulty and expense because of the
preparation of the puff pastry and the price of the pate‚ de foie gras. Kudos and furtive jealous
glances went to the cook who mastered such a bear of a recipe.
Although Beef Wellington went the way of Beef Stroganoff and Boeuf Bourguignon, it did
stage a comeback in magazines such as Gourmet in the '90s, when prepackaged puff pastry and
domestic foie gras made it much easier and less expense to make."
When did Beef Wellington begin to appear in the USA?
The earliest recipe we've found so far titled "Beef Wellington" was published in 1940. It is a far simpler version than the
classic truffle fussed dish of the 1960s.
[1958]
[1965]
[1966]
Pastry:
Filling:
1. Place the flour, salt, butter and shortening in a bowl and blend with the tips of the fingers or with a pastry blender. Add the
egg and enough ice water to make a dough. Wrap in wax paper and chill.
[1967]
I Pastry to Cover Beef
Whether the English, the Irish or the French baked the first filet of beef in a crust we shall probably never know, but it is
certain that the French would not have named it after Wellington. It is a remarkably handsome, sumptuous dish when properly
made. Most good recipes speicfy a whole piece of tenderlion that is preroasted 25 minutes, cooled, surrounded with a
mushroom and foie gras stuffing, then wrapped in French puff pastry and baked. We think it is a great improvement to substitute
brioche dough for puff pastry: fully risen brioche dough is deflated, thoroughly chilled, then rolled thin, draped over the
meat and baked immediately before the dough has a chance to rise again. The resulting crust is beautiful to look at as well as
being light, thin, cooked all the way through and delicious to eat; this is never the case with puff pastry, which cannot
bake properly under such circumstances and is always damply dumpling under its handsome exterior. Another improvement is to bake
the tenderloin in slices with stuffing in between, as in the preceding recipe [Filet de Boeuf en Feuilletons, Duxelles]
:the serving is easy and the taste is vastly improved.
Vegetable and Wine Suggestions
The Sauce
For 16 slices of beef 1.2 inch thick, serving 8 to 10
1. Preliminaries--to do in the morning or the day before serving
2. Enclosing beef in brioche--1 to 1/2 hours before serving, and just before roasting
Roll the remaining dough into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick and large enough to enclose the beef (probably 18 by 8 inches), roll it up
on your pin and unfoll over the beef.
Trim off any excess dough and reserve for decorations. Tuck the covering dough against the bottom rectangle of dough and under
bottom of meat, sealing edges with your fingers. Paint dough covering with egg glaze; in a moment paint with a second coat.
So that any decorations on the crust will show after baking, they must be either deep cuts with raised edges, or dough paste-ons.
For instance, you may wish to lay strips of leftover dough in a design, and paint with egg glaze. Decorate blank spaces
by cutting into surface of dough with scissors, a knife, or the metal end of a pastry tube, making definite edges that
stick up. (Cuts are made after glazing, so that the cut portion of the dough will remain pale, accenting the design when
dough is baked.) Immediately [sic] the decorations are complete, set beef in oven. The object here is to make sure the dough
remains a crust, a think and crisp covering; if it rises, it will be thick and bready.
3. Baking--30 to 40 minutes
4. Serving and ahead-of-time notes
Recipes for beef encased in decorative flaky crust may be found in some 18th and 19th century
British cookbooks. They typically employ onions and oysters, not truffles/mushrooms and
pate/chopped liver. Presumably, these descend from Medieval meat pies and classic French pates.
[1875]
Recommended reading? Foie Gras: A Passion, Michael A. Gignor
Food historians generally agree that fried turkeys trace their roots to Bayou (Louisiana/Texas)
creole cuisine. No exact year, restaurant, or person is connected to this particular food by primary
documentation. There is no mention of fried turkey in La Cuisine
Creole:
A Collection of Culinary Recipes [New Orleans:1885] or The Picayune Creole Cook Book,
2nd
edition [New Orleans:1901]. We DO find evidence that fried turkeys were cooked outdoors for
large popular events (family reunions, charity dinners, church suppers, etc.) in the early years of
the twentieth century. About ten years ago fried turkeys received national press and caught the
attention of mainstream America. According to articles indexed in the LEXIS/NEXIS
reQuester database, this recipe migrated from Louisiana/Texas to Missouri, Tennessee,
Georgia (peanut oil), and Washington D.C. before it forked northward toward Seattle and
Vancouver. Most articles written in the last couple of years simply reference fried turkey as a
tasty alternative to traditional fall holiday meat.
"Frying whole turkeys is sort of the Southern version of making fondue. You have a lot of your
friends over, you poke around in a pot of hot oil with some sticks, and then you pull out your
dinner. Justin Wilson, he of Cajun fame, recalls first seeing a turkey fry in Louisiana in the
1930s."
"Fried turkey has been all the rage at least for the last decade in New Orleans, and long before
that it was a tradition in the bayou and throughout the South. Like many a vainglorious culinary
mania before it, the national renown of fried turkeys can be traced directly to Martha Stewart,
who plucked them from regional obscurity and put them in her magazine in 1996. "
"A longtime food favorite in the southern United States, the delicious deep-fried turkey has
quickly grown in popularity thanks to celebrity chefs such as Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse.
While some people rave about this tasty creation, Underwriters Laboratories Inc.'s (UL) safety
experts are concerned that backyard chefs may be sacrificing safety for good taste. "We're
worried by the increasing reports of fires related with turkey fryer use," says John Drengenberg,
UL consumer affairs manager. "Based on our test findings, the fryers used to produce those
great-tasting birds are not worth the risks. And, as a result of these tests, UL has decided not to
certify any turkey fryers with our trusted UL Mark."
Related cajun turkey specialty?Turducken. About turkeys.
The history of carpetbag steak presents an complicated knot of food lore, culinary history and
improbable summations. Food historians generally agree that this dish (thick steak stuffed with
oysters) was probably invented in America by a popular chef/restaurant sometime in the first half
of the twentieth century. Australians have adopted this recipe, though
do not make claims for its invention.
Oyster houses and steak houses (separatetly, not together!) and were all the rage of the rich and
wealthy at the turn of the last century. They sprung up everywhere rich diners liked to eat, often
combining the restaurant's namesake with other popular foods of the day. It is possible Rector's
Oyster House in Chicago and Delmonico's in New York served carpetbag steak, though we have
no printed evidence [yet!] to support this theory.
"The oyster house had far outgrown its original simple design and function..."The real Oyster
House is a specialized restaurant," explained the author of an 1897 souvenier booklet about
Rector's Oyster House in Chicago, "the specialties of which are, in general, sea-food, game,
salads, certain delicatessen, and the choicest wines, brandies and ales. In greater detail it is a
place
where, in their season, the finest and freshest oysters of a dozen varieties are to be found..."
Culinary evidence confirms the American tradition of combining oysters and beef steak was
practiced in the late 19th century. Oysters were considered a luxury item and were combined
with many different foods. Early oyster and beef combinations in American cook books typically
"smothered" thick steaks with oysters. There is no mention of a
pocket or filling. Food historians generally attribute the first printed recipe for "Carpetbag steak"
to Louis Diat, 1941.
This is what the food historians have to say on the subject:
"Carpetbag steak.
"Though popular in Australia, this unusual steak stuffed with oysters is apparently of American
origin. It takes it name from the cloth satchel travelers used around the time of the Civil War.
Just before the turn of the century, when broiled steaks were coming into vogue, a popular way
to serve them was under a coverlet of oysters. This recipe simply takes that
late-nineteenth-century recipe one step further. Who's responsible? Perhaps Chasen's restaurant,
which opened in Hollywood in 1936 (and closed in 1995). Carpetbagger Steak, as Chasen's
called
it, was a house specialty. Or was Louis Diat, the creator? He includes this recipe for it in
Cooking a la Ritz [1941]."
"I have, over the years, received more requests for carpetbag steak than almost any other dish,
and I suspect much of its appeal has to do with the name, which has a fascinating ring. I own few
Australian cookbooks and cannot find the recipe in any of them. The most logical recipe I have
ever found appeared thirty years ago in the late Helen Evan Brown's The West Coast Cook
Book
[1952]...An Australian who now lives in Manhattan...wrote, quoting a passage from The
Captain
Cook Book: Two Hundred Years of Australian Cooking, by Babette Hayes:
"The carpetbag steak is now a truly Australian dish although it came to us from the U.S. of
A. A thick chunk of tender sirloin, rump or fillet steak, which has a pocket cut in the middle, is
stuffed with oysters and then fried to the required degree of doneness. That's the basic recipe.
There are many variations: add chopped mushrooms, onions, herbs, or lemon juice."
She says that the name probably derives from the term for a one-pound note in Australia,
which is "carpet," and "bag" from the term "in the bag," meaning a winner."
CARPETBAG STEAK & AUSTRALIA
The part of this puzzle food historians are not able to solve is who first introduced the carpetbag
steak to Australia and when. The Down Under Cookbook: An Authentic Guide to Australian
Cooking and Eating Traditions, Graeme Newman [1987] does not include a recipe for carpet
bag steak. It does include a recipe for "Pocket Steak Melbourne," which is the same idea but
without the oysters. Michael Symons, Australian culinary history expert, believes the recipe can
be traced in print to 1899:
"Jean Rutledge's highly successful Goulburn Cookery Book, first appearing in 1899, was
designed to meet a "want, especially among the women in the bush, who have often to teach
inexperienced maids, and would be glad of accurate recipes." Any dish, she said, much be
"mixed
with brains."...Out of approximately 1,000 recipes, local additions did not exceed a kangaroo
recipe, a couple of new names for simple meat dishes, "Carpet Bag a la Colchester..."
If you need more information you might consider contacting The University of Adelaide, Cordon
Bleu graduate program in gastronomy.
STEAK & OYSTER RECIPES
[1887]
[1902]
[1905 or 1907]
NOTE: Except for the title, the following Australian dish is almost an exact duplication of the recipe above.
[1909]
Curiously? 101 Oyster Recipes, May E. Southworth [Paul Elder and Company:San
Francisco and New York] 1907 does not contain any recipes combining beef and oysters.
Food historians generally agree on two points when it comes to the history of Chateaubriand: the
recipe was named for the Vicomte de Chateaubriand and it first appeared in print during the
mid-19th century. Primary evidence confirms the period. It also confirms several recipe
variations.
On
the other hand? Most recipes are not inventions, but evolutions. Good cuts of beef served with
maitre d'hotel butter were served in England before this particular recipe was featured in fancy
French dinner menus. Thick steaks filled with oysters (aka Carpetbag
steak) were also popular at that time. Notes here:
"Chateaubriand...This French version of English beef-steak was probably dedicated to the
Vicomte de Chateaubriannd (1768-1848) by his chef, Montmireil: at that time, the steak was cut
from the sirloin and served with a reduced sauce made from white wine and shallots moistened
with demi-glace and mixed with butter, tarragon and lemon juice. An alternative spelling is
chateaubriant and some maintain that the term refers to the quality of the cattle bred around the
town of Chateaubriand in the Loire-Atlantique. Pellaprat, probably wrongly, specifies: The dish
was created at the Champeax restaurant; it was shortly after publication of Chateaubriand's book
L'Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem (1811) that this grilled steak, comprising a thick slice
from the heart of the beef filet, made its first appearance ; its cooking is a delicate process on
account of the thickness, for if it is sealed too much, a hard shell is formed on either side and the
centre remains uncooked; it must be cooked more slowly than a piece of ordinary
thickness."
"A chateaubriand is a thick steak cut from a beef fillet. It was named after the French writer and
statesman Francois Rene, Vicomte de Chateaubraind. The original application of the term
appears
to have been to a particular method of preparing steak-grilled and served with bearnaise
sauce-which was invented by the chef Montmirail in 1822, when the Vicomte de Chateaubriand
was
French ambassador in London; but by the 1870s, when it was introduced into English, it had
been
transferred to the steak itself: The steak which had formerly been served...under the name filet
de
boeuf was now always announced as 'Chateaubrand,' E.S. Dallas, Kettner's Book of the
Table (1877).
"Chateaubriand is the name given to a large piece of fillet steak, either much thicker that usual or
big enough to serve at least two people, or both. There is some disagreement, e.g. between
French and American butchers, over the exact size and nature of this cut. A tedious accretion of
tales about the origin of the name was robustly hacked out of the way by Dallas (1877) in
Kettner's Book of the Table, indeed, the author of this would have gone further and
banished the term altogether, as had the members of a certain London club (so he tells us) when a
fancy chef sought to install it on their menu.
Here is the original passage from Kettner's Book of the Table (1877), quoted in full:
"Take another example of mystification, and it must be added, of exceeding folly--to use no
stronger epithet. It is connected with the illustrious name of Chateaubriand. One of the foremost
clubs in London one day changed its cook; and its members were astonished to find that the steak
which had formerly been served to them under the name filet de boeuf was now always announced
as a Chateaubriand. The cook was called to account. What was the meaning of the new name?
Why should plain Englishmen be puzzled with a new name--the slang of the kitchen? Why
should
they not, as of old, get the fillet were accustomed? The cook had really nothing to say. He could
only tell that a Chateaubriand was the fashionable name in Paris for a steak cut from the ordinary
fillet-steaks--nearly two inches. The members of the club were not satsified with this
explanation;
and to the great disgust of the chef, who felt the sublimity of the name of Chateaubriand, the
order was given that henceforth a steak from the fillet should be announced as before on other
bills under the time-honoured name of filet de boeuf.
The were quite right; and even if the cook, better informed, had been able to give them the
true history and meaning of a Chateaubriand, there can be little doubt that they would have still
arrived at the same decision. He was correct in stating that a Chateaubriand is cut from the best
part of the fillet, and is nearly twice the ordinary thickness of steak: but is this all? The thickness
of the steak involves a peculiar method of cooking it. It is so thick that by the oridinary method
it
might be burnt on the surface when quite raw inside; and therefore--though the new method is
neglected and is even forgotten very much--it was put upon the fire between two other slices of
beef, which, if burnt upon the grill, could have been thrown away. It may still be asked, what has
this
to do with Chateaubriand, that his name should be attached to a steak so prepared? Here we come
into a region of culpapble levity. Chateaubriand published his most famous work under the name
of Le Genie du Christianisme. The profane wits of the kitchen thought that a good steak
sent to the fire between two malefactor steaks was a fair parody of the Genie du
Christianisme. If I remember rightly it was a Champeax' in the Place de la Bourse that this
eccentric idea took form and burst upon Paris. As to the name, it is needless to day a word; as to
the good sense of the mode of cooking the steak, judgement is pronounced in the fact that,
though the Chateaubriand still remains as thick as ever, it is rare now to see it grilled between
two
other steaks--that being too extravagant. Indeed, in Gouffe's great work on cookery, which must
always be mentioned with respect for the good sense and taste whcih pervade it, there is not a
hint
given that the Chateaubriand is to be cooked, or was ever cooked, between the two robber steaks.
Most cookery books say not one word of the Chateaubriand, which ranks now as the prime steak
of the French table, and which appears in Parisian dinner bills to bewilder the benighted
Englishman with a magnificent but unintelligble name." (p. 6-7)
"Chateaubriand.--It is not necessary to add to the account of this given in the introduction, and I
am not anxious to repeat the story. The peculiarity of the steak is in its thickness, and in the way
fo broiling it; but sometimes also it is served with a peculiar sauce, namely, Spanish sauce
diluted
with white wine, then considerably reduced and at the moment of serving enriched with a pat of
maitre d'hotel butter." (p. 114)
CHATEAUBRIAND RECIPES THROUGH TIME
Thickened Maitre d'Hotel Sauce a la Chateaubriand.
[1894]
[1896]
[1903]
[1935]
The history of chicken is long and complicated.
"The origins of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus, as the Romasn named it) go back tens of
thousands of years. Charles Darwin, observing the Red Jungle Fowl of southeast Asia, identified
it
as the progenitor or the modern barnyard chicken. Some present-day archeologists assume the
time of domestication to be in 3000B.C. and, following Darwin's lead, the place India, or the
Indus valley. Others perfer Burma and others the Malay Peninsula. There is evidence that
chickens
were known in Sumer in the second millenium and the Sumero-Babylonian word for the cock
was
"the king bird."..In Egypt we find mention of chickens as early as the Second
Dynasty...references
in Greek writings of the fourth century B.C. to the fact that the Egyptians kept chickens and ,
moreover, that they were able to incubate large numbers of eggs...Indeed it was no accident that
Egypt, like ancient China, was a mass society which mastered the technology of large-scale
incubation. Some four thousand years ago the Egyptians invented incubators capable of hatching
as many as ten thousand chicks at a time...From Greece, the chicken spread to Rome...When the
Romans conquered Britain, they brought chickens with them...But they also found domestic fowl
already there."
"Chicken. The Indian jungle fowl. Gallus gallus, is the acknowledge progenitor of domestic
fowls
the world over. It is native to a wide region all the way from Kashmir to Cambodia, with perhaps
the centre of origin in the Malaysian land mass. The bird may have been domesticated not as a
source of meat, but for purposes of divination...the fowl is a scavenger, and perhaps for this
reason, the domestic fowl frequently finds a place in lists of foods prohibited for brahmans. For
example, the Manusmriti includes in this category the domestic pig and the domestic fowl, and in
AD 916 the visitor A-Masudi records prohibition agains 'cows, tame poultry, and all kinds of
eggs
among the people'...Other travellers however note the consumption of chicken as food. Chicken
kabob, paloa with murgmasallam, and roasted fowl (dojaj) all figure in meals served at the Delhi
Sultanate corut. In Vijayanagar, Domingo Pases remarks on 'poultry fowls, remarkably cheap',
and in AD 1780 Mrs. Eliza Fay serves 'roast fowl' for lunch in Calcutta. Since good beef was
scarce or unavailable, the domestic fowl was indeed the great colonial standby, whether at home
or when travelling."
"Chicken, the domestic or barnyard fowl, native to India; source of meat and of eggs. The earliest
sources for the presence of chickens in Euope are Laconian vases dated to the sixth century BC
(the chickens identified by some in early Egyptian and Minoan wall paintings are in fact guinea
fowl). Greek texts of the fifth century call chickens alektryones awakeners (a salient
trait)...Several varieties of chicken are mentioned in ancient sources."
"The chicken (Gallus gallus or Gallus domesticus) is generally considered to have evolved from
the jungle fowl...which ranges throughout the area between eastern India and Java....Debates
regarding the origin and spread of the domestic chicken focus both on its genetic basis and the
"hearth area" of its inital domestication...archaeological evidence [shows] domestic chickens to
be
present at China's Yangshao on Peiligan Neolithic sites, which dated from circa 6000to 4000
B.C.
As a consequence, because wild forms of Gallus are entirely absent in China, and as the climate
would have been inimical to them in the early Holocene, it seems likely that chickens were
domesticated elsewhere at an even earlier date. in the absence of evidence from India, Southeast
Asia (i.e. Thailand) has been put forward as a likely hearth area...Although chickens are strongly
associated with egg production in European and neo-European cultures, elsewhere they have very
different associations..."
"Hen/chicken breeds: Domesticated versions of the species Gallus domesticus. Their wild
ancestors are thought to be several species of jungle fowl, of the same genus, native to the Indian
subcontinent and SE Asia. Remains from Chinese sites indicated that the birds could have been
domesticated as early as the 2nd millennium BC. However, their diffusion westwards was a long
process. They probably reached Britain, for example, with Celtic tribes during the 1st century
BC.
They had arrived in Greece, probably from Persia, about 500 years before that, and there are
numerious references tin classical literature, for example to their being served as food at
symposia. The Romas bread hens for their meat, selecting docile, heavy birds...An old English
breed, the Dorking, also shares these characteristics, leading to speculation that ancestors of these
birds flourished in Roman Britain...In 1815 Bonington Moubray was able to specify 12 hen
breeds
(in his Pracitcal Treatise on Breeding, Rearing and Fattening all Kinds of Domestic poultry, a
book which formalized the husbandry of poultry in Britain."
U.S. chicken industry history/National
Chicken Council & U.S. broiler industry history/
U.S. Dept. Agriculture
ABOUT CHICKEN DISHES
Related foods: airline chicken, eggs, Cajun fried
turkey (aka deep-fried turkey), chicken & waffles
chicken fried steak, city
Chicken,
Coq au vin, fried chicken, &
Peking duck
While creamy combinations of chicken and sauce have been made for hundreds of years, food
historians
generally place the *invention* of Chicken a la King in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. They
offer several
theories with regards to the origin and naming of this dish:
"Chicken a la king. A dish of chicken with a cream sauce garnished with pimientos. Several
theories as to
the dish's orgins date from the late nineteenth century. One credits New York's Brighton Beach
Hotel,
where chef George Greenwald supposedly made it for the proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. E. Clark
King III. Chef
Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City suggested that Foxhall P. Keene,
son of
Wall Street broker and sportsman James R. Keene, came up with the idea at Delmonico's in the
1880s. A
third story credits James R. Keene himself as the namesake and the place and time of origin as
Claridge's
Restaurant in London after Keene's horse won the 1881 Grand Prix. However the dish got its
name, first
mentioned in print in 1912, it became a standard luncheon item in the decades that followed,
often
served
from a chafing dish and with rice or on a pastry shell."
"Over the years I have speculated about the origin of the dish called chicken a la king. Curiosity
about the
source has to do with a possible sea change that may have occurred when the dish arrived here, as
I
supposed, from France. Numerous classic dishes in the French kitchen are listed on menus as a la
reine or
in the queen's style. Thus you find omelette a la reine, or an omelet filled with creamed chicken,
potage a la
reine, a cream of chicken soup, and so on. James N. Keen, a professional photographer on
Louisville,
Kentucky, has a brochure that purports to tell the genesis of the name chicken a la king. Mr.
Keen
states
that a brochure was given to him forty years ago by one E. Clark King 3rd, whose father was a
restauranteur. "It was in the early 1900s that chicken a la King was first served to the public," the
brochure
says. "My father was the proprieter of the Brighton Beach Hotel, a fashionable summer resort
outside
Manhattan. "One night his head chef, George Greenwald, sent word he had concocted a dish he
would like
to serve my parents. It was enjoyed immensely and they asked for seconds...The next morning,
the chef
asked permission to place it on the menu...The next day the bill of fare carried the following"
Chicken a la
King--$1.25 a portion." If that was the indeed the origin of the name, then here is the original
recipe as
detailed in the brochure."
"There's nothing royal about Chicken a la King, which is an entree of cubed cooked chicken
breast in a
cream sauce that is dotted with pimento and mushrooms and often flavored with Madeira or a
similar wine.
An early claim for its invention appeared in 1915 in the obituary of William King, who had
worked as a cook
at Philadelphia's fashionable Bellevue Hotel around 1895. King included truffles and red and
green
peppers in his recipe. Under the more pedestrian name "creamed chicken," similar recipes
appeared in
cookbooks beginning in the late nineteenth century. Peas are often added to the sauce in these
recipes,
and the sauced chicken is served over hot toast, biscuits, or waffles. The first located recipe titled
"Chicken
a la King" appeared in Paul Richard's The Lunch Room (1911). The name quickly became
popular, and
the dish became a standard menu item in all kinds of restaurants, upscale and down, especially
tearooms
that catered to women, since this dish could be eaten in a most ladylike way without picking up a
knife."
E. Clarke King III published his side of the story in Better Homes and Gardens, April
1937 (p. 86,
154):
"How Chicken a la King Originated
The Original Chicken a la King [A Taste-Test Kitchen Endorsed Recipe]
2 tablespoons butter
The oldest recipe we have for Chicken a la King was published in a San Francisco restaurant
cookbook. This may confirm the immediate popularity of this dish in fine dining establishments.
It
certainly confirms variations on the original instructions.
Additional notes/Barry Popik.
Modern "soul food" or classic historic combination? A little of both.
Fast forward: 20th century NYC:
"No appetites are safe from the magnificent Southern Creole cuisine when visiting Wells
restaurant, located uptown in the Big Apple. Famous for more than their chicken and waffles,
Wells entertains customers with Caribbean flair and a frenzy of live music. Harlem hasn't been
the
same since Wells opened in May 1938. The owner, Elizabeth Wells, is determined to bring
people
a humble, homey atmosphere with exciting home-style cooking, but with a twist of island flavor
and a lot of fun. Joseph T. Wells, the late husband of Wells, had a record of cooking techniques
in
the mix. Working as a waiter and manager of a restaurant in Florida, Joseph took his craft to
New York during the late 1920s. It was inevitable for the young entrepreneur to start his business
and, by the spring of 1938, the restaurant bearing his name opened its doors. Elizabeth Wells
entered the picture later. They married in 1966, even though she had joined the establishment in
1963. The married couple produced a son named Tommy Wells. With an avalanche of victory for
the restaurant, Wells bloomed as one of the greatest hot spots in Harlem, with a bevy of
entertainers who dropped in...Wells has been spinning the wheels of the restaurant with tip-top
soul food and no regrets...."
The "Wells Home of Chicken and Waffles, Since 1938" logo introduced in the mid-eighties.
Trademark registration (#1431599) is online: US Patent & Trademark Office. Select
Was the recipe for Well's Chicken & Waffles published? Yes (waffles) & no (chicken)
Waffle Brunch
A poetic recipe circa 1909
I do love the perfume of roses
I love the smell of new mown hay,
But the smell that risise form down below--
I love to hear the robins sing
But, oh, the song of the waffle iron--
Just let your waistband out a foot
The term "Cordon Bleu" (by itself) relates to a special order of French knights. Presumably, by
association, cordon bleu as it relates to recipes (as in, chicken cordon bleu...boneless breast of
chicken wrapped around cheese and thinly sliced ham) also originated in France as dishes of distinguished classes. Food historians
tell us the notion is debatable.
On the other hand? Recipes are not invented. They evolve. Culinary evidence confirms roulades and bracioline
composed of veal/chicken, ham and cheese were favored in centuries past by several cultures and
cuisines. Most notably: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and Italy. Recipes (and recipe
names) varied according local tastes and language. Italian-inspired recipes generally feature
prosciutto (ham) and Parmesan (cheese). "Cordon bleu," as we Americans know it
today, first surfaced in the early 1960s. Our country's culinary interpretation parlayed prosciutto for thinly sliced deli ham and
Parmesan for mozzerella, Gruyere, or Swiss cheese. Old World masterpiece going with the flow. The perfect American
convergence. Of course? The timing was perfect.
What is the "Cordon Bleu?"
"Cordon Bleu. This was originally a wide blue ribbon worn by members of the highest order of
knighthood, L'Ordre des Chevaliers du Satin-Espirit, instituted by Henri III of France in 1578. By
extension, the term has since been applied to food prepared to a very high standard and to
outstanding cooks. The analogy no doubt arose from the similarity between the sash worn by the
knights and the ribbons (generally blue) of a cook's apron."
"Chicken Cordon Bleu appears to have no connection whatsoever with the great cooking schools
of Paris or London. Instead it is an American innovation of quite recent origin, but one that draws
from two distinctly European traditions. The story begins with Chicken Kiev, and authentic
Ukranian dish...Made of flattened chicken breasts wrapped securely around seasoned butter,
breaded, and then fried, Chicken Kiev became popular in the United States in the 1960s, first as a
specialty of fine restaurants...Variations inevitably proliferated. Someone...thought of the Veal
Cordon Bleu or Switzerland and the almost identical Schnitzel Cordon Bleu of Austria. Both
consist of flattened pieces of veal folded around thin slices of ham and Emmentaler or Gruyere
cheese (both products of Switzerland), then breaded and fried. A combination of the concepts for
Chicken Kiev and Veal Cordon Bleu resulted in Chicken Cordon Bleu."
"...poulet Alsace is chicken breast enveloping a savory stuffing of mushrooms, cheese and smoky
pancetta, a close kin to chicken Cordon Bleu."
Dating the modern American cordon bleu
Compare these recipes:
[1961]
[1964]
[1964]
[1968]
References to "Cordon Bleu"-type recipes can be found in 19th/20th century American/British
cookbooks. It takes a little work because they are listed by different names. The Doubleday
Cookbook/Jean Anderson & Elaine Hanna [1975] offers a recipe for "Ham and Cheese
Stuffed Chicken Breasts (p. 504).
According to the food specialists, Chicken Francese is an Italian-American dish introduced in the
New York City area sometime after World War II. This was a popular trend at that time. The
earliest mention we find in the New York Times for this dish is this restaurant review published January 2, 1970 (p. 25): "There was also a dish called
chicken francese or chicken French-style with lemon, and it would have been good except it was overly salted."
Of course few recipes are "invented." They evolve. Breaded and fried
chicken/veal recipes were known to ancient Roman cooks. This recipe diffused as the Roman
Empire marched through Europe. It evolved according to local taste, ingredients, and cuisine.
You know? In some respects, chicken francese is not so very different from German schnitzel, or Italian Scallopinne,
lightly breaded cutlets fried and seasoned with lemon.
"Chicken francese. An Italian-American dish of sauteed chicken cutlets with a lemon-butter sauce. The word francese is Italian
for "French style," although there is no specific dish by this name in either Italian or French cookery."
"Some of the most interesting dishes on the menus of Italian restaurants in America are of uncertain or dubious origin. They bear
Italian names, but are commonly supposed to have been created in this country. Three of these dishes are clams Posillippo, chicken
scarpariello, and veal Francese. One will rarely, if ever, find recipes for these dishes in standard or tradtional Italian
cookbooks, either regional or classic...Francese means French-style, and, in most Italian-American restaurants, veal Francese is
batter-fried."
"Now for a bit of background: Having enjoyed Chicken and/or Veal Francese (or Francaise)
many times, I knew the sauce consisted of lemon juice, sometimes white wine, chicken broth and
unsalted butter. However, it's not a classical sauce. I did find one written recipe for a Sauce
Francaise made with fish stock, garlic and mashed anchovies in a bechamel (white) sauce, in
Henri-Paul Pellaprat's Modern French Culinary Art (World Publishing Co., 1996). But I could
not find any written recipe for the lemony sauce we are familiar with. Even August Escoffier,
who died in 1935 and was regarded as the Emperor of Cooks, never mentioned a Sauce Francaise
(or Francese) in his Le Guide Culinaire (published in English by Crown Publishers, 1941). I
spoke
with Jean Bert, chef/owner of La Coquille in Fort Lauderdale. After research in his classical
cookbooks, he came to the same conclusion. Whatever the origin of this light, lemony sauce, it is
the perfect foil for the delicate flavors of chicken, veal or fish, and Il Bacio's is one you will want
to make often."
"This is a delicious and easy recipe that's very hard to find because people look in Italian
cookbooks for it. It isn't entirely Italian, so they search in vain. Indeed, it is hardly even known
outside the New York metro area, which leads me to believe that it is a strictly local dish. In fact,
the only English language cookbook in which I have EVER seen the recipe is in one of my own,
Cooking In A Small Kitchen, published by Little Brown in 1978 and now out of print, and The
Brooklyn Cookbook by Lyn Stallworth and Rod Kennedy, Jr., published by Knopf in 1991 and
still widely available. The recipe does, however, have antecedents in recipes that I
have found in Italian language Neapolitan cookbooks, but its final refinement must have been in
New York. When I was growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s, it was just beginning to gain in
popularity over veal and chicken parmigiana. You can also have veal francese, shrimp francese,
and fish (usually sole or flounder fillets) francese. Francese of course means "in the French
manner," but it refers to a food that is dipped in flour and egg, then fried, then dressed with
lemon juice or lemon sauce. In Neapolitan cookbooks, there's mozzarella or provola (aged
mozzarella) treated this way, and chicken thighs on the bone treated this way. But a thin slice of
veal or chicken? No. And these days, such a dish would not be called francese in Naples anyway.
It would most likely be called indorati e fritti -- gilded and fried. Entirely an Italian dish."
---Authur Schwartz, The Food Maven
Possible precursors?
[1945]
[1952]
[1962]
[1967]
[1977]
The history of chicken fried steak (aka country fried steak) is a fabulous example of
cultural diversity, regional pride and
just plain confusion. Why? Because there are as many names/recipes for this dish as people who
claim they know how it started. That's part of what makes the study of food history so
interesting.
As is true with many popular foods we know today, the recipe preceded the name.
Food historians generally agree the practice of dredging meat (all kinds) in flour/spices,
frying/baking it up and serving it with a sauce/gravy dates back to ancient times. This cooking
method tenderizes the meat and enhances its flavor. Think: Wiener
schnitzel. Europeans who settled in America knew
all about making tough cuts of meat palatable. Many historic American
cookbooks contain "chicken-fried" type recipes for beef, veal, chicken & lamb, though they go by different names. Veal is traditionally considered to be a tough cut
of meat and was often cooked in such a way as to make it more tender, as in weiner schnitzel.
Sensible American cooks would have treated tough cuts of beef in a similar fashion. The
chicken connection? Some food historians suggest the coating and pan-fried cooking
technique commonly used on fried chicken was easily adapted to tenderize steak.
In America, country fried steak is generally considered to be a regional dish. It is commonly
found
in the southern and central western states. The meat used for this American dish is always beef,
the cuts vary. The "chicken-fried" moniker seems to be a mid-20th century invention. The earliest print reference
we find mentioning Chicken Fried Steak is a restaurant ad published in the Colorado Springs Gazette, June 19, 1914 (p. 6):
"A Summer Dainty. Chicken Fried Steak served at Phelps, 111 E. Bijou." The earliest
printed recipe we have for in chicken-fried steak was
published in 1924.
What the food historians say:
"Chicken-fried steak...A beefsteak that has been tenderized by pounding, coated with flour or
batter, and fried crisp. The name refers to the style of cooking, which is much the same as for
southern fried chicken. Chicken-fried steak has been a staple dish of the South, Southwest, and
Midwest for decades..."
"Chicken-fried steak...dating back to the times when beef was not nurtured with tender, loving
care, steak identified as chicken-fried or country-fried, or sometimes smothered, can be
prepared with any cut of beef but is obviously no better than the quality of the piece chosen. It is
still popular in the South and West, especially at roadside eating places."
"Chicken-fried steak...Particularly popular in the South and Midwest, this dish is said to have
been
created to use inexpensive beef."
"Chicken-fried steaks...I have never seen a recipe for chicken-fried steaks. It is my conjecture that
the name came about years ago when it was impossible to get beefsteaks of good quality in the
rural South...I believe Swiss steaks had more or less the same origin. After the steaks were fried
they were covered with a sauce of tomatoes, carrots, celery, and peas and baked until
fork-tender."
What the regional people say:
"The basic recipe for country-fried steak, for example, includes lightly floured steak sauteed and
then baked in the oven. It's smothered with brown gravy and onions. Chicken-fried steak, on the
other hand, uses breading similar to that for chicken before it's fried in a skillet. It's topped off
with a cream gravy."
"Of course, there's chicken fried steak, another Texas curiosity. Not the dish, but the name. But
battered and pan-fried beef steak is a home-cooking tradition in many regions. It goes by
different
names - country-fried steak, for example - in different parts of the country."
"For the sake of argument, let's say a chicken-fried steak is a piece of beef, dipped in a mixture of
egg and milk, dredged in seasoned flour and either pan-fried or deep-fried in hot oil, shortening
or
drippings. Let's also assume the great majority of chicken-fried steaks are served on top of or
underneath a ladle of cream gravy, and usually sits next to a big helping of mashed potatoes.
Although chicken-fried steak is considered a Southern staple, and most assuredly holds elite
status
in nearly any Oklahoma diner, its written history surprisingly dates to only about 1950."
"Matt's El Rancho [restaurant] opened in 1952 at 302 E. 1st. [Austin, TX]. The original menu
consisted of only blue plate specials such as chicken fried steak."
"The German-Austrian dish is an illustrious forebear to our chicken-fried steak. German
immigrants brought the breaded and fried cutlet to the Texas frontier, where it was quickly
copied
-with less finesse-by chuck-wagon cooks and farm wives trying to make a tough cut of beef
more palatable. Even the gravy ladled on top has Teutonic roots: Rahmschnitzel is garnished
with
cream sauce. Schnitzel is German for cutlet. It is most often made from veal, but pork and, less
frequently, beef also are used. Though there are many variations, the most popular is probably
Wiener schnitzel, a crisply coated cutlet served plain except for a squeeze of lemon."
"According to the Lone Star Book of Records, the CFS was invented in 1911 by Jimmy Don
Perkins, a cook in a small cafe in Lamesa, Texas, who misunderstood a customer's order and
battered a thin steak and deep-fried it in hot oil. Unfortunately this oft-reported food fact is a
complete fable. Nobody is really sure when the CFS was invented, but it was long before 1952.
In
the Best Read Guide to San Antonio, Carol B. Sowa reports that the Pig Stand Drive-in locations
in San Antonio started serving chicken-fried steak sandwiches when they opened in the 1940s.
Gourmet columnists Jane and Michael Stern speculate in Eat Your Way Across the U.S.A. that
the chicken-fried steak was a Depression-era invention of Hill Country German-Texans. My own
guess is that the dish existed as beefsteak Wiener schnitzel long before the catchy Southern name
was coined."
"It was in this restaurant where the famous Fred Hill Steak was invented by Fred Hill. This steak
is a round steak dipped in batter and flour and other secret ingredients, then fried in a skillet on
the stove. This may sound like a Chicken Fried Steak, however, there is no comparison with the
original Fred Hill Steak and a chicken fried steak. This secret recipe was handed down to Fred's
daughter-in-law, Esther V. Hill of Portal, North Dakota and lately passed on to Fred's grandson
Robert Hill. For may years the son's of Kenneth Hill would make the long journey to Portal to
take in the famous steak invented by their grandfather, kept alive by their father Kenneth Hill,
cooked by their mother Esther Hill and enjoyed by all."
About Germans in
Texas
We checked several historic [American] Southern cookbooks for chicken-fried and/or
country-fried steak and found many recipes that would approximate the recipe in question, all
under different names:
Recipes for Chicken Fried Steak begin to appear in American print in the 1920s. They proliferate in the 1930s, suggesting
this might have been a popular inexpensive dish of Depression-era cooks. While generally promoted as "tender," this snippet
suggest Chicken Fried Steak that was not always the case: "The muscles of the human jaw exert a force of 634 pounds. And still
they are not equal to some of the "chicken fried" steak one gets at the rapid-fire lunch counter."---"Pen Points,"
Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1923 (p. II4). Presumably, the tenderness of the final product is directly proportional
to the cut of steak employed.
[1936]
[1949]
One would think a popular dish such as Chicken Kiev would have a long and documented
history. Truth is? We find very little information. Most contemporary food historians agree the
dish is a modern invention. The connection with Kiev is fuzzy. Notes here:
Lynn Visson's Russian Heritage Cookbook offers three modern recipes for Chicken Kiev as well
as one for Cutlets Marechal "This chicken breast with truffles is an elegant version of Chicken
Kiev." (P. 162-4)
ABOUT CHICKEN KIEV IN AMERICA
"Another popular restaurant dish, one that fared better in American hands, is chicken Kiev--chicken breast pounded thin, then breaded and deep-fried. Unknown in czarist times, this dish is
actually a Soviet-era innovation. During the 1970s and 1980s, it was served at the most elegant
catered events in America. Eventually some American cooks substituted blue cheese for the
butter or pan-fried the chicken instead of deep-frying it, variations that did justice to the original
recipe."
This recipe introduction from the Russian Tea Room Cookbook/Faith Steward-Gordon & Nika
Hazelton [1981] provides a different perspective: "Chicken Kiev...This most famous and best
known of all Russian dishes, as prepared in the Russian Tea Room in the classic way, is
generally acclaimed to be The Best. Its Kievian origins are obscure and it seems most likely that
Chicken Kiev was a creation of the great French Chef Careme at the Court of Alexander I." (P.
74)
[NOTE: Includes recipe.]
[1930s]
"Col. Yaschenko, generalissimo of the Yar, is an ex-officer of the Russian imperial army. He recommends Russian food,
particularly stuffed breast of chicken, Kiev style."
Who was Col. Yaschenko?
"Services for Wladimir W. Yaschenko, owner of the Yar restaurant in Chicago in the 1930s...died Tuesday at the age of 71. In recent
years he had been managing director for the Zenith Display salon, 200 N. Michigan. During its day the Yar, a near north side
dining place, was famous as a gathering spot for celebrities such as Ethel Barrymore, Tito Schipa, Jascha Heifetz, and Igor Sikorsky.
It was designed after the Yar restaurant in Moscow. Yaschenko was called Col. Yaschenko by some friends. After completing four
years at the Railroad Instituted in St. Petersburg [Petrograd] Russia, he served in the imperial Russian Army. He was a colonel
in the second light calvalry artillery regiment during World War I. Yaschenko came to Chicago in 1926. In addition to the Yar he
operated the Opera club, the Club Petrushka, and the Trading Post."
[1950s]
"The classic chicken dish of old Russia was Chicken Kiev, or Cotolettes Kiev [cotelettes is French for cutlets], or breast
of chicken, Kiev. It is usually found only in expensive restaurants. Originally, Chicken Kiev was simply boned chciken breasts
flattened out and rolled around a piece of sweet butter. It was then rolled in beaten eggs, bread crumbs, and sauteed in butter
or oil."
The New York Times published a recipe on June 13, 1957 under this headline: "Chicken Kiev is
Delicious, Delightfully Easy to Make (p. 34). The recipe provided was extracted from The Complete Chicken
Cookery/Marian Tracy [Bobbs-Merrill:1953].
The tale of Chicken Marengo is oft told. Its name derives from the Battle of Marengo
[1800], where Napoleon defeated the Austrians. Classic legend claims this impromptu
dish created by Napoleon's Swiss chef from local ingredients. Food historians delght in sharing the contradictions in
among the various stories. Notes here:
"Chicken Marengo is named after the Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800), at which
Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians; it was created on the battlefield itself by
Dunand, Napoleon's chef. Bonaparte, who on battle days ate nothing until the fight
was over, had gone forward with his general staff and was a long way from his supply
wagons. Seeing his enemies put to flight, he asked Dunand to prepare dinner for him.
The master chef at once sent men of the quartermaster's staff and ordnance corps in
search of provisions. All they could find were threee eggs, four tomatoes, six crayfish,
a small hen, a little garlic, some oils and a saucepan. Using his bread ration, Dunand
first made a panada with oil and water, and then, having drawn and jointed the
chicken, browned it in oil and fried the eggs in some oil with a few garlic cloves and
the tomatoes. He poured over this mixture some water laced with brandy borrowed
from the general's flask and put the crayfish on top to cook the steam. The dish was
served on a tin plate, the chicken surrounded by the fired eggs and crayfish, with the
souce poured over it. Bonaparte, having feasted upon it, said to Dunand: You must
feed me like this after every battle.' The originality of this improvised dish lay in the
garnish, for chicken a la provencale, sauteed in oil with garlic and tomatoes, dates
from well before the Battle of Marengo. In the course of time the traditonal garnish
was replaced by mushrooms and small glazed onions and the preparaiton was also
used for veal. Some authorities believe that the dish was created in the town of
Marengo (now Hadjout) in Algeria."
"A dish named Marengo--usually chicken Marengo or veal Marengo--is sauteed and
then cooked in a sauce of white wine, tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic. The term is
said to have come from a chicken dish cooked for Napoleon by his chef Dunand, from
the only ingredients to hand, immediately after the battle of Marengo, in north Italy,
on 14 June 1800. It soon found its way to Britain: Mrs. Beeton gives a recipe for foul
a la Marengo' in her Book of Household Management (1861) In which she refers to it
as a well-known dish...a favourite with all lovers of good cheer'."
"Chicken Marengo is the name of a dish supposedly cooked for Napoleon's supper
immediately after the battle of Marengo in 1800. The chicken is fried, then cooked in
a sauce of white wine, gralic, tomatoes, and perhaps mushrooms, which were
supposedly the ingredients which the chef had to hand on the original occasion; but he
would not have had tomatoes at that early time and the first print recipe makes no
mention of them."
"Chicken a la Marengo was born on June 14, 1800, during the Italian campaign. It was two o'clock in the afternoon: the French had
lost two battles since eight o'clock that morning. Desaix--who was to die that evening--suggested engaging in a third;
in the distance, Austrian dispatch-riders were dashing towards Vienna to announce their victory. 'Do what you please,'
Bonaparte told Desaix. 'As for me, I am going to eat.' He motioned to his steward. 'I fear,' said the latter, 'that the meal will not
meet with your approval. Those cursed Austrians have intercepted our canteens: there is not butter in the kitchens.' The First
Consul made a vague gesture and sat down at the table. An hour later General Desaix was again on the road to victory and 'chicken
a la Marengo' sauted in oil had become history."
"The dish is sheer legend. Louis Antoin Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Napoleon's private
secretary, wrote simply, "Supper sent from the Convent del Bosco..." and, further, "in
return for the abundance of good provisions and wine which they supplied...the holy
fathers were allowed a guard to protect them against pillage." The tale, so widely
accepted, evidently stared when an enterprising restaruanteur decided to capitalize on
the French devotion to Napoleon. He added bizzare garnishes to a standard dish.
Chicken Provencal, contrived a believeable story, and Chicken Marengo was
created."
Mrs. Beeton's [1861]
recipe (#949)
The practice of preparing meat/fish/shellfish by dicing it up
into bite-sized chunks, dipping the pieces in a sticky substance, coating them with a grain-based substance, and cooking them (baking, frying, stir-frying) transcends geography and time. Variations on
this theme are found in many cultures and cuisines. Think: Ancient Roman fried chicken, German
schnitzel, Japanese tempura, Colonial American crabcakes, and WWII-era frozen fish sticks.
Because the protiens selected for this treatment are generally mild in flavor, they pair perfectly with zesty dipping
sauces.
Chicken nuggets (aka chicken fingers, chicken tenders), as we Americans know them today, are
a popular fast food menu item composed of
chopped chicken meat, mechanically compressed and factory shaped. McDonald's Chicken McNugget, one of the most popular examples,
was
introduced March 12, 1980. Today, chicken nugget-type foods are standard fare in fast food establishments, family
restaurants, bar menus, school cafeterias, and supermarket freezer aisles.
Who invented the unbiquitous nugget, and when? We found two people claiming this honor:
"ROBERT BAKER, CREATOR OF CHICKEN NUGGETS, CORNELL CHICKEN BARBECUE SAUCE, DIES AT 84
The Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences issued the following news release:
Robert C. Baker, the Cornell University poultry science and food science professor who helped develop chicken nuggets, turkey ham, and poultry hot dogs into ubiquitous American fare, and who created the famous
Cornell chicken barbecue sauce, died of a heart attack at his home in Lansing, N.Y., near Ithaca, on March 13. He was 84. Baker researched and developed
innovative ways to use poultry. His Cornell chicken barbecue recipe has stood the taste test of time, having been showcased for more than five decades at his
Baker's Chicken Coop at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, N.Y. Baker developed the recipe while working for Pennsylvania State University, but the
barbecue sauce he devised was not appreciated until he joined the Cornell faculty with a mandate to promote New York state's poultry industry...During his career,
Baker developed dozens of poultry products. Some of the key products were ground poultry, chicken nuggets and turkey ham. For the chicken nuggets, Baker
found a way to keep the breading attached to the nuggets during the frying process. Today the nuggets are a staple in grocery stores and fast-food restaurants.
"When the nuggets came out in the 1950s, they weren't too popular," Baker told The Ithaca Journal in a 2004 interview.
Prior to 1980, chicken was packed on ice and shipped to restaurants and grocers. Baker and Joseph Hotchkiss, then an assistant professor of food science and
now chair of the department, worked to develop modified atmosphere packaging and vacuum packaging to improve the chicken-shipping process. The late chicken
magnate Frank Perdue implemented these ideas immediately, and the processes are used to this day. Baker was born Dec. 29, 1921, in Newark, N.Y. He earned
a bachelor's degree from Cornell in 1943, majoring in pomology at the College of Agriculture. After college he worked for Cornell Cooperative Extension in
Saratoga County, N.Y., and took an interest in the 4-H youth program. He received a master's degree from Penn State in 1949 and a doctorate from Purdue
University before joining the Cornell faculty in 1957.In 1970 he founded Cornell's Institute of Food Science and Marketing and served as the institute's first
director. He retired in 1989."
Who invented Chicken McNuggets?
What were the McNuggets four original dipping sauces?
Related food? Fast food chicken sandwiches.
Chicken Parm (Parmigiana, Parmesan)is a modern American favorite. Where did it originate & when was it introduced?
One of the best ways to uncover the origins/history of a specific dish is to examine the
ingredients within the context of the country of origin.
Chicken dishes have been enjoyed by people since prehistoric times. Breaded/fried/baked
chicken dishes were prepared by ancient Roman cooks and very popular in most
European countries during Medieval times. Similar recipes were often made with veal.
Cheese is ancient; Parmesean cheese is Medieval. Tomatoes are a "New World" food first
introduced to Europe by Spanish and Portuguese explorers. Prior to this time Italian food
had no tomato sauce. "Alla Parmigiana," known in America as "Parmesean" means the
recipe originated in the Parma region of Italy.
In sum, chicken parmesean (as we know it today) can't be older than the 16th century.
The precursor was veal parmesean, a preferred meat in the "Old Country."
ABOUT PARMIGIANA/PARMESAN
"A dish made in the syle of Parma, which suggests copious amounts of parmigiano
(cheese) and prosciutto (ham). In America, it connotes something in bread crumbs, fried,
topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmigiano, and baked."
"Parmigiano. A cow's milk cheese made in huge wheels and aged. On of the most
esteemed Italian grana cheeses. The cheese of the region has been noted for its quality at
least since the days to Boccaccio, who noted it The Decameron (14th century).
Parmigiano-Reggiano...was made around Parma and Reggia at least as early as the 17th
century."
"The birthplace of Parmesan was Bibbiano, now a rather prosperous rural town in the
Reggio Emilia district adjoining Parma and about two yours' train ride form Milan; but it
was named for Parma because Bibbiano, and indeed all of Reggio Emilia, was under the
rulse of the duchy of Parma during the Middle Ages, and because most cheese trading
took place there as well. This false attribution was only partly corrected by Italian law in
1951, when the Stresa Convention decreed the present designations of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano as well as the
regulations governing their production."
ABOUT CHICKEN PARM IN AMERICA
The earliest reference we find to Veal Parmigiana in American print is this [1947]:
"The hamburger bars about the city are featuring cheeseburgers these days along with their main
stock in trade. At first, the combination of beef with cheese and tomatoes, which sometimes are
used, may seem bizarre. if you reflect a bit, you'll understand the combination is sound
gastronomically. The Italians, for example, are famous for their veal parmigiana, which gourmets
agree is good, and which consists of a veal cutlet with tomato sauce and cheese."
The earliest recipe we have for Veal Parm in an American cookbooks:
Chicken Tartare is fully cooked; Steak Tartare is served raw. Except for the shared appelation, these
two dishes are completely separate and unrelated.
Chicken Tartare is garnished with Tartare sauce, a tangy mayonnaise-based mixture.
[1901]
[1939]
[1952]
Chicken Vesuvio first surfaces in American print after World War II. This coincides with a period of American interest in foreign foods. American-style, that is.
"Chicken Vesuvio." An Italian-American dish of chicken sauteed with garlic, olive oil, oregano, lemon, and wine, piled with potato wedges. According to an article in
Nation's Restaurant News (April 27, 1987), the dish was "created in Chicago by a Neapolitan cook shortly after World War II." It has become a staple item in
Italian-American restaurants in that city. Although it is obviously named after the volcano Mount Vesuvius near Naples, Italy, there are several stories as to the reasons
why. It has been speculated that the name derives either from the amount of smoke produced in the cooking process when the wine is added to the hot pan. But,
according to The Italian Cookbook, published by the Culinary Arts Institute of Chicago in 1954, "the rim of this casserole is topped with deep-fried potatoes and seems to
be erupting flavorful fried chicken."
"Chicago Chicken Vesuvio. One chef says this dish got its name because adding the wine to the oil caused the dish to smoke like a volcano; another suggests that a
chef who was homesick for Naples arranged the dish so it looked like Mount Vesuvius, heaping the chicken in the middle and arranging potato wedges upright around it.
Whatever its origins, only Chicago's Italian restaurants have it. The authentic version is swimming in olive oil and overcooked garlic."
Our survey of Italian and Italian-American culinary sources confirms sauteed poultry dishes do, indeed, claim a place in Mediterranean cuisine. Most are combined with
local spices, a variety of vegetables and starch component (typically risotto or macaroni). Many require a some wine, both red or white. We find no references to Chicken
Vesuvio (or any dish under a different name that would have produced a similar result) in our Italian-American (1912-1950s) and Chicago-based cookbooks [Chicago Daily
News Cook Book c. 1930; Grandaughter's Inglenook Cookbook, c. 1942].
The oldest print reference we find to Chicken Vesuvio is from a Chicago newspaper, c. 1948. This perhaps suggests the name, if not the dish, originated in the Windy
City. Note the recipe is quite different from the "classic" recipe described by Mariani & others.
"Last week in Chicago a new and unique organization joined the ever growing list of wine and food societies in this country. While the name adopted is somewhat
jocose--the Streeterville and sanitary Canal Gourmet and Study society--its purpose is admirable. The founding chapter is limited to 10 memebers and is composed of four
newspaper men...two radio executives, a newspaper columnist, a two star Untied States army general, a real estate operator, and a lawyer...This group will meet either
monthly or semi-monthly...and one member will be designated as chef for the meeting. He, with the assistance of the other members, will prpare a meal of inspired
dishes...cooked as only male cooks can prepare them...The formation meeting was held at Mike's Fish restaurant on Chicago's near north side. The menu, selected by
the venerable and the recording chef, was prepared by Mike Fish himself...The main entry was Chicken Vesuvio. Cut a chicken into small serving pieces and fry in pure
olive oil. In the meantime, cut large potatoes into oversize french fry slices, and deep fry them in lard until almost cooked. When the chicken is nearly done, add the
potatoes to the chicken, sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, a small pinch of ground red chili peppers, and a small pinch of oregano over the contents of the
pan. Stir the mixture gently, then place a cover on the pan and let cook for about 2 or 3 minutes. Place everything on a hot serving platter, sprinkle over the whole a liberal
portion of finely chopped parsley, and serve."
By the 1960s, the original concept of "chicken and french fries" evolved into an elaborate gourmet procedure. The recipe below, from the New Antoinette Pope School
Cookbook [c. 1961], is a prime example of what happens when professional American chefs decide to validate a simple home-grown dish. The addition of garlic and
"Italian cheese" makes this dish more presentable as "Italian."
The history of City chicken (aka mock chicken) is relatively easy to trace. The definative origin
of the name continues to elude food historians. What we do know? This recipe calls western
Pennsylvania "home."
The culinary evolution of City chicken:
"Mock" foods (foods that are named for an ingredient that isn't in the recipe) have a long an
venerable history. Medieval cooks employed by wealthy families were fascinated with illusion
food. The practice of calling one food by another name (mock sturgeon was composed of veal) or
making one meat resemble another was quite an art and highly respected. Victorian-era cooks
were also intrigued by mock foods. They enjoyed mock turtle soup (calve's head...remember this
character in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland?), mock goose (leg of pork) and mock
apple pie (soda crackers). Depression and World War II-era cooks created mock foods to stretch
the budget and satisfy family tastes. The 1931 edition of Irma Rombauer's The Joy of
Cooking has recipes for mock chicken sandwiches (tuna), mock pistachio ice cream (vanilla
with almond extract and green food coloring) and mock venison (lamb).
The Oxford English Dictionary does not have an entry for city chicken or mock chicken,
but it
does have an entry for "mock duck and mock goose." These are defined as "a piece of pork from
which the 'crackling' [skin] has been removed, baked with a stuffing of sage and onions." The
OED traces this usage in print to 1877. Here is the referenced recipe:
Late 19th and early 20th century American and English cookbooks contain many veal recipes.
Veal loaves (meatloaf!), veal cutlets, and roasts were popular. We find recipes for "veal birds" in
depression-era cookbooks. Veal birds are composed of flattened veal stuffed with pork meat
balls.
The are held in place with toothpicks and served with cream gravy. Guessing from the pictures,
the finished product is supposed to look like little birds. Hence, the name.
"Veal had never been an American meat staple...And though the amount of veal we did eat fell
off after the war [WWII], it was used occasionally (except by immigrants who liked it) as an
inexpensive substitute for the desirable high-priced chicken or turkey, which where not yet being
raised in huge numbers by poultry factories."
Curiously enough? German weiner schnitzel [breaded veal cutlets] morphed in the 1940s in
many
southern states into "chicken-fried steak." The recipe for "city chicken/mock chicken" is almost
identical. The difference is that city chicken is made with pork and veal cubes (as opposed to a
single type of meat) and shaped on a skewer. Our notes on
chicken fried steak.
The earliest recipe we find for Mock Chicken legs [pork & veal cubes on a skewer, dipped in
egg,
rolled in breadcrumbs and sauteed) is dated 1936. The earliest recipe we find for City Chicken
[virtually identical recipe as mock chicken] is also from 1936. Both books were published in the midwest. Compare:
"Mock Chicken Drumsticks (City Chicken)
The western Pennsylvania connection
Other cities with early mock/city chicken citings include Milwaukee, Sheboygan, & Detroit:
Then, there's also Chicago Chicken (defined by the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, J.E. Lighter [Random House:New York] 1994, Volume 1 as "bacon or sausage." (p. 395)
Related foods? Fried chicken, chicken fried steak, & corndogs.
Coq au vin is a contemporary twist on an old culinary theme. The practice of tenderizing tough
meat by
simmering it slowly en
casserole with wine or broth was practiced by Ancient cooks. This technique was generally
regarded as provinical/peasant fare because wealthy diners could afford more tender cuts of
meat.
Today,
Coq au vin is made with tender chicken instead of the traditional tough
old coq (cock), thus
obscuring the
true origin of this dish. Culinary evidence confirms Coq au vin was extremely popular in
America
during the
1960s, as were all things French.
"Coq.
"Although Coq au vin is well known and was featured in numerous menus in the third quarter of
the 20th
century, it does not have a long history. The flesh of a cock has always been regarded as
somewhat tough
and indigestible, and with few exceptions cooks of earlier centuries saw no merit in cocks except
as a
source of cockscombs (much in demand for garnish) and sometimes for making a bouillon. One
of
the very
first recipes for Coq au vin, that of Brisson published in Richardin's L'Art du bien manger (1913),
was
presented as a real discovery', the author having been surprised to find the dish in Puy-de-Dome,
and
surprised by how good it was. The ingredients in this case were the cock, good wine of Avergne,
bacon,
onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Wine from Burgundy has since become the one commonly used,
and
indeed many recipes just say red wine'. The upsurge of interest in regional cuisines has recently
brought to
light other similar traditions for preparing Coc au vin. In Franche-Comte the bird is simmered in
vin jaune;
and in Alsace in Riesling. In both these regions morels and cream are gladly added if available.
Indeed,
knowledgeable food experts no longer speak of Coq au vin in the singular but of coqs au vin in
the plural,
while acknowledging that these dishes were doubtless simmering way for long years before the
first recipes
were published and before the gastromonomes discovered' the virtues of simple country
fare."
Recipes through time
"La veridique et mervielleuse recepte du "coq au vin", telle qu'elle fut imaginee et mise au point
par feu maistre Bertrand, lequel tenait hostellerie a l'ensigne du "Mercure Gallois", au temps du
bon roy Henry, qui voulut fair ordonance a ses subjets de mettre la poule au pot dimanches et
festes. Adonc, quand voudres cuire le "coq au vin", il fault prendre un poulet jenet de Limagne,
et, l'ayant prestement occis, le depecer en six quartiers; puis, en une coquemare ou pot de terre,
fair revenir au feu a demi, ensemble trois onces de lard de porc maigre et ferme, tailles en forme
de des a jouer, une once et demie de beurre frais, plus encore des petits oignons. Sur le moment
que seront revenus les ingredients, jetes en votre coquemare ledit poulet depece et farci d'une
gousse d'ail hachee menu, adjoutes un bouquet de persil et aultres plantes bien odorantes comme
thym et laurier, sans oublier morilles ou champignons; tenes couvert sur le feu vif, tant st si bien
que le tout soit a belle couleur de rot, partout semblable, puis otes le couvert et enleves
doucement la graisse surabondante. Que si, ensuite, vous avez un doigt de vieille eau-de-vie,
voire
Armagnac, arroses d'ycelle le poulet, puis flambes. Et sur le tout ensemble repandes vivement
chopine de bon vin vieux, du pays de Chanturgue preferablement, et quand ensuite seront bien
cuits a poinct, poulet, epices, saulce au vin sur feu vif, servez chauld, enduicts de beurre fondu
marie de fine fleur de froment blanc.
"Suivez a le letter ces prescriptions. Vous m'en direz des nouvelles. J'en ai moi-meme essaye (car
je me pique d'etre, a mes heures, un assez bon maitre-queux. Je declare, sans fausse modestie,
que
mon "coq au vin" a obtenu plein succes. Inutile d'ajouter que le poulet ou la poularde se peuvent
substituter au coq...Mais le coq, sur la carte, a plus d'allure. En mangeant le "coq au vin" on
pense a Chantecler! Adolphe Brisson."
[1938]
[1946]
Clean and singe chicken. If one large chicken is used cut in 8 pieces, but if two small ones, cut
each in 4
pieces. Parboil pork (or bacon) dice about 5 minutes and drain them. Put butter in saucepan, add
pork dice
and cook until they are golden brown. Remove dice and reserve. Season pieces of chicken with
salt and
pepper, put in hot fat and cook until golden brown on all sides. Add onions and mushrooms,
cover pan and
continue cooking voer a slow fire until onions are a little soft and are starting to brown. Pour off
half the fat.
Add shallots and garlic to fat remaining in pan and sprinkle the flour over. If oven is hot put the
pan in it and
leave a few minutes to brown flour. Otherwise, cook a few minutes over low heat on top of stove
stirring to
prevent scorching. Add wine and if it does not cover chicken add a little water; there should be
just enough
liquid to cover chicken. Add faggot, bring to a boil, add pork dice, cover pan, and cook in a
moderately hot
oven of 400 degrees or simmer on top of stove about 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken is tender.
If sauce
needs it, skim fat from surface. Remove faggot and correct seasoning. Arrange chicken,
mushrooms,
onions and pork dice in serving dish and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Serves 3 to
4."
Food historians generally agree cornmeal-covered hot dogs served on a stick became popular
American fair fare in the early 1940s. Who invented this item? History does not say. Who is
responsible for making this item popular? Many people claim this title. Most often cited are the
Fletcher brothers (Corn dogs/Texas) and Jack Karnis (Pronto Pups/Oregon & Minnesota). The
records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirm Pronto Pups were introduced 1942 (the
company's Web site claims 1941). According to the food historians, this is about the same time
Corn Dogs
were made their way to the Texas State Fair.
The earliest reference we find for corn dogs is from the 1920s. According to the description of
the
Krusty
Korn Dog baker (circa 1929), the first corn dogs were not deep-fried hot oil, they were made like
waffles.
"Corn dog baker. "Krusty Korn Dog" baker, also sandwich toaster (grill) or steak fryer. A big
money maker! For use on gas, gasoline, oil or coal stoves. Krusty Korn Dogs are novel &
delicious. The hot dog is baked inside corn batter, which as it bakes, moulds itself to resemble an
ear of corn...Easy to make: Red hots are first fried in butter, then placed in korn dog' sections
together with required amount, they are then quickly & thoroughly baked together. Baker is made
with cast iron, smooth japanned finish, with heavy, sturdy wire coil pan handles...frame, & a fry
pan (griddle), & a pair of Krusty Korn Sausage Dog Pans'," each of which make two, separately
to suit your business. In Pick-Barth wholesale catalog of many makers' hotel & restaurant
supplies, 1929."
An article from the New York Times states "There are "corn dog" stands...on the docks at St.
Petersburg
[Florida]." ("Florida on $30 a Week," NYT December 7, 1941 (p. XX2). Presumably this
indicates corn-dog
type foods were well known in vacation areas. The use of quotation marks around the term "corn
dogs"
indicates this was the generic name for the product rather than a trademark. Were these foods
sold on
sticks? These sources do not confirm.
"Jack Karnis was the first person to buy a Pronto Pup franchise. Invented in an Oregon lumber
camp, the recipe for the batter-coated hot dog was an instant hit when Jack and his wife, Gladys,
took them to Chicago. Jack was selling them on a Chicago street when an alert Minnesota
entrepreneur saw the line and got in, figuring that people would wait only for something good.
The family legend has it that Jack had no time for the gentleman from Minnesota when he tried
to
talk business at the Pronto Pup counter. But William Brede, a familiar name at the State Fair,
would not be put off. "Hey, if I came back with a spot for you at the Minnesota Fair, would you
come up?" Brede asked. Jack waved him off. But Brede flew back to Minnesota, secured a
location on the State Fairgrounds and the returned to Chicago and the blocklong line for Pronto
Pups. Even then, it was hard to persuade Jack and Gladys to close up and come to the Fair. So
Brede, according to Gregg Karnis, offered to pay them a salary for that first year that equaled
their Chicago revenue. That was in 1947. The Karnis family and the Pronto Pups haven't missed
a
fair since."
"Corn dog--A hot dog covered with a cornmeal batter, deep-fried and eaten on a stick. The item
as perfected in 1942 by vaudevillians Neil and Carl Fletcher of Dallas, TX who originally called
it
"Fletcher's Original State Fair Corny Dog" because they sold it from a stand at the State Fair of
Texas."
This same story is recounted in several popular food history books, including the official Texas
State Fair site: "Neil and Carl Fletcher come up with a new fast food product --
corny dogs -- which they offer to the public for the first time during the summer midway
operation." The State Fair Web site refers to The Great State Fair of Texas Nancy
N. Wiley, Taylor Publishing Co., 1995 as the source of its information. Your librarian can help
you find a copy of this book.
Is this the end of the story? No. It's probably just the beginning. Most foods are not invented.
They evolve as a result of culinary heritage and practical adaptations enabled by readily available
ingredients /technology. Sausages (ancient forcemeats & minces) fried in egg or bread-type
coatings were popular old world recipes. Presumably, some of these were introduced to America
by German immigrants. Cornmeal? A "New World" necessitation. Consider this recipe:
Preparation:
Related food? Tempura
While the process of preserving meat with salt is ancient, food historians tell us corned beef
(preserving beef with "corns" or large grains of salt) originated in Medieval Europe. The
Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word corn, meaning "small hard
particle, a grain, as of sand or salt," in print to 888. The term "corned beef" dates to 1621.
Corned Beef Hash & Corned Beef & Cabbage were inevitable interations.
"Emphasizing its long history in the Irish diet, Regina Sexton...points out that a similar product is
mentioned in the 11th-century Irish text Aislinge meic Con Glinne many wonderful
provisions, pieces of every palatable food...full without fault, perpetual joints of corned beef'. She
adds that corned beef has a particular regional association with Cork City. From the late 17th
century until 1825, the beef-curing industry was the biggest and most important asset to the city.
In this period Cork exported vast quantities of cured beef to Britain, Europe, America,
Newfoundland, and the W. Indies. During the Napoleonic wars the British army was supplied
principally with corned beef which was cured in and exported from the port of Cork."
Corned beef was very popular in colonial America because it was an economical and effective
way to preserve meat. The following corning directions are from The Virginia
House-Wife
by Mary Randolph, 1824, pages 22-23:
What about corned beef hash?
Mrs. Lincoln's 1884 hash recipe
used either corned meat or roast beef.
Corned beef in tins:
"Retorting of tins was known in Britain in the 1830s...Tins were produced in a variety of
sizes, ranging from the smallest (two pound) to enourmous ones weighing nearly
seventeen pounds...Opening these tins presented quite a challenge. Most early tins were
sold as military supplies, and until the 1840s the instructions on tins called form the use of
a hammer and chisel. The earliest domestic openers were made in the 1860s and were
called Bull's Head tin openers, as they had a cast-iron handle shaped into a bull's head and tails
and were sold with tins of bully beef...In 1866 a special can with its own key
opener was introduced."
"British soldiers fighting in the Boer War had been issued with the first composite emergency
ration packs containing two tins to be used only in extremity. One had held four ounces
of beef concentrate and the other five ounces of cocoa paste. The great mainstay of the
British army in both world wars was, however, corned beef, which was found to be ideal
for soldiers on the move, who could eat it cold straight from the can. The Tommies called
it "bully beef" a name derived from the French bouilli (boiled) beef, which had been fed to
the French army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870."
According to our food history sources (most of these are published in the U.S.), the tapered
trapezoidal corned beef can we purchase today is attributed to Arthur A. Libby, who acquired a
U.S. patent for this item in 1875. "1875 Arthur A. Libby and William J. Wilson developed the
tapered can for corned beef in
Chicago."
Why the unique design of the corned beef can? There are several theories. Most of them support
the theory of convenience."Why are corned beef tins such
peculiar shapes? THEY CONTINUE to be made in their traditional tapered rectangular shape
because it is easier to extract the contents in one piece, thus allowing the block of corned beef to
be sliced. That's also why the cans also employ a key that enables the user separate one end
of the body of the can: there's no seam to prevent the contents slipping out."
Corned beef--Jewish or Irish cuisine?
Some people wonder about the shared culinary/cultural heritage of the Irish and Jewish peoples
when it comes to corned beef. The practice of curing meat for preservation purposes certainly
dates back to ancient times. The use of salt was adopted/adapted by many peoples and cultures,
and was widely used during the Middle Ages. Evidence suggests that both Irish and Jewish cooks
were making corned (salt) beef independently, long before they met in New York.
"Corned beef comes in two versions: The Jewish special on rye, or the traditional Irish boiled
dinner, aka New England boiled dinner. Tonight should be the big night
for the Irish version."
"But why corned beef? Was St. Patrick, the 5th-century apostle credited with converting the Irish
to Christianity, a corned-beef- and-cabbage kind of guy? Did the Irish embrace him and his
culinary repertoire and ultimately take the whole meal to America? And how can corned beef be
so Irish if it's on the sandwich menu of every self-respecting Jewish deli in America? And, while
we're at it, how is beef "corned" anyway? It's about time to set the corned-beef record straight.
For starters, eating corned beef on St. Patrick's Day is purely American, which makes sense since
celebrating St. Patrick's Day is more American than Irish. In fact, corned beef has always been
associated with Cork City. According to Darina Allen, between the late 1680s and 1825,
beef-corning was the city's most important industry. In that period, corned beef from Cork wound
up in England and Continental Europe and as far away as Newfoundland and the West Indies.
...Myrtle Allen, author of "Myrtle Allen's Cooking at Ballmaloe House" (Stewart, Tabori &
Chang, 1990), further contends that corned beef is "no more Irish than roast chicken." And that's
true enough: For millennia, in order to keep food through the winters, people all around the globe
have preserved meat in brine or dry salt rubs. We see the technique in everything from beef jerky
and Smithfield hams to preserved Tunisian lamb to various Chinese exotica. The Jewish deli
sandwich is just one more exponent of this tradition, in its Eastern European form."
"The Jewish deli started when lone male immigrants were forced to buy kosher meals from
Jewish
neighbors...A deli could be a store that sold cooked foods or a restaurant. It specialized either in
meats or in chesse and fish, never both. It served corned beef (which the British call salt beef),
tongue, and pastrami..."
If you want to read more on the history of salting ask your librarian to help you find this book:
Pickled, Potted and Canned, Sue Shepard
The Salt Archive--fabulous source for salt
history
in all
disciplines
Corned beef & cabbage on St. Patrick's Day:
Brid Mahon's Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and Drink contains these notes about corned beef:
"[in the 19th century] Corned beef was a festive dish." (p. 8)
"While Irish beef has always been noted for its flavor, corned beef was equally relished. Boiled and served with green cabbage and floury potatoes, it was
considered an epicurean dish, to be eaten at Hallowe'en, at Christmas, on St. Patrick's Day, at weddings and at wakes, a traidtion that was carried to the New
World by the emigrants of the 18th and 19th centuries. To this day, corned beef and cabbage are served on St. Patrick's Day and at Thanksgiving in parts of North
America. Bacon, corned beef, sausages and pudding are all mentioned in The Vision of Mac Conlinne, the 12th-century tale that also describes the condiments
served with meats." (p. 57)
"Easter Sunday...the most important festival of the Christian year...Spring lamb, veal and chicken were part of the festive fare but the meal most enjoyed consisted
of corned beef, cabbage and floury potatoes. When millions fled the country during and after the catastrophric years of the Great Famine they carried with the
memory of this festive dish, a tradition that survives in America to this day, though the meal is more often than not served on St. Patrick's Day. (p. 157)
Food historians tell us the origins and evolution of Country Captain Chicken is mysterious.
Theories abound. Each carries merit. What we do know? Is that contemporary culinary pundits
generally consider Country Captain a traditional dish of the American South.
"Country captain is a chicken dish of mysterious origin. Burton (1993) explains that "The term
country' used to refer to anything of Indian, as opposed to British, origin, and hence the country
captain after whom this dish is named may have been in charge of sepoys. It seems more likely,
however, that he was the captain of a country boat, since the recipe turned up midway through
the nineteenth-century at ports as far apart as Liverpool and the American South (where many
Americans mistakenly think the dish originated)." Hobson-Jobson had reached much the same
conclusions; and thought that the origin of the dish was to be found in a spatchcock with onion
and curry stuff, of Madras."
"Country Captain. A curried-chicken dish often attributed to Georgian origins. Eliza Leslie, in
her
mid-nineteenth-century cookbooks, contended that the dish got its name from a British officer
who brought the recipe back from his station in India. Others believed the dish originated in
Savannah, Georgia, a major shipping port for the spice trade."
"Country Captain is a dish that has long been popular in the southern states. According to an
oft-repeated story, a sea-captain sailed into Charleston harbor with a shipload of spices from
India.
Entertained by the hostesses of a city noted for its graciousness, he repaid their kindness by
teaching their capable cooks to make a delicious dish of chicken and curry. Alas for legend! A
virtually identical dish is known in England, where it goes by the very same name. The captain, if
there ever was one, must have been a British officer stationed in the back country of India. An
English writer has noted that "country captain" is also an Anglo-Indian term from the captian of a
foreign ship, that is, a captain from a foreign country. Just how or if that fits into the puzzle
would
be difficult to say. Another suggestion is that Country Captain may be only a corruption of
"country capon."
"It would be fair to call Cecily Brownstone "Cecily Country Captain." But the former food
columnist, who is one of the human cornerstones of authentic cooking in New York, has no
commercial aspirations...For nearly four decades, she has valiantly exposed the myths about the
dish and vigilantly rooted out County Captain imposters as a one-woman preservation society for
this particular version of curried chicken. She doesn't claim to have discovered the dish. "I first
heard about County Captain in the 1950s, but it has been around since at least the 18th
century,"...The dish has gone in and out of style. One era idolized the dish's exotica, another
loved its simplicity. Each vogue of the Captain was rife with misinterpretations of the recipe that,
to Ms. Brownstone, boil down to misrepresentations to, a sort of character assassination that
burns her up...Heaven knows, Ms. Brownstone tried to keep the record--and the recipe--straight.
As early as 1960, when she was writing for The Associated Press and was the ad hoc matriarch
of
James Beard's culinary salon in Greenwich Village, Ms. Brownstone investigated the origins of
Country Captain. At that time, the dish was widely regarded as a specialty of southern United
States, but Ms. Brownstone blew the lid off that assumption. She found the earliest reference to
the dish in "Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book," which was published in 1867. The Captain,
according to Ms. Leslie, is an "Indian dish and a very easy preparation of curry." Miss Leslie said
that the term "Country Captain" signifies "a captain of native troops (or Sepoys) in the pay of
England; their own country being India, they are there called generally the country troops." Miss
Leslie speculated that the dish was "introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer."
Nevertheless, Ms. Brownstone began to prefer the Country Chicken recipe of Alexander
Filillpini,
the chef at Delmonico's in the early 20th century, to that of Miss Leslie. The former called for
browning a whole chicken with peppers and adding almonds and currants; the latter called for
onions "boiled and sliced" and curry powder added to the chicken, and suggested, "It will be a
great improvement to put in, at the beginning three or four tablespoonfuls of finely grated
coconut. It is not surprising that Ms. Brownstone prefers Mr. Filippini's version: it tastes better.
She published the recipe in hundreds of newspapers and was unflagging in getting it included
"for
the record" in dozens of cookbooks. Nevertheless, she tends to underplay her own contributions
to changes in the Captain when recalling other deviants she has seen...When she witnessed
variations on the Captain in restaurants or cookbooks, she took the matter up with whoever was
in charge. Mr. Beard was a significant ally in her crusade. Teaching her recipe in his cooking
school, he indoctrinated a generation of chefs with the formula for the real Captain. Irma
Rombauer and her daughter Marion Rombauer Becker helped her cause by including the recipe
in
"The Joy of Cooking."
Eliza Leslie's recipe circa 1857:
Food historians tell us recipes for croquette-type dishes likely descended from Ancient Roman
rissoles: minced, spiced meat bound with fillers, carefully shaped, and deep fried. Recipes varied
according to culture, cuisine, and period. The primary difference between rissoles and croquettes
is the former is wrapped in pastry while the latter is rolled in breadcrumbs. Cooking method,
presentation and purpose are generally similar. References to "Croquettes" appear in print in the
early 18th century. The earliest recipes we find in English/American cookbooks date to the early
19th century. Croquette recipes are absent from the popular mid-18th century British works of
Hannah Glasse, E. Smith, Mrs. Raffald, and Mrs. Moxon.
About rissoles
"The utimate source of rissole is Vulgar Latin russeola, which was short for pasta russeola,
literally reddish paste' (the Roman gastronome Apicius had a recipe for peacock rissole). In Old
French this became ruissole, which was borrowed into English in the fourteenth century as
russole
and in the fifteenth century as rishew. This early burger evidently did not commend itself to
English tastes, however, because no more is heard of it until the eighteenth century. The word
was then reborrowed from French rissole, but its later-day reputation as the repository of the
unwanted remains of a joint has been no better...The content of the rissole has not always been
restricted to meat leftovers...in the past fish was frequently used, and the fourteenth-century
collection Forme of Cury gives a vegetarian version...In French cuisine, rissoles are
enclosed in puff pastry."
"Rissole as a culinary term, has a simpler meaning in English than in French. An English rissole
is
normally composed of chopped meat, bound with something such as egg, flavoured to taste,
shaped into a disc or ball or like a sausage, and fried in a pan. Around this basic formula there
exists a penumbra of variations...Some authors have supposed that the Latin word isicia, which
certainly meant something of the sort, could confidently been translated as rissoles...However,
although making rissoles can plausibly be traced back to classical antiquity (the technique being
simple and obvious in any culture in which meats were roasted and facilities for frying existed),
there is no necessary connection with the derivation of the actual word from Vulgar Latin
(russeola, reddish) via Old French (ruissole). In the French kitchen the verb rissoler means to
brown, and a rissole is always encased in a puff pastry or the like, usually fried...Such rissoles
may
be savoury or sweet."
About croquettes
"Croquettes, small shaped masses of some savory (or occasionally sweet) substance deep-fried,
typically
in a coating of breadcrumbs, get their name from their crisp exterior: for croquette is a derivative
of the
French verb croquer, crunch'. The range of potential ingredients is limitless--meat, rice, cheese,
fish, pasta,
vegetables have all been pressed into service--but undoubtedly the croquette's commonest filling
today is
mashed potato. It is far from new to the English kitchen; it is mentioned in the 1706 edition of
Edward
Phillipps's New World of English Words: On Cookery, Croquets are a certain
Compound
made of
delitious Stuff'd Meat, some of the bigness of an Egg, and others of a Walnut.'"
"Croquettes. A French culinary term which has been adopted into English too, as long ago as the
beginning
of the 18th century."
"Croquettes (Cromesquis, Russian Croquettes)
A SURVEY OF CHICKEN CROQUETTE RECIPES THROUGH TIME
[1828]
[1849]
[1865]
[1877]
[1877]
[1881]
[1884]
"Thick Cream Sauce (for Croquettes and Patties).
"Chicken Croquettes.--Half a pound of chicken chopped very fine, and seasoned with
half a
teasploonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of celery salt, a quarter of a saltspoonful of cayenne
pepper, one
saltsponful of white pepper, a few drops of onion juice, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and
one
teaspoonful of lemon juice. Make one pint of very thick cream sauce. When thick add one beaten
egg, and
mix the sauce with the the chicken, usually only enough to make it as soft as can be handled.
Spread on a
shallow plate to cool. Shape into rolls. Roll in fine bread crumbs, then dip in beaten egg, then in
crumbs
again, and fry one minute in smoking hot fat. Drain, and serve with a thin cream sauce. Many
prefer to cut
the chicken in to small dice. If this be done, use less of the sauce, or the croquettes will be
difficult
to shape.
The white meat of chicken will absorb more sauce than the dark. Mushrooms, boiled rice,
sweetbreads,
calf's brains, or veal may be mixed with chicken. Cold roast chicken, chopped fine, may be
mixed
with the
stuffing, moistened with the gravy, and shaped into croquettes."
[1896]
"Chicken Croquettes II
[1902]
[1908]
[1913]
[1920]
Chicken Croquettes, I
[1934]
Croquette sauce
[1935]
[1944]
[1946]
[1953]
[1975]
Howard Johnson's croquettes
Word Mark HOWARD JOHNSON'S
Goods and Services IC 029 030. US 046. G & S: ICE CREAM; SHERBET; FROZEN
PREPARED FOODS-NAMELY, MACARONI AND CHEESE, CHICKEN CROQUETTES,
SHRIMP CROQUETTES, LOBSTER NEWBURG, HALIBUT AU GRATIN, CHICKEN A
LA KING, POTTED BEEF AND VEGETABLES, FRIED CLAMS, COCONUT CAKE,
FUDGE CAKE, DATE AND NUT BREAD, SOUPS AND CHOWDERS; CANNED
PREPARED FOODS-NAMELY, INDIAN PUDDING, GRAVIES (BOTH MEATLESS AND
CONTAINING MEAT), [ SOUPS AND CHOWDERS, COLE SLAW DRESSING,
COCKTAIL SAUCE, BARBECUE SAUCE SPAGHETTI SAUCES (BOTH MEATLESS
AND CONTAINING MEAT), ] MARINARA SAUCE, CREAMED CLAM SAUCE,
NEWBURG SAUCE, CREAM SAUCE, CREOLE SAUCE, FRICASSEE SAUCE
(CONTAINING MEAT), FUDGE SAUCE, BLUEBERRY TOPPING, BUTTERSCOTCH
SAUCE, CHOCOLATE FLAVORED SYRUP FOR FOOD PURPOSES; CHOCOLATE
CHIP COOKIES; AND GRIDDLE CAKE MIX. FIRST USE: 19250201. FIRST USE IN
COMMERCE: 19250201
Of course, not every item listed above was introduced at the same time. And? Howard
Johnson's chicken croquettes were probably served at the restaurant long before the frozen
version hit the grocer's freezer aisle.
This passage indicates Howard Johnson's frozen chicken croquettes were introduced to the
American public in July 1938:
"Saul Beck purchased Quick Frozen Foods from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1985. The
magazine name was changed to Frozen Food Digest (including Quick Frozen Foods). The
following pages contain events and news that were compiled beginning in 1938. Saul Beck
Publications also publishes Quick Frozen Frozen Foods Annual Processors Directory &
Buyers' Guide...July...First of several precooked dishes introduced by Howard Johnson's
restaurant chain is a 16-ounce pack of chicken croquettes; distribution is throughout New York
and New England."
The earliest reference to the frozen product in the New York Times is from 1964:
RELATED FOODS? Crab cakes, fish balls, fritters & hushpuppies.
"Southeast Asia is claimed to have been a major center of duck domestication...especially
in southern China, where the birds were kept during the Earlier Han Dynasty (206BC to
AD 220). The first written records of domestic ducks date back to the Warring States
period (475-221 BC)...But according to one authority, the Chinese have had domesticated
ducks for at least 3,000 years...and it is the case that Chinese pottery models of ducks and
geese, dating from about 2500BC, have been excavated..."
"Duck. A bird which exists in many wild species right round the world, but of which the
domesticated kinds are those commonly eaten. Domestication began over 2,000 years ago
in China, and was being practised in classical Rome (witness Columella, 1st century AD)
and has been pursued with enthusiasm in many parts of the world."
"The duck may be called the veteran of the henhouse, which might more properly be called the
duckhouse, since poultry yards were first organized around that fowl. The Chinese domesticated
it 4000 years ago, by taming captured wild species or hatching eggs. Duck dishes are still the
pride of Chinese cuisine, after centuries of almost ritual practices to perfect them."
About Beijing Duck
& Peking Duck
Recommended reading: Food in China/Frederick J. Simoons
ABOUT DUCK IN ASIAN COUNTRIES (except China)
Thailand
Vietnam
Malaysia & Singapore
Indonesia
DUCK IN EUROPE
"Aristotle discussed only chickens and geese in his Natural History, and although
Theophastus mentioned tame ducks, he failed to indicate whether they were bred in
captivity...the
keeping of domestic ducks in Greek and Roman times was unusual, though not
unknown...Several species were kept in captivity by the Romans, who maintained aviaries...of
wild ducks, probably to fatten them up for the table...Varro, writing in 37 B.C. was the first to
mention duck raising by the Romans...In the first century A.D. Lucious Junius Moderatus
Columella provided advice on keeping ducks...which was considered much more difficult than
caring for more traditional fowl...The Saxons may have had domestic Ducks, but as yet the
evidence remains unclear...A bit later, in Carolingian France (the eighth to the tenth centuries
A.D.), estate survey listing payments due feudal lords indicate that chickens and geese served as
tender far more frequently than ducks...The scarcity of wildfowl was most likely significant in
hastening domestication...Dean Delacour...has suggested that the mallard may have become truly
domesticated in Eruope, only in the medieval period...Although domestic ducks are often
identified in archaeological deposits from the sixteenth cnetury onward, they did not increase
dramatically in size until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when distinct varieties were
recorded."
"In England the most familiar and excellent combination is roast duckling with apple sauce and
peas, a dish of the late spring. In France....there is the well known Canard a l'orange); and a good
dish of duck and turnip. In other countries there are combinations which reflect the
characteristics
of their cusines, for example duck and red cabbage in Poland; the use of sour cream, apple, etc.
in
E. Europe; the Iranian braised duck with walnut and pomeegranate sauce."
"In medieval and Renaissance Europe, though duck was popular, it seems to have been wild
duck;
if Europeans had domesticated them they could hardly have continued to believe...that ducks
were
born from the decomposition of leaves. Had ducks been domesticated in England by Elizabethan
times? They were cheap enought to make that seem likely--six pence for a large bird."
DUCK IN AMERICA
"Ducks have been esteemed for their culinary value by most cultures of the world, and it is
possible the Indians of Central America domesticated the bird even before the Chinese did. The
first European explorers were amazed at the numbers of ducks in American skies and soon
commented on the delicious and distinctive flavor of the native Canvasback, whose name figures
in every cookbook of the nineteenth century to the extent that no banquet would be considered
successful without serving the fowl. On March 13, 1873...the arrival in New York of a Yankee
clipper ship with a tiny flock of white Peking ducks--one drake and three females--signaled the
beginning of a domestic industry of immense proportions. The birds were introduced to
Connecticut and then to eastern Long Island, where they propagated at an encouraging rate.
Domestic ducks were bought mostly by newly arrived immigrants...Only in this century did the
fowl, by now called "Long Island duckling," attain gastronomic respect...In the nineteenth
century
wild ducks were usually eaten rare, but today domestic ducks are generally preferred cooked with
a very crisp skin and served wither roasted with applesauce or in the classic French manner, with
orange sauce...The wild ducks of culinary importance to Americans include the canvasback...the
"mallard,"...the "black duck"...the "ring-necked duck"...and the "scooters"...also called
"coots.""
"The New World also had many species of wild ducks, but only the Muscovy (cairina moschata)
was domesticated. By the time the Europeans arrived, the Moscovy duck was widely distributed
throughout the tropical regions of Central and South America. The Spanish probably introduced
it
into the Caribbean, and the Portuguese introduced it to West Africa, where it thrived. The slave
trade introduced the Muscovy duck into British North America. Archaeological evidence has
surfaced demonstrating that slaves raised and consumed these fowl and later introduced them to
the rest of America. By the 1840s the Muscovy duck was widely distributed throughout America.
It survived as a commercial poulty item in the United States until the late nineteenth century but
then largely disappeared as chicken and turkey began to dominate the poultry market.
Domesticated ducks were raised on a small scale on farms and were herded to market...An
advantage of raising ducks was that these birds foraged and consumed food not eaten by other
poultry. In addition, duck feathers were used for clothing and bedding. Canvasback ducks were
raised on the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers in the early nineteenth century and later were
shipped to all major East Coast cities and to Europe."
"When the Europeans reached America, they found great numbers of wild ducks there; Captain
John Smith reported on their abundance in Vriginia in 1608. Ducks were still so plentiful in the
first half of the nineteenth century that Charles Dickens told of crossing two wide streams on his
way from Philadelphia to Washington: "The water in both was blackend with flights of
canvas-backed ducks...""
About Long Island Duck
[1873]
EARLY AMERICAN DUCK RECIPES
The earliest recipe we have for duck in an American cookbook is this:
[1770]
You can examine original 19th/early 20th century duck recipes published in American
cookbooks courtesy of Michigan State University's digital cookbook project. Search duck
as recipe name and ingredient yields different results.
Food historians tell us the practice of pairing of citrus fruits with fatty meat is thousands of years
old, likely originating in the Middle East. Examples are found in many cultures and cuisines. The
acid in the fruit countacts the fat in the meat, making the dish more enjoyable and digestible. Think:
pork & applesauce; goose & cherry sauce, fish & lemon, and duck a l'orange. About oranges.
Ducks have been consumed by humans from prehistoric times forward.
They are native to most continents. Recipes evolved according to local taste. Historic notes on
European duck cookery are appended to the end of this article. Bitter oranges were introduced,
via Spain, in the early middle ages.
As the name suggests, Duck a l'Orange, likely originated in France. Our sources do not specific a
particular region/city claiming to be the locus of origin. The Rouen, the center of French duck
domestication, is a possibility. On the other hand? 19th century French recipes sometimes specify
wild, not domestic, birds. Grand masters of classic French cuisine roasted ducks, noting the
practice was revived from earlier times. La Varenne [1651] does not offer a recipe for Duck a
l'Orange in his Cuisiner Francois. His duck is graced with a spicy pepper sauce. The
earliest French recipes we find conbining ducks and oranges were published in the 19th century.
"From antiquity to our own day, in Europe and elsewhere...a number of such erudite gastronomic
revolutions have taken place, the two most important of which, at least insofar as European
cuisine is concerned, occurred at the beginning of the eighteenth century and at the beginning of
the nineteenth. As we shall see, certain of these revolutions even represented an unwitting step
backward: thus the alliance of sweet and salt, of meat and fruit (duck with peaches for instance),
which today is regarded as an eccentric specialty of certain restaurants, was the rule in the Middle
Ages and held sway down to the end of the seventeenth century: almost all recipes for meat up to
that time contain sugar."
A selection of French recipes through time
[1855]
[1873]
"Wild Duck with Orange Sauce.
[1903]
[1927]
"Although fancy big-city restaurants were serving this French classic before the turn of the
century, it did not become the province of the home cook until well after World War II."
Food historians generally attribute the genesis of fattening animals to enhance the taste of their
livers to Ancient Mediterranean cooks. Literature connects this practice specifically to Ancient
Roman cookery. Foie gras was also known and appreciated in Greece, evidenced by the fact that
Homer references this delicacy in his Odyssey. The practice of fattening animals was
introduced to Europe by Roman conquerors. France, in particular, embraced this delicacy. About
pate de foie gras.
"Fattening, farming practices aimed a producing bigger animals, with better-tasting or more
tender meat, than would be the case without intervention. Details depend upon the
species...Fattening was a familiar business in Mediterranean farming of the first millenum
BC...The Greek verb siteuomai, 'feed', applies to geese and to smaller birds. With
these...fattening was carried out largely by intensive feeding, and eventually force feeding, with
selected foods...In the Odyssey Penelope, with the suitors on her mind, dreams of twenty
geese fattening in her farmyard...Late Greek and late Latin terms for 'liver', sykoton, ficatum,
have the literal meaning 'stuffed with figs', because, as Pliny, Galen and Pollux explain, pigs
were fed with dried figs to produce large and fine-flavoured liver. Pliny attributes the invention of
the method to Apicius."
"Goose, group of large birds domesticated in prehistoric times in the Near East and southern
Europe. The goose was a domsticated animal by the time of the earliest Greek literature. The
goose was surely the commonest farmyard bird in early Greece until the spread of chicken, from
India and Iran, around 600 BC. The relative ubiquity of chickens explains why geese are less
frequently mentioned in Greek and Latin literature. They continued to be kept, however, both for
their meat and for their eggs...fattening of geese is mentioned in the Odyssey...The liver
of
force fed geese, known as foie gras, is nowadays an expensive delicacy. The first reference to this
gourmet product may possibly be in a fragment by Eubilus, writing in the mid fourth century BC:
the point is discussed by Plutarch in Anthanaeus's dialogue. However, goose livers are good to
eat whether or not the goose is especially fattened, so a reference to goose liver does not prove
that foie gras is intended. Pliny is certain that the idea of foie gras was Roman, and names two
possible inventors in the first century BC, one of whom is Metelus Scipio, governor of Syria in
49-48. Foie gras is certainly mentioned by Horace and Marital. The Greek phrase trypheron
sykoton, literally equivalent to foie gras, occurs first in the late second century AD in a text by
Pollux."
"Foie gras. Goose or duck liver which is grossy enlarged by methodically fattening the
bird'...The
enlarged liver has been counted a delicacy since classical times, when the force-feeding of the
birds was practised in classical Rome. It is commonly said that the practice dates back even
further, to ancient Egypt, and that knowledge of it was possibly acquired by the Jews during their
'period of bondage' there and transmitted by them to the classical civilizations. However,
Serventi...casts doubt on this legend, while agreeing that Jews played an important role in
diffusing throughout Europe knowledge of the techniques for successfuly 'cramming' the birds
and processing the livers. In modern times the foie gras of the south-west of France and that of
Strasbourg have been the most renown, although much of what is now consumed in France has
its
origin in eastern Europe or Israel.."
"If caviar is in the nature of a gastronomic dream, the thought of foie gras could be said to induce
a kind of voluptiously mingled sense of greed and bliss. Indeed, foie gras exemplifies greed twice
over, being the result of fatty enlargement of the liver of geese and ducks induced by cramming,
i.e.., the over-feeding to which the chose fowls are subjected.
The goose itself invented cramming. The ancient Egyptians were the first ot notice the
phenomenon: at the season when wild geese are about to migrate, and must travel thousands of
kilometres without any chance of feeding, they eat such large quantities of food that reserves of
energy are stored in their livers as fat. Geese trapped by the Egyptians just before the great
migration provided a real feast. Someone had the idea of cramming the domestic ducks and geese
which, as we have seen, were descended from captured wild species...Several...depictions of this
subject, and representations of baskets full of fat geese, all dating from the Fifth Dynasty, show
that the cramming of geese was a usual practice from the third millennium BC onwards...But we
do not know exactly how the Egyptians cooked and ate the foie gras of their geese and
ducks...The Greeks...according to Athenaeus, were expert at fattening geese with wheat pounded
with water'. The practice became common among the Romans, who were anxious to serve
anything magnificent, enormous, of generous size, unique or monstrous at their tables...Pliny
gives no details about the cramming of geese, but he agrees that the Romans liked their tender
liver, foie gras, the liver of the Gaulish geese...How did the Romans eat the foie gras of their
geese? If Juvenal is to be believed, it was served hot...Henri IV of France...liked fat salt
geese...but few texts from his him mention foie gras...Valmont de Bomare's Dictionnaire
d'histoire naturelle explains in the article on goose' that the liver of that fowl was considered
an
exquisite delicacy by the Romans'. Are we to infer that people no longer thought it so exquisite in
1768...The pate of Perigeux mentioned in the Dictionnaire portatif de cuisine of 1767 is a
recipe
which sounds quite modern although very lavish, calling for 12 foies gras, two pounds of truffles,
mushrooms and chives. This is highly suggestive of the modern tendency to confuse extreme
richness with gastronomy...Perigord had long been noted for the excellence of its truffles
pates...A
lot of nonsense has been talked about the sacred alliance of truffles and 'foie gras', and there is a
fanciful legend to the effect that the pates of Nerac which Henry IV liked consisted of foie gras
and truffles. This is an invention of food writers."
"Whether from the goose or the duck, foie gras has always been considered a rare delicacy, but
the way in which it is served has changed according to culinary fashion. At one time it was
served
at the end of the meal. The traditional truffle and aspic accompaniments are now thought to be
superflous by some, who prefer to serve it with lightly toasted farmhouse bread (leavened and
slightly acid), rather than with plain slices of toast. Nouvelle cuisine set as much store by foie
gras
as classic cuisine, and sometimes gave it novel accompaniments, such as green leeks, pumpkin or
even scallops. However, the classic recipes, both hot and cold, still retain their prestige. Most
dishes described as a la perigourdine or Rossini are prepared with foie gras."
"The Renaissance love of foie gras was also linked to the ancents' texts. Porta and Nonnius
alluded
to passages on fattened liver in Horace, Pliny, Martial, Juvenal, Galen, and Palladius. Observing
that fattened pig livers were elegant fare for the Greeks and the Romans, Bruyerin noted that
Pliny thought the cramming of sows and geese with figs to enlarge their livers was an invention
of
Marcus Apicius. Pliny had also explained, continued Bruyerin, that once the liver had been
removed from the animal, it was soaked in milk and honey to increase its size still further, a
procedure said to have been invented by Scipio, Metellus, or Marcus Seius. Porta offered detailed
instructions from Palladius on how to enlarge goose livers, and Frances Bacon, quoting Porta's
work, reminds his readers that artificially fattened goose liver was a Roman delicacy. In France,
Bruyerin claimed, the fatted cock's or hen's liver was more highly though of than the liver of a
crammed goose, though fifty years later the Tresor de sante called goose liver "a royal dish, of
which the Romans also made much, as reported by Pollux and Athenaeus." In 1570 Bartolomeo
Scappi credited the Jews with creating a business out of the interest in foie gras. Some of the
livers they sold, he reported, weighted as much as three pounds. In the late eighteenth century
Pierre Le Grand d'Aussy wrote that "the Jews of Metz and of Strasbourg possess the same secret
[as did the ancients], though their precise methods we do not know. And the secret is one of the
branches of commerce that made them rich. As is well know, Strasbourg makes these livers into
pates whose reputation is renowned."
"Among organs foie gras had become perhaps the most celebrated. Any attempt to discuss this
delicacy in the Italian cookbooks involves a semantic problem. Latin has basically two ways of
denoting liver, jecur and ficatum, the latter derived from the custom of feeding pigs and geese
figs
(fici) to fatten their livers. Apicius generally uses jecur for animal livers but twice employs
ficatum, presumably to indicate a crammed liver. The Italian fegato comes from the Latin factum
and so implied a fattened liver. Yet fegato has come to mean simply liver, and there is no reason
to suspect that it did not have this meaning in the fourteenth century. The French and English
cookbooks of that time do not pose a language obstacle: the only words that appear are "foie" in
the French and "liver" in the English, with no adjective attached to indicate a fattened liver.
Again
we see Platina start the discussion, but a commitment to fattened livers is not apparent in the
sixteenth-century Italian cookbooks. Foie gras enters the French cookery works with La Varenne,
and although the English books occasionally refer to it, the crammed goose liver becomes a motif
from antiquity almost totally identified with France, as is the case with meat pates (meats
wrapped
in pastry), spurred by a passage in Apicius. By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the
whole
gamut of prestigious meat concoctions and body parts had entered the composed dishes first of
France, then of England."
Dan Barber [Stone Barns] on Foie Gras.
[1911]
PATE DE FOIE GRAS
"Pate...This word is used in three ways in French: pate, pate en terrine, and pate en croute. In
France the word pate on its own should, strictly speaking, only be applied to a dish consisting of
pastry case (shell) filled with meat, fish, vegetables, or fruit, which is baked in the oven and
served
hot or cold. The best English translation of this word is pie, although many of these dishes are
much richer and more elaborate than the sort of pie usually eaten in England and America...'Pate
en terrine' is a meat, game, or fish preparation put into a dish (terrine) lined with bacon, cooked
in
the oven, and always served cold. The correct French abbreviation of this is terrine but in
common usage the French also call it pate....Pate was known to the Romans, who used to make it
chiefly with pork but also used all types of marinated spiced ingredients...In the Middle Ages,
there were numerous recipes for patisseries (meats cooked in pastry) made with pork, poultry,
eel....Most pates sold in delicatessens are actually terrines, based on pork meat or offal (in pieces
or minced) bound with eggs, milk, jelly, etc."
"Pate, a French term whose meaning and use have both enlarged since early medieval times. The
original meaning is best conveyed in English by the word pie' (or perhaps pastry' where the
connection is more obvious). What was meant was a pastry case filled with any of various
mixtures (meat, fish, vegetables), baked in the oven and served either hot or cold...By natural
extension, the term came to mean not only the whole pie but also what was in the pie, especially
if it was something which could be served cold, in slices. At this point the meaning became much
the same as that of terrine. Once pate had evolved in this direction, so that it was not thought of
as being in a pastry case, there was a problem over what to call it when it was in a pastry case.
The phrase "pate in croute" fills this gap."
"Pate...Almost any expert and discerning cook can vouch for the fact that a pate is nothing more
than a well-made meat loaf. It is simply a bit more rarified--using, perhaps, truffles and Cognac
and other out-of-the-oridinary, often expensive, seasonings. The French, too, have quite basic
terms for their not-too-fancy-pates. They refer to them as gateau de viande (meat cake) or a pain
de viande (meat bread). One of the accomplishments of the nouvelle cuisine has been to broaden
the use and variety of pates. Less than a generation ago, most pates were based largely on meat
--pork or veal--and goose or duck livers. Today, however, one encounters fish pates, vegetable
pates, pates made with almost anything that can be cooked in a loaf pan. Incidentally, there is no
difference between a pate and a terrine. Originally, a terrine was a ground meat mixture baked in
an earthenware utensil. The name derives from the world terra, meaning earth. Baked meat
creations cooked in such molds are often referred to as terrines. The word pate stems from
"paste" and is related to such words as pastry and pasta. It is an educated guess that meat
creations baked in pastry were dubbed pate as a result. Today, pates are often cooked in and
served from terrines or eathenware molds. And terrines are often covered with pastry before they
are baked."
[1875] British notes on pate de foies gras:
[1903] Escoffier on pate de foie gras:
People have been frying all sorts of foods (meat, bread, vegetables) since
ancient times. This fuel-efficient cooking method had several advantages, one of which was
portability. Dredging meat with flour and spices before cooking tenderized the item and
enhanced
its flavor. Medieval European cooks built on this concept, creating fricassee.
Fricassee is not fried, but simmered in butter and served with creamy sauce. In the United States,
fried chicken is traditionally considered a Southern dish. Maryland-style fried chicken is
traditionally served with gravy, reminiscent of fricassee. Batter-fried chicken appears
to be a gift from northern European cuisine. Chicken is a
global food; recipes vary according to time, culture and cuisine.
What's the difference between fried and deep fried?
Food historians tell us one of the first foods known to be deep fried are fritters. Apicius provides
recipes for sweet and savory fritters in his ancient Roman cooking text. Unfortunately, he does
not describe in detail the method used for cooking them. This is not uncommon in early texts; it
was assumed the cook already possessed this knowledge. Medieval texts contain a wide selection
of fritter recipes. The Dutch were are said to have perfected this recipe, expanding it to crullers
and doughnuts. Culinary evidence confirms these items were "deep fried."
Mrs. D. A. Lincoln in her Boston Cooking School Cook Book [1884] provides detailed
instructions for deep frying, although she does not use that term. Her notes on
frying.
Karen Hess' definative historic notes on fricassee and fried chicken can be found in her
transcription of Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, [Columbia University
Press:New York] 1981 (p. 40-44).
ABOUT SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN
"Southern fried chicken
"Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century descriptions of colonial foodways ignored the chicken for
the most part. In the earliest manuscripts to enter America there are, of course, chicken recipes
for roasts, stews, and pies, and none other than Governor William Byrd II was dining on the
iconic southern dish of fried chicken at his Virginia plantation by 1709..."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:Oxford] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 226)
Recipes through time
1 fresh chicken (approx. 1-1.5kg)
Instructions:
[1596]
[1651]
[1824]
Fried Chickens
[1881]
[1904]
[1932]
EARLY RECIPES COAT THE CHICKEN IN BATTER BEFORE COOKING
[1847]
[1869]
Later recipes add the batter after the chicken is (mostly) cooked
[1934]
[1953]
Related foods? fritters, Cajun
fried turkey, chicken-fried steak, city chicken, corn dogs & tempura.
People have been cooking meats in various sauces and stocks from very ancient times. Why? The
liquid acted as a
cooking medium, made tough meat more palatable, and added flavor to the dish. Gravies evolved
over time according to
ingredient availabilty, local tastes, and traditional cuisine. Some are composed of meat
drippings,
others from creamy
components. Today, gravies are typically used as a cooking medium, thickening agent, and
topping. There are
hundreds of recipes.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English word "gravy" is obscure in
origin. It is most likely derived
from the Old French word "grane." The earliest printed evidence of this word in our language
from the Forme of Curry, an English
cookbook circa 1390.
"Gravy. In the British Isles and areas culturally influenced by them, is...well, gravy, a term fully
comprehensible to those
who use it, but something of a mystery in the rest of the world. Ideally, gravy as made in the
British kitchen is composed
of residues left in the tin after roasting meat, declazed with good stock, and seasoned carefully.
(Many cooks incorporate
a spoonful of flour before adding the liquid but this practice is frowned on by purists.) Gravy
varies in colour from pale
gold-brown to burnt umber, and in thickness from something with little more body than water to
a
substantial sauce of
coating consistency. In French meat cookery, jus is roughly equivalent to honestly made thin
gravy in the British
tradition...Kitchen tricks involving burnt onions, caramelized sugar, gravy browning', and stock
cubes are modern
descendants of this practice. Indeed, numerous gravy mixes' or granules' (dehydraged
compounds of colourings,
flavourings, and thickeners) are to be had, for use with the meat residue, or in its stead. Yet in
many homes in Britain a
true gravy is still made; and this remains the most delicious accompaniement fo rthe meat form
which it comes and an
essential feature of the meat dish."
"The gravy that was eaten in the fourteenth century bears little resemblance to the sludgy brown
liquid, as likely as not
made from stock cubes or freeze-dried gravy granules, usually served up in Britain at the
beginning of the twenty-first
century. It was a sort of sauce or dressing for white meat or fish, and was made from their broth
with some sort of
thickening agent, typically ground almonds, and spices (the name itself appears to be of Old
French origin, coming either
from graine, meat', or from grane, an adjective derived from grain in the sense of grain of spice',
with in either case a
misreading of n for u or v in early manuscripts; the former etymology would relate it to greande
or grenadine, now
obsolete terms for small stuffed fillets of veal or poultry). The Forme of Cury, a late
fourteenth-century cookery
book, gives a recipe for oysters in gravy: Shell the blanched oysters, and cooke them in wine and
in their own broth;
strain the broth through a cloth. Take blanched almonds; grind them and mix them up with the
same broth, and mix it
with rice flour and put the oysters in. Put in powdered ginger, sugar, mace, and salt.' A more
elaborate version of the
sauce, known as gravy enforced, was enriched with boiled egg yolks and cheese, while the
inferior
gravy bastard seems
to have been made with breadcrumbs rather than ground almonds.
The common denominator between this and what we now call 'gravy' is the juice given off by
meat in cooking; and
the critical change between obtaining this in the form of broth, from boiling the meat, and in the
form of juices produced
by roasting, seems to have taken place in the sixteenth century."
"Gravy. A sauce, usually flour-based, served with meat, poultry, and other foods...In America
"gravy" is a more common
term than "sauce" or "sop" (which may indicate a basting sauce) and has been in print since the
middle of the nineteeth
century. By 1900 the word had metaphoric connotations of money obtained with little or no
effort, so that to be on the
"gravy train" was to acquire money gratuitiously, often through political graft." About biscuits & gravy.
Guinea-fowl are "Old World" birds originating on the West coast of Africa. They were known in classical Greece and Ancient Rome. Guinea-fowl were introduced to Europe the first
time by conquering Romans. They were re-introduced approximately 1,000 years later by Portuguese traders. Renaissance-era confusion between the guinea fowl and "New World"
turkey was was a matter of understandable linguistic confusion given period context.
About Guinea-fowl
"Guinea fowl, farmyard bird domesticated in prehistoric Africa south of the Sahara. The guinea fowl (unlike the chicken) was familiar in Pharaonic (and later) Egypt. However, the gradual
spread westwards in the mid first millennium BC of the chicken, a more amenable and productive species, ensured that the guinea fowl would be a curiosity, rather than a farmyard staple,
in classical Greece and Rome. They were 'the latest exotic bird to reach our dinner tables', according to Varro; they were a suitable sacrifice, for poorer worshippers who could not afford
a large animal, and the biennial festival for the Egyptian goddess Isis at Tithorea in Phocis, central Greece. Instructions for rearing them are given by Columella, who clearly
distinguished between the two major varieties (one of which had in fact originated in northeastern Africa, the other in west Africa). The guinea fowl (Numida Melagris) is Greek and
Latin meleagris, Latin also (gallina) Numbidica, Africana."
"Guinea-fowl birds are four or five species, all in the family of Numidadae and all indigenous to Africa. Most of them have the speckled or pearl-like plumage which can readily be
identified in ancient representations of the bird...In Africa the various species of the guinea-fowl have ranges which collectively extend over the greater part of the continent south of
the Sahara. They occupy a wide range of environments from the edges of the desert to savannah plains...and high forests. They have always had a reputation as crop robbers and this
habit, bringing them into close contact, albeit of a competitive kind, with humans, may have contributed to their domestication. This probably took place in Africa and is likely to have
been associated with the introduction of keeping the domestic hen. Diffusion to Europe first took place from E. Africa, but there was subsequently a strong connection in this respect
between Guinea in W. Africa and Portugal, which had a noticeable effect on the vernacular names given to the guinea-fowl in various languages...Guinea-fowl were certainly known in
ancient Egypt and in classical Greece and Rome. They appear quite often in Roman mosaics...The classical world was also responsible for the legend which provides the specific name of
the guinea-fowl, meleagris. The sisters of Meleager, the prince of Macedon who met an untimely death, are said to have wept so freely that they were transformed by goddesses into the
birds, the pearl-like spots on their plumage being the tears. The sisters settled in the island of Leros, off the coast of Caria...The guinea-fowl took part on the Columbian Exchange
between the Old World and the New World. Of this there were only three successful animal travelers from Africa to the New World: the ass, the cat, and the guinea-fowl."
Guinea-fowl in Europe
"The guinea fowl never got down to a common level in the ancient world, unlike the chicken, so when the Roman Empire disappeared, the Guinea went with it. It does not seem to have
reappeared until the sixteenth century, when merchants form Portugal, but then in control of Guinea, started selling them in France, where they were first called, gyunettes or poules de
Guineee and then, incorrectly, poules de Turquie or poules d'Inde, a name transferred shortly thereafter, with equal inexactitude, to the American turkey. The French naturalist Pierre
Belown wrote in 1555 that Guinea fowls 'had already so multiplied in the houses of the nobles that they had become quite common.' This disposes of the often repeated assertion...that it
was Catherine de'Medici who introduced the guinea hen to France; actually the bird reached there before the marrying Medicis did. That it was indeed the Portuguese who brought the
bird to France is attested to by its name in French today, pintade, from the Portuguese pintada, 'painted,' or in this case, 'sploched,' referring to the round spots which speckle the
guinea's plumage...The guinea hen was also appreciated in Italy in Renaissance times; from Africa to Europe it has now spread al over the world."
Guinea-fowl in England
"After the Roman occupation domestic fowl became more plentiful. Their remains are often found in poor cave dwellings of the period, as well as the other richer village farms...another
Roman practice, the intensive rearing of more delicate birds in special enclosures, is likely to have been adopted when the pheasant, peacock and guinea-fowl were first introduced into
the country." (p. 113) "Such elaborate [fowl] cuisine was lost to Britain in the invasions and migrations of the fifth century AD. The more exotic birds died out, for they were too delicate
to survive without special care. The guinea-fowl disappeared; it was to be more than a thousand years before it returned to Britain again." (p. 116-117). [Early Modern Period]
Guinea-fowl had recently been rediscovered by the Portuguese off the coast of west Africa, brought back to Europe and thence reintroduced to Britain." (p. 128)
Guinea-fowl in the Far East
"The first [guinea-fowl] to reach the Far East may have been those which Pierre Poivre took to Cohin-China when, in 1749, he was negotiating for the right to open a French trading
counter there. Among the presents he gave the king of Cochin-China were some guinea fowl, which according to his account were at that time unknown there."
Guinea-fowl in the New World
"In the New World, they seem to have appeared first in Haiti, probably imported along with slaves bought in Guinea. Live poultry was often taken aboard ships, to provide fresh food
during long voyages; Africa could not have provided chickens in those days, but it could offer guineas. We may suppose that the surplus birds of the ship's stores, still alive at the end
of the trip, were taken ashore."
Why call it "Guinea-fowl?"
"In the days when Europeans were bestowing names on unfamiliar foods, and exotic product was apt to be ascribed more or less at random to any exotic locality, of which only a few,
vaguely localized, were recognizable to the general public. The guinea fowl was an exception, identified correctly from the beginning as an African bird. Its origin is usually given as
West Africa, which is, of course, where Guinea is located. The area is very probably the birthplace of Numida meleagris galatea, from which the imperfectly domesticated modern bird is
supposed to have descended. Either this bird had acquired a wider range in classical times than is attributed to it now, or it was some other of the score of African species which the
ancients, not given to fine nomenclatural distinctions, consumed. They had not adventured as far as Guinea, but they imported birds from North Africa. Greece, which knew them by
500 B.C., presumably received them from Egypt, the source of many of her foreign foods. Significantly, this bird is known in Italian today as gallina faraona, Pharaoh's hen; but the
Romans, when the guinea hen became an appreciated item on upper-class menus, apparently preferred to bring them in from nearer regions of North Africa, for they called them
Numidian hens ore Carthaginian hens--except when the host was putting on the dog, for a wedding banquet, say, when they might appear under such fancy names as Phrygian chicken
(used on one Pompeiian menu which has come down to us) or Bohemian chicken, even more impressive, since Bohemia in those days was exquisitely exotic, a place of which Romans
had heard but had never seen."
Guinea-fowl (Old World) vs. Turkey (New World): linguistic confusion
"The first Spanish name for turkey was pavo (peafowl) or pavon de las Indias (peafowl of the Indies). The turkey's
association with the peafowl was important, for peafowl was by far the most prestigious food bird in Europe...Peafowl
were difficult to raise and thus a status symbol in Europe...Adding to the linguistic and zoological imbroglio with the
peacock and the turkey, the guinea fowl...was also called pavo by the Spanish and gallo or galle d'India (chicken of
India) by the Italians. The bird originated in Africa but was raised in the ancient Mediterranean, where the Greeks named
it Meleagris. For unknown reasons it disappeared from Western Europe and was reintroduced during the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries by Arab or Turkish or perhaps by Portuguese explorers of West Africa. Not as large as the peacock, a
guinea cock's tail feathers were not as spectacular either. But guinea fowl were easier to raise, they tasted better, and
their small eggs were considered delicacies. Guinea fowl quickly became common barnyard poultry in Europe and later in
America, where their popularity continued well into the nineteenth century...It is...not surprising that Europeans
confused the turkey, peafowl, and guinea fowl. All three large birds are remotely related through the avian family tree,
and their similar physical characteristics meant they were described in similar ways. Without familiarity with all three
it would have been difficult for sixteenth-century naturalists to distinguish among them based solely on confusing
descriptions. At the time of the initial European encounter with the turkey, world geography was only dimly understood;
animals and plants arrived in Europe in massive numbers and without provenance. Then again, all three birds were prepared
in similar ways; from a culinary standpoint it didn't matter which was available. Chefs did not begin to distinguish among
the three until the end of the sixteenth century."
"The guinea-fowl was not unlike a miniaturized version of the turkey in looks and in its
reluctance
to fly, and it seems to have been assumed they belonged to the same family. But although some
sources claim that in sixteenth-century England any reference to turkey really meant
guinea-fowl,
this is not the case. When Archbishop Cramner framed his sumptuary laws of 1541 he
classed turkey-cocks with birds of the size of crane and swan, not--as he would have done with
guinea-fowl--with capons and pheasants. At much the same time a certain Sir William Petre was
keeping his table birds alive until wanted in a large cage in is Essex orchard, partridges,
pheasants, guinea-hens, turkey hens and such like. "
"The Guinea-fowl is a native of West Africa which has been domesticated in England since the fifteenth century, when it was known as a Turkey, probably having been first introduced
from Turkey. The was before the bird known to-day as a turkey had ever been seen in Europe. When Shakespeare speaks of a turkey, he means a Guinea-fowl. There are various species
of Guinea-fowl, but they all have on characteristic in common, they never run to fat and their flesh is naturally dry. They are usually barded or larded and roasted on a spit or in a
moderate oven or stewed in a cocotte, but they may be prepared for the table in any way suitable for a chicken. Guinea-fowls' eggs are excellent when boiled seven or eight minutes, that
is hard-boiled."
What is ham?
"Ham is the hind leg of a pig about the hock joint, cut from the carcass and cured by salting and
drying, and sometimes smoking, so that it will keep for months at room temperature...The first
records of hams comes from the classical world. The Romans knew hams made by the Gauls in
the last few centuries BC, cured by brining and smoking. Cato described how, in the 2nd century
BC, the inhabitants of N. Italy made hams by layering legs of pork with dry salt, followed by
drying and smoking. In medieval times, hams were made all over Europe. Every cottager kept a
pig, which was killed in autumn and preserved to provide food through winter. Europeans took
pigs and the art of curing meat to the Americas, where several types of ham developed. Another
area of expertise in the curing of pork meat is China, especially the region of Yunnan.
Combinations of factors such as pig breed, feeding, curing recipe, and storage method gave rise
to many varieties of ham..."
"The statesman Cato gives his own Rome-made ham recipe in his De Agri Cultura, the oldest
surviving complete prose work in Latin. It directs the reader to lay a number of hams in huge
earthenware jars covered with a half peck of Roman salt per ham. The hams are to be left, with
occasional turning, for twelve days, then cleaned off and hung in the fresh air for two further
days. They are then rubbed with oil and hung and smoked for two days. Finally, they are rugged
all over with a mixture of oil and vinegar and hung in a meat store where "neither moths nor
worm will attack it." Curing hams can be done with a range of mixtures based primarily on salt,
with the addition of sugars and spices, herbs, and oils. Sugar and honey are also powerful
preservers and they have the added benefit of counteracting the hardening effects of saltpeper."
---Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the
World, Sue Shephard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 70)
"Jambon--Strictly a ham is a leg of pork, salted and smoked, In current usage, however, the term is also applied to
the shoulder of pig which is cured in the same fashion...In French cookery, the term jambon not only means 'ham' but is also
applied to a leg of fresh pork. This cut can be cooked in a great many ways either whole or divided into smaller cuts.
It is also used as an ingredient of stuffing and in barious manuractured pork products. So great has been, and still is today,
the role of ham and all forms of salt pork in the history of food, that a special Ham Fair is held regularly in Paris...
The Ham Fair, which, in former times, was held during the three day preceding Good Friday, and which was then called
Foire du lard (the Bacon Fair), was held in the squre in front of Notre Dame...The salting and smoking of prok to produce
ham is of French origin. It was, in fact, the Gauls, whtreat devotees of pig meat and very efficient pig-breeders, who first became
renowned for the salting, smoking and curing of the various cuts of pork. At that time, France was covered with immense
forests in which innumerable herds of pigs wandered, feeding on the vegetation without cost to the Gauls for whom they were a
valuable asset. Such was the skill of the Gauls in the curing of hams that they became suppliers of ham to Rome...This,
according to reliable
documentary evidence, is how the Gauls cured their hams: After salting them, they subject them for two days to the smoke
of certain selected woods. Then they rubbed them with oil and vinegar and hung them up, to dry and preserve them. The Gauls ate ham
either at the beginning of a meal to sharpen their appetites or tat the end to induce thirst...A great many different kinds
of salt and smoked ham are obtainable in France. Almost every region has its own local ham."
"In French law, genuine ham comes only from the upper thigh and haunch of the pig...Shoulder
ham, meat from the shoulder cured in the same way, is not strictly speaking ham at all...But in
actual fact ham, which we might expect to be the most straightforward kind of charcuterie, is a
prime example of the traps that lie in wait for the consumer, who should beware and read the
labels carefully, always supposing there are any: the absence of certain terms is a confession of
some legal or gastromonic omission....There are two kinds of ham: cooked ham (boiled, and
called blanc in France):...and uncooked ham (dried and smoked)."
Recommended reading: Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery/Jane Grigson
Picnic ham
"Calis, also known as picnic hams, picnic shoulders, cali butts and cali hams, are made from the shoulder
of the pig. I believe I am correct in assuming that the name cali is an abbreviation for California or
California-style, although when and how the name originated I have no earthly idea."
[1890] The earliest references we find to "picnic ham" in the New York Times:
[1910]
[1935]
[1952]
Recipes for picnic hams begin showing up in American cookbooks in the 1940s. Texts confirm this cut
was valued for economy:
[1953]
Spiral carved ham
[1930s]
[1944: filing date for the original US patent application, granted 1952]
[1952]
[1957]
[1968]
[1969]
[1972]
[1978]
[1983]
[1985]
[1992]
[1993]
[1994]
The history of the American hot dog, as we know it today, traces its roots to Austrian/German
immigrants
who settled in our country in the 19th century. These people introduced their traditional
wienerwurst, along
with several other "Old World" sausages. Hot dogs (aka frankfurters) descended from these.
Manufacturing
methods/ingredients/packaging technology have changed due to food science advancements.
Condiments/accompaniments, as always, are a matter of local taste and time. These range from
traditional
(sauerkraut) to the "works" (mustard, ketchup, pickle relish). Chicago-style is different from New
York style.
Hot dogs and baseball are an American icon. Over the years, there have been many
developments. Some accepted; other rejected. Think: Friday Franks &
Chicken furters.
ABOUT WIENERWURST
"Bruhwurst: This term means a parboiled sausage, made from finely chopped raw meat, not
intended for keeping,
usually scalded by the manufacturer, sometimes smoked, to be heated before serving, always
sliceable, often red in
color."
Who invented the hot dog & when?
"Sausage is one of the oldest forms of processed food, having been mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as far back as the 9th Century B.C.
Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, is traditionally credited with originating the frankfurter. However, this claim is disputed by those who assert that the popular sausage - known as a "dachshund" or "little-dog" sausage - was created in the late 1600's by Johann Georghehner, a butcher, living in Coburg, Germany. According to this report, Georghehner later traveled to Frankfurt to promote his new product.
In 1987, the city of Frankfurt celebrated the 500th birthday of the hot dog in that city. It's said that the frankfurter was developed there in 1487, five years before Christopher Columbus set sail for the new world. The people of Vienna (Wien), Austria, point to the term "wiener" to prove their claim as the birthplace of the hot dog.
As it turns out, it is likely that the North American hot dog comes from a widespread common European sausage brought here by butchers of several nationalities. Also in doubt is who first served the dachshund sausage with a roll. One report says a German immigrant sold them, along with milk rolls and sauerkraut, from a push cart in New York City's Bowery during the 1860's. In 1871, Charles Feltman, a German butcher opened up the first Coney Island hot dog stand selling 3,684 dachshund sausages in a milk roll during his first year in business.
The year, 1893, was an important date in hot dog history. In Chicago that year, the Columbian Exposition brought hordes of visitors who consumed large quantities of sausages sold by vendors. People liked this food that was easy to eat, convenient and inexpensive. Hot dog historian Bruce Kraig, Ph.D., retired professor emeritus at Roosevelt University, says the Germans always ate the dachshund sausages with bread. Since the sausage culture is German, it is likely that Germans introduced the practice of eating the dachshund sausages, which we today know as the hot dog, nestled in a bun.
Also in 1893, sausages became the standard fare at baseball parks. This tradition is believed to have been started by a St. Louis bar owner, Chris Von de Ahe, a German immigrant who also owned the St. Louis Browns major league baseball team.
Many hot dog historians chafe at the suggestion that today's hot dog on a bun was introduced during the St. Louis "Louisiana Purchase Exposition" in 1904 by Bavarian concessionaire, Anton Feuchtwanger. As the story goes, he loaned white gloves to his patrons to hold his piping hot sausages and as most of the gloves were not returned, the supply began running low. He reportedly asked his brother-in-law, a baker, for help. The baker improvised long soft rolls that fit the meat - thus inventing the hot dog bun. Kraig says everyone wants to claim the hot dog bun as their own invention, but the most likely scenario is the practice was handed down by German immigrants and gradually became widespread in American culture.
Another story that riles serious hot dog historians is how term "hot dog" came about. Some say the word was coined in 1901 at the New York Polo Grounds on a cold April day. Vendors were hawking hot dogs from portable hot water tanks shouting "They're red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while they're red hot!" A New York Journal sports cartoonist, Tad Dorgan, observed the scene and hastily drew a cartoon of barking dachshund sausages nestled warmly in rolls. Not sure how to spell "dachshund" he simply wrote "hot dog!" The cartoon is said to have been a sensation, thus coining the term "hot dog." However, historians have been unable to find this cartoon, despite Dorgan's enormous body of work and his popularity.
Kraig, and other culinary historians, point to college magazines where the word "hot dog" began appearing in the 1890s. The term was current at Yale in the fall of 1894,when "dog wagons" sold hot dogs at the dorms. The name was a sarcastic comment on the provenance of the meat. References to dachshund sausages and ultimately hot dogs can be traced to German immigrants in the 1800s. These immigrants brought not only sausages to America, but dachshund dogs. The name most likely began as a joke about the Germans' small, long, thin dogs. In fact, even Germans called the frankfurter a "little-dog" or "dachshund" sausage, thus linking the word "dog" to their popular concoction."
"The term 'hot dog' is singularly American...The earliest use of the term 'hot dog' yet discovered is in the 28 September 1893 edition
of the Knoxville Journal: 'Even the weinerwurst men began preparing to get the "hot dogs" ready for sale Saturday night.'
Several 'official' stories of how the hot dog got its name have been widely circulated since the 1920s."
Recommended reading
Did Franklin Delano Roosevelt really serve hot dogs to the King and Queen of England?
Who is credited for serving the first hot dogs at a New York baseball game?
"Consider the plight of the hot dog. Here is an American institution that has quietly and modestly served the nation for more than half a century with far too little
recognition. Why has this gross injustice been perpetrated in a country so proud of its record for fairness and equailtiy? Because the hot dog has no known
birthday...no one can point a finger to any specific day and say "This was the start of the hot dog and shall be celebrated ever forevermore." Historians admit that
the hot dog was born on a cold day in the Eighteen Nineties, but even the exact year remains obscure. The scene of the momentious event was the [New York]
Polo Grounds. Cold winds whilled in off Coogan's Bluff and the baseball fans shivered in the stands. A young English-born concessionaire named Harry M.
Stevens was purveying his peanuts and scorecards, but the weather spurred him to history-making action. He recalled that a near-by butcher shop had an
assortment of sausages hanging in the window, and he sent a boy to buy ten dozens of them. Mr. Stevens dispatched another lad to purchase rolls from a bakery.
He tossed the wieners into a huge pot half-filled with water and boiled them on the clubhouse stove. He sliced the rolls and inserted the hot wieners in them, then
told his venders: "Those people are frozen. Go out there and yell, 'red hots, red hots.' The people will buy these red hots if you yell loud enough. Within ten minutes,
the red hots were sold, and Mr. Stevens, who went on to become a famous caterer, had a new item for his concession. But the saga of the hot dog was not
without its moments of tribulation. T.A. (Tad) Dorgan, the cartoonist, began to characterize the "red hot" in his sketches as a dachshund between an elongated bun,
and he called it the "hot dog." This quite naturally started some person wondering what went into the manufacture of the tasty product, and the hot dog business
suffered a severe recession about 1910. The hot dog had an indomitable spirit, though, and fought its way back to popularity."
Who was Frank Twitchell?
Friday Franks & Chickenfurters
"A Cornell professor recommended today the canning of chicken 'hot dogs' as a mean of marketing fowl (older birds). Pro. R. C. Baker,
a poultry specialist, said chicken could be rolled in the form of frankfurters and canned and would cost no more than the conventional
hod dog."
"Another new product which has already been test marketed in some areas, is a frankfurter made of chicken. It was tested under
two names: Chicken Frank and Bird Dog. It seems that the men preferred Bird Dog and the women went for Chicken Frank. One
woman was reported to have purchased both packages and to have proclaimed that the Chicken Frank was great, but that she didn't like
the Bird Dog. Other sausage forms of chicken recently developled include chicken bologna and an unsmoked version known as
chickelona."
"When might a frankfurter become a chickenfurter? When it's more than 15% poultry, the Agriculture Department believes. That, it proposed,
is when label names should be modified not only for frankfurters but for knockwurst, bologna and other cookd sausages as well.
Currently, poulty may be used in such sausags only if the poultry ingredients, no matter how small, are reflected in some manner in the
product name. But last fall the poulty industry, seeking to expand demand for its products, asked that no poultry identification
be required unless the poultry accounted for more than 25% of the sausate. The issue acquired special significance when the
department announced public hearings to permit consumer comments...But the Nixon Administration dropped the hearing idea, saying it
would 'unnecessarily delay' a decision...Poultry has nutritional qualities similar to other cooked sausage ingredients...and
'trained testing panels have found that up to 15% poultry didn't alter the characteristics of cooked sausage.'"
William Zisser's
"No Stomach for the Undercover Chickenfurter,"
"I used to wonder what goes into a hot dog. Now I know and I wish I didn't...The whole thing started when the Department of
Agriculture pulished the hot dog's incredents--everhting that may legally qualify--because it was asked by the poultry
industry to relax the conditions under which these ingredients might also include chicken, a dispute that didn't finally
get settled until a few weeks ago...Judging by the 1,066 mainly hostile answers that the department got when it sent out a
questionnaire on this point, the very thought is unthinkable. The public mood was most felicitously caught by the woman who
replied: 'I don't eat feather meat of no kind.'...Obviously the lady regards feather meat as beneath contempt and feels that
only the hot dog is worthy of her fastidious taste. Yet the official list of what may constitute a hot dog is hardly my idea of
nature's aristocracy: 'The edible part of the muscle of cattle, sheep, swine or goats, in the diaphram, in the heart, or in
the esophogas, with our without the accompanying and overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew, nerve and blood
vessels which normally accompany the muscle tissue and which are not separated from it by the process of dressing. It does not
include the muscle found in the lips, snout or ears.'...What the Department of Agriculture finally decided was to let franfurters be
called frankfurters even in they contain up to 15% chicken. The old rule said that the label had to announce in large type: FRANKFURTER,
CHICKEN ADDED...It may seem like a small point...but clearly it is not. Whole philosphical questions are at stake, and so is
the American way of life. For although the frankfurter originated in Frankfurt, German, we have long since made it our own, a twin
pillar of democracy along with Mom's apple pie. In fact, now that Mom's apple pie comes frozen and baked by somebody
who isn't Mom, the hot dog stands alone. What it symbolizes remains pure, even if what it contains is not...
Partly...the hot dog is triumphant because it is so easy to manage...the frank comes wrapped in its own napkin and is
soon gone without a trace. It is the ultimate food of the disposable society."
Related foods? Turkey bacon, chicken burgers &
Friday franks (tuna dogs).
Jambalaya, a popular one-pot dish gererally associated with Cajun-Creole Louisiana, traces its roots to Spanish
paella. Huge, forgiving, proud, and delicious. Like all great regional
feeds, no two recipes are alike and family recipes are full of secret ingredients.
What is Jambalaya & where did it come from?
"Of the varied ethnic groups which cooperated in creating Creole cooking, the French, the last to arrive, are
generally accorded the major share of the credit, which they probably deserve (but perhaps not quite as
exclusively as may person think). The first contributors to Creole cooking were of course the Indians. The
Spanish arrived second, and the Negroes probably third, for slavery had already become well established
before the Acadians, driven out of Canada and Nova Scotia, reached what with their aid was to become Creole
territory in the second half of the eighteenth century. The greater visibility of the Acadians accounts for the
remark, in a generally knowledgeable book about Creole cooking: "Among the finest, and certainly the most
famous [of Acadian dishes] is jambalaya," which is rather unkind, for while the Acadians have endowed this
territory with any number of dishes for which they can be given credit, jambalaya is almost the only one which
can be claimed by the Spaniards. It is easily reconizable by anyone familiar with Spanish cooking as a a form of
paella."
Is there an "authentic" Jambalaya recipe?
"There are countless versions of jambalaya, all of them hearty one-dishes in the manner of gumbo and shrimp creole and many of the
pilaus. Though it could be categorized in several places--soups and stews, rice dishes, seafood--we have put it here with pork primarily
because of its name, the first two syllables of which trace to both the French and Spanish words for ham. Cajun and Creole cooks have
thrown just about everything into jambalaya for at least one hundred years, but ham has always been a prime ingredient. In Gonzales, Louisiana,
the self-styled Jambalaya Capital of the World, you can find about as many recipes for this dish as there are households."
[1901]
[1907]
"Jambalaya of Chicken and Ham
"Jambalaya of Rice and Shrimps
[1938]
[1939]
[1961]
[1961]
[1962]
[1968]
Related food? Paella.
Jerky (charqui) is a dried meat product. This sensible preservation method was employed by
Native Americans and frontiersmen. Food historians tell us the practice may have originated in
Peru. Notes here:
"In South America, where there has been a plentitude of meat for hundreds of years, simple
drying traditions survive, at least among the poor. The Native Americans on the arid southern
borderlands sun-dried venison and buffalo, and one can still find dried beef in the form of
tassajo,
which is made with strips of meat dipped in maize flour, dried in the hot sun and wind, then
tightly
rolled up into balls to be carried easily on journeys. The modern American jerked beef" is
derived
from thin slices of air-dried meat called "charqui." This originated in Peru and was used to
preserve excess game after large hunts, though later beef was more usually used. Charqui, a vital
food for the western pioneers, was often broken up and crushed between large stones and then
boiled before eating."
"Jerky...Beef that has been cut thin and dried in the sun. The word comes from the Spanish
charqui', which appears in English in 1700 as a verb, jerk' than as a noun in the nineteenth
century. Jerky, in the form of pemmican, was a staple food among the native Americans on the
plains. It is very rich in protein and may be cooked in a soup or smoked, but more commonly it is
sold as a meat snack' in the form of a thin stick sold at convenience stores and bars. In Hawaii,
jerky is referred to a pipikaula."
"Jerky...a name derived via Spanish from the native Peruvian "charqui," meaning dried meat. The
noun spawned a verb. Jerking meat consists in cutting it up into long strips and then drying these
in the sun or at a fire. The practice was widespread among American Indians and among
colonists
in pioneering days. In modern times jerky occupies a niche in the nostalgic realm of trail foods'.
For the S. African equivalent, see Biltong. For purely air-dried meats, see Bindenfleisch,
bresaola.
For a similar but more complex product, see Pemmican."
"Most land travellers...expected to live off the terrain, but took a store of provisions with them by
way of insurance. Such provisions had to be light and compact when the traveller moved on his
own feet and was his own beast of burden, and from native Americans, north and south, the
European explorer learned the virtues of two sustaining and lightweight meat products,
pemmican
and charqui...Charqui was the South American alternative [to pemmican] and may have
originated
in Peru as a way of preserving some of the game slaughtered at communal hunts, although when
cattle became established beef was more generally used. The method was to cut boned and
defatted meat into quarter-inch slices, which were dipped in strong brine or rubbed with salt. The
meat was next rolled up in the animal's hide for ten or twelve hours for it to absorb the salt and
release some of its juices, then hung in the sun to dry, and finally tied up into convenient bundles.
It looked, said one German traveller, like strips of thick cardboard and was just as easy to
masticate'. Whe opportunity offered, most travellers preferred to poind the charqui vigorously
between two stones and then boil it before eating. The jerked' in jerked beef' is derived from the
word chaqui..."
"Fresh meat was always preferable, but fontiersmen quickly accepted the Indian method of
turning
the dried meat called jerky into pemmican, and thus discovered one of best portable foods ever
devised. ..The making of pemmican was an art..."
How did the pioneers make jerky?
"Knowing that they must always plan ahead, emigrants preserved the buffalo meat by "jerking"
it.
In that process the meat is cut into long strips aobut one inch wide and then dried in the sun or
over a fire...The simplest method for drying meat was to string it on ropes and then hang it on the
outside of the wagon cover. There it would soak up the hot sun for two or three days until it was
cured; then it was packed in bags and stored for future use. One diarist wrote that the wagons
looked as if they were decorated with "coarse red fringe." "The meat was bery Black and coarse
but were youngsters found it to be good chewing," recalled William Colvig. The "hanging up
method," while simple, meat that the meat picked up all the dust and debris from the air. Still,
when "hunger stares one in the face one isn't particular about trifles like that," stated Catherine
Haun in her detailed diary. Another way of preparing jerky was to build a scaffold to support the
meat over a slow fire and then to smoke the strips. Joel Palmer described the process, which
imitated the method used by Native Americans:
"How to make jerky.
Many jerky recipes you find on the Internet use soy (a concentrated salt) sauce and a modern
oven to dry the product. They may produce jerky, but not the way the pioneers did. This reicpe,
from The Lewis and Clark Cookbook/Leslie Mansfield (p. 68) is closer to the historic
procedure:
2 pounds sirloin tip roast
Food historians generally attribute the origin of kebabs to ancient Middle Eastern cooks. In a land
where fuel was scarce, this was a very efficient way to cook meat. Small pieces of meat (smaller
the cut, faster they cook) threaded on skewers would have required very little fire. The recipes
and combinations are endless.
"Kebab. A dish consisting basically of small pieces of meat threaded on to skewers and grilled or
roasted. It originated in Turkey and eventually spread to the Balkans and the Middle East. The
name is a shortened form of the Tukish sis kebab, sis meaning skewer and kebab meaning roast
meat."
"Sis Kebabi...It is said that shish bebab was born over the open-field fires of medieval Turkic
soldiers, who used their swords to grill meat. Given the obvious simplicity of spit-roasting meat
over a fire, I suspect its genesis is earlier. There is iconographical evidence of Byzantine Greeks
cooking shish kebabs. But surely the descriptions for skewering strips of meat for broiling in
Homer's Odyssey must count for an early shish kebab."
"Kebab. Now an English culinary term usually occurring as sis (or shish) kebab, meaning small
chunks of meat grilled on a skewer. Shashlik is a term which means essentially the same a sis
kebab but belongs essentially the same as sis kebab but belongs to the countries of the Caucasus
(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia)...The word kebab has an interesting history. In the Middle Ages
the Arabic word kabab always meant fried meat. The compendious 14th-century dictionary
Lisdan
al'Arab defines kabab as tabahajah, which is a dish of fried pieces of meat, usually fininshed with
some liquid in the cooking. The exact shape of the pieces of meat is not clear. However, since
there was a separate class of dish called saraih, which consisted of long and thin strips of meat,
and since most modern dishes called kebab call for more or less cubical chunks, it seems likely
that kabab was chunks rather than strips. Kabab/kebab is not a common word in the early
medieval Arabic books, because the Persian word tabahajah (diminutive of tabah) provided an
alternative which was considered more high-toned. It is because of this original meaning that one
still finds dishes such as tas kebab (bowl kebab) which are really stews. In the Middle Ages the
Arabic word for grilled meat was not kebab but siwa. It was only in the Turkish period that such
words as sishkebab or seekh kebab made their appearance.
However all this may be, the custom of roasting meat in small chunks on a skewer seems to
be
very ancient in the Near East. Part of the reason for this may have to do with the urban nature of
the civilization there. ..in the Near East they would go to a butcher's shop and buy smaller cuts.
However, a more important reason, and the basic one, was surely that fuel has long been in short
supply in the Near East..."
"Kebab. Roasting marinated meat on spit while basting with fat is described both in Sanskrit and
Tamil literature...the kabab has a distinct identity as a dainty from the Middle East which is
particularly favoured by the Muslims in India...Ibn Battuta records chicken kaba being served by
royal houses during the Sultanate period. Even common folk at kabab and paratas for breakfast,
and in Mugal India a few centuries later it was still naan and kabab."
Related foods: Gyros & doner kebab
"King Ranch chicken. Also, "King Ranch casserole." A layered casserole dish made with cut-up poached
chicken, cream of mushroom soup, chilies, chicken soup, grated cheese, corn tortillas, and tomatoes (most
often Ro-Tel brand). The dish is very commonly served at Texas clubwomen's buffets. For unknown reason,
the name, which dates in cookbooks at least to the 1950s, refers to the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, but
there is no evidence that the dish was created there."
"King Ranch chicken. Karen Haram, food editor of the San Antonio Express-News, tells me that though
Texans claim this recipe, no one knows where it originated. Or how it came to be named for the King
Ranch, whose claims to fame are its immense acerage, its oil, and its Santa Gertrudis cattle, a breed
developed there to replace the sinewy Texas longhorns. Certainly the King Ranch was never known for
chicken. "Maybe," Haram speculates, "It's because the recipe is so rich."
"As far as anyone can tell, King Ranch chicken-or as it is sometimes known-King Ranch casserole, doesn't
have one single thing to do with the King Ranch...No one seems to know exactly where it started, but it has
clearly taken on a life of its own..."I've lived here 31 years--and you know how women like to always
collect recipes wherever they go?" asked Kathy Henry of the King Ranch visitor's center in Kingsville.
"Well, when I moved to Kingsville, the first one I got was for King Ranch chicken. So I know it has been
here for at least 31 years." But in all her time working for the sprawling King Ranch, Henry has never found
a link between the popular casserole and the ranch. "We think it was developed in the 1950s"..."The word
is, a lady in Robstown may have entered it in a national cooking contest like the Pillsbury or Campbell Soup
contests. She didn't win a big prize but maybe a second or third. She just named it King Ranch chicken
because Robstown is in this area and she though it would be a catchy name." it was. Henry said she has never
been able to research the story, but whatever the case, she's certain the dish was developed between 1945
and 1965. "That's the best I can came up with," she said."
"King Ranch casserole is not a pretty dish. A steaming mass of melted mush, the classic
ingredients -- boiled chicken, grated cheese, tortilla chips, and one can each cream of
mushroom and cream of chicken soup -- make it a study in beige and yellow. Nor is it at
all exciting: Even with the requisite Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, the flavor is
resolutely bland, a quality Texans claim to abhor in their cooking. The dish is, in fact, the
subject of some scorn: "Never, never, never," says caterer Tilford Collins, who serves
some of South Texas' oldest families. Texas food historian Mary Faulk Koock is only
slightly more charitable. "I imagine it could be made palatable," is about all she has to say
on the subject. Still, King Ranch casserole -- or King Ranch chicken, as it is often called -- has endured. It is the clubwoman's contribution to Texas cuisine, a staple of society
ladies' cookbooks form Fort Worth to McAllen, where the Junior League's La Pi¤ata touts
a variation as a "great way to enjoy that leftover Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey." The
casserole's fame has spread to cookbooks in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kansas, and the
dish can be purchased frozen from Randall's supermarkets in Houston and from H.E.B. in
Alamo Heights. Forget the spare sophistication of nouvelle cuisine, the assertiveness of
true Mexican cooking. The secret of King Ranch casserole is that it's boring. In today's
complex culinary lexicon, the dish resides snugly in the category of comfort food. No one
seems to know who invented it. The casserole may have come from the King Ranch, but
the descendants of Captain Richard King prefer to tout their beef and game dishes. "Kind
of strange, a King Ranch casserole made with chicken," notes Mart¡n Clement, the head
of public relations for the ranch. Mary Lewis Kleberg, the widow of Dick Kleberg, admits
that her heart sinks every time a well-meaning hostess prepares it in her honor. Most
likely the dish got its name from an enterprising South Texas hostess or a King Ranch
cook whose preference for poultry doomed him to obscurity. Yet King Ranch casserole's
general origins are easy to discern. Certainly it owes a deep debt to chilaquiles, which
also contain chicken, cheese, tomatoes, tortilla chips, and chiles -- the staples that
campesinos often combined to stretch one meal into two while retaining a semblance of
nutrition. But the dish owes as much to post-World War II cooking, when casseroles
made with canned soups were the height of space-age cuisine. Because they could be
made quickly and frozen for later use, casseroles liberated the lady of the house. "The
perfect entree for a minimum amount of time in the kitchen for the hostess," the McAllen
Junior League cookbook notes. If the women of the fifties loved the recipe because it
freed them from the family kitchen, their children love it because it takes them back there.
They have adapted it to their taste, of course: Trendy cooks now substitute flour tortillas
for corn, while the truly convenience-crazed use Doritos. Purists doctor the recipe with
sour cream -- a move back toward Mexican authenticity. Even with modernization, the
dish still tastes pretty much like it used to -- slightly salty, slightly chewy, slightly spicy,
slightly greasy. Yes, it lacks the challenge of a T-bone or a spicy bowl of red -- King
Ranch casserole calms, it does not wish to offend. Yes, it's bland -- but it's always there
when you need it."
About
King Ranch, Kingsville TX
Early recipes
"In those parts of the world where for various reasons there is no strong tradition of eating beef, there may be a slight tendency
towards increased consumption caused by the general 'internationalization' of foods or, as in Japan, but the development
of a new connoisseurship. In the area around Kobe, Japanese...(marbled beef) is raised on a diet including rice, rice
bran, beans, beer, enhanced by regular massage."
"It seems that if you look for "quality" in almost anything, one of the places you look is
Japan. If you want a fine quality automobile, you look to Japan. If you are looking for
"quality" audio and video equipment, you look to Japan. In the years to come, the same
may be true for beef; if you want quality beef, look to Japan. We have all heard of
"Kobe beef." Even those of us who never have traveled to Japan have heard of the
wonderfully tender, juicy, highly marbled and extremely expensive beef so highly prized
by the Japanese. We have heard tales of how Japanese men and women feed beer to
their cattle and spend hours massaging their animals to distribute the marbling evenly,
occasionally taking a swig of beer and blowing it over the back of the beef and rubbing
it in to soften the skin.
It is true that the Japanese produce the world's most highly marbled beef, but it seems
that we in America have some misconceptions about how they do it. Research scientists
from both Texas A&M and Washington State University are doing extensive work with
Wagyu cattle, the breed the Japanese use to produce Kobe beef. Both schools have herds
of Wagyu cattle, and are working to come up with a cross that will produce the same
style of beef. There are two basic reasons for such research: (1) Japan is expected to
become one of the major markets for American beef in the not too distant future, and the
Japanese want quality. And, (2) now that beef is okay again in this country, there is a
growing demand in America, particularly in fine restaurants, for top-quality, well-marbled beef. A lot of folks would like to be able to find a really great steak from time
to time; those are very rare these days in America. Perhaps the Japanese Wagyu will
help.
According to Dr. Don Nelson, extension meat specialist at Washington State University,
the Wagyu originally was a draft animal and not very functionally efficient as a beef
producer. They're not very good mothers but they marble well, so with some careful
cross-breeding we hope to take advantage of their genetics to improve the grading
ability of some of our cattle. When Wagyu beef is available in this country (it's going to
take a year or two), don't expect it to be hand rubbed and beer fed like Kobe beef. But
don't worry, the quality will be just as good.
According to David Lunt, one of the researchers working with Wagyu beef at Texas
A&M, much of what we have heard about Kobe beef is myth. Historically, the name
refers to the Kobe area near Osaka where the most desirable beef was grown. Today,
however, Wagyu are raised in several different areas of Japan. A better term for what
Americans call Kobe beef, according to Mr. Lunt, is shimofuri, which means simply
"highly marbled beef." "It is true," Lunt says, "that cattle are occasionally fed beer in
Japan. Cattle in Japan are fed a finishing diet for at least 14 months and heifers may be
fed for as many as 30 months prior to slaughter. Because they are fed so long, and
particularly in summer months when the interaction of fat cover and the ambient
temperature depresses feed intake, some cattle go off feed. When this happens, beer is
fed to the cattle to stimulate appetite. Japanese cattle feeders do not ascribe any magical
powers to feeding beer, nor do they associate the practice with an increase in carcass
quality. They merely try feeding beer as part of an overall management program
designed to keep the cattle on feed.
True, cattle sometimes are massaged in Japan. But once again, this practice does not
affect the deposition or marbling. It is a common sense practice required occasionally
for cattle that are tied in one place for months and have no opportunity to exercise. The
massaging is done to make the animal more comfortable and relieve stress due to
stiffness that can result from inactivity. As I said, there is little likelihood that you're
going to get any all-American cowboys to stand around all day massaging steers, and if there is any beer to be drunk, it ain't likely that any cow's going to get to drink it, but
thanks to the Japanese and their Wagyu, we may be seeing some higher-quality beef in
this country in the not too distant future."
About Kobe beef in the USA
Beef consumption in Japan
"Meat was not widely eaten until the Meiji period (1868-1912), but meat eating was not unknown among the Japanese of earlier times...
Those engaged in the manufacture of leather goods, as well as the hunters and stock breeders who furnished hides, ate the flesh
of four-legged animals as a matter of course, but these groups were considered social outcasts...Eathing the flesh of mammals for
medicinal purposes was permissable...The usual 'medicine eating' fare was deer or wild boar...The meat of choice in the latter
part of the nineteenth century was beef. Beef pickled in miso appears on a menu written at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and it was
an open secret that a daimyo of Hikone...made gifts of that dish, which called 'healthful meat'...But people in general had a
strong psychological resistance to killing and eating cattle, which were important animals on the farms...The Japanese-style
beef stew which originated around that time (gyunabe, the forerunner of sukiyaki) was made by boiling beef and welsh onion with
miso or soy sauce...During the 1860s the colonies of Westerners living in the treaty ports often attempted to purchase cattle from
local farmers, who usually refused if they knew the animal would be used for food. Among the peasantry of the time a cow was
regarded almost as a member of the family...The Westerners resorted to purchasing cattle from China, Korea, or America which were
butchered aboard ships and sold in the foreign settlements. But the shipments could not satisfy the demand as the foreign
population multiplied. Finally, members of the Yokohama breeders in the hills of the Kansi district, where most Japanese cattle
ranches were located. Thirty to forty head of cattle at a time were shipped live from the port of Kobe to Yokohama, where a slaughterhouse
was set up. Beef shipped from Kobe gained a reputation for being very tasty, and the regional product remains famous today as
'Kobe beef'...During the Boshin Civil War of 1868-9,...many wounded soldiers were sent to hospitals in Tokyo. There they
received Western-style treatment and were fed beef to restore their strength. Most refused it at first, but as the doctors advised
them to eat beef if they wanted to survive, they complied. Many of them grew to like it so much that after their release they
spread the word in their various home regions that beef was delicious and healthful. The imperial navy served beef to improve
the nutrition of sailors' meals starting in 1869...Later the army began serving meat as well. Military rations during the Sino-
Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars included tins of beef-flavoured with soy sauce and ginger, called yamatoni...The soldiers who
ate it later helped spread the custom of meat eating through the country, and tinned yamatoni remained popular until about
1950. While soldiers grew to like the taste of meat because they were forced to eat it, the general population became
familiar with it through city restaurants. During the early Meiji period meat was served in Western-style hotels and
restaurants, and in restaurants that specialzed in beef stew. The Western-style establishments had first appeared in the
foreigners' districts of the treaty ports, and they spread to Tokyo and Osaka after restrictions on foreigners' activities
wer eased by the new Meiji government. The foreigners dining in those establishments were joined by high government officials,
traders, intellectuals, and other who came out of curiousity to try eating Western food and using a knife and fork. The prices were
so high that the common people could not often afford them. Hyunabeya, or beef stew restaurants, were more accessible to the
public because they were cheaper and also because the beef they served was seasoned with the familiar flavors of soy sauce and
miso and eaten with chopsticks. The first stew restaurant opened in Edo in 1865. At first the customers were mainly disagreeable
ruffians of the type who liked to brag that they had eaten meat, and most people held their noses and walked quickly when they
passed the shop. With the change of governemnt a few years later, the adoption of Western civilization became national policy
and stew restaurants gradually spread through the main cities...Beef stew spread quickly from the main cities to the
provincial towns...But this was not the case in farming districts, wehre cows were used as work animals...and treated more or less
like part of the family...By the beginning of the twentieth century, resistance to meat eating was limited to the elderly. Beef stew
had come to be a special treat. It was called sukiyaki in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and other parts of the Kansai region...By the
1920s the sukiyaki version had became prevalent throughout the country and attained the status of a national dish."
More information here.
What is "London Broil?"
Where did the dish originate?
The experts weigh in:
John Mariani, noted food historian, observed:
Craig Claiborne confirmed:
Which cut?
"London broil was once synonymous with flank steak, for that is the cut of meat called for in the classic recipe for the dish. But
throughout the years, this term has been used brazenly by butchers as they merchandized their meat. In 1973 the National Livestock
and Meat Board (in its Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standards) recommended that the term be excluded from its recommended
list of meat names. However, I see the term used nowadays to label at least half a dozen different cuts in markets around the country.
Since you expect to pay a premium for an cut made to sound so tender, it might be helpful to know exactly what you're getting when you
buy these cuts. The cut of meat so labeled in most markets these days is the thick first cut of top round, which is the most tender
of the three muscles that make up the hind leg of the steer...Anoother cut that many markets label London broil is a thick cut from the
sirloin tip...A cut of meat that receives this label of distinction in many markets...is a shoulder clod or beef chuck shoulder
steak...In many markets the skirt steak...is rolled into cute little roll-ups, stuck with a wooden skewer and labeled London
broil."
We searched through dozens of twentieth century American cookbooks looking for this recipe. There were some recipes for flank steak that might approximate
London Broil, but they were not named such.
[1954]
[1955]
[1960]
About meatloaf, meatballs, & related ground meat products
1. To distribute meat to more people (protein economy)
Early ground (finely chopped or minced) molded meat recipes
concentrated on sausages in skin casings, meat fritters (similar to meatballs), rissoles, hashes,
terrines, and
croquettes. The meat employed in these early recipes was usually already cooked, as opposed to
the raw meat typically used by Americans to make meat loaf
today. Finished products were typically fried,
stewed, or baked (in molds or pastry) and served with sauce. Meatballs (a diminutive form of
meatloaf) are known in many cultures and cuisines. Recipes evolved according to local
ingredients
and tastes. Middle Eastern kofta and Swedish meatballs are two of the most well known.
Some of the earliest recorded ground meat recipes are found in Apicius, written in Ancient
Rome.
Book II is devoted to "minces."
Ancient Roman meat balls
"Ground meat patties in omentum: Grind chopped meat with the center of fine white bread that
has been soaked in wine. Grind together pepper, garum, and pitted myrtle berries if desired. Form
small patties, putting in pine nuts and pepper. Wrap in omentum and cook slowly in caroenum.
"Within the section dedicated to recipes with ground meat, the Apician manual includes this
curious rating: "The ground meat patties of peacock have first place, if they are fried so that they
remain tender. Those of pheasant have second place, those of rabbit third, those of chicken
fourth,
and those of suckling pig fifth." (Apicius 54)."
Modern Italian meat balls
Did you know??? Italian meatballs, as we Americans know them today, were not always served with spaghetti. They were an accomodation food.
"In the beginning (around the turn of the century) Italian-America restaurants did not serve meatballs with their spaghetti. These were added to satisfy Amerca's hunger for red meat."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 183)
Middle Eastern kofta
"Kofta. The term for a meatball or small meat patty which may be round, oval, or sausage-shaped
and
large of small. They can be grilled (broiled), fried or baked, served plain or simmered in a sauce.
Dishes of
this type are made in North Africa, in Mediterranean countries, through Central Europe, Asia and
India.
Kofta is the general term and the one commonly used for Indian dishes, but a variety of names
are
used...Whatever the name, the mixture is likely to be finely minced (ground) meat, mixed with
onions and
spices."
"In Indian cookery, the term kofta denotes a spiced meatball, or a similarly shaped mass of
chopped fish or
vegetable, cooked in a spicy sauce. In Hindi, the word means literally 'pounded meat'."
"Kofta is the common English form of a term which has currency all the way from India through
C. Asia to the Middle East, the Balkans and N. Africa. It refers throughout its range to rissoles,
meatballs, croquettes, dumplings, and so on, usually made of ground or mashed meat, well
kneaded and often mixed with other ingredients such as rice, burgul...or vegetables to form a
smoothe paste. They are sometimes made, e.g. in India, with fish or just vegetables rather than
meat. Kofta often have a spicy stuffing, typically of nuts, cheese, or eggs. They can be cooked in
numerous ways: grilled or barbecued; fried; steamed or poached, very often in a rich sauce.
Margaragret Shaida...says that the word kofta is from the Persian koffteh, meaning pounded
meat;
and that the first evidence of Persian meatballs appeared in one of the early Arabic cookery
books.
They consisited of finely minced, well-seasoned lamb, made into orange-sized balls, which were
cooked and glazed in saffron and egg yolk three times. This method was later adopted in the
West
under the name of gilding or endoring. In Iran there are again numerous variations on the
preparation of koofteh. Perhaps the most famous and well known are the koofteh Tabrizi.
According to Shaida they are the largest dumplings in the world with an average size of 20cm
(8")
in diameter but they are often much larger...From Persia the kofta migrated to India with the
Moghul emperors, and so did the hidden treasure version. On special occasions at the Moghul
court nargisi kofta (narcissus meatballs) were served. The mixture of spiced meat is wrapped
round hard-boiled eggs before being cooked. When served, they are cut open, and their yellow
and white centres remind people of the narcissus flowers which bloom in the hills in the spring
time."
MEDIEVAL ARABIAN MEATBALL RECIPES
"Muqarrasa
"Mudaqqaqat Hamida [sour meatballs].
Swedish meatballs
According to Mathistorisk Uppslagsbok by Jan-Ojvind Swahn, the Swedish word for meatball
(k”ttbulle) first appeared in (Swedish) print was in Cajsa Warg's 1754 cookbook. Swahn points
out that the meatball could not have been a common food, at least not for common people, until
the meatgrinder made the preparation simple. Swedish meatballs, smaller in size that those of
Italy
or Germany, are traditionally served with a cream gravy and lingonberry preserves.
"Swedish meatballs. A dish of seasoned pork or beef meatballs covered with a brown gravy.
There are endless variations on this dish, which is most popular in the Midwest and derives form
Swedish origins. Swedish meatballs are usually served at buffets and smorgasbords, a custom
that
reflects their Swedish origins. Buttered noodles are the traditional accompaniment. Swedish
meatballs date in print to the 1920s."
According to our books on Swedish food, Swedish meatballs (kottbullar) are traditional
old-world Smorgasboard fare. Though none of these books offered a specific history of this
recipe, they do offer some interesting insights:
Sauce:
Parsley sprigs
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Since that time, meat loaf variations have been introduced and promoted by women's
magazines, cookbooks, fairs, food manufacturers, diners and family-style restaurants. Meat loaf
&
gravy [often paired with mashed potatoes and canned green beans ] was very popular in the
1950s. This meal is still considered by some to be the penultimate comfort food. Did you know
that "frosted meatloaf" is ground beef covered with mashed potatoes? Perhaps this recipe is a
distant relative of shepherd's pie.
"Meat loaves
A sampling of meat loaf recipes printed in American cookbooks:
[1884]
[1889]
[1902]
[1918]
[1924]
[1937]
[1942]
[1950]
[1953]
[1955]
Regarding regional variations/ingredients for American meat loaf?
Donkers (April Morning/Howard Fast)
The original reference:
Over the years, many people have speculated about the origin of this particular food reference. Some assume the recipe must
be Dutch, based on the fact "donker" is a Dutch word. We can confirm colonial American Dutch made meatball-type foods but
they did not call them donkers. What does the word "donker" mean? Our Dutch-English dictionaries offer several definitions;
only one is consumable:
"Donker. dark [night, colour]...obscure, murky, gloomy, dull [weather]; dusky, strong [beer]."
Some sources state "donkers" was a boiled pudding. Examining Mr. Fast's text confirms this is
incorrect. His "donkers" were served "with a boiled pudding," not "like a boiled pudding." The least correct conclusion is
"donkers" were doughnuts. Mr. Fast is clearly describing a savory dinner item, not a yeast-based fried cake.
To date, we have found no references to anything called "donkers" in historic cookbooks, dictionaries, colonial foodways
texts, hearth cookery texts, academic journals or old newspapers. We also checked 1950s USA cookbooks in case this recipe
title
surfaced during Fast's time (think: Snickerdoodles). The recipe is definately period; the name is a mystery. Some
suggest "donkers" were named such because you "dunk" them. This theory does not hold much water, as it is offered by the
doughnut faction. Colonial Americans enjoyed gravy with their meat but we find no evidence they dunked their meats in the gravy. Case
dismissed.
The other thing that bothers us about Mr. Fast's "donkers" is that they were made with raw meat.
Our research confirms 18th century minced meat products were made with cooked meat, typically leftovers. Making meatball
type products ground raw meat became popular in the late 19th century, when meat grinders became
standard household appliances.
Want to make donkers for class? Mr. Fast's description provides enough information to recreate from leftovers. Don't
worry about exact amounts; colonial cooks didn't. Bottom line: make sure your product sticks together before frying. If not,
add more fat, breading, or egg. Fry until done. We ponder: was Mr. Fast purposely using "donkers" as a culinary metaphor for
figuring out things for oneself? This dovetails perfectly with the challenge presented to April Morning's primary
character.
Modernized New Netherlands recipe (without apples, but you can add them):
Porcupine meat balls
Sample recipes through time
[1884]
Meat porcupine, Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln [1884] with picture!:
[20th century]
[1936]
[1939]
[1970]
Salisbury Steak
According to some food historians, Salisbury steak resurged in America (in name, but not in
mission) during World War I. Why? Nationalism. At that time anything connected with Germany
(Hamburg/Hamburger) was popularly obliterated. When the war ended people returned to their
old food habits. Hamburgers returned. Salisbury steaks took a new turn. They were now
promoted by savvy marketers as upscale hamburgers. After World War II the primary difference
between hamburgers and Salisbury steaks was this: hamburgers were marketed as fast food (sold
on a bun), Salisbury steaks were marketed as family fare (featured in suburban restaurants).
"Salisbury steak.
"In American English, Salisbury steak is an upmarket name for a hamburger. It commemorates
J.H. Salisbury (1823-1905), a doctor well known for his public pronouncements on dietary
matters...The term is first recorded in 1897, but it really came into its own during the First World
War, when patriotic Americans took exception to the German hamburgers."
"Food faddists flourished in the nineteenth-century United States, partly becasue so little was known about human
nutrition...Dr. James H. Salsibury (1823-1905) condemned "starches" as the cause of numerous diseases, and advocated a diet
consisting mostly of lean beef, preferably ground. ..A well-educated man with a background in chemistry and medicine,
Salisbury all his life thought of himself as a research scientist as well as a physician. His early studies of fungi show that
he was groping vaguely toward a germ theory of disease..."
"On both sides of the Atlantic, the decades that straddled the turn of the century constituted a
veritable Golden Age of food faddism. An unusually large array of vegetarians...faced spirited
challenges from aggressive meat-eaters who swore by regimens such as the Salisbury all-beef
diet." Compare these recipes:
[1950]
Sloppy joes
Was this recipe invented by/for a guy named Joe? Not according to most of the food historians!
Recipes for chopped meat mixed with sauce, spices, and served with bread/pastry are hundreds of
years old. Consider: medieval minced meat pies, 18th century shepherd's pie, and 19th century
TexMex chili. What do these dishes have in common? They are economical and filling. Not so
very different from the sloppy joe we Americans know today.
"The origins of this dish are unknown, but recipes for the dish date back at least to the 1940s. It
dates in print to 1935. There is probably no Joe after whom it is named--but its rather messy
appearance and tendency to drip off plate or roll makes "sloppy" an adequate description, and
"Joe" is an American name of proletarian character and unassailable genuineness. There are
many
individual and regional variations on the dish. In Sioux City, Iowa, a dish of this type is called a
"loosemeat sandwich," created in 1934 at Ye Olde Tavern Inn by Abraham and Bertha
Kaled."
"...it is not known when the [sloppy joe] sandwich was first called "sloppy joe," similar ground
beef concoctions have been recorded in American cookbooks since the turn of the twentieth
century. Some food historians believe that with the addition of ketchup or tomato sauces, it
evolved from the popualr Iowa loosemeat sandwich introduced by Floyd Angell, the founder of
Maid-Rite restaurants, in 1926. During the Great Depression and Wrold War II, ground beef
provided an enconomical way to stretch meat and ensured the popularity of the sandwich. As for
the name "sloppy joe," some say it was inspired by one of two famous bars named Sloppy Joe's
in
the 1930s--one in Havana, Cuba, and the other in Key West, Florida. The name caught on
throughout the United States, and based on the number of establishments that subsequently
became known as "Sloppy Joe's" by the late 1930s, it is likely that the messy-to-eat sandwich was
named after restaurants that commonly served it."
"Sloppy Joes...I remember eating these in the 1940s and suspect they may have been a way of
stretching precious ground beef during World War II. Apparently not. My friend and colleague
Jim Fobel tells me that in his own quest to trace the origin of the Sloppy Joe, he talked to
Marilyn
Brown, Director of the Consumer Test Kitchen at H.K. Heinz in Pittsburgh (the Heinz "Joe," not
surprisingly, is reddened with ketchup). Brown says their research at the Carnegie Library
suggests that the Sloppy Joe began in a Sioux City, Iowa, cafe as a "loose meat sandwich" in
1930, the creation of a cook named Joe..."
The state of Iowa does seem to have a history of loose meat sandwiches: Taylor's Maid-Rites (est. 1926)
"Sloppy Joe's...any cheap restaurant or lunch counter serving cheap food quickly, since
1940."
Minced meat recipes were common in colonial America. These economical dishes were generally composed of cooked leftovers. The practice originated in the
Old World. Recipes varied according to culture and cuisine. In Colonial America, minced meat dishes could have been either
sweet (mince meat pie) or savory (a href="#meatloaf">forced meat balls
About hash "Haricot of mutton
The notion that hash was first introduced to the English in the mid-17th century is attributed to
the fact that it was mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his famous Diary:
"Hash
v. Taking the place of the earlier hache, hachee, hachey,..and hachis from French. Something cut
up into small pieces' sec. A dish consisting of meat which has been previously cooked, cut small,
and warmed up with gravy and sauce or other flavoring. 1662: Pepys Diary 12 Jan. 1663...'at fist
course, a hash of rabbits, a lamb."
---Oxford English Dictionary
A sampler of Colonial American era minced meat recipes
Early English settlers used recipes from their country's cookbooks. Hannah Glasse's Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy [1747] was one of the most popular. Here are Mrs. Glasse's recipes for mince pie & hashed mutton:
"To Hash Mutton like Venison
New England boiled dinner is a perfect convergence of culinary tradition, technological
convention, and practical sensibility. New Englanders didn't invent the boiled dinner, they
adapted/adopted/served it because it, quite simply, made sense. The same holds true for Yankee pot roast.
"New England boiled dinner...A very hearty dish of various meats and vegetables that was
originally made with salt beef but that may also contain poultry. It was traditionally served at
noontime, but begun early in the morning when the meat would be boiled with cabbage in a
kettle
over an open fire. Later the other vegetables would go in...Boiled meals have long been part of
many countries' culinary heritage: In France such a meal is called pot au feu', in Italy bollito
misto', and New England Boiled dinners derive from English versions of the dish. The termed
boiled dinner' was in print as of 1882, and New England boiled dinner' as of 1896."
"In addition to cooking, much time was devoted to preserving food, with results that include such
classic American fare as New England boiled dinner. It was originally a meal-in-one-dish of salt
beef cooked at the open fire where meat and vegetables could be combined in a single pot
hanging
from a crane and bubbling gently for hours while the housewife pursued her dozens of other
chores. It remains a meal for the heartiest appetites, still in the repertoire of many women whose
ancestors migrated across the country. The average Yankee recipe calls for corned brisket, flank,
or beef rump to be simmered with a variety of root vegetables. As preparation, some Maine
cooks
rub a three-or four-pound piece of beef with coarse salt, then cover it with water so heavily salted
it will float a potato or an egg. They may take an old-fasioned iron doorstop to weight down the
meat while it absorbs the brine for several weeks.
"Served as a midday meal on farms, a traditional boiled dinner goes to the stove soon after
breakfast when corned beef and a piece of salt pork, along with a head of cabbage, are covered
with water and simmered very slowly. In about three hours there may be added a dozen whole
peeled potatoes, and equal number of scraped carrots, and six to eight peeled white onions; well
scrubbed beets are usually cooked separately. When the meat has simmered about four hours, the
beef is drained and put on a hot platter, surrounded by the vegetables and garnished with parsely.
Some Yankees call for a sprinkling of cider vinegar, but most common accents are homemade
horseradish sauce or strong mustard."
"...most of the food New Englanders ate for more than two hundred years came out of heavy
black iron pots. The large dinner pot', in which meat was boiled with the suet pudding, hung on
stout pot chains from wooden lug poles or later from the crane, a Yankee invention. Bean
porridge was made in this pot, as were the fish stews of the daily bill of fare. The famous New
England boiled dinner--corned beef and root vegetables...-was a triumph of art over the
limitations of fireplace cookery and owed some of its popularity, among the wives at least, to the
fact that it could simmer for hours with little attention. Accompanied by mixed mustard pickles
and hores-radish and a dessert like baked apple dumplings, a boiled dinner could be counted
upon
to keep a man putting up a stone wall well-fueled until his afternoon snack."
As noted by Mr. Mariani, New England boiled dinner was not commonly called such until the
late
19th century. Early cook books refer to this dish simply as "boiled dinner." Here are some recipes
from old cookbooks:
[1833]
"The American fashion of serving meat 'rare' or in a rather purple condition, is certainly objectionable. A rule to be remembered
is that all white meats must be thorougly cooked. Red meats may be served a little underdone. This does not mean that the blood must run
from them as they are carved, but that they must be pink, juicy and tender."
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia] 1902 (p. 138)
"The different degrees, designated as rare or underdone, medium rare, and well done, to which meat may be roasted are at present largely matters of individual
opinion. What may seem rare to one person, is medium rare to another, while it is not at all uncommon to have meat that is actually raw offered as rare. The usual
household method of attaining these different degrees by allowing for the time of cooking, a definite number of minutes for each pound of meat contained in the
roast, while reliable to some extent, is not sufficiently accurate for careful investigations. Under such conditions, considerable variations may occur in the degree of
cooking, and it has already been shown ' that the percentages of the original constituents of the raw meat which are
removed by cooking depend on this factor."
---A Precise Method of Roasting Beef, Grindley, H.S. and Sprague, E.C., U. of Illinois. University
Studies. Vol. 2, No. 4 (1907). Online text
"-And when you sit down to a big, thick, juicy, medium rare steak, flanked by some delicately browned potatoes..."
---display ad, Wilson's Certified Catsup and Chili Sauce, Wall Street Journal, May 19, 1919 (p. 8)
"Stage to Which Meat is Cooked, Rare, Medium and Well Done. The longer a piece of meat is cooked the more the interior color
changes form pink or red to gray,and the greater the cooking losses. Some meats like veal and pork are cooked well done, while beef
may be cooked rare. There is no definate stage between a rare and meidum-done piece of meat or between a medium well-done one and a
well-done one. The meat passes from one stage to another gradually, so that there is no definite end point. Heat penetrates slowly
intp the minterior of a large piece of meat, and the center of the meat, unless very much over-cooked, never attains as high a
temperature as the meat near the surface. Rare meat. Grindly and Sprague have suggested, for convenience, that meat with an
interior temperatue at its center of 60 degrees C. or below be called rare. Such meats are juicier than meats cooked well done. Nearly all
the interior may be a bright red color or only a small portion around the center of the meat may be red. The extent or
uniformity of the red color depends upon the cooking temprature...Rare meat also has more of the original meat flavor than well-done
meat, for not so much of the fluids and extractives giving flavor to the meat have been lost. Medium well-done meat. Grindley
and Sprague have suggested that meat that has reached an inner temprature of 60 to 70 degrees C. be called medium well
done. There the color also varies with the temperature of cooking, the degree to which the meat has been ripened, and in some
instances with the age of the animal and the kind of meat. Rare and medium well-done meats are probably more often associated with the
color of the cooked meat. Since the color of the cooked meat varies with different conditions, the division into rare, medium well-done
varies on the basis of inner temperature of the meat is only an arbitrary one and not always satisfactory. Most people would
be agreed that medium well-done meat should ot be a deep red or pink, but should show some pink color. Well-done meat. Meat that has a
uniform gray color throughout the enteire interior of the meat is usually called well done. With veal, this stage of cookery is
sometimes reached before or by the time the inner temperature has reached 71 degrees C. This may also be true of beef that
has ripened sufficiently...But to some persons the term well done is associated with the degree of cookery, that is, the
separation of the muscle fibers due to formation of gelatin from the connective tissue. It may also refer to the dryness of teh meat and the
loss of juices. The meat may be cooked until it reaches a temperature far above 71 degrees C., often from 80 to 85 degrees
C. for roasts and from 95 to 99 degrees for braised meat."
---Experimental Cookery, Bell Lowe [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1932 (p. 198-199)
"Chart for roasting meat by the modern method...Thermometer readings: Beef, rare, 140 degrees; medium, 160 degrees; well done, 170 degrees."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs Merrill:Indianapolis IN] 1936 (p. 201)
[NOTE: this chart is not included in the original 1931 edition.]
Prudence Penny's Cookbook's chapter on cooking meat offers broiling chart (p. 55) specifying length of time to achieve
rare/medium/well done beefsteaks (by steak thickness). Medium and well done times for lamb chops. Well done times (only)
for veal cutlets, veal chops, mutton chops, ham, pork chops and bacon.
"To obtain the epicure's rare beef, the internal temprature of the cut during roasting should be only 123 degrees
Fahrenheit. For medium-done it is 132 degrees and for well-done it is 148 to 154. These figures are readings of thermometers placed
at the center of the cut and read while the neat is cooking. The temperature there is lower than in the oven."
---"Cook Meat Slowly, Say Texas Experts," New York Times, December 22, 1942 (p. 29)
Preferences for the "doneness" of meat vary according to period, place, and people. Food historians generally agree the discovery of cooking was accidental. Meats roasted on open fires released pleasing aromas, enhanced product flavor, and made the food easier to chew. The trifecta of all food discoveries. Ancient western peoples so valued cooked meats that consuming anything raw was considered "barbarian."
In the earliest days of civilization, most animals were kept for work (oxen to plough), textiles goods (sheep for wool), and sustainable edible products (cows and goats for milk & cheese; chickens for eggs). With the exception of hogs, domesticated animals were slaughtered and consumed after they outlived their usefulness. Which meant? Meat was generally tough. Slow cooking in some kind of broth rendered these tough sinews edible. Soups, stews, slow cooked casseroles & braizes were the norm.
In pre-industrial times fresh meat was a priviledge enjoyed by the wealthiest classes. Think: grand medieval feasts featuring selections of large roasts. Before the days of reliable refrigeration, most meats were preserved. In the realm of smoked ham, salt beef, and dried fish, the concept of a "doneness" scale from raw to overcooked did not exist. Meats were cooked with one general goal: make them edible.
Ancient Greeks and Roman physicians "prescribed" cooking methods by humoral theory. They recognized the effect of cooking on the outcome of meat. Certain meats were "prescribed" for boiling or roasting, according to their inherent humoral nature. Renaissance European chefs resdiscovered and promoted this dictum. Modern food scientists can now explain what the ancient physicians knew. Cooked meat tastes good. Prime cuts subjected to minimal cooking (rare, medium rare) generally offer the best aroma, flavor, and texture.
Americans love affair with meat, especially beef, refects ancient heritage, old world cooking methods and modern
scientific knowledge. In the last quarter of the 20th century heat concerns regarding undercooked beef resulted from
salmonell a poisoning to mad cow. USA government stepped in to regulate "safe" cooking temperatures. Some diners who
formerly consumed their beef on the raw side began ordering "well done" to be safe. 21st century American meat eaters
continue to enjoy their meats from tartar to well. Many restaurants have placed warnings/disclaimers on menus with regards
to the risks involved with meat served at the lower end of the cooking spectrum. In sum: if it tastes good, people will
order.
---On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of The Kitchen, Harold McGee, completely revised and updated [Scribner:New York] 2004 (p. 147-151)
---On Food and Cooking (p. 154-155)
---A Taste of Ancient Rome, Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa, translated by Anna Herklotz [Univeristy of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1992 (p. 86-87)
---Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations, D. Eleanor Scully & Terence Scully [University of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor] 1995 (p. 29-30)
---Acquired Taste: The French Origins of Modern Cooking, T. Sarah Peterson [Cornell University Press:Ithaca NY] 1994 (p. 95)
---Encyclopedia of Practical Gastronomy, Ali-Bab, originally published in Paris, 1906 translated by Elizabeth Benson [McGraw-Hill:New York] 1974(p. 233-234)
---Cooking A La Ritz, Louis Diat [J. B. Lippincott:New York] 1941 (p. 169)
---"Lamb For All Tastes," Craig Claiborne with Pierre Franey, New York Times, March 31, 1985 (p. SM77)
---"Rare Beef Linked to Illnesses," Marian Burros, New York Times, January 20, 1982 (p. C10)
---"When is it Done?" New York Times, May 21, 1997 (p. C6)
Airline chicken
---Inflight Catering Management, Audrey C. McCool [John Wiley & Sons:New York] 1995 (p. 36)
---STATLER CHICKEN," JOE YONAN, Boston Globe, Nov 2, 2005, pg. G.3
[NOTE: Perhaps the Boston Statler Hilton is the "hotel" referenced by the National Chicken
Council?]
---"A family restaurant, different breed," Catherine Quillman, Philadelphia Inquirer,
February 22, 2004 ( p. L2)
---"Dining With Dennis Getto Simple steakhouse approach works well for Jimmy D's," Dennis
Getto,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 14, 1997, Cue (Pg. 16)
---"CREOLE CAFE A WELCOME ADDITION TO MONROE STREET," Michael Muckian,
Capital
Times (Madison, WI.), September 27, 1997, (p. 4D).
Bacon
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
47)
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
14-5)
---Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson
[Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1991 (p. 74, 77 & 88)
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the
World,
Sue Shephard [Simon and Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 68-9)
"Many of us are short of time at home or short of patience in camp when breakfast has to be cooked. Armour and Company offers
to help out with a new product, a bacon called Brown 'N'Serve that is partially pre-cooked so it needs only a short turn
on the stove. Armour say that Brown 'N Serve not only can be prepared much faster than regular bacon but also curls less,
shrinks less, and leaves less waste fat in your frying pan. CU had refrigerated samples of Brown N'Serve flown in form
Omaha, Nebr., one of the cities in which it was being test marketed. Each package held 18 to 20 slices of bacpon, generally
about 7 1/2 inches long and weighing 5 ounces. The price of a package was 89 cents, which figures out to a whopping $2.85 a pound.
CU's panelists prepared the samples, along with samples of some major brands of regular bacons, by three common mehtods of cooking
bacon; frying on top of a gas stove, frying in an electric skillet, and broiling in an oven. Each panelist cooked the bacon to his own
taste. Each portion of bacon was weighed and measured before and after cooking, and a record was kept of the time that elapsed
between putting the bacon on the fire and taiking it off. For the Brown 'N Serve, the average loss in weight for each
of the three methods of preparation was about 45%. Shrinkage was similar for all methods: the slices lost about 25% of their length in the
preparation. Armour's claim that Brown 'N Serve could be prepared in three mnutes in a frypan was substantiated, and the
time was even less--about two minutes--for oven broiling. In contrast, the regular bacons showed weight losses of approximately
70%, shrnkage in length of about 30%, and cooking times of 10 to 12 minutes for frypan preparation and 4 to 6 minutes for
oven broiling. If, then, the saving of minutes is an important consideration, it can be achieved to a significant degree whitgh
regular bacon by oven broiling, and only about half the panelests felf that using Brown 'N Serve was high-quality bacon,
most of them judging that it was better than the bacon they ordinarily bought for themselves. One thing that certainly
diminishes the appeal of Brown 'N Serve is its price. At $2.85 a pound, it would be equivalent, after adjusting for yield
differences, to a pound or regular bacon at about $1.50 to $1.60. Mosty of the panelists said they would be reluctant to pay such prices for
this or any other bacon."---"Quick Cook Bacon," Consumer Reports, May 1963 (p. 215)
Beef
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p.
145)
[NOTE: This book references two major works regarding the history and domestication of
cattle. Your librarian can help you obtain them.]
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas
[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 490-1)
[NOTE: This book contains an extensive bibliography for further study.]
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas
[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume One (p. 492)
Cows were not indigenous to America. Dairy cows were introduced to by English settlers in the early 1700s. Meat cows were introduced by Spanish settlers.
---America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking, Keith Stavely & Kathleen Fitzgerald [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 2004 (p. 178-180)
---Eating in America: A History, Waverley Root & Richard de Rochemont [William Morrow:New York] 1976 (p. 192-195)
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 316-7)
Beef Stroganoff
---Restaurant Hospitality, John Mariani,
January 1999 (p. 76).
---The Art of Russian Cuisine, Anne Volokh with Mavis Manus [Macmillan:New York]
1983 (p. 266)
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
326-7)
--Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [Ohio
University Press:Athens] 1998 (p.103).
"Beef Stroganov with mustard
(Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju)
2 lbs tender beef
10-15 allspice
1/4 lb butter
salt
2 spoons flour
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon Sareptskaja mustard"
---A Gift to Young Housewives, Elena Molokhovets, [Moscow, 1861], recipe #635
translated and introduced by Joyce Thomas [Indiana Press:Bloomington] 1992 (p.213-214). Ms.
Thomas adds
this note: "Molokhovets' simple recipe did not endure. Already by 1912, Aleksandrrova-Ignat'eva
was teaching the students in her cooking classes to add finely chopped sauteed onions and tomato
paste to the sauce, a practice which still turns up in modern Soviet and American recipes, with or
without the addition of mushrooms. It is worth noting that Aleksandrova-Ignat'eva served this
dish with potato straws, which have become the standard modern garnish for Beef Stroganov."
---The Cuisine of Hungary, George Lang [Atheneum:New York] 1982 (p. 272)
[NOTE: this recipe does not specify a starch accompaniment.]
--The American Century Cookbook, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p.
125).
Beef a la Stronanoff
Subsequent iterations found in popular American cookbooks tout this dish as quick and easy. Canned soups were readily
exchanged for traditional sauces. Ground beef was even quicker.
[National Dish of Russia]
[Serves 4]
1 1/2 lbs lean beef (No fat. Any cut of beef can be used, but, of coruse, the better the beef, the better the Beef a la
Stroganoff. Well hung top round steak is very good. For best, use the lean of the thin Delmonico steaks.
1/2 lb. or 1 can mushrooms
2 tablespoons beef drippings or butter
1/2 pt. sour cream
--If you have no sour cream, then you can use sweet cream, or a cream sauce made from milk. The Russians always use sour cream.
If gives a little snap not obtained with sweet cream. (To make sweet cream sour, add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to each 1/2
pint cream, or, for evaporated milk, add 1 teaspoon of vinegar to each 1/2 pint of milk.)
1 tablespoon flour
salt and paprika
Cut the beef across the grain; now that is very important--across the grain of the meat. If you cut with the grain you will have
your meat stringy, and it will be tough, whereas if you cut across the grain, meat will be tender. First stretch the meat an you can
see which way the grain runs--then cut across the grain. Cut the beef into little pieces about 1 inch long and about half the width of a
pencil. Into a frying pan, place 2 tablespoons beef drippings, butter or other fat, and when hot put in the cut up beef; allow
to cook slowly with a lid on the frying pan for 15 minutes, turning the meat over occasionally. At the end of 15 minutes add the
mushrooms cut into fairly small pieces and allow to cook with the beef for 10 minutes. If the pan becomes dry, add a little fat
or buter, but do not have a lot of fat. Just enough to keep the frying pan from becoming dry. When the mushrooms and meat have
cooked (first the meat 15 minutes, then the mushrooms added and cooked another 10 minutes, making 25 minutes in all), then place
the meat and mushrooms in to the top pot of a double boiler. Put in frying pan 1 tablespoon of butter, melt, and mix the
flour with this. Then add the sour cream. (Sweet cream, or cream sauce made from milk can be used, but does not compare with sour
cream, which is always used by Russians.) If cream is too thick, add a little sweet milk. Place pan over fire and stir around with
a fork to get the meat juices of the pan mixed with the cream mixture. Then pour this into the beef and mushrooms in the
double boiler and cook for 5 or 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve on large biscuits slit in half and toasted on the cut side
only. The Russians usually serve with Julienne Potatoes...NOTE: For more gravy, add a little sweet cream or top of milk. To reheat:
This dish reheats perfectly and can be kept in refrigerator or ice box, then reheated by placing in saucepan over slow fire and
adding a little sweet cream. Stir until it boils, then serve. For dinner parties, can be prepared the day before."
---The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, John McPherson [Blakiston Company:Philadelphia PA] 1934, reprinted 1945(p 165-6)
"Hamburger Stroganoff
1 cup bitter or margarine
1/2 cup minced onions
1 lb chuck, ground
1 minced clove garlic
2 tablesp. flour
2 teasp. salt
1/4 teasp. monosodium glutamate
1/4 teasp. pepper
1/4 teasp. paprika
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 can undiluted cream-of-chicken soup
1 cup commercial sour cream
Snipped parsley, chives, or fresh dill
In hot butter skillet, saute onions till golden. Stir in meat, garlic, flour, salt, monosodium glutamate, pepper, parprika, musrhooms;
saute 5 min. Add soup; simmer, uncovered, 10 min. Stir in sour cream; sprinkle with parsley. Serve on hot mashed potatoes, fluffy
rice, buttered noodles, or toast. Makes 4 to 6 servings."
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, Dorothy B. Marsh editor [Good Housekeeping:New York] 1955 (p. 70)
[1961]
"There are almost as many reicpes for beef Stroganoff as there are cooks who make it. In the classic Russian
recipe strips of beef tenderloin are sauteed in butter with onion and mushrooms...Some variations, such as tomato beef Stroganoff
and tomato soup mix add flavor and color to the sour cream-mushroom sauce for the beef."
1/2 envelope (3 1/2 tablspoons) tomato soup mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
3/4 cup water
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 6 oz. can sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons Sauterne
1 1/2 pound beef ternderloin
1 onion, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
Stir water into soup mix, add salt and pepper; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add sour cream, musrhooms
and Sauterne. Slice meat in very thin strips. Saute onion in butter until tender; add meat and brown quickly, about 3 min. Stir in tomato-sour
cream mixture and heat, but do not boil. Serve over buttered noodles. Makes 3 to 4 servings."
---"Flavor, Color Addded to Beef Stroganoff,: Los Angles Times, September 16, 1961 (p. B8)
"Beef strogonoff
Cut 1 pound beef sirloin into 1/4 -inch strips. Combine 1 tablespoon flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Coat meat with flour mixture.
Heat skillet, then add 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. When melted, add sirloin strips and brown quickly on both sides. Add one
3-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained, 1/2 cup chopped onion, and 1 clove garlic, minced; cook 3 or 4 minutes or till onion is
crisp-tender. Remove meat and mushrooms from pan. Add 2 tablespoons butter or margarine to pan drippings; blend in 3 tablespoons
all-purpose flour. Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste. Stir in 1 1/4 cups cold beef stock or one 10 1/2-ounce can condensed beef
broth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat till thickened and bubbly.
Return browned meat and mushrooms to skillet. Stir in 1 cup dairy sour cream and 2 tablespoons dry white wine; cook
slowly til heated through. Do not boil. Keep warm over hot water. Serve over hot buttered noodles. makes 4 or 5 servings."
---Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Better Homes and Gardens [Meredith Corp.:Des Moines IA] 1968 (p. 206)
"Souper Stroganoff
1 1/2 round steak, cut in thin strips
1/4 cup flour
dash pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can (4 ounces )sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed consomme
1 cup sour cream
2 cups cooked noodles
Dust meat with flour and pepper. In skillet, brown meat in butter. Add mushrooms, onion, and garic; brown lightly. Stir in soup.
Cover; cook 1 hour or until meat is tender; stir often. Gradually blend in sour cream; cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Serve over
noodles. 4 generous servings."
---Cooking With Soup, Campbell Soup Company [Camden NJ] revised edition 1970 (p. 24)
1 pound round steak, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 cups cooked noodles
Brown steak and onion in butter. Stir in soup, water, sour cream, and paprika. Cover; cook over low heat 45 minutes or until
meat is tender. Stir often. Serve over noodles. 4 servings."
---Cooking With Soup, Campbell Soup Company [Camden NJ] revised edition 1970 (p. 126)
"Beef Stroganoff
2 pound beef tenderloin
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can (6 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cans (10 1/2 ounces each) condensed beef broth (bouillon)
1/3 cup instant minced onion
1/4 cup catsup
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
8 to 10 ounces uncooked medium noodles
2 cups dairy sour cream
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
Cut meat across the grain into 3/4-inch slices, then into strips 3X1/4 inch. Melt 1/4 cup butter in large skillet: add mushrooms and cook and stir about 5 minutes.
Remove mushrooms. In same skillet, cook meat until light brown. Reserving 2/3 cup of the broth, stir in remaining broth, the onion, catsup and garlic salt. Cover
and simmer 15 minutes. Blend reserved broth and the flour; stir into meat. Add mushrooms; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Cool; cover
and refrigerate. Cook noodles as directed on package. Heat stroganoff over low heat. Stir in sour cream; heat through. Drain noodles; toss with 3 tablespoons
butter. Serve with stroganoff. 6 to 8 servings."
---Betty Crocker's Dinner Parties: A Contemporary Guide to Easy Entertaining, General Mills Inc. [Golden Press:New York] 1970 (p. 71)
"Beef Stroganoff
4 or 5 servings
1 container Beef-Mushroom Mix (p. 16)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons catsup
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 tablespoon dry white wine, if desired
Hot cooked noodles or rice
Dip container of Beef-Mushroom Mix into very hot water just to loosen. Place frozen block in 3-quart saucepan. Add water. Heat uncovered over medium heat,
stirring occasionally, until hot, about 30 minutes. Stir in catsup and mustard. Heat to boiling; reduce heat.Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionaly, until beef is hot,
about 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and wine; heat just until hot. Serve over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley if desired."
---Betty Crocker's Working Woman's Cookbook, General Mills Inc. [Random House:New York] 1982 (p. 17)
3 meals-4 or 5 servings each
6 medium onions, sliced
1 1/3 pounds mushrooms, sliced, or 2 cans (8 ounces each) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup margarine or butter
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
4 1/2 pounds beef for stew, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cans (10 1/2 ounces each) condensed beef broth
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Cook and stir onions, mushrooms and garlic in margarine in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat until onions are tender. Remove vegetables with slotted spoon
and reserve. Add oil to Dutch oven. Mix flour, salt, and paprika; coat beef with flour mixture. Cook and stir about 1/3 of the beef in oil until brown; repeat with
remaining beef, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons oil if necessary. Mix beef, broth, water, marjoram and thyme in Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and
simmer until beef is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir in reserved vegetables. Refrigerate until cool. Divide beef mixture (about 4 cups each) among three 1-quart
freezer containers. Cover, label and freeze no longer than 3 months. Use for Beef Burgundy, Curried Beef or Beef Stroganoff."
---ibid (p. 16)
Beef Wellington
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [Ohio
University Press:Athens] 1998
(p. 95-6)
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman [Times
Books:New York] 1985 (p. 34-5)
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 126)
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:New
York] 1995 (p. 232)
--- Leites Culinaria, Dining
Through the Decades: Food of the 1970s
"One of the first American recipes for Beef Wellington...appeared in 1957 in The Gourmet Cookbook, Vol. II. But apres Gourmet, the flood. While
the Kennedy's dined on classic Beef Wellington prepared by White House Chef Rene Verdon, elegant and expensive
restaurants in New York served their own versions (stuffed with chopped veal, ham, and chicken at the Colony; with minced sweetbreads, veal, and mushrooms
at Pierre's)...By the mid-1960s recipes for the dish were appearing in magazines ranging from Esquire to Farm Journal. Gourmet magazine proclaimed it the 'beef
Wellington era.'"---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:New York] 1995 (p. 234)
[1940]
Another way
"Tenderloin of Beef Wellington: Lard 4 pounds of beef tenderloin, roast for 15 minutes, let cook. and spread with cold brown fine herb sauce. Roll out a piece of
puff paste B. Place the tenderloin on top and seal the meat with this dough. Paint with yellow of egg. Bake for 20 minutes in moderate oven (350 degrees F.).
Serve with hot brown fine herb sauce."
---Palmer House Cook Book, Ernest E. Amiet [John Willy:Chicago IL] 1940 (p. 121)
[Note: Brown Fine Herb Sauce & Puff Paste B recipes are included in this book. We can send if you like.]
"Filet of Beef Wellington From the Palmer House, Chicago
Have filet of beef trimmed (5 pounds after trimming), ready to roast. Cut off tail part. Season with salt and pepper;
spread with good fat. Roast in a hot oven for about 35 minutes; set aside; let cool.
Duxelles Palmer House
3 cups chopped mushrooms
6 chopped shallots
4 oz chopped York ham
2 tablesp. chopped parsley
2 tablesp. rich Madeira Sauce
Cook mushrooms in butter until all moisture is cooked away, stirring occasionally. Add shallots, ham, parsley, and Madeira
sauce.
Season to taste
Dough
1 lb. flour
12 oz. butter
pinch of salt
9 oz. water
Blend flour and bitter until sandy mass is obtained; add salt diluted in the water, mixing slowly. Place in refrigerator for 1/2 hour. Roll in a rectangular shape,
14" X 9". Spread duxelles over dough, and place roast filet in center. Fold dough over filet so that meal is completely enclosed. Place seam down on pan; cover
top and sides with one well-beaten egg (to give a good color after it is cooked). Make criss-cross design with fork. Bake in 400 degrees F. oven for about 30
minutes. Serve truffle sauce separately. Serves 10."
---"James Beard's Selection of Famous Hilton Recipes," Los Angeles Times, May 25, 1958 (p. K6)
"Filet of Beef Wellington. Trim a good-sized filet of beef, smear it generously with butter, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Put it in a flat pan with scraps of
celery, onion, and parsley, 1 bay leaf, and a pinch of rosemary and roast it in a very hot oven (450 degrees F.) for about 25 minutes. Remove it and let it cool.
When the filet is cold, spread it with a substantial layer of pate de foie gras and wrap it in pie pastry, rolled about 1/8 inch thick. Trim the edges of the pastry,
moisten them with a little cold water, and press firmly together. Bake the rolled filet on a baking sheet in a hot oven (450 degrees F.) for about 15 minutes, or until
the cdrust is delicately browned. Sor a shiny crust, brush the surface with beaten egg yolk before baking. Add 1 cup veal stock 1/4 cup pate de foie gras, and 1
large truffle, chopped, to the roasting pan. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes and serve it separately."
---The Gourmet Cookbook, Volume II [Gourmet Books:New York] revised edition, 1965 (p. 282-283)
"Beef Wellington 4 t 6 servings
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup ice water, approximately
1 fillet of beef (2 1/2-3 pounds)
2 tablespoons cognac
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices of bacon
8 ounces pate de foie gras or Chicken Liver Pate
3 or 4 truffles
1 egg, lightly beaten
2. Preheat oven to hot (450 degrees F.).
3. Rub the fillet all over with the cognac and season with salt and pepper. Lay the bacon over the top, securing with string
if necessary.
4. Place the meat on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for fifteen minutes for rare, for twenty to twenty-five minutes for
medium. Remove from the oven; remove the bacon. Cool to room temperature before proceeding.
5. Spread the pate all over the top and sides of the beef. Cut the truffles into halves and sink the pieces in a line along
the top.
6. Preheat the oven to hot (425 degrees F.).
7. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle (about 18 X 12 inches) one-quarter inch thick. Place the fillet, top down, in the middle.
Draw the long sides up to overlap on the bottom of the fillet; brush with egg to seal.
8. Trim the ends of the pastry and make an envelope fold, brushing again with egg to seal the closure. Transfer the pastry-wrapped
meat to a baking sheet, seam side down.
9. Brush all over with egg. Cut out decorative shapes from the pastry trimmings and arrange the pieces down the center of the
pastry. Brush the shapes with remaining egg. Bake for about thirty minutes, or until the pastry is cooked. Serve the dish hot with
Sauce Madere...or serve cold on a buffet table.
Note: Puff pastry may be used to wrap the beef, but care should be taken to roll it very thin. Brioche dough may also be used."
---The New York Times Menu Cookbook, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1966 (p. 176-7)
"Filet of Beef Wellington (12 to 15 servings)
4 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound butter
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup cold water
1. Sift the flour and salt onto a marble slab or pastry board. Make a little hole in center, add half of the butter, the egg yolks and the water; mix to make the dough.
Chill the dough for 1 hour.
2. Roll into a square and put the other half of the butter in the center. Fold all 4 sides of the dough over the butter to enclose it completely. Roll the dough out into a rectangle 3 times as long as it is wide. Fold the left-hand third over the middle and the right-hand third over the left, thus making 3 layers. This process of rolling and folding is called a 'turn.' Make another turn and chill the dough for 20 minutes. Make 2 more turns and chill for 30 minutes before using. The dough will keep in the refrigerator, wrapped in a dry cloth and a wet towel, for several days.
II Three Pounds Beef Tenderloin, Trimmed
1. Have the butcher trim a beef tenderloin and tie it to keep it in shape.
2. Roast the meat in a buttered pan in very hot preheated oven (475 degrees F.) for 7 minutes and remove it at once from the oven to cool.
III D'Uxelles' of Mushrooms
1/2 pound mushrooms
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces goose livers, diced.
1. Grind mushrooms with fine plate of meat grinder. Sprinkle immediately with lemon juice to maintain musrhooms' light color.
2. Cook in small amount of melted butter (2 tablespoons) and add salt and pepper to taste. Cool completely and add diced goose livers; mix well.
IV Final Steps
1. Roll the pastry into a rectangle 3/8 inch thick and large enough to envelop the filet of beef.
2. Cover the center of the rectangle with a portion of the D'Uxelles' of mushrooms.
3. Place the filet, which should be cold, on the center of the pastry. Coat the filet with the remaining mushroom mixture. Wrap the beef carefully with the pastry to
make a loaf. Trim pastry and save trimmings.
4. Place loaf in a greased pan, seam side down. Roll out pastry trimmings and cut out shapes (i.e., leaf). Garnish the top of the loaf with cutouts. Brush with beaten
egg to ensure a high gloss. Let meat stand for 1 hour, refrigerated. Bake in preheated 400 degree F. oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until pastry is nicely browned.
Serve hot. To be served with Madeira Sauce mixed with chopped truffles"
---The White House Chef Cookbook, Rene Verdon [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1967 (p. 153-154)
[NOTE: Madeira Sauce recipe appears on p. 186.]
Filet de Boeuf en Croute
[Tenderolin of Beef Baked in Pastry--Beef Wellington Brioche]
An important dish like this should be surrounded with few distractions; we would suggest only something green and fresh like
buttered new peas, broccoli flowerettes, or, in season, sliced, fresh, green asparagus spears tossed in butter. Again, a fine red
Bordeaux-Medoc would be an excellent choice of wine.
Anything as extravagant as this filet de boeuf demands an unusally good sauce. We suggest 2 to 3 cups of the brown sauce or the
sauce ragout in Volume 1, pages 67 and 69, simmered several hours for maximum flavor; it will then be further enriched with
the cooking juices and deglazing wine from the beef, Step 1 in the following recipe.
1/2 the recipe for pain brioche dough, page 83 (1/2 lb. flour)
One of the brown sauces described in the preceding paragraph
2 1.2 to 3 lbs. of the heart of the tenderloin, sliced, stuffed, wrapped and tied (filet de boeuf en feuilletons, page 180,
Steps 1 and 2)
Rendered goose of pork fat, or cooking oil
A shallow roasting pan
1/2 cup dry port wine or Sercial Madeira
Prepare the dough as described, letting it finish its second rising in the refrigerator. The deflate it, cover with plastic wrap,
a plate, and a 5-pound weight (piece of meat grinder) so that it will not rise again; refrigerate. Make the brown-sauce and
refrigerate. Prepare the stuffed filet as described, baste well with fat or oil, and place in roasting pan. Preheat oven to
425 degrees, and set rack in upper-third level. Roast the beef for 25 minutes, basting and turning it several times. Transfer
beef to a platter or tray (reserve roasting pan) and let meat cool to room temperature. (If you are preroasting a day
ahead, cover and refrigerate the meat after it has cooled, but set at room temperature for 2 hours before final baking in
Step 3, for accurate timing.) Spoon fat out of roasting pan, pour in wine and boil down by half, scraping up any roasting
juices with a wooden spoon; scrape liquid into sauce base.
The cool, room temperature, preroasted beef
Heavy shears
The chilled brioche dough
Flour, a rolling surface, a rolling pin, a ravioli wheel, a small knife
An oiled jelly-roll pan or pizza tray (raised edges needed to catch roasting juices)
Egg glaze (1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water in a small bowl)
A pastry brush
Optional: a meat thermometer
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and slide rack onto lower-middle level. Set out all the equipment and ingredients listed. Cut
wrapping and string from beef. Working rapidly from now on so that brioche dough softens as little as possible, roll 1/4
of the dough into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick and the length and width of the beef. Roll it up on your pin and unroll it onto
the oiled pan.
Bake in lower-middle level of preheated 425-degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until pastry has browned nicely. Lower thermostat to
350 degrees for rest of baking, and cover crust loosely with a sheet of foil or brown paper if it seems to be browning too
much. Indications that the meat is done are that you can begin to smell the beef and the stuffing, and that juices begin
to escape into the pan; meat thermometer reading for rare beef is 125 degrees.
A hot platter or a board wide enough to hold beef and removed top crust
A flexible-blade spatula
A hot sauce in a warmed bowl
The hot accompanying vegetable
Serving implements: a sharp knife for cutting the crust, and a serving spoon and fork
When beef is done, remove from oven and slidfe onto platter or board. Beef will stay warm for 20 minutes; if you cannot
serve it, set in a warm oven no hotter than 120 degrees. To serve, cut all around the crust and half an inch up from its
bottom. Lift the top crust off onto the platter, and cut into serving portions. Separate the slices of meat with spoon and
fork and cut down through the bottom crust so that each slice is served with a portion of stuffing and crust. Spoon a little
sauce around the meat, and add a piece of the top crust."
---Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child and Simone Beck, Volume Two [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1970 (p. 181-185)
[1769]
"A Beefsteak Pie
Beat five or six rump steaks very well with a paste pin and season them well with pepper and
salt.
Lay a good puff paste round the dish and put a little water in the bottom. Then lay the steaks in
with a lump of butter upon every steak and put on the lid. Cut a little paste in what form you
please and lay it on."
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald, 1769, with an introduction
by Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 74)
"Beef Steak Pie.
Take a pie-dish according to the size required; two pounds of fresh rump steak cut into long thin
strips will bake a good pie; lay out the strips with a small piece of fat on each, a seasoning of salt
and pepper, and a dust of flour; two tea-spoonfuls of salt and one of pepper will be sufficient for
the whole pie; roll up each strip neatly and lay it in the dish, and between each layer sprinkle a
little of the seasoning and flour; a shred onion or schalot is sometimes liked, and a few oysters
will
be a great improvement; put an edging of paste round the dish, and throw in water enough to
cover the rolls of meat, and lay a crust of about half an inch thick over all; ornament the top
tastefully, and bake for two hours in a moderate oven...Sufficient for four or five persons."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter,
Galpin:London] 1875 (p. 63)
Cajun fried turkey
---Something Different: Deep-Fried Turkey, Beverly Bundy, St. Louis Dispatch,
November 24, 1997 (Food p. 4)
---It's Treacherous, But Oh So Tasty; Fried-Turkey Fans Take the Risk, Annie Gowen,
Washington Post, November 22, 2001 (p. B1)
---Deep-Frying That Turkey Could Land You in Hot Water; UL Warns Against Turkey Fryer
Use, PR Newswire, June 27, 2002
Authentic
Cajun turkey recipes circa 1885
---
Hearn, Lafcadio. La Cuisine Creole, A Collection of Culinary Recipes from Leading Chefs
and Noted Creole Housewives, Who Have Made New Orleans Famous for its Cuisine. New
Orleans: F.F. Hansell & Bro., Ltd., c1885
Carpetbag steak
---America Eats Out, John Mariani [William Morrow:New York] 1991 (p.55-6)
A grilled steak of beef into which is cut a pocket enclosing a stuffing of oysters. The name
derives from the handbag for travelers that was popular from about 1840 to 1870. The dish
resembles the sacklike bag with its top closure. There does not seem to be any specific
association with an American slang term, "carpetbagger," for a hated post-Civil War opportunist
who took advantage of both white and black southerners politically and economically. In fact,
the
carpet bag steak is much more popular in Australia and is only menioned for the first time in
American print in 1941 in Louis Diat's Cooking a la Ritz. Although there is no proof the
dish originated at Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles, which opened in 1936, it did become one
of the restaurant's signature dishes."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York]
1999 (p. 59)
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 92)
---The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, Craig Claiborne [Times
Books:New York] 1985 (p. 71)
----One Continious Picnic: A History of Eating in Australia, Michael Symons,
[Penguin:Victoria] 1984 (p. 54)
[NOTE: Mr. Symons says this about the recipe's origin:
"Carpetbag Steak, beef stuffed with oysters, a combination also occurring in the United States,
although I have not confirmed where it originated." --(p. 137)]
[1885]
"Beefsteak and Oyster Pie
Cut three pounds of lean beefsteak. Salt, pepper and fry quickly so as to brown without cooking
through; then place in a deep dish. Get four dozen oysters, beard them, and lay them in the pan
over the beef; season with salt and pepper. Take the gravy in which the steaks were fried, pour
out some of the grease; dredge in a tablespoonful of flour, let it brown and add to it a pint of
good
beef broth, then put in a wine-glassful of mushroom catsup, some of Harvey's or Worcestershire
sauce; heat it, and let it boil up a few times, then pour it over the oysters and steak. When the
gravy has become cook. Cover the pie with a good puff-paste, and bake it for an hour and a
half."
---La Cuisine Creole, Second Edition [F.F. Hansell & Bro.:New Orleans] 1885 (p.
30-1)
[NOTE: Creole cookbooks traditionally combine oysters with poultry, not beef.]
"Stewed Steak with Oysters.
Two pounds of rump steak, one pint of oysters, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, three of butter,
one of flour, salt, pepper, one cupful of water. Wash the oysters in the water, and drain into a
stew-pan. Put this liquor on to heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, skim and set back. Put the
butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, put in a steak. Cook ten minutes. Take up the steak, and stir
the flour into the butter remaining in the pan. Stir until a dark brown. Add the steak, cover the
pan, and simmer half an hour or until the steak seems tender, then add the oysters and lemon
juice. Boil one minute. Serve on a hot dish with points of toast for a garnish."
---White House Cook Book: A Selection of Choice Recipes Original and Selected, During a
Period of Forty Year's Practical Housekeeping, Mrs. F. L. Gillette [L.P. Miller &
Co.:Chicago] 1887 (p. 100)
"Steak with Oysters.
Select twenty-five oysters; drain, wash and drain again. Trim the steak, which should be about an
inch and a half thickness. When the steak has broiled for five minutes, dust with salt and pepper,
baste with butter, and cover it over with the oysters, and without delay run it into a very hot oven
for ten minutes. Dish without removing the oysters, baste thoroughly with the juice that is in the
bottom of the pan, and send at once to the table. The oysters should have the gills thoroughly
curled and be slightly browned."
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold and Company:Philadelphia]
1902 (p. 152)
[NOTE: the extra thick steak used here.]
"Carpet-Bag A La Colchester
Choose a good tender steak, and have it cut about 2 in. to split it through, and fill in between with raw oysters, lighly seasoned
with cayenne and a few drops of lemon juice. Sew up the steak, and grill carefully for 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Rub steak over with
oiled butter or salad oil prevents the juice from escaping, and ensures it coming to table a rich brown outside and tender and
juicy inside."
---The Goulburn Cookery Book,Mrs. Forster Rutledge,
[The National Trust:Sydney, Australia], 40th edition, a facsimile edition taken from parts of the 2nd in 1905 and 5th in 1907 of the original. xviii + 199 + v 8vo, 1973
(p. 31)
"Steak and Oyster Filling
Choose a good tender steak, and have it cut about 2 inches thick. Split it through, and fill in between with raw oysters,
lightly seasoned with cayenne and a few drops of lemon juice. Sew up the steak, and grill carefully for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour.
Rubbing the steak over with oiled butter or salad oil prevents the juice escaping, and ensures it coming to table a rich brown
outside and tender and juicy inside."
---The Schauer Cookery Book, Misses A. and M. Schauer [Edwards, Dunlop & Co:Brisbane and Sydney Australia] 1909 (p. 164)
Chateaubriand
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York]
2001 (p. 255)
---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 66-7)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
157)
---Kettner's Book of the Table, E.S. Dallas, facsimile reprint 1877 edition [Centaur
Press:London] 1968
[1869]
"Fillet steaks a la Chateaubriand.
Cut a fillet of beef crosswise, in 1 3/4-inch steaks; trim them; sprinkle them with salt and pepper,
and oil them slightly; broil the steaks over the fire, --six minutes each side; put them on a dish;
and
garnish with potatoes sautees, and cut to an olive shape; pour some Chateaubriand Sauce (vide
page 279)--over the steaks only; and serve." (p. 337)
Reduce 2 gills of French white wine, and 1 oz. of Meat Glaze; add 1 quart of Espagnole Sauce;
continue reducing; then strain, through a tammy cloth, into a bain-marie pan; Before serving, boil
up the sauce, and thicken it with 1/4 lb. Of Maitre d'Hotel Butter." (p. 279)
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson
Low,
Sone and Marston:London] 1869
"Chateaubriand Steak.
This is considered the acme of steaks. It should be cut from the fillet, quite two inches thick, and
put into a marinade of the purest olive oil, with a little pepper, for a few hours. Some cooks add a
few drops of French vinegar. The steak is best grilled; to ensure perfection, a double gridiron,
well
oiled, is recommended, and some authorities insist upon the envelopment of the steak in two thin
slices of beef (any lean part; it can be put in the stock pot afterwards), to protect the exterior, as it
should not be allowed to harden. Without this precaution, great care is needed to cook
thoroughly, without hardening, owing to the thickness of the meat. After eighteen to twenty
minutes' grilling, lay the meat before the fire on a hot dish, and finish off in either of the
following
ways: (1) Put a pat of maitre d'hotel butter under the steak, and a little gravy round; this can be
made by mixing a grill of stock No. 16 with the same measure of brown sauce No. 2. (2) Put a
pat
of maitre d'hotel butter in a gill of brown sauce, first heated with a glass of white wine and a
teaspoonful of lemon juice. (2) Mix chopped parsley and lemon juice, a teaspoonful of each, with
a gill and a half of stock No. 16, thickened with a small quantitiy of roux and glaze, to the
consistency of good cream. Serve fried potatoes, chips or ribbons with this steak. Cost,
variable."
---Cassell's New Universal Cookery Book, Lizzie Heritage [Cassell and
Company:London] 1894 (p. 243)
"Chateaubriand of Beef.
Cut the desired number of thick slices from a tenderloin of beef, and slit each one nearly in
halves;
place a teaspoonful of beef marrow seasoned with salt and cayenne and a few strips of onion in
this cavity, pressing the sides together, and brush over with warm butter or oil; place on a warm
gridiron over a clear fire for ten minutes. Remove, dish and squeeze a litte lemon juice over
them,
serving as hot as possible. Care should be take to prevent the marrow from oozing out during the
process of cooking."
---The Cookbook by "Oscar" of the Waldorf, Oscar Tschirky [Saafield
Publishing:Chicago] 1896 (p. 143-4)
"2294. Chateaubriand.
Chateaubriands are obtained from the centre of the trimmed fillet of beef, cut two or three times
the thickness of an ordinary fillet of steak. However, when it is to be cooked by grilling the
Chateaubriand should not be more than 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) in weight as, if larger than this, the
outside tends to become too dry and hard before the inside is properly cooked. Many strange
ideas have been put forward concerning the proper accompaniements for Chateaubriand;
correctly
speaking it should be Sauce Colbert or a similar sauce and small potatoes cooked in butter. In
modern practice though, Chateaubriands are served with any of the sauces and garnishes suitable
for Tournedos and fillet steaks."
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier [1903], first tranlsation
in to English by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann [Wiley:new York] 1979 (p. 279)
"Chateaubriand steak.
The Chateaubriand steak is an aristocrat, and is listed on most all a la carte bills. It is a double
tenderloin served for two, three, or four. In price it ranges from $2.50 to $5.00, depending upon
the size and garnish. Only one Chateaubriand is listed, as a rule, and is named after the house, as
"Chateaubriand, Tip Top Inn," $3.50; "Chateaubriand, Blackstone," $4.00. The above quoted
bills list but one Chateaubriand steak and the service is for four. The garnish varies with the
different establishments, and generally consists of a rich sauce, fresh mushrooms, and fancy
vegetables. Some places list two or three sizes with varying prices and garnishes, such as
"Marchand du vin," "Bernaise," or "fresh mushrooms." In cutting the Chateaubriand for two it
should be cut to weigh one and a half pounds; for three, two and a quarter pounds; for four, three
pounds; and to be at its best is should be take from the "heart" or center of the tenderloin
strip."
---The Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel Monthly
Press:Chicago] 1935 (p. 23)
---The Chicken Book, Paige Smith and Charles Daniel [Univeristy of Georgia
Press:Athens] 1975 (p. 10-16)
[NOTE: This book contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. Your librarian
can help you obtain a copy.]
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K.T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:Delhi]
1998 (p. 41-2)
---Food in the Ancient World From A-Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 83-4)
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas,
Volume One [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000 (p. 496-499)
[NOTE: This book has much more information than can be paraphrased here. It also contains an
extensive bibliography for further study and a separate chapter devoted to chicken eggs. If you
are conducting an academic research project, ask your librarian to help you find a copy of this
book.]
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
378)
"Chicken dishes are possibly the most nearly ubiquitious menu item of a non-vegetarian kind.
They may be taboo in certain circumstances in some cultures, but are generally available to all
irrespective of religion and with fewer financial constraints than other flesh. The history of the
species...has also been the subject of a...book by Page Smith and Charles Daniel [The
Chicken Book, North Point Press:San Francisco 1982], which carries the story from antiquity
through publication of the famous book on chickens by Aldrovandi (1600) up to the late 20th
century and does not shrink from describing the horrors of some intensive rearing practices. It is
these practices which have tended to turn chicken--once something of a luxury for most
people--into an inexpensive meat, lacking flavour and provoking uneasy qualms of
conscience...This consideration applies in many parts of the world...The lack of flavour has meat that chickens are particularly suited to dishes which involve distinct added flavours. Many ethnic
cuisines are rich in such dishes, and many of them have become popular in the western world on
tables where they would formerly have been seen as almost unimaginably exotic....Among well
known or particularly interesting dishes are the following: Hindle wakes (medieval)...Coronation
chicken (Queen Elizabeth II), Chicken a la Kiev (20th century Russia), Southern fried chicken
(United States), and Tampumpie (Solomon Islands)."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Davidson (p. 166-7)
[NOTE: This book has separate entries for a variety of chicken dishes]
Chicken a la King
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p.
71-2)
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan
Whitman
[Times
Books:New York] 1985 (p. 84-5)
---Oxford Encycopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University
Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 227)
[NOTE: The source cited for this information is the New York Tribune, March 5, 1915
(p. 9)]
Of course, you've Chicken a la King at one time or another. Everybody has--and nearly
everybody
likes it.
Perhaps at was in a swanky restaurant or a side-arm lunch. Or you may have made it yourself or
turned it
out of a can. But aside from a fleeting suspicion that it was likely named for some royal head of
Europe,
have you ever really wondered who thought it up and how, when, and why it got its name? The
whole thing
started soon after the turn of the century in the once famous Palm Room of the old Brighton
Beach Hotel at
Brighton Beach, just out of New York City. Everybody who was somebody knew the place...Head
chef at this
summer hotel was George Greenwald, who in the winter and spring ran a restaurant of his own in
New
York's Flatiron Building. One warm summer evening, casting about for a concoction to tempt the
palate of
the proprietor and his wife, Greenwald developed a new sort of chicken dish. He was a bit
dubious about it,
so made up only two servings and sent them in. There was a long period of silence. No word
came from
the diningroom of the success or failure of the invention. Finally a waiter was commissioned to
find out how
the dish had fared. The proprieter and his lady craved second servings--and there was no more!
Gaily the
chef returned to his kitchen. If critical E. Clark King had praised it, to what popular heights
might
his dish not
rise if presented to the public? Next morning, in crackling white uniform and billowing cap, he
approached
his employer. "You enjoyed the chicken dish I prepared for you last night?" "Yes, indeed--and
wished there
had been more." "Do you have any objection to my placing it on the menu?" "None at all. But
you'll have to
ask a fairly high price with all those ingredients. I think it will sell, tho." That was all, and the
hotel man little
guessed the fame his name was to gain from that idly given permission. For the next day there
appeared on
the menu: Chicken a la King.....$1.25. But E. Charles King II, my father, was shy of personal
publicity. The
name was never copyrighted and very few of the millions who have since delighted in its piquant
flavor ever
suspected that is was born just outside the city of New York.
1/2 green pepper, shredded
1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
2 tablspoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cream
3 cups chicken, cut in pieces
1/2 cup butter, creamed
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon onion juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Cooking sherry
Shredded pimiento
Hot toast
Simmer butter, green pepper, and mushrooms 5 minutes. Add flour and salt, cooking gently until
frothy. Mix
in cream and stir until sauce thickens. Turn into double boiler, add chicken, and heat thoroghly.
Beat the 1/4
cup soft butter into the egg yolks. Add onion juice, lemon juice, and paprika. Stir this slowly into
hot chicken
mixture, stirring until eggs thicken it. Add a little cooking sherry and pimiento. Serve at once on
hot toast.
Serves 8."
[1919]
"Chicken a la King
Take the breast of a boiled chicken or hen (fowl), and cut in very thin diamond-shape pieces. Put
in pan and add three-quarters of a pint of cream, salt and Cayenne pepper. Boil from three to five
minutes. Add a glass of best sherry or Madeira wine. Boil for a minute and thicken with the yolks
of two eggs, mixed with one-quarter pint of cream. Put some sliced truffles on top."
---The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book, Victor Hirtzler [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago IL]
1919 (p. 337)
Chicken & waffles
"As unusual as it might seem, the marriage of chicken and waffles actually has deep roots.
Thomas Jefferson brought a waffle iron back from France in the 1790s and the combination
began
appearing in cookbooks shortly thereafter. The pairing was enthusiastically embraced by African
Americans in the South. For a people whose cuisine was based almost entirely on the scraps left
behind by landowners and plantation families, poultry was a rare delicacy; in a flapjack culture,
waffles were similarly exotic. As a result, chicken and waffles for decades has been a
special-occasion meal in African American families, often supplying a hearty Sunday morning
meal before a long day in church."
"Serving up Chicken and Waffles," Los Angeles Business Journal, September 22, 1997 (p.1)
Wells Restaurant (music bar, suppper club &c.) in Harlem is world famous for serving chicken and
waffles. Since 1938 this down home restaurant served "soul food" thirty years before the term was coined.
---"For 60 Years, Wells has Nourished the Harlem Community," New York Amsterdam
News, April 8, 1999 (p.27)
"Mr. and Mrs. Wells of 2249 Seventh Ave. at 132nd St. in the Harlem area of Manhattan which is, and has been for a number of years, known aptly and quite
properly as "The Famous Home of Chicken and Waffles." Their fried chicken is golden and as crisp as crackers. The waffles have a fantastic creamy texture. What
is perhaps most famous is their selection of 'homemade' syrups--some warm, come cold...for the pure joy of creation, try the Wells' recipe It has never been
published before.
Feathers and Cream Waffles.
Mix 1 3/4 cups unsifted, all purpose four with 2 1/3 tsp. double-action baking powder, 3/4 tsp. salt. Combine 2 well-beaten eggs with 3/4 cup each milk and heavy cream. Add to the flour mixture. The add 5 tgsp. slighly cooled melted butter, margarine or vegetable shortening. Mix lightly only until smooth. Serve blazing hot with butter or margarine and oney and a selection of syrups. Makes aobut 10 (4 1/2-in.) waffles.
Vegetable Juice Cocktail
Fried Chicken
Selection of Wells' Assorted Syrups
(including: Rum or MInt, Spiced; Clove-Maple; Orange; Raspberry)
Scads of Coffee."
---"Temptin' Treats from Harlem, USA," Poppy Cannon, New York Times, October 20, 1969 (p. 18) [NOTE: syrup recipe are also included in this article.]
Chicken And Waffles
As fair and graceful they grow;
I do love the odor of lillies
With petals as white as snow.
Of violets that from grasses peep;
I love the smell of lillies gay
And artubus tendrills deep
The fragrance of chicken meat=
That starts up the saliva flow=
That smell is far more sweet.
And list to thrushes trill.
Tis music when the woodlands ring
With songs from hill to hill.
The song so full of charm
That turns the golden waffles out.
So rich, so light, so warm.
Pile waffles on your plate;
Now pour the chicken gravy on
And laugh at any fate."
---"Poultry Notes," C.M. Barnitz, Riverside PA, Correspondence Solicited, Daily Record [Morris County, NJ newspaper],
September 12, 1908 (p. 5)
Chicken Cordon Bleu
---Larousse Gastronomique, completey updated and revised [Clarkson Potter:New York]
2001 (p. 340)
---Rare Bits: Unusual of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [Ohio University
Press: Athens 1998 (p. 120)
---"Peasant serves well in its 'people place'," Celeste McCall, The Washington Times,
December 26, 1991, Part M; WASHINGTON WEEKEND; DINING OUT; Pg. M7
The earliest reference to veal cordon bleu in The Los Angeles Times was published in
1958. It is listed among the trendy dishes served at a swank affair: "Veal cordon bleu will be the piece de resistance on the menu."
(P. SG A9). The earliest reference in the New York Times is an advertisement for United Airlines: "Your Entree. It might be a tender filet
mignon, stuffed
breast of chicken or veal Cordon Bleu. Served with it, a vegetable and potatoes in one of a dozen
tempting
styles." (February 21, 1962 p. 39). The oldest reference in the NYT for chicken cordon
bleu is also
an United Airlines, circa 1967: "Top Sirloin. Fine Wine. Color Movies. This is Coach? United's
Blue Carpet
to California. Blue Carpet is the best reason for flying Coach on your vacation to Los Angeles or
San
Francisco. What's in it for you? Top Sirloin Steak-or Chicken Cordon Bleu, if you wish-prepared
by our own
European-trained chefs. Champagne or fine red wine (at nominal cost)...Even a special children's
menu."
(June 5, 1967, p. 27).
[1955]
"Stuffed Pillows
12 small slices veal cutlet, cut very thin
12 small slices prosciutto or ham, thinly sliced
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Marsala or sherry wine
1 teaspoon butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Flatten out veal cutlets with a mallet or ask butcher to do it. Place on slice or rpscriutto or ham and a thin layer of mozzarella
cheese on each cutlet, and fold together like an envelope, using toothpicks to hold together. Melt butter in frying pan. Brown
pillows well on one side, then turn gently, and brown on the other side. They should be cooked in a short time. Remove meat from the pan,
pour the Marsala or sherry into it, scraping bottom and sides of pan well. Add 1 teaspoon butter, salt, and pepper and pour
sauce over pillows on serving dish. Serves 2."
---The Talisman Italian Cook Book, Ada Boni [Crown:New York] 1955 (p. 103)
"Italian Stuffed Veal Cutlet
3 to 4 servings
1 pound veal cutlet, cut in serving pieces about 1/2 inch thikc
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, sliced very thin
1/4 pound prosciutto, sliced very thin
2/3 cup fine, fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
2 teaspoons finely choppped celery leaves
1 clove garlic, inced
Pinch each of oregano, basil and rosemary
Sat and freshly ground black pepper
flour
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup butter
1. With a short, sharp-bladed knife, cut a deep pocket in each piece of veal. (Insert the knife in the longest side and cut
through almost the entire area of the meat.)
2. Wrap a slice of Swiss cheese around a slice of prosciutto for each piece of veal. Fit into the veal pocket and press tightly
closed.
3. Mix the bread crumbs with the Parmesan cheese, parsely, celery, garlic and herbs to make breading mixture.,br. 4. Season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Beat the egg well with the milk and dip the
cutlets into the mixture, then roll in the seasoned crumbs.
5. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet, add the cutlets and cook uncovered over moderate heat twenty minutes, turning to
brown evenly."
---New York Times Cook Book, Craig Claiborne [Harper & Row:New York] 1961(p. 160-161)
"Veal cutlets romnichel
For four people
4 French-cut veal cutlets
4 slices ham
4 slices Gruyere cheese
flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup soft breadcrumbs
5 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
"Veal Cutlet Cordon Bleu
The French and Italians do marvelous tings with many veal cutlets or steaks, many dishes with special appeal to American tastes.
Veal Cordon Bleu, thin cutlets sandwiched with Swiss cheese and ham, is a classic French dish. This version can be managed easily
for a company dinner...
4 cups corn flakes or 1 cup packaged corn flake crumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk or water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 thin veal cutlets
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 thin slices cooked ham
1 cup flour
Shortening
If using corn flakes, crush into crmbs. Beat egg and milk together. Stir in salt an eppper. Pound cutlets with meat mallet to flatten.
Place a slice of cheese and ham on half the cutlets. Top with remaining cutlets. Press edges together to seal. Roll in flour,
dip in egg mixture, then roll in crumbs, coating all sides. Fry in hot shortening until golden brown on both sides, about 6 min. on
each side. Add more shortening as necessary. Garnish with lemon slices., if wished. Makes 6 servings."
---"Variations with Veal," Los Angeles Times, March 5, 1964 (p. D8)
"Chicken Breasts Cordon Bleu
3 whole chicken breasts
6 thin slices ham or prosciutto
6 slices Swiss cheese
3 eggs
Salt, pepper
Flour
Have chicken breasts skinned, boned and split in halves. Place each hlaf, boned side up, between pieces of waxed paper. Pound with
wood mallet or flat side of knife blade to flatten, being careful hot to puncture meat. As chicken flattens a rolling pin may be used
to make it thinner. Cut each ham and cheese slice into halves. Place a piece of ham on each breast half, then top with cheese.
Roll up, jellyroll fashion, tucking in ends. Fasten with wood picks. Beat eggs with salt and papper to taste. Dip rolled chicken in
flour, then egg mixture, then bread crumbs. Fry chicken in deep fat heated to 360 deg. until golden brown on all sides. Drain
on absorbent paper. Makes 6 servings. Note: To prepare ahead, stuff, roll and bread the rolls. Arrange rolls in a single layer on a
tray or large flat platter. Cover with wax paper or transparent wrap and refrigerate until ready to fry. Or fry then refrigerate
rolls. To reheat cooked chicken breasts, place in a shallow pan and bake at 350 deg. 15 to 20 mon. or until heated through, being
careful rolls do not overbrown. Do not cover rolls or they will become soggy."
---"Time and Care Go Into Chicken Cordon Bleu," Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1968 (p. H10)
Chicken Francese
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 72)
---"Three Rarely Found Recipes for Interesting Italian Dishes," Craig Claiborne & Pierre Franey, New York Times, June 4, 1981 (p. W_A18D)
---"FINDING FRANCESE; THE ORIGIN OF THIS WELL-KNOWN LEMONY SAUCE IS
UNCLEAR," Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), March 20, 1997 (Food p. 3)
[15th century]
"56. Lemon Sauce for Chickens or Capons
Get one or more chickens, capons or cockerels than have been cooked a little in water; take them out of the water and mount
them on a spit; then get peeled, well ground almonds and temper them with the bouillon of the chickens; then get lemon juice and mix
it all together with good spices; and put it into a saucepan to cook a little; then pour it over the roast with a little fat; serve
it very hot."
---The Neapolitan Recipes Collection: Cuoco Napoletano, 15th century cooking text, critical edition and English translation
by Terence Scully [Universtiy of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor] 2000 (p. 184)
"167. Chicken Breasts a la Saute
This is a palatable dish as well as an economic one. If cooked as decribed, a single breast of capon is sufficient for four
portions. Cut the breasts into thin slices, almost as thin as paper. Trim these pieces as nicely as possible. Add a pinch of salt
and pepper and place them in a beaten egg. Let them remain in the egg for one hour. Remove and cover the slices of breasts with
cracker dust. If the meat is preferred plain, just fry the slices and serve with lemon. Otherwise, prepare a sauce in the following
manner: Take a small pan and barely cover the bottom with oil. Put in some sliced mushrooms, spread a pinch of cracker dust or
grated stale bread on them. Repeat the operation three or four times. Add some oil, salt and pepper, some butter, all in small
quantities, so as not to give the food a fatty taste. Now place this small pot on the fire, and as it comes to a boiling point,
add a small ladleful of meat soup and a few drops of lemon. Remove from fire quickly, add it to the breasts already
cooked, and serve."
---Italian Cook Book, Pellegrino Artusi [S.F. Vanni:New York] 1945 (p. 110-1)
"Veal Scallopine alla Francese
(Tastes as good as it sounds!)...We dip the veal scallopine in egg yoke, saute it in butter and lemon juice, and leave the
adjectives to you."
---advertisement for restaurant Villa Camillo (New York City), New York Times, July 17, 1952 (p. 2)
"Chicken Francais--Place 2 1/2-3 pound quartered chicken in shallow pan meat side down. Pour 8-ounce bottle Wish-Bone French or Deluxe French Dressing over chicken. Marinate for
1 hour. Save marinade. Arrange chicken on rotisserie skewer or cavity side down on barbecue grill placed about 4 inches from bed of coals. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender.
Baste every 15 minutes with French Dressing marinade. makes 4 servings."
---display ad, Wish Bone salad dressings, Better Homes & Gardens, July, 1962 (p. 82)
"Scalloppine Alla Francese...Very, very thin preaded veal cutlets, cut into 2-inch squares. Serve with lemon wedges."
---"The Fast Gourmet," Poppy Cannon, Chicago Daily Defender, January 5, 1967 (p. 20)
"Morton Kaplan's Veal Francese
Pursuant to an inquiry from a reader for a recipe for veal francses we printed a formula for what we presumed to be a basic version
of the dish. Dr. Morton Kaplan of Queens writes to state what we printed was a recipe for veal piccata, not francese. 'I've discussed
this dish with many of the chefs of New York's Italian restaurants and here is my version,' he said. 'I will challenge anyone to
a veal francese cookoff.'...
1/2 pound veal, preferably taken from the leg and cut into four thin slices as for scaloppine
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Flour for dredging
Peanut, corn or vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 lemon wedges
4 thin slices lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1. Place the slices of veal between two sheets of wax paper and pound to about one-eigth of an inch thickness. Sprinle meat with salt and
pepper to taste. Dredge the scaloppine in egg to coat well on both sides in flour.
2. Add oil to a depth of about one-eighth of an inch in a large heavy skillet. Dredge the scaloppine in egg to coat well
on both sides. Cook quickly in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Cook about one
minute or less on the first side, turn and cook about two minutes on the other.
3. Quickly but carefully pour off the fat from the skillet, holding th meat back with a fork.
4. Return the skillet to the heat and add the chicken broth and butter, cooking over high heat to reduce quickly. Squeeze the lemon
wedges into the sauce, then add the wedges. Turn the pieces of meat once in the sauce and transfer to a hot platter. Discard
the lemon pieces and our the sauce over the meat.
5. Sprinkle half of each lemon slice with parsley and dust the other half with paprika. Use as a garnish for the meat. Yield: 4 servings."
---"De Gustibus," Craig Claiborne, New York Times, March 14, 1977 (p. 34)
Chicken fried steak
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 72)
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones, 2nd edition [Vintage Books:New
York] 1981(p. 275) [includes
recipe]
---Food Lover's Companion, Sharon Tyler Herbst, 3rd edition [Barrons:New York] 2001
(p. 126)
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman [Times
Books:New York] 1985 (p. 86)
---"Folks from 'round here know down-home cooking," The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle,
April 7, 2000, Pg. O2
---"Dallas' signature foods: not what you'd expect," The Dallas Morning News,
September 29, 1993, Pg. 2F
---"Batter up Texas has the longhorn. Kansas City the strip. But we've got chicken fry." Tulsa
World, December 22, 2000
Matt's El Rancho
---"Plate Teutonics; Hofstetter's Wiener schnitzel is a cut from history," The Dallas Morning
News, January 23, 1994, Pg. 21
---Houston
Press, January 11, 2001
---Frederick Hill Family
[1924]
Related foods? Fried chicken, city
chicken, & corndogs, & fast food chicken sandwiches.
"Chicken Fried Steak
F.C.M., Los Angeles, writes that chicken fried steak is beef steak rolled in flour, fried in a pan, and served with
country grafy being pourd on a hot platter and the fried steak placed over it."
---"Pracitcal Recipes," A.L. Wyman, Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1924 (p. A7)
"Chicken Fried Steak
(Serves 2)
1/2 pound round steak
Salt and pepper
1 egg beaten slightly
1 1/2 cup fine cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons hot shortening
Method: Cut the steak into two pieces suitable for serving. Pound well with the edge of a saucer or the back of a heavy knife.
Dip into the slightly beaten egg and then in cracker crumbs. Make sure that each piece is heavily coated by dipping twice if necessary.
Brown quickly on both sides in the hot, melted shortening in a heavy skillet. Add 1/2 cup upt water, cover closely and allow to
steam until very tender; about 30 minutes. This makes a steak so tender that it can be cut with the fork and it is most delicious."
---Winnipeg Free Press [Canada], October 10, 1936 (p. 56)
"Chicken-Fried Steak
One round steak, cut 3/4 inch thick. Rub with salt and pepper. Pound all the flour possible into
the steak. Sear on both sides in hot cooking fat. Cook until browned."
---Household Searchlight Recipe Book, Topeka Kansas [1949 edition] (p. 192)
Chicken Kiev
"Kotlety Po-Kievsky (Chicken Kiev)...As the name suggest, this is a Ukranian contribution to
Russian gourmet cuisine and a recent one, dating back to the early 1900s. The original recipe
calls for a boned half chicken breast with the first wing joint still attached. A simplified version
is made without the wing bone but retains all the other subleties of the preparation. This is how
Chicken Kiev is mostly known in America."
---The Art of Russian Cuisine, Anne Volokh [Macmillan:New York] 1983 (p. 320)
[NOTE: Includes recipe.]
The oldest reference we find to Chicken Kiev in American print is from 1937 suggests the dish may have debuted
at the Yar restaurant in Chicago. In the 1950s, food pundits popularly hailed the dish as a grand classic of old Russia.
Perhaps inspired by the Cold War?
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 378)
---"A Line O'Type Or Two," Chicago Daily Record, November 26, 1937 (p. 10)
---"Yaschenko, 71, Dies; Owner of Yar in 1930s," Chicago Tribune, November 7, 1968 (p. B23)
[NOTE: The Chicago Tribune reported the Yar went bankrupt in the 1950s.]
---"Chicken Kiev is a Classic Among Old Russian Dishes," Morrison Wood, Chicago Daily Tribune, June 22, 1956 (p. A6)
[NOTE: Article includes author's own recipe.]
Chicken Marengo
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York] 2001 (p. 718)
---An A to Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
201)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford]
1999 (p. 166)
---An Illustrated History of French Cuisine, Christian Guy [Bramhall House:New York] 1962 (p. 99)
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [Ohio
University Press:Athens OH] 1998 (p. 93)
Chicken nuggets
---US States News, March 16, 2006
"Rene Arend, 52, who holds the unusual title of executive chef at the McDonald's Corporation, a worldwide fast-food chain with
more than 6,000 units, is following the pride of a father the success of Chicken McNuggets, a new finger-food product that he created for
his company. The item recently was added at outlets in the New York Area. 'I want to be different from the other guy,' said Mr.
Arend. 'This took from 14 to 16 months to develop and was first introduced about a year ago...Born in Luxembourg and trained as
a gourmet chef in France, Mr. Arend came to the United States in 1955, becoming a chef and working for 14 years at the Whitehall
Club in Chicago. Among his customers were Ray. A. Kroc, found and senior chairman of the board of McDonalds, and Fred L. Turner,
chairman and chief executive officer. 'They asked me several times to come to McDonald's...I said, I'm a chef, I don't believe
in hamburgers. But when I came, I wanted to do for the people out there in the street what I did for those who were rich. Mr.
Arend added: 'Now I travel to stores and check the quality of the product. I like to go in there incognito and get it like the
customer."
---"McDonald's Chef Looks for Quality," Leonard Sloane, New York Times, April 20, 1981 (p. D2)
"...party in the Music Room at the Biltmore to celebrate the introduction of Chicken McNuggets...At four buffets around the rooom Chicken\
McNuggets were being served from silver tureens with round sauces--barbecue, sweet 'n'sour, hot mustard and honey. McNuggets turned out
to be chunks of boneless chicken, about the size of a golf ball, but elliptical in shape, cooked crisp and brown in a light
batter. My press kit noted that this was the new concept in chicken, and quoted the McDonald's slogan: 'Nobody can do it like
MacDonald's can.'"
---"Combining Chicken/Catch-a-Story," Jack Smith, Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1981 (p. G1)
Chicken Parm
---Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1998
(p. 179-180)
---Dictionary Italian Food and Drink (p. 180)
---The Cheese Book, Vivienne Marquis and Patricia Haskell [Leslie Frewin:London]
1966 (p. 63)
Food historians tell us Italian cuisine was introduced to our country by 19th century immigrants. At
first, these foods were generally confined to Italian-American communities. After World War II
*Italian* went mainstream, thanks to returning GIs who acquired the taste for far-flung foods
during their tours of duty. Many traditional foreign dishes were *Americanized,* making them more
acceptable to Anglo palates. Such is the case with chicken (and the more traditional veal)
parmigiana. "Veal Parmesan" recipes begin showing up in American cookbooks of the 1950s.
Chicken parmesan followed in the next decade. Classic recipes retained the original flavor;
*Americanized* recipes employed ingredients actively promoted by food companies. It is not unusual to find convenience
recipes omitting the parmesan cheese (using only mozzerella) and ham/prosciutto altogether.
---"News of Food...Cheeseburgers for Supper," Jane Nickerson, New York Times, May 3, 1947 (p.
9)
"Veal Cutlets Parmesan
The earliest recipe we find for Chicken Parm in major USA newspapers:
1 pound veal cutlets
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound Mozzerella cheese
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
Dip cutlets in beaten eggs combined with seasoning, then in mixture of Parmesan cheese and
breadcrumbs. Fry in butter until brown (about 8 minutes). The place cutlets in baking dish, pour
tomato sauce over them and add slices of Mozzarella cheese. Bake in moderate oven 10-15
minutes. Serves 4. "
---The Talisman Italian Cook Book, Ada Boni [Crown Publishers:New York] 1950 (p. 99)
"Chicken Parmigiana
1 three-and-one-half pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 green pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup sliced stuffed olives
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sprinkle chicken with the salt and pepper and brown on all sides in the butter. Sprinkle with the
mushrooms and cook five minutes. Sprinkle with the green pepper, onion and garlic; add the
tomatoes and vermouth. Cover closely and bake thirty minutes.
3. Add the olives and cook ten minutes longer. Serve with the grated cheese.
Yield: Four servings."
--- "New Menus Are Offered Home Cook," New York Times, September 6, 1962 (p. 33)
Chicken Tartare
[1882]
"Chicken a la Tartare
Singe the chicken, and split down the back. Wipe thoroughly with a damp cloth. Dredge well with salt and pepper, cover thickly with softened butter, and dredge
thickly on both sides with fine, dry bread crumbs. Place in a baking pan, the inside down, and cook in a very hot oven thirty minutes, taking care not to burn. Serve
with Tartare sauce.
---Mrs. Parloa's New Cook Book, Maria Parloa (p. 151)
"Chicken a la Tartare, Poulet a la Tartare
1 Spring Chicken
1 Tablespoonful of Chopped Parsley
1 Tablespoonful of Thyme
1 Bay Leaf, minced fine
1 Chopped Onions
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Boil the chicken according to the above recipe, adding the chopped vegetables and herbs. Season to taste. When done, place
on a hot dish, butter nicely and serve with a Sauce a la Tartare. A broiled chicken may be served in the same
manner, but either broiled or boiled, the chicken must be cooked whole, splitting down the back."
---The Picayune Creole Cook Book, facsimile 2nd edition, 1901 [Dover Publications:New York] 1971 (p. 123)
"Chicken a la Tartare
1 broiling chicken
1/4 pound (1/2 cup) butter
4 sprigs parsley
1 small onion
1/4 pound mushrooms
1` clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Bread crumbs
Clean broiler and split in half. Place in a frying pan in which the butter has been melted. Chop parsley, onion, mushrooms
and garlic and add to butter with salt and pepper. Cover frying pan and allow broiler to simmer for 15 minutes, turning
it occasionally to absorb seasonings. Dip chicken in bread crumbs and broil until well browned. The pre-cooking in butter sauce assures
tenderness of the meat and a delicate flavoring with mushrooms, onion, garlic and parsley. Serves 2."
---The United States Regional Cook Book, Ruth Berolzheimer editor [Garden City Publishing:New York] 1939 (p. 355)
Fried Chicken Tartare
1 or 2 small spring chickens
Chopped parsely
Chopped fresh mushrooms
Salt and pepper
Chopped chives
1 clove minced garlic
Fine brown breadcrumbs
Ice-cold tartare sauce
Split the chickens down the back and clean interior well. Bread the bones and soak in hot melted butter to which the chopped garlic
and herbs have been added, as well as salt and pepper and the finely-chopped musrhooms. Cover and allow to marinate, turning
occasionally for a couple of hours. Now drain halves of chicken, dip each in melted butter and coat evenly with the bread-crumbs,
pressing them firmly on. Fry in an open pan or grill over a low heat, turning to cook evenly. Serve very hot with the sauce Tartare
handed separately. In order to allow the pieces of chicken to marinate nicely, keep the mixture near the stove so that the butter
remains liquid."
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 522)
Chicken Vesuvio
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 73)
---"A Fourth of July Toast to Foods That Made America Great," Marian Burros, New York Times, July 1, 1987 (p. C1)
---"For Men Only! From the Feast of a Newly Formed Gourmet Society Come Recipes for Delectable Dishes," Morrison Wood, Chicago Daily Tribune, August 21, 1948 (p. 12)
"Chicken Dinner Vesuvio [Four servings]
Chicken:
1 cutup frying chicken, about 2 1/2 pounds
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoongrated Italian cheese
1/3 cup very hot oil, butter, or other shortening
Potatoes:
2 pounds potatoes, pared and quartered
1/2 cup oil or shortening
salt and pepper
Grated Italian cheese
Oregano
Green Beans:
1/4 cup sliced or chopped onion
2 tablespoons hot fat
1 package frozen green beans, thawed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablesppon parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate
Roll chicken in mixture of flour, seasonings, and cheese. Brown chicken in hot shortening, then place in round or oval heatproof serving platter. Bake at 350 degrees for
about 1 hour, until tender, turning chicken for last 15 minutes, baste chicken every 10 minutes with drippings or additional butter. Brown potatoes i hot fat. Remove from
pan; sprinkle with a little salt, pepper, grated Italian cheese, and oregano. Place them around chicken at start of baking time and baste occasionally. These will take
about as long as the chicken to become tender. To prepare beans: Saute onion in hot fat for several minutes. Add beans and seasonings. Cover and cook gently until
tender. About 5 minutes before serving time, spoon cooked beans into spaces between potatoes and chicekn and continue baking for a few minutes longer."
---"These Cookbooks Will Intrigue You!," Doris Schackt, Chicago Daily Tribune, October 13, 1961 (p. C4)
[NOTE: Antoinette Pope was the principal of a popular Chicago-based culinary school. The Antoinette Pope School Cookbook c. 1948 does NOT contain this
recipe, or anything approximating it. She does provide a paragraph of instructions for "Pan-Fried Chicken in the Rough," simple sauteed chicken. There is no mention of
potatoes or any other vegetables, cheese, etc.]
City chicken
"Goose, Mock.
Mock goose is a name given in some parts to a leg of pork roasted without the skin, and stuffed
just under the knuckle with sage-and-onion stuffing. It is a good plan to boil it partially before
skinning and putting it down to roast. When it is almost done enough, sprinkle over it a powder
made my mixing together a table-spoonful of finely-grated bread-crumbs, with a tea-spoonful of
powdered sage, half a salt-spoonful of salt, and the same of pepper. Send some good gravy to the
table in a tureen with it. Time, allow fully twenty minutes to the pound. Probable cost, 11d. Per
pound."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery [Cassell, Peter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1877 (p. 262)
---Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren [MacMillan:New
York]
1995 (p. 142-3)
"Mock Chicken Legs
1 lb beef steak
1 lb veal or pork
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup fat, melted
1/4 cup flour or 3/4 cup cracker crumbs
6-8 wooden skewers
Have steaks cut about 3/8 inches thick. Pound well and cut in 1 or 1 1/2 inch squares. Arrange 6 pieces alternately through
one corner on each skewer, having top and bottom pieces somewhat smaller to represent drumsticks. Brush over or roll in fat,
then in flour or crumbs, season with salt and pepper. Fry in fat left over and brown on all sides. Cover pan closely, cook
slowly about 1 1/2 hours, or until tender, adding water if necessary."
---The Settlement Cook Book, Mrs. Simon Kander [Settlement Cook Book Co.:Milwaukee WI] 21st edition enlarged and revised
1936 (p. 161)
6 servings
Cut into 1X 11/2 inch pieces:
1 pound veal steak
1 pound pork steak
Sprinkle them with salt, pepper
Arrange the veal and pork cubes alternately on 6 skewers. Press the pieces close together into the
shape of a drumstick. Roll the meat in flour.
Beat 1 egg, 2 tablespoons water
Dip the sticks into the diluted egg then roll them in breadcrumbs.
Melt in a skillet 1/4 cup shortening
Add 1 tablespoon minced onion (optional)
Brown meat well. Cover the bottom of the skillet with boiling stock or stock substitute or water.
Put a lid on the skillet and cook the meat over very hot heat until it is tender. Thicken the gravy
with flour (2 tablespoons four to 1 cup of liquid).
If preferred, the skillet may be covered and placed in a slow oven 325 degrees F. Until the meat
is
tender."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs Merill:Indianapolis] 1936 (p. 95)
[NOTE: Mrs. Rombauer does not offer an explanation regarding the origin of the term "city
chicken".]
We don't claim Chicken Chicken originated in Western Pennsylvania. Just that the overhwelming majority of people who have heard of this dish live in/have connections to
that region. Notes here:
.
---Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Coq au vin
The French word for cock, and now used as a synonym for chicken in certain dishes. In traditonal
stock
farming, cocks which were good breeders were kept as long as they could fulfil their function.
They would
be several years old before they were killed and therefore needed long and slow braising in a
casserole
(coq au vin). Nowadays, coq au vin is usually made with a chicken or hen. The combs and the
kidneys of
the cock serve as a garnish or decoration, rare now but frequently used in the elaborate cuisine of
former
days."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Jenifer Harvey Lang [Crown:New York] 1988 (p. 304)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
196)
[1913]
"Le coq au vin
Il n'est pas de plaisir plus delicieux qu de vagabonder a travers les petites villes et les gros bourgs
de nos provinces du centre et du sud-ouest. Dans ces coins, un peu perdus, de la vieille rance, on
est mal loge. Je conviens que, generalement, on y est bien nourri. C'est une compensation. La
cuisine fut, de tous temps, une des prinicpales coquetteries des menageres gauloises; chez nous,
la
tradition des plats succulents se transmet de mere a fille. Voici une recetter que j'ai cueillie sur le
sommet dy Puy-de-Dome. Le restaurateur de l'auberge du temple de Mercure m'a fait manger un
"coq au vin." Je m'en suis regale. J'ai mande l" "operateur" et l'ai prie de me livrer son secret; il
est alle querir un cahier datant du XVIe siecle, et j'y ai copie les lignes suivantes:
---L'Art de Bien Manger, Edmond Richardin [Editions D'Art et de Litterature:Paris] 1913
(p. 34-5)
"Coq au vin (d'apres une recette ancienne).--Depecez en six quartiers un jeune poulet de
Limagne.
En un pot de terre, faits revenir dans 45 g de beurre, 90 g lde larde maigre, taille en des et petits
oignons.
Lorsqu'ils sont revenus, jetez en votre pot lest quartiers de poulet, une gousse d'ail hachee menue,
un
bouquet garni, morilles ou champignons. Faites dorer a couvert sur feu vif, decouvrez,
degraissez.
Arrosez
d'un doigt de bonne eau-de-vie, flambez et repandez sur le tout un demi-litre de vin viex
d'Auvergne. Apres
cuisson sur feu vif, sortez le poulet, arrosez-le de sa sauce liee au beurre manie."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Librarie Larousse:Paris] 1938 (p. 354)
"Chicken with red wine sauce (Coq au vin)
3-3 1/2 lb chicken or 2 spring chickens (2-21/2 lb broilers)
1/2 cup diced fat salt pork or bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
a little pepper
12 small onions
12 small mushrooms
2-3 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons flour
1 pint red wine
1 faggot (p. 294)
chopped parsley.
---Louis Diat's Home Cookbook: French Cooking for Americans, Louis Diat
[Lippincott:New York]
1946 (p. 124-5)
[NOTE: "Faggot. 3 to 4 springs parsley, 1 to 2 stalks celery (sometimes 1 leek), 1/2 a bay leaf,
and a pinch
of dry (or 1 to 2 sprigs fresh) thyme tied together in a small bundle and cooked in a stew or sauce
or with
other foods to give it flavor." (p. 294)]
Corn dogs & Pronto Pups
---300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles, Linda Campbell Franklin, 5th edition [Krause
Publications:Iola WI] 2003 (p. 267)
---"No Pup But Pronto, Pupologist Explains," Katherine Lanpher, Saint Paul Pioneer
Press, September 2, 1996 (p. 1A)
---The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F, Mariani
[Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 98)
"Fried sausages
Quantity for 6 people
1 lb sausage
2 whites of eggs
1/2 cup of flour
1 cup grated rolls
Salt, drippings or butter
The sausages are salted, dipped into white of egg, flour and bread crumbs and fried in hot
drippings or butter to a nice brown color. They are nice with vegetables.
---The Art of German Cooking and Baking, Mrs. Lina Meier, [Milwaukee WI:1909]
(recipe 28,
p. 99)
Corned beef
---Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, [Oxford University
Press:Oxford] 1999 (page 218)
"To corn beef in hot weather
Corned beef was the primary ingredient of New England
Boiled Dinners.
Take a piece of thin brisket or plate, cut out the ribs nicely, rub it on both sides well with two
large spoonsful of pounded salt-petre; pour on it a gill of molasses and a quart of salt; rub them
both in; put it in a vessel just large enough to hold it, but not tight, for the bloody brine must run
off as it makes, or the meat will spoil. Let it be well covered top, bottom, and sides, with the
molasses and salt. In four days you may boil it, tied up in a cloth, with the salt, &c. about it:
when done, take the skin off nicely, and serve it up. If you have an ice-house or refrigerator, it
will be best to keep it there.--A fillet or breast of veal, and a leg or rack of mutton, are excellent
done in the same way."
According to The Encyclopedia of North
American Eating and
Drinking Traditions..., Kathlyn Gay [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara] 1996 (p. 70) "The
word 'hash' (fried odds-and-ends
dish) came into English in the mid-17th century from the old French word 'hacher', meaning to
chop. Corned beef hash...probably has its origins in being a palatable combination of leftovers. In
the 19th century, restaurants serving inexpensive meals--precursors to today's diners--became
known as "hash houses." By the early 1900s, corned beef hash was a common menu item in these
places."
The history of canning is
generally traced to Nicolas Appert in 1795, who rose to Napoleon's challenge to invent a method
to preserve food for military distribution. Donkin & Hall (UK) is credited with manufacturing the
first tinned meats (& soups, vegetables) distributed to the British Navy in 1813.
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the
World, Sue Shepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2001 (p. 245-6)
---Pickled, Potted and Canned, (p. 254)
NOTE: This book contains an excellent chapter devoted to the history of canning (p.
226-255). Your librarian can help you find a copy.
--- Can Central History
Timeline
--- The
Guardian.
---Boiled dinner, The Boston Globe, March 15, 1990 (p.3)
---How Irish Is Corned Beef? Very -- and Very American Too, Carole Sugarman, The
Washington Post, February 28, 1996 (p. E01)
---The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey From Samarkand to New York, Claudia Roden
[Knopf:New York] 1996
(p. 80)
NOTE: This book has a wealth of information on the topic of Jewish food in America.
There is some controversy about whether "Corned Beef & Cabbage, " often eaten in America on
St. Patrick's Day is a traditional Irish meal. According to Malachi McCormick's Irish County
Cooking and "The Troubles That Irish Food Has Seen," New York Times, March 14,
1990 (page C8) corned beef & cabbage is a purely American tradition. Colcannon (boiled new
potatoes mixed with boiled white cabbage, boiled leeks or boiled onions to which is added butter,
milk and wild garlic) is more likely to be considered Ireland's national dish.
Country Captain Chicken
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
20)
[NOTE: the 1993 Burton reference is: The Raj at Table, David Burton [London:Faber &
Faber]. Your local public librarian will be happy to help you track down a copy.]
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 99)
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Paterica Bunning Stevens [University
of
Ohio Press:Athens OH] 1998 (p. 114)
---"Long Ago Smitted, She Remains True to the Country Captain," Molly O'Neill, New York
Times, April 17, 1991 (p. V6)
[NOTE: This article includes a recipes for "Country Captain Chicken Adapted from Cecily
Brownstone.]
"Country Captain.--This is an East India dish, and a very easy preparation of curry. The
term "country captain," signifies a capaian of the native troops, (or Sepoys), in the pay of
England; their own country being India, they are called generally the country troops. Probably
this
dish was first introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer. Having well boiled a fine
full-grown
fowl, cut it up as for carving. Have ready two large onions boiled and sliced. Season the pieces of
chicken with curry powder or turmeric; rubbed well into them, all over. Fry them with the onion,
in plenty of lard or fresh butter, and when well-browned they are done enough. Take them up
with a perforated skimmer, and drain through its holes. It will be a great improvement to put in,
at
the beginning, three or four table-spoonfuls of finely grated cocoanut. This will be found an
advantage to any curry. Serve up, in another dish, a pint of rice, well pickled, and washed clean
in
two or three cold waters. Boil the rice in plenty of water, (leaving the skillet or sauce-pan
uncovered;) and when it is done, drain it very dry, and set it on a dish before the fire, tossing it up
with two forks, one in each hand, so as to separate all the grains, leaving each one to stand for
itself. All rice for the dinner should be cooked in this manner. Persons accustomed to rice never
eat it watery or clammy, or lying in a moist mass. Rich should never be covered, either while
boiling, or when dished. We recommend this "country captain.""
---Miss Leslie's Cookery Book , Eliza Leslie [T.B. Peterson:Philadelphia PA] 1857 (p.
299-300)
Croquettes
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
283)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
666)
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
98)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
229)
The same terms are applied to Croquettes as Salpicons. The croquette is one mass of small
substances,
cut in shape of small cubes, that is reduced with sauce Allemande, bechamel, espagnole,
according
to the
style of the croquetted. They are breaded in Englsih style, in the shape that one desires, and then
fried.
Croquettes are made in all different styles and their names are determined by what substances
they
are
made of. They are served as hors-d'oeuvre and sometimes as small entrees. (Breaded English
style:
Beaten eggs rolled in fresh bread crumbs.) The cromesquis is a small croquette in rolled or
unleavened
bread, or in caul, dipped in batter and fried, or pancake without sugar, breaded in English style
and
fried."
---Gancel's Encyclopedia of Modern Cooking, J. Gancel 8th edition, revised and
augmented [Van
Rees Press:New York] 1935 (p. 25)
Early instructions suggest this "made dish" was a venerable culinary feat, not to be attempted by
inexperienced cooks. Modern frozen products must be a far cry from the original offering.
Careful
notes on
shape and presentation confirm croquettes were originally intended for elegant dinners.
Contemporary
adaptations are served in diners, family restaurants, and frozen
food aisles
of local supermarkets.
[1824]
"To Make Croquets.
Take cold fowl or fesh meat of any kind, with slices of ham, fat and lean, chop them together
very
fine, add
half as much stale bread grated, salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful of made mustard, a
tabel
spoonful of catsup, and a lump of butter; knead all well together till it resembles sausage meat,
make them in cakes, dip them in the yelk of an egg beaten, cover them thickly with grated bread, and fry
them a light
brown."
--The Virginia Housewife, Mary Randolph, facsimile 1824 edition wtih Historical Notes
and
Commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] 1984 (p. 106)
"NO. 32.--Croquettes of Fowl au Veloute.
These are prepared in the same manner as the Boudins a la Reine, but you must keep them rather
thick, to
prevent their shrinking while frying. A little fried parsley is to be put into the middle of the dish,
and you erect
the croquettes round it. There are several manners of rolling them, as in the shape of a cork, a
ball, a pear;
the tail of which is made out of a carrot, or some other substance, which the author does not
approve of;
those which are the best, are the shape of a cork. You msut press pretty hard on the extremities,
that they
may stand erect on the dish. To place them in a circular form, with fried parsley in the centre, has
a pretty
effect, though it is very plain. Those that are the shape of a pear, are called a la Dubaril. There are
also
croquetts of sweetbreads, of palates of beef, of cocks'-combs: but they are all much alike, as will
be shown
hereafter. Croquettes of any kind ought to be made only with remnants of fowl or game, as they
require a
great quantity of flesh, but they may be made with what is left from the preceding day."
---The French Cook, Louis Eustache Ude, facsimile English translation c. 1828 [Arco
Publishing:New
York] 1978 (p. 173)
"Chicken Croquets and Rissoles.
Take some cold chicken, and having cut the flesh from the bones, mince it small with a little suet
and
parsley; adding sweet marjoram and grated lemon-peel. Season it with pepper, salt and nutmeg,
and
having mixed the whole very well, pound it to a paste in a marble mortar, putting in a litle at a
time, and
moistening it frequently with yolk of egg that has been previously beaten. Then divid it into equal
portions,
and having floured your hands, make it up in the shape of pears, sticfking the head of a clove into
the
bottom of each to represent the blossom end, and the stalk of a clove into the top to look like the
stem. Dip
them into beaten yolk of egg, and then into bread-crumbs grated finely and sifted. Fry them in
butter, and
when you take them out of the pan, fry some parsley in it. Having drained the parsley, cover the
bottom of a
dish with it, and lay the croquets upon it. Send it to table as a side dish. Croquets may be made of
cold
sweet-breads, or of cold veal mixed with ham or tongue. Rissoles are made of the same
ingredients, well
mixed, and beaten smooth in a mortar. Make a fine paste, roll it out, and cut it into round cakes.
Then lay
some of the mixture on one half of the cake, and fold over the other upon it, in the shape of a
half-moon.
Close and crimp the edges nicely, and fry the rissoles in butter. They should be of a light brown
on
both sides. Drain them and send them to table dry."
---Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches, Miss [Eliza] Leslie [Carey &
Hart:Philadelphia] 1849
(p. 143-4)
"Croquettes of Fowl.
Take what meat may be left on a cold fowl, and mince it very fine; put it in a stewpan with a little
stock, a
aeble-spoonful of cream, a little salt and nutmeg, and thicken sufficiently with flour; let it boil
well, then pour
it out on a deep dish, and set it aside to get quite cold and set. Then divide it into small portions,
form them
into small balls or sausage shapes, roll each in fine bread crumbs, then egg over with beaten yolk
of egg,
roll again in bread crumbs, and fry a light color. Dish on a napkin with some fried parsley in the
centre of the
pile of croquettes."
---What to Do With The Cold Mutton: A Book of Rechauffes [Bunce and
Huntington:New York] 1865
(p. 50)
"Chicken Croquettes.
Boil two fowls weighing ten pounds till very tender, mince fine, add one pint cream, half pound
butter, salt
and pepper to taste; shape oval in a jelly glass or mold. Fry in lard like doughnuts until
brown."
---Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, facsimile reprint of original 1877
edition
published
in Minneapolis [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 2000 (p. 241)
Croquettes are made of chicken, game, sweetbreads, fat livers, oysters, shrimps--and generally
the
lighter
kinds of meat. The meat (most commonly chicken) is finely minced; it is mixed with a seasoning
of
minced
truffles, mushrooms, shallots or chives, as also of nutmeg, pepper and salt; it is bound together
with a stiff
Allemande sauce; it is turned into shapes of cork or ball; it is dipped into egg and rolled in
breadcrumbs; it is
fried crisp of a golden hue; it is sprinkled with salt, and served on a napkin with a garnish of fried
parsley. It
is also served in a dish with a surrounding of tomato sauce. When the croquette if finished
differently--that
is, when, instead of being dipped in egg and rolled in breadcrumb, it is wrapped in a thin puff
paste,-it is
called a Rissole; and when it is wrapped in a thin sheet of veal udder or of bacon fat, it is called a
Kromeski."
---Kettner's Book of the Table, E.S. Dallas, facsimile 1877 London edition [Centaur
Press:London]
1968 (p. 144)
[NOTE: This book also describes a Milanese Croquettes: "A mince of chicken, tongue, truffles,
and
macaroni, with a seasoning of grated Parmesan. (P. 144).]
"29. Chicken Croquettes.
Boil chicken very tender, pick to pieces, take all gristle out, then chop fine. Beat two eggs for one
chicken
and mix into meat; season with pepper and salt; make into cakes oblong shaped; powder crackers
and roll
them into the powder, after dipping them into two eggs beaten moderately well. Then have your
lard very
hot, and fry just before sending them to the table."
---What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher, facsimile 1881
edtion with
Historical Notes by Karen Hess [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 1995 (p. 17)
[NOTE: Mrs. Fisher also offers recipes for lamb, crab, meat, liver, oyster, and fish croquettes.]
"Croquettes
These may be made of any kind of cooked meat, fish, oysters, rice, hominy, and many kinds of
vegetables,
or from a mixture of several ingredients. Whe mixed with a thick white sauce...which adds very
much to the
delicacy of meat or fish croquettes, less meat is required. The cause is a stiff paste when cold,
and
being
mixed with the meat or fish the croquettes may be handled and shaped perfectly, and when
cooked will be
soft and creamy inside. To Shape a Croquette.--Croquettes may be shaped into rolls, or ovals, or
like
pears, with a bit of parsley or a clove in the end to represent the stem. Take a tablespoonful of the
cold
mixture, and shape into a smooth ball. If the mixture stick, wet the palms of the hands slightly.
Give the ball a
gentle, rolling pressure between the palms till slightly cylindrical; then roll it lightly in the
crumbs,
clasp it
gently in the hand, and flatten one end on the board. Turn the hand over, and flatten the opposite
end.
Place the croquette on a broad knife, and roll it in beaten egg. With a spoon dip the egg over the
croquetted, drain on the knife, and roll again in the crumbs. Fry in deep hot fat...Drain on paper.
In rollling
any kind of croquettes, if the mixture be too soft to be handled easily, stir in enough fine cracker
dust to
stiffen it, but never add any uncooked material like flour, nor the dried bread crumbs used in
rolling, as
those will made the croquettes too stiff.
1 pint hot cream.
2 even tablespoonfuls butter.
4 heaping tablespoonfuls flour, or 2 heaping tablesp. Cornstarch.
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1/2 saltspoonful white pepper.
1/2 teaspoonful celery salt.
A few grains of cayenne.
Scald the cream. Melt the butter in a granite saucepan. Wehn bubbling, add the dry cornstarch.
Stir till well
mixed. Add one third of the cream, and stir as it boils and thickens. Add more cream, and boil
again. When
perfectly smooth, add the remainder of the cream. The sauce should be very thick, almost like a
drop
batter. Add the seasoning, and mix it while hot with the meat or fish. For croquettes, one beaten
egg may be
added just as the sauce is taken from the fire; but the croquettes are whiter and more creamy
without the
egg. For patties, warm the meat or fish in the sauce, and use the egg of not as you please.
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, facsimile 1884 reprint [Dover
Publications:Mineola NY] 1996 (p. 277-282)
[NOTE: This book also contains recipes for croquettes made with veal, oysters, sweetbreads,
lobsters,
clams, salmon, potato, rice, macaroni, and hominy. Turkish croquettes contain tomatoes. All
recipes, in
original form
here.]
"Chicken Croquettes I
1 3/4 cups chopped cold cooked fowl
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon celery salt.
Few grains cayenne.
1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Few drops onion juice.
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley.
1 cup Thick White Sauce.
Mix ingredients in order given. Cool, shape, crumb, and fry as other croquettes. White meat of
fowl absorbs
more sauce than dark meat. This must be remembered if dark meat alone is used. Croquette
mixtures
should always be as soft as can be conveniently handled, when croquettes will be soft and creamy
inside.
Clean and dress a four-pound fowl. Put into a kettle with six cups boiling water, seven slices
carrot, two
slices turnip, one small onion, one stalk celery, one bay leaf, and three sprigs thyme. Cook slowly
until fowl
is tender. Remove fowl; strain liquor, cool, and skim off fat. Make a thick sauce, using
one-fourth
cup butter,
one-half cup flour, one and one-third cups chicken stock, and one-half cup cream. Remove meat
from
chicken, chop, and moisten with sauce. Season with salt, cayenne, and slight grating of nutmeg;
then add
one beaten egg, cool, shape, crumb, and fry same as other croquettes. Arrange around a mound of
green
peas, and serve with Cream Sauce or Wine Jelly."
---Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie Merritt Farmer, facsimile 1896 reprint
[Weathervane
Books:New York] 1973 (p. 312)
[NOTE: This source also offers croquette recipes using cheese, chestnuts, rice & jelly, sweet rice,
rice &
tomato, oyster & macaroni, slamon, lobster, lamb, veal, chicken & mushroom, and sweetbreads.
All recipes
here.]
"Chicken Croquettes
All meat croquettes are made precisley the same, with the seaonings changed to suit the meat. To
boil the
chicken, cover it with boiling water, boil rapidly for five minutes, then push it back where it will
simmer until
tender, one and a half or two hours. At the end of the first hour add one onion, stuck with twelve
cloves, two
bay leaves, some finely chopped celery or celery seed. The croquettes will be better if the chicken
is
allowed to cool before chopping. To each three and a half pound chicken use a pair of
sweetbreads. Wash
the sweetbreads and boil slowly for three-quarters of an hour; pick them apart, rejecting the
membrane;
chop them quickly with a silver knife and put them aside while you chop the chicken; this is best
done in a
wooden bowl. Ground meat makes a pasty croquette. To be perfect they must be creamy, not
pasty. Mix
the sweetbreads and the chopped chicken and measure; to each pint of this allow:
1/2 pint mik
1 rounding tablespoonful of butter
2 rounding tablespoonfuls of flour
1 tablespoonful of parsley
1 teaspoonful of onion juice
1 saltspoonful of pepper
A dash of cayenne
1 saltspoonful of nutmeg.
Put the milk over the fire, rub together the butter and flour, add the milk and cook until smooth
and thick;
add all the seasoning to the meat, mix it with the sauce and turn out to cool. When cold, make
into pyramid-shaped croquettes, dip in beaten egg, to which you have added a tablespoonful of
warm water; roll in bread
crumbs and fry in smoking hot vat (360 degrees Fahr.) Until a golden brown. Dish on brown
paper for a few
moments, then on a heated platter; stick a tiny piece of parsley in the top of each; fill the dish
with
nicely
seasoned, cooked peas and send at once to the table. Pass with these, mayonnaise of celery. If
served as
an entree at dinner, simply pass peas and mushrooms. To rewarm chicken croquettes stand them
on a
piece of soft brown paper in the bottom of a baking pan; place in a quick oven for not more than
eight
minutes, better five. If over-heated they will crack and lose their shape. If sweetbreads are not at
hand,
simply measure the chicken and follow the recipe. Where large quantities of chicken croquettes
are to be
made, the , the operation will be more easily and quickly done if one quart at a time is made and
put aside;
one cannot season large quantities and have them as palatable as the smaller ones. For a large
entertainment where salad and croquettes are both to be served, use the white meat for salad and
the dark
meat for croquettes. For church suppers where money must be made at the same time a dainty
supper
served, boil a large piece of veal with the chickens; chop and use the same as chicken meat.
Being
cooked
wtih the chickens it tastes the same. Ten pounds of veal from the leg and two chickens will make
one
hundred and fifty croquettes, at an average cost of four cents each."
---Mrs. Rorer's New Cookery Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [Arnold and
Company:Philadelphia] 1902 (p.
197-8)
"Chicken Croquettes.
Take two chickens weighing about three pounds each, put them into a saucepan with water to
cover, add
two onions and carrots, a small bunch or parsley and thyme, a few cloves and half a grated
nutmeg, and
boil until the birds are tender; then remove the skin, gristle and sinews and chop the meat as fine
as
possible. Put into a saucepan one pound of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir over the
fire for a few
minutes and add half a pint of the liquor the chickens were cooked in an one pint of rich cream,
and
boil for
eight or ten minutes, stirring continually. Remove the pan from the fire, season with salt, pepper,
grated
nutmeg and a little powdered sweet marjoram, add the chopped meat and stir well. Then stir in
rapidly the
yolks of four eggs, place the saucepan on the fire for a minute, stirring well, turn the mass onto a
dish,
spread it out and let it get cold. Cover the hands with flour and form the preparation into shapes,
dip them
into egg beaten with cream then in sifted breadcrumbs and let them stand for half an hour or so to
dry; then
fry them a delicate color after plunging into boiling lard. Take them out, drain, place on a napkin
on a dish
and serve. The remainder of the chicken stock may be used for making consomme or soup."
---The Cook Book by "Oscar" of the Waldorf, Oscar Tschirky [Saafield
Publishing:Chicago] 1908 (p.
286)
[NOTE: recipes for Chicken Croquettes Perigourdin (with mushrooms, truffles & cooked
smoked
tongue)
and Queen Style (with mushrooms and Queen sauce) are provided.]
"Chicken Croquettes
1 chicken.
1 tablespoon butter.
2 tablespoons flour.
1/2 pt. milk
1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley
Pepper, salt and a dash of cayenne
A little grated nutmeg
Boil chicken, remove skin and chop fine. When the sauce is cooked add the chopped chicken.
Mix
well,
then set aside to cool. Whe cool mould into shape; dip in egg and breadcrumbs and boil in hot
fat.
This
quantity will make thirteen croquettes."
---The American Home Cook Book, Grace E. Denison [Barse & Hopkins:New York]
1913 (p. 124-5)
[NOTE: This book contans two additional chicken croquette recipes; both containing cream or
chicken
stock and additional spices.]
"Croquettes.
Do not attempt croquettes until hou have thoroughly studied Chapter 1. To egg and crumb these,
to fry
them properly, to be able to serve them hot and free from grease, will be impossible to the
inexperienced
cook, unless she will carefully read, and adhere to directions given therin. After she has mastered
the art of
frying properly, she need not fear to attempt them. Keep mixutre as soft as possible, a solid mass
is not a
good croquette. A mould is necessary if you wish the correct shape, but croquettes taste just as
good made
in cylindrical sahpes and look as well too. Use a broad knife to shape them, and to egg and crumb
them,
thus you ensure a smooth surface.
1 1/2 cups minced chicken
1 cup White Sauce
1 dash nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Yolks 2 eggs
For making the white sauce, use cream if you have it, if not, rich milk. Add chicken, which
should
be minced
very fine, to hot sauce, and season well. Add the egg yolks and cook 2 minutes. Remove from the
fire and
cool. When stiff roll into croquettes, egg and crumb, and set in a cold place for 2 hours. The fry
and
drain."
---What and How: A Practical Cook Book for Every Day Living, Mrs. Walter D. Bush
[Mercantile
Printinc Company:Wilmington DE] 1920 (p. 199-200)
[NOTE: This book contains recipes for meat, veal, lamb, potato, bean, cheese, apple sauce,
oyster,
hominy, and rice croquettes.]
"Chicken, Fish, or Meat Croquettes
2 cups chicken, fish or meat
1 cup croquette sauce
1 egg
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Cut meat (or fish) in small pieces, add seasoning desired and croquette sauce...Mix together and
shape. If
mixture is not stiff enough to shape, chill in refrigerator 1/2 hour. When shaped, dip in
breadcrumbs, then in
the slighly beaten egg, and then in breacrumbs again. Fry in hot deep fat. You can vary the
croquettes by
adding chopped mushrooms, pimientos, ham, green peppers, etc.
For all croquettes
3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons sifted flour
1 cup milk or white soup stock
1/4 teaspoon onion juice
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
14 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon A1 or Worcestershire sauce
Melt butter; add flour and thoroughly in; add all other ingredients and cook until very thick,
stirring slowly
while cooking. This makes sufficient sauce to thicken 2 1/2 cups of any meat or fish, for all
croquettes."
---The Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, John MacPherson [Blakiston:Philadelphia]
1934(p. 69-70)
"Croquettes.
Croquettes really come under the head of frying and are roughly divided into two classes--sweet
and
savoury--the savoury generally having for their base a thick white sauce to which meat, fish,
vegetables, or
fruits are added to make up th croquette. Occasionally savoury croquettes may have a base of
rice,
macaroni, or potato, to which fish or meat is added in smaller proportions than would be the case
with a
white sauce base. They are used, perhaps, partly as a matter or economy, the less costly vegetable
or
cereal extending the more expensive the meat. Sweet croquettes are also sometimes made with a
foundation of rice, and indeed the rice without any meat of fruit makes a good croquette, flavour
being
added by the sweet sauce or ruit compote served with it. When white sauce is not used, a binder
in the form
of white of egg or whole egg must take its place. The general proportions of meat of fish are one
and one
half to two cupfuls to each cupful of thick white sauce, but these proportions can be varied
according to the
amount of meat or fish available, except that when the supply of the main ingredient is scant, its
bult should
be made up by the addition of bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, or perhaps some left-over
vegetable,
otherwise the finished croquettes are apt to be too moist; for instance, to a cupful of white sauce,
when only
two-thirds cupful of meat or fish is available yet a certain quantity of bulk must be provided, add
diced
cooked carrot, turnip, peas, or celery, or even crumbled bread, but where the dry ingredient is
bland or
negative in flavour something savoury, such as the little poultry dressing, a few drops of onion
juice,
Worcestershire sauce, or minced herbs must also be added to give snap and flavour. Croquettes,
whether
sweet or savour, are almost without exception coated with egg and bread crumbs as described in
the
process of frying. Various croquettes will be found under their proper headings."
---Ida Bailey Allen's Modern Cook Book [Garden City Publishing:Garden City NY] 1935
(p. 436-7)
"Chicken Croquettes
100 portions; 2 croquettes per portion
4 gallons chicken, cooked, finely chopped
1/4 cup salt
1 3/4 tablespoons pepper
3/4 gallon onions, finely chopped
1 quart butter or other fat
1 1/2 quarts flour (for dredging)
1/2 gallon chicken stock
25 eggs, whole
3 3/4 quarts bread crumbs, dry
Flour
10 (1 pint) eggs, beaten
1 quart mik, liquid
Bread crumbs
Sprinkle chicken with salt pepper. Fry onions in fat until clear. Add flour and blend to a smooth
paste. Stir in
stock. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Stir in eggs
and
bread
crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Place in refrigerator until chilled. Shape cold mixture into 3 1/2 to
4-ounce
croquettes. Stir eggs into milk. Mix well. Roll croquettes in flour. Dip in milk mixture. Roll in
bread crumbs.
Fry in hot deep fat at 375 degrees F. 3 to 4 minutes or until browned."
---The Cook Book of the United States Navy, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts,
NAVSANDA
Publication NO. 7 [U.S. Government Printing Office:Washington] revised 1944 (p.171)
[NOTE: instructions for Baked Chicken or Turkey Croquette Loaf provided.]
"Chicken Croquettes
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
a little pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
6 mushrooms, cooked, drained and finely diced (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped, cooked ham (if available)
Melt butter, add flour, mix well and cook until it starts to turn golden. Add milk and cook 15
minutes stirring
occasionally with a whip to have a very thick, smooth sauce. Add salt and pepper and combine
with eggs.
Add chickens, ham and mushrooms, mix all together and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until
mixture
doesn't stick to sides of pan. Correct the seasoning, spread on a flat buttered dish and let cool.
When cold,
shape the croquettes as desired in cylindars, cones or balls. Coat a l'Anglaise...and dry in deep hot
fat or
saute in butter. Serve with Cream Sauce...or Tomato Sauce. Serves 4 to 6."
---Louis Diat's Home Cookbook: French Cooking for Americans [J.B.
Lippincott:Philadelphia] 1946
(p. 130)
"Meat, Poultry or Fish Croquettes
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk or 1/2 cup evaporated milk and 1/2 cup water
2 cups diced or ground cooked meat (any meat, poultry or flaked cooked fish)
3/4 teapsoon salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon grated onion
Sifted dry bread crumbs
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons milk
Melt butter, blend in four, add 1 cup milk and stir constantly over moderate heat until sauce boils
and
thickens. Add meat, seasonings and onion and mix well. Chill, then shape into croquettes. Now
roll in
crumbs, then in beaten egg to which 2 tablespoons milk have been added, and again in crumbs. If
convenient, chill at least an hour in refrigerator before frying, as crumbs adhere better. Place in
wire basket
and fry in deep fat (360 degrees F.). About 10 croquettes.
---The Modern Family Cook Book, Meta Given [J.G. Ferguson:Chicago IL] 1953 (p.
328)
"Chicken or Turkey Croquettes
Makes 4 servings
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup sifted flour
1 cup milk
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon poultry seaoning
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind (optional)
2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (about)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups coarsely ground cooked chicken or turkey meat
1/2 cup soft white bread crumbs
Shortening or cooking oil for deep fat frying
Coating:
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
1/4 cup cracker crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup minced blanched almonds
Melt butter in a large suacepan over moderate heat and blend in flour; slowly stir in milk, add
bouillon cube,
parsley, and all seasonings, and heat, stirring, until mixture thickens. Blend a little hot sauce into
egg, return
to pan, set over lowest heat, and heat, stirring, 1 minute; do not boil. Off heat, mix in chicken and
bread
crumbs; taste for salt and adjust. Cool, then chill until easy to shape. Shape into 8 patties or
sausage-shaped rolls, dip in egg mixture, then roll in crumbs to coat. Let dry in a rack at room
temperature while
heating fat. Place shortening in a deep fat fryer and heat to 375 degrees F. Fry the croquettes, 1/2
at a
time, 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crisp; drain on paper toweling, then keep warm by
setting,
uncovered, in oven turned to lowest heat while you fry the rest. Good with Tomato or Parsley
Sauce. About
435 calories per serving if made with chicken, about 455 calories per serving if made with
turkey.
"
---Doubleday Cookbook: Complete Contemporary Cooking, Jean Anderson and Elaine
Hanna
[Doubleday:Garden City NY] 1975 (p. 510)
[NOTE: This book offers recipes for curried chicken, chicken & shellfish, and chicken & ham
croquettes.]
According to the records of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov),
Howard Johnson brand foods
were introduced to the American public February 1, 1925.
---"Long ago and far away...; events and news published in the Frozen Foods Digest since
1938," Frozen Food Digest, February 12, 1998, No. 3, Vol. 13; Pg. 80
"When Mr. [Pierre] Franey joined the company, Howard Johnson's line of frozen foods
consisted of such items as fried clams, chicken croquettes, macaroni and cheese and lobster
Newburg."
---Restaurant Chains Face Quality-Control Problem," George Rood, New York
Times, December 24, 1967 (p. 91)
[NOTE: this article mentions Mr. Franey joined the Howard Johnson company in 1960. This
confirms your croquettes were sold before this date.]
Duck
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas
[Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume 1 (p. 519)
[NOTE: this book has much more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your librarian
to
help you find pages 517-524 for a complete history and bibliography for further study.]
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 258)
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes and
Noble Books:New York] 1992 (p. 337)
"Duck is widely used in Thailand, primarily for special occasions. The indigenous birds are
smaller
and skinnier than ours; also considerably cheaper. In the predominantly Chinese sections of
Bankok, rows upon rows of duck hang in the markets, clean plucked but with heads and feet. The
Chinese-Thai feature a form of roasted duck with spice sauce (barbecued Pei Par Ngap) but this
Gaeng Keo Wan Pet is originally and authentically Thai."
---The Original Thai Cookbook, Jennifer Brennan [Richard Marek:New York] 1981 (p.
140)
[Note: this book contains a recipe for Gaeng Keo Wan Pet (Green Curry of Duck)]
"In Vietnam chickens, as well as other fowl, are produced in barnyards where they grow up fat,
happy and tasty. As do ducks. We find them a Vietnamese culinary constant."
---World Food: Vietnam, Richard Sterling [Lonely Planet:Victoria Australia] 2000 (p.
58)
"Duck...is less frequently consumed. Classic dishes, though, are itek sio (stewed duck in
coriander), itek tim (duck and salted vegetable soup) and lou ark (Teochew braised duck; served
with a piquant cvhilli, Chinese leek and white vinegar dip.)"
---World Food: Malaysia and Singapore, Su-Lyn Tan & Mark Tay [Lonely
Planet:Victoria
Australia] 2002 (p. 58)
Indonesian Cookery, Lie Sek-Hiang [Bonanza Books:New York] 1963 contains the
following duck recipes: Bebek Masak Lada Muda (Braised Duck with Green Peppers) and Bebek
Tjuka Goreng (Fried Marinated Duck).
---Cambridge World History of Food, Volume 1 (p. 519-520)
---Oxford Companion to Food (p. 258)
---Food, Waverly Root [Smithmark:New York] 1980 (p. 111)
Certain duck species, the food historians tell us, were indigenous to America. Others were
introduced by explorers and enterprising businessmen.
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 116-7)
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 1 (p. 413)
---Food, Waverly Root [Smithmark:New York] 1980 (p. 111-2)
European cookbooks contained recipes for duck (often cooked in similar fashion as goose). To
wit? Colonists enjoying the domestic American duck supply likely cooked the bird the same way
they learned at home. Hannah Glasse's Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy
[London:1747] contains recipes for Duck in the following modes: a la braise, a la mode, boiled
the French way, pie, with cucumbers, with onions and with peas. Elizabeth Raffald's
Experienced English Housewife [London:1769] offers similar recipes, adding wild duck
hash and notes on the differences between roasting tame and wild ducks.
"Stew'd Ducks
Take a Duck (either wild or tame) split it down the back, make some Stuffing with Stale bread,
the Liver of the duck, Spice, Parsley, Marjoram, Onion, Butter, Pepper and Salt, all chop'd up
together, fill the duck with it and sew it up the back, and put it into a Pott with Water enough to
cover it let it stew till the Water is almost stew'd away then add a little Wine and a lump of Butter
to the little that remains which makes the gravy and browns the Duck."
---A Colonial Plantation Cookbook: The Receipt Book of Harriott Pinckney Horry, 1770,
edited with an introduction by Richard J. Hooker [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia]
1984 (p. 59)
[NOTE: introduction of this book observes "...many of Harriott's recipes were wholly or largely
of American origin. The various recipes for curing bacon (hams) would fall in this category, as
would probably those for stewing crabs, stewing ducks, sausage, pickled shrimps, journey cake,
biscuits...It has often been said theat there are no new recipes. While this is an exaggeration, it is
true that at any given time the vast majority of recipes come from preceding generations and will,
with the sources rarely acknowledged, be take over by succeeding ones." (P. 22-3).]
Duck a l'Orange
---Culture and Cuisine: A Journey Through the History of Food, Jean-Francois Revel,
translated by Helen R. Lane [Doubleday:Garden City NY] 1982 (p. 19-20)
[1828]
DUCK A L'ORANGE IN USA
"Ducklings a la Bigarade.
This entree requires plump fleshy ducks: pick empty, and truss them well, with the legs stuck
upwards. First roast them under-done, and make incisions in the breast, what the French call
aiguillettes; pour the gravy that issues from the duck into the sause, which must be ready made,
in
order that you may send up quickly; a thing to be particularly attended to. With respect to the
appropriate sauce, see sauces. If you are allowed to serve up fillets only, then you much have
three ducklings at least. Roast them under-done; when properly done cut them into aiguillettes,
that is, four out of each duck; put then into the sauce with the gravy that runs from them, and
send up without loss of time, and quite hot. As soon as you have put the aguillettes into the
sauce,
squeeze a little juice of bigarade (bitter orange) over the whole; keep stirring well, and serve up
the fillets in the sauce. This is a dish for an epicure of the dantiest palate. Do not think of dishing
en couronne, to give it a better appearance, but send it up in the suce, and they who eat it will fare
the better. Mignonette, or coarse pepper, is required in this sauce, and the entree altogether must be highly seasoned. Before roasting the duck, blanche a handful of sage with a couple of onions
cut into quarters; chop them; season them with a little salt and pepper, and sutff the duck; by so
doing, it will acquire additoinal savour."
---The French Cook, Louis Eustach Ude, photoreprint of English edition published in
1828 by Larey, Lea and Carey:Philadelphia [Arco Publishing:New York] 1978 (p. 248-9)
[NOTE: Ude's recipe employs pepper, similar to La Varenne's.]
The Encyclopedia of Practical Gastronomy/Ali-Bab contains a recipe for Caneton Roti,
Sauce a L'Orange. We only have a translated copy [Elizabeth Benson:1974, p. 296]. There are no
historic notes or recommendations for type of duck (duckling) to be used.
Duck
"There are forty-two varieties of duck. One of the best is the musk duck, whose flesh is very
delicate...Barbary ducks are the biggest...Rouen ducklings, highly esteemed for their size and
other qualities, are produced in this manner. The wild duck is nearly always grilled on a spit.
The
young wild duck shot at the end of August is called an albran. In September he becomes a
duckling and is definately a duck in October. Albrans, which are to an ordinary duck as a
partridge to a hen, are broiled on a spit and served on toast soaked in their own juices, to which
are added the juice of bitter oranges, a little soy sauce, and some grains of fine pepper. This is a
delicate, distinguished dish....
Clean and truss 4 wild ducks. Skewer and roast over a lively fire 12 to 14 minutes, brushing them
with oil in the process. Salt, slice off the breasts, and lay them in a flat pan with a little glaze on
the bottom. Heat for 1 minute to dry the moisture from the breasts. Arrange on a platter and pour
over them the following sauce: Orange sauce. Take the zest of an unripe orange. Cut it into
julienne strips, cook in water, and drain in a sieve. Then put them into a little pot and out over
them 1 glass of clear, reduced aspic. Heat. Just before serving, thin the sauce with the juices of 1
lemon and 1 orange."
---Dictionary of Cuisine, Alexander Dumas, edited, abridged and translated by Louis
Colman [Simon & Schuster:New York] 1958 (p. 105-6)
"Caneton braise a l'Orange--Braised Duckling with Orange
This recipe should not be mistaken for the one for roast duckling served with orange, as the two
are totally different. Instead of ordinary oranges, Bigarade or bitter oranges may be used but in
this case the segments should not be used as a garnish because of their bitterness; only their juice
should be used for the sauce. Brown the duckling in butter and braise it slowly in 4 dl (14 lf oz or
1 3/4 U.S. cups) Sauce Espagnole and 2 dl (7 lb oz or 7/8 U.S. cup) brown stock until it is tender
enough to cut with a spoon. Remove the duckling from the cooking liquid when ready; remove
all
fat and reduce until very thick. Pass through a fine strainer and add the juice of 2 oranges and
half
a lemon then bring the sauce back to its original consistencey. Complete this sauce with the zest
of half an orange and half a lemon, both cut in fine Julienne and well blanched and drained. Take
care not to boil the sauce after adding the juice and the Julienne of zest. Glaze the duckling at the
last moment, place it on a dish, surround with a little of the sauce and border with segments of
orange completely free of skin and pith. Serve the rest of the sauce separately."
---Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, first translation into Englsih
by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann of Le Guide Culinaire in it entirety [Wiley:New York]
1979
(p. 415)
[NOTE: Escoffer also combines duck with cherries and other fruits.]
"Duck a la Orange (Canard a l'Orange)
According to different epochs and authors, there are several dishes that deserve this title. Some
say that the duck is roasted and accompanied by a bigarade ("bitter orange") sauce: this sauce is a
very reduced brown sauce to which orange juice is added, to return it to its original consistency,
and then orange peel, cut in julienne, is added. Or, more simply, the juices from roasting the duck
are thoroughly degreased and then diluted with ordinary juice; starch is added to make a liaison,
then added. As for every roast duck, this method and only be used on a young and tender duck.
Other authors suggest braising, which does not require a beast that is quite to tender. The
procedure of braising can vary according to your means. When you have brown sauce, add this to
the duck, which has first been colored in butter; later, the sauce is reduced, when finished with
orange juice and the julienne of orange peel. If you do not have this brown sauce ready in
advance, proceed as described further down. But one way or the other, note that the duck must
be cooked long enough so that it reaches the point where it could be, as the French say, "carved
with a spoon": that is the characteristic of duck that has been braised a l'orange. You should also
observe that, for juice or sauce, you must not let it boil after adding the orange juice and the zest;
and roasted or braised, the duck should be surrounded by orange quarters, which are trimmed of
all their membranes."
[NOTE: This book contains Saint-Ange's recipe. Your librarian will be hapy to help you obtain a
copy. If you prefer the original 1927 French edition let us know. Happy to mail/fax.]
A survey of American cookbooks/magazines from WWII forward confirms Duck a l'Orange was
a popular dinner party menu option from the 1950s-1970s. Some recipes were true to the
original;
others were simplified. McCall's Cook Book circa 1963 instructs cooks to cover spread
the duckling with orange marmelade (p. 484).
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century,
Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 136)
Foie gras
---Food in the Ancient World From A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p.
141-2)
---Food in the Ancient World From A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p.
161-2)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford Universtiy Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
311-2)
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translatd by Anthea Bell [Barnes & Noble Books:New York]
1992 (p. 424-434)
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York] 2000 (p. 502)
[NOTE: this book contains classic recipes]
---Acquired Taste: The French Origins of Modern Cooking, T. Sarah Peterson [Cornell
University Press:Ithaca NY] 1994 (p. 94-5)
---Acquired Tastes...(p. 105-7)
[NOTE: This book contains a brief survey of foie gras recipes from La Varenne (1651) to Glasse
(1748).]
Fois Gras,
The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemis Ward:
253
The word pate derives from paste, as in pastry. Pate de foie gras is fatted goose liver encased in
pastry. The concept is ancient, the elevation of this dish to culinary art is attributed to the French.
The Strousbourg region in particular.
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New
York]
2001 (p. 853-4)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
584)
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan
Whitman [Times Books:New York] 1985 (p. 326)
These pasties, so highly esteemed by epicures, are made at Strasburg, and thence exported to
various parts. They are prepared from the livers of geeese, which have been tied down for three
or
four weeks to prevent them from moving, and forcibly compelled to swallow, at intervals, a
certain amount of fattening food. When they have become so fat that they would die in a short
time, they are killed, and their livers, which have become very rich, fat, and pale during the
process, are used for the above purpose. These pates are very expensive. A good imitation of
them may be made without subjecting the unfortunatle geese to the cruelties described by
following the direction here hive:--Take the livers form three fine fat geese, and in drawing the
birds be careful not to bread the gall-bag, as the contents would impart a bitter taste to the livers.
Carefully remove any yellow spots there may be upon them, and lay the livers in milk for six or
eight hours to whiten; cut them in halves, and put three halves aside for forecemeat. Soak, wash,
and scrub, and peel three-quarters of a pound of truffles, carefully preserving the cuttings. Slice a
thrid of them into narrow strips, like lardoons, and tick theminto the remainder of the livers
three-quarters of an inch apart, sprinkle over them a little pepper, salt, and spice, and put them in
a cool
place until the forcemeat is amde. Mince finely, first separately and afterwards together, a pound
of fresh bacon, a thrid of the truffles, the halves of the livers that were put away for the purpose,
two shallots, and eight or ten button mushrooms; season the mixutre with plenty of pepper and
salt, two or three grates of nutmed, and half a salt-spoonful of powedered marjoram, and keep
chopping until it is quite smooth. Make the paste according to the directions given in Paste for
Raised Pies...Cover the bottom of the pie with thin rashers of ham, fat and lean together; spread
evenly on these one-half of the forcemeat, then put in the three livers, with the slices of truffle
stuck in them, and afterwards the remainder of the forcemeat. Intersperse amongst the contents of
the pie the remaining quarter of a pound of truffles, anc cover the whole with two or three
mroeslices of ham or bacon. Put the cover on the pie, ornament as fancy dictates, brush it over
with beaten egg, make a hole in the centre for the steam to escape, and bake in a moderate overn.
Time to bake, two hours or more...Sufficient for a dozen persons."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter,
Galpin:London] 1875 (p. 517-8)
"3491. To Cook and Present Foie gras.
For serving as a hot dish the goose liver should firstly be well trimmed and the nerves removed;
it
is then studded with quarters of small raw peeled truffles which have been seasoned with salt and
pepper, quickly set and stiffened over heat with a little brandy together with a bay-leaf. Before
using the truffles leave them to cool in a tightly closed terrine. After the foie gras has been
studded, wrap it completely in thin slices of salt pork fat or pig's caul, and place in a tightly
closed
terrine for a few hours. The best method for preparing a hot whole foie gras is to cook it as
follows, using a pastry that will absorb the excess fat as and when it melts. Cut out two oval
layers of Pie Paste (2774) slightly larger than the foie gras; place the foie gras on one of the ovals
and surround it with medium-sized peeled truffles. Place half a bayleaf on top, moisten the edges
of the paste, cover with the other oval of paste and seal the edges well together decorating the
edges. Brush with eggwash, decorate by scoring with the point of a small knife and make a hole
in
the top for the steam to escape whilst cooking. Bake in a fairly hot oven for 40-45 minutes for a
liver weighing from 750-800 g (1 lb 10 oz). Serve as it is accompanied with the selected garnish.
To serve: in restaurants the head waiter cuts around the top of the pie crust and removes it. He
then cuts portions of the foie gras with a spoon and places each portion on a plate with some of
the garnish as indicated on the menu."
---The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, Escoffier, translation of 1903
edition by H.L. Cracknell and R.J. Kaufmann [John Wiley:New York] 1997 (p. 419-420)
[NOTE: Escoffier incudes 19 recipes for hot foie gras and 11 recipes for cold foie gras.]
Fried chicken
The trouble with researching the history of deep fried food (items cooked by total immersion in
fat) is the term. Webster's New Unabridged Dictionary traces the term "deep fry" in print
only to the 1930s. Prior to that, evidence regarding deep frying must be culled from a careful
examination of instructions provided in cooking texts. References to boiling lard and notes on
draining sometimes indicate the item was to be deep fried.
Chicken parts that are floured or battered and then fried in hot fat. The term southern fried' first
appeared in print in 1925...Southerners were not the first people in the world to fry chickens, of
course. Almost every country has its own version, from Vietnam's Ga Xao to Italy's pollo fritto
and Austria's Weiner Backhendl, and numerous fricassees fill the cookbooks of Europe. And
fried
chicken did not become particularly popular in the northern United States until well into
the nineteenth century...The Scottish, who enjoyed frying their chickens rather than boiling or
baking them as the English did, may have brought the method with them when they settled the
South. The efficient and simple cooking process was very well adapted to the plantation life of
the
southern African-American slaves, who were often allowed to raise their own chickens. The
idea of making a sauce to go with fried chicken must have occurred early on, at least in
Maryland,
where such a match came to be known as "Maryland fried chicken." By 1878 a
dish by this name was listed on the menu of the Grand Union hotel in Saratoga, New
York..."
---The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani
[Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 305-6)
[NOTE: this book has much more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your librarian
to
help you find a copy]
Ancient Rome
Batter Fried Chicken
PULLUM FRONTONIANUM (Chicken a la Fronto)
(Apicius. 6, 9, 13)
Ingredients:
100ml oil
200ml Liquamen, or 200ml wine + 2 tsp salt
1 branch of leek
fresh dill, Saturei, coriander, pepper to taste
a little bit of Defritum
Start to fry chicken and season with a mixture of Liquamen and oil,
together with bunches of dill, leek, Saturei and fresh coriander. Then
cook approximately 1 hour with 220 deg C in the oven. When the chicken
is done, moisten a plate with Defritum, put chicken on it, sprinkle
pepper on it, and serve.
"To Fry Chicken
Take your chickens and let them boil in very good sweet broth a pretty while. Take the chickens
out and quarter them out in pieces. Then put them into a frying pan with sweet butter, and let
them stew in the pan. But you must not let them be brown with frying. They put out the butter
out of the pan, and then take a little sweet broth, and as much verjuice, and the yolks of two eggs
and beat them together. Put in a little nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and pepper into the sauce. Then
put them all into the pan to the chickens, and stir them together in the pan. Put them into a dish
and serve them up."
---The Good Housewife's Jewel, Thomas Dawson, 1596, with an introduction by Maggie
Black [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1996 (p. 41)
"Pullets fried
After they are dressed, cut into peeces and well washed, boile them in good broth, and when they
are almost sodden drain them, and fry them. After five or six turns, season them with salt and
good herbs, as parsely, chibols, &c. Allay some yolks of eggs for to thicken the sauce, and
serve."
---The French Cook, Francoise Pierre, La Varenne, Englished by I.D.G. 1653, Introduced
by Philip and Mary Hyman [Southover Press:East Sussex] 2001 (p. 52)
"Fricassee of Small Chickens
Take off the legs and wings of four chickens, separate the breasts from the backs, cut off the
necks and divide the backs across, clean the gizzards nicely, put them with the livers and other
parts of the chicken, after being washed clean, into a sauce pan, add pepper, salt, and a little
mace, cover them with water, and stew them till tender, then take them out, thicken half a pint of
the water with two table spoonsful of flour rubbed into four ounces of butter, add half a pint of
new milk, boil all together a few minutes, then add a gill of white wine, stirruing it in carefully
that
it may not curdle, put the chickens in and continue to shake the pan until they are sufficiently hot,
and serve them up.
Cut them up as for the fricassee, dredge them well with flour, sprinkle them with salt, put them
into a good quantity of boiling lard, and fry them a light brown, fry them a light brown, fry small
pieces of mush and a quantity of parsley nicely picked to be served in the dish with the chickens,
take half a pint of rich milk, add to it a small bit of butter with pepper, salt, and chopped parsley,
stew it a little, and pour it over the chickens, and then garnish with the fried parsley."
---The Virginia House-Wife, Mary Randolph, Facsimile 1824 edition with historical
notes
and commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina:Columbia] 1984 (p. 252-3)
"Fried Chicken
Cut the chicken up, separating every joint, and wash clean. Salt and pepper it, and roll into flour
well. Have your fat very hot, and drop the pieces into it, and let them cook brown. The chicken is
done when the fork passes easily into it. After the chicken is all cooked, leave a little of the hot
fat
in the skillet; then take a tablespoonful of dry flour and brown it in the fat, stirring it around, then
pour water in and stir till the gravy is as thin as soup."
---What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher, In Facsimile
(1881) with historical notes by Karen Hess [Applewood Books:Bedford MA] 1995 (p. 20)
[NOTE: This book is considered to be the first published cook book written by an African
American.]
"Fried Chicken
Prepare young chicken and sprinkle with salt and lay on ice 12 hours before cooking. Cut the
chicken in pieces and dredge with flour and drop in hot boiling lard and butter--equal parts--salt
and pepper, and cover tightly and cook rather slowly--if it cooks too quickly it will burn. Cook
both sides to a rich brown. Remove chicken and make a gravy by adding milk, flour, butter, salt,
and pepper. Cook till thick, and serve in separate bowl."
---The Blude Grass Cook Book, compiled by Minnie C. Fox, facsimile reprint 1904
edition [University Of Kentucky Press:Lexington KY] 2005 (p. 88)
Old Fashioned Fried Chicken-Maryland Style
Put an ounce of butter in a frying pan, and add four slices of lean salt pork dipped in flour; when
turned to a golden color take off the salt pork, add two and a half pounds of chicken disjointed,
also dipped in milk and flour. Fry until cooked. Take off chicken, drain fat from frying pan, pour
in a cup of light cream and milk, reduce to half and add one cup of light cream sauce, boil a few
minutes, strain over chicken sprinkled with chopped chives and parsley, garnish with two corn
fritters, two sweet potato croquettes, two slices fried tomato and the four pieces of crisp salt
pork.--A.J. Fink, Managing Director, Southern Hotel, Baltimore"
---Eat, Drink and be Merry in Maryland, Frederick Philip Steiff [G.P. Putnam's Sons:New
York] 1932 (p. 86)
Our survey of fried chicken recipes published in historic American cookbooks confirms Mr. Fowler's statement regarding batter frying not being as popular as
spiced/flour/egg dipped. This is nothing new. Making batter takes a little more time than dredging. We also discovered two distinct ways of combining batter and
chicken. From the get-go and after the chicken was mostly cooked. Interesting, yes?
Batter-dipped fried chicken descends (albeit in a quirky way) from Ancient Roman Fritters and Medieval Portuguese Tempura. Southern-style American cuisine
offers many deep-fried New World variations, from hushpuppies to corn dogs. Worth noting, too, is the proliferation of "batter pudding" recipes, readily adapted to
fish, vegetables, and fruit.
[1839]
"Fried Chickens. Chickens are nicesest for frying when they are about half grown. Cut off the wings and legs, separate the back from the breast, cut it across,
and split each piece, divide the breast, clean the giblets, and rinse them all in cold water; season them with salt and pepper, dip them in batter, and fry them a
yellowish brown in lard, which should be boiling when the chicken is put in. Thicken the gravy with brown flour, chopped parsley, pepper and cream; serve up the
chicken, and our the gravy round."
---Kentucky Housewife, Lettice Bryan, facsimile 1839 edition [Image Graphics:Paducah KY] (p. 119)
"Battered Chicken. Make a light batter with three eggs, a small tablespoonful of butter, a little wheat flour, and salt into the taste. Joint your chickens, and put
them into the batter. Grease your frying-pan, throw the mixture of chicken and batter into it, and fry a good brown.--This quantity of batter will suffice for one pair
of chickens."
---The Carolina Housewife, Sarah Rutledge, facsimle 1847 edition [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia SC] 1979 (p. 82)
"Chickens Fried in Batter," Elizabeth Lea, Domestic Cookery
[1930]
Additional batter-fried American recipes:
[1877]
"Fish Fried in Batter," Mary Henderson, Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving
"Batter Fried Chicken. Prepare young chickens for cooking and cut at joints into pieces. Make a batter of two cups flour, one tablespoonful baking powder,
three-fourths teaspoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful black pepper, two eggs, one-half cup milk or more. Have a skillet of deep fat and put the chicken in, no piece
within an inch of touching another. When the pieces are brown on the underside, turn them over and put a large kitchen spooonful of the batter on each piece. The
fat must be deep enough to brown the batter without turning it over, and the batter must not be soft enought to spread out too much."
---Old Southern Receipts, Mary D. Pretlow [Robert M. McBride:New York] 1930 (p. 53-54)
"Batter for Chickens. This recipe, contributed by Mary Leize Simons for the old notebook of Miss Elizabeth Harleston, proved to be most delicious, though at
first glance it was not very enlightening. It reads: 'One pint of milk one pint of flour, two eggs, a little salt; beat up very light--Yeast Poweder.' After experimenting
with this batter for deep-fat frying we found that the following amounts owuld make enough batter to coer a medium-sized chicken.
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup milk
Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Mix the egg and milk together and combine with the first mixture. Dip each piece of chicken in the batter and fry in deep fat until
brown. The chicken must, of course, be cooked until tender before dipping in th batter since the short time of frying would not cook the chicken."---Mary Leize
Simons."
---200 Years of Charleston Cooking, recipes gathered by Blanche S. Rhett [Random House:New York] revised edition, 1934 (p. 77-78)
"Fried Chicken--(deep fat). Chicken for frying in deep fat is generally cutinto quarters and dipped in thin batter (1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, 1 cup sifted flour,
1/2 teasppon salt.). Or, if preferred, use and egg-and-crumb coating."
---The South Carolina Cook Book, Collected and edited by the South Carolina Extension Homemakers Council [University of South Carolina Press:
Columbia SC] revised edition., 1953 (p. 166)
[1877]
"Tomato Batter Cakes," Estelle Woods Wilcox, Buckeye Cookery
[1884]
"Fitter Battter (For Oysters, Clams or Fruit), Mary Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book
[1885]
"Calves' and Pigs' Feet Fried in Batter,"
Lafcadio Hearn, La Cuisine Creole
Gravy
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
351)
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford Univeristy Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
148-9)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman] 1999
(p. 144)
Guinea fowl
---Food in the Ancient World from A to Z, Andrew Dalby [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 169-170)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 361)
---Food (p. 165)
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago IL] 1991
---Food (p. 165)
---Food (p. 165)
---Food, Waverly Root [Smithmark:New York] 1980 (p. 165)
---The Turkey: An American Story, Andrew F. Smith [University of Illinois Press:Chicago] 2006 (p. 17-18)
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 210-211)
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace & Company:New York] 1952 (p. 571)
Ham
Ham is the cured meat from the hind leg of a pig. "Curing" is an ancient method of food preservation involving
salting (brining) and slow smoking. Methods evolved from ancient times foward according to time and place. It took time and experience to achieve a
perfect product. Different regions specialized in different processes, giving their products unique flavors.
Today's commercial hams generally include chemical additives to enhance color and prolong shelf-life. Sausage,
& bacon, which can be made from a variety of meats, are closely related to ham in purpose and
presentation.
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 368)
[NOTE: This book has much more information on your topic. Your librarian can help you find a
copy.]
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown Publishing:New York] 1961 (p. 480)
---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes & Noble
Books:New York] 1992 (p. 417)
Related food? SPAM.
"Picnic" is a smaller ham cut from the shoulder. Some food historians connect this cut with "California"
ham, "Cali," or "Cala," for short. Print evidence confirms "picnics " were known to American consumers by
the late 19th century: The origin of the cut and its name is not well documented. Why "picnic?" The
National Pork Board offers this explanation:
"Ham, usually cured meat from the leg is generally cooked for special occasions or sit down
dinners. For less formal or outdoor activities, meat from the shoulder is cured for a less
expensive ham."
---"Q & A," Craig Claiborne, New York Times, May 16 1979 (p. C4)
"California Hams, 6c and boxed sweet-pickled picnic Hams, averaging 10lbs, 6 1/2 c."
---"Chicago Produce Markets," New York Times, May 16, 1890 (p. 2)
[NOTE: California hams and picnics are listed separately, presumably indicating they were not the same
item at that time.]
"Picnic.
A small piece of shoulder bacon cut somewhat in the
shape of a ham. In full: picnic ham. 1910. L.D. Hall, Market Classes of Meat, Picnics or Calas (formerly
termed California hams) are cut 2 1/2 ribs wide...They...are sold almost entirely as sweet-pickled, smoked
and boiled meats."---Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles, Mitford M. Mathews,e ditor
[University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1951 (p. 1235).]
"Shoulder Hams.
The Picnic or California ham is made of the shoulder of pork and sells for about five cents less than the
others. The packers put up a brand of boned picnic hams; also, in some places, picnic hams are bought
for the help's hall; for in these days of more perfect cut meats and European plan service, the chef is often
compelled to order special supplies of meat for the help."
---The Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago] 1935 (p. 45)
"Two pork cuts that fit particularly well into the small family's week-end menu plans are the smoked daisy
and the smoked picnic ham. Both might be described as miniature hams with a rich, smoky flavor similar
to that of the larger cut, and moth are of a size more easily managed in the household for three or four. The
daisy weighs from two to four pounds, the picnic from four to eight. The daisy and the picnic both come
from the shoulder of the hog. The daisy is the boned, cured and smoked meat of the butt. The picnic is the
lower portion of the shoulder, including the foreleg down to a little above the knee joint. It contains arm
bone and has been trimmed, cured and smoked to give it a true ham flavor. Either cut offers a variety of
possibilties."
---"Food News: Small Hams Offer Variety," June Owen, New York Times, August 22, 1952 (p. 24)
[NOTE: in the 1890s "picnics" were 10 lbs; in the 1950s they shrank to between 4-8lbs.
[1944]
"Picnic Shoulder.
In Fresh Pork: The Picnic Shoulder which is the lower portion of the shoulder, looks like a small fresh
ham, oval at one end and squared off at other. It may be roasted or braised whole, or it may be boned and
rolled, or boned and stuffed and then roasted or braised. In Smoked Pork: The Smoked Picnic Shoulder is
similar to fresh picnic shoulder except for characteristics due to smoking. It may be baked or simmered
until tender."
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, completely revised edition [Farrar & Rinehart:New York] 1944 (p. 245)
"Ham Butt, Shank, or Picnic Ham or Cali
Use these comparatively inexpensive cuts of ham for New England Boiled Dinner. Cook the ham until is is
nearly tender. Add the vegetables and cook until tender."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill Company:Indianapolis] 1953 (p. 373)
[NOTE: there is no mention of picnic hams in the 1946 edition of this book.]
Our research indicates spiral carved honey baked ham was invented by Harry J. Hoenselaar, of Detroit Michigan. We find anecdotal (unsupported ) evidence
suggesting Mr. Hoesnselaar's novelty process was first used in the 1930s. US Patent & Trademark Office records confirm his application for patenting this new
processes/cutting apparatus was filed in 1944. The patent was granted in 1952. US Trademark protection was granted in 1957. Our survey of ads placed in
historic USA newspapers confirms the product was slowly going national in the 1960s. It also confirms many companies producing similar products. Savvy
marketers know a good thing when they see it.
"While working in the meat industry in the mid-1930s, founder Harry J. Hoenselaar developed a unique curing, cooking and smoking process for a high-quality
bone-in ham that featured a sweet and crunchy glaze. He found a more convenient way to serve ham - with a machine that spiral sliced delicately-smoked ham
around the bone. Hoenselaar constructed the first prototype of a spiral-slicing machine using scrap wood, a metal pie pan, a wooden handle kitchen knife, an
automobile jack and the motor from an old washing machine. He perfected his concept over several years and was granted patents for the first spiral-slicing
machine and for the spiral-slicing method."
---Source
"June 3, 1952 H. j. Hoenselaar 2,599,328 SLICED MEAT JOINT SUCH AS HAM AND METHOD OF SLICING SAME Original Filed Sept. 7, 1944,
INVENTOR. //arry J. Hoense/aar Patented June 3, 1952 2,599,328 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3,599,328, SLICED MEAT JOINT SUCH AS
HAM AND METHOD OF SLICING SAME Harry J. Hoenselaar, Detroit, Mich., Original application September 7,1944, Serial No. 552,966. Divided and this
application April 9, 1949, Serial No. 86,494 8 Claims. (Cl. 99—107)
This invention relates to the slicing of meat, to apparatus for slicing meat, and to hams and other joints of meat in a new form. The invention will be described with
particular relation to the slicing of a ham but it will be understood by butchers that there are many other joints of meat which can be sliced with equal facility by this
apparatus. In the meat industry there is a large market for sliced meats, particularly for ham slices, but the bone construction and the shape of a ham is such that no
wholly satisfactory method of slicing it exists. This statement also applies to legs of lamb and other like cuts of meat. It is an object of the invention to provide a
method and a machine for slicing ham and other joints, which are of exceptional efficiency in operation. Another object of the invention is to prepare ham for the
market in a new and superior form. The invention contemplates mounting the ham upon its leg bone, turning the ham about its l eg bone as an axis, and slicing it as it
turns. The invention includes the sliced joints which are produced by this process. The invention also includes the apparatus for accomplishing the process and
producing the product. The objects of the invention as to apparatus are accomplished generally speaking by a machine which has means to grip the ham for rotation
about its axis, means to rotate it, means to slice it as it turns, and means whereby the slicing may be made continuous. In the accompanying drawings, wherein like
numerals denote like parts, is diagrammatically shown an apparatus capable of carrying out the process, a ham before slicing, and a ham in the new form. It is to be
understood that this apparatus is illustrative, not a limitation."
---Source: US Patent & Trademark Office
[NOTE: Harry J. Hoenselaar was the founder of the Honeybaked Ham Company originally located in Detroit, Michigan.]
"An alliance that would be welcome by any householder who has tried to carve a ham is protected by Patent 2,599,328, granted to Harry J. Hoenselaar of Detroit.
Actually for packers' use, this machine turns the ham about the leg bone as an axis and slices as it turns. At the end the meat is still in place, but is in a continuous
slice which, with care, can be unwound."
---"Device Helps Forgetful TV Actor Keeps Commericals From Straying," Stacy V. Jones, New York Times, June 7, 1952 (p. 28)
[NOTE: The headline device is now known as a teleprompter!]
US Trademark registration
Word Mark THE HONEYBAKED HAM COMPANY EST. 1957 AUTHENTIC SPIRAL SLICED Goods and Services (CANCELLED) IC 016. US 002
005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: [ paper goods, namely, cups, napkins and plates ]. FIRST USE: 19950100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE:
19950100......Serial Number 74648961 Filing Date March 20, 1995 Current Filing Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1B Published for Opposition October
8, 1996 Change In Registration CHANGE IN REGISTRATION HAS OCCURRED Registration Number 2026371 Registration Date December 31,
1996 Owner (REGISTRANT) HBH Limited Partnership composed of HBH, Inc. a Delaware corporation LIMITED PARTNERSHIP MICHIGAN 11935
Mason-Montgomery Road Suite 200 Cincinnati OHIO 452499897 Attorney of Record J. David Mayberry Prior Registrations
1384504;1519978;1553044;1861924;1883717;AND OTHERS Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE "HAM
COMPANY", "AUTHENTIC SPIRAL SLICED" and "EST. 1957" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN Type of Mark TRADEMARK. SERVICE
MARK Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)-IN PART Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). PARTIAL SECTION 8(10-YR) 20070609. Renewal 1ST
RENEWAL 20070609 Live/Dead Indicator LIVE Distinctiveness Limitation Statement as to "THE HONEYBAKED HAM COMPANY"
Earliest print reference we find in a major USA newspaper
"'Spiral-Sliced Honey Baked Hams are the best in all the Word' says sportscaster Jim Healy....And Now Honey Baked Hams are Available for the First Time in the West.
Jim Healy eats Honey Baked Ham and he sends them to all his friends. Doun't you wish you were a friend of Jim Healy's? Honey Baked Hams are smoked-cured for 30
hours over Hickory and Applewood chips. Honey-glazed with imported slices and herbs--spiral sliced (the only ham that is) for easy, gracious serving. HONEY BAKED
HAMS will haunt you 'till the last slice is gone. Take it from Jim Healy! Order Honey Baked Ham for Yourself and Friends on Your Christmas List. Supply is Limited! Order
Now. Phone: (714) 635-2461 collect. All hams delivered within 24 hours. Honey Baked Hams, 1222 South Brookhurst Boulevard, Anaheim, California."
---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, December 8, 1968 (p. D2)
"For a perfect Labor Day dinner, Fabulous Spiral Sliced Honey Baked Ham (so good it will Haunt you til it's Great!)...because we planned it that way. By using only fresh
hams from Iowa's corn-fed porkers--our slow dry curing method, real Wisconsin hickory and applewood smoking, 30-hour oven baking, honey 'n spice glazed. So delicious
and appetizing we just wouldn't know how to improve this product we've been making for the past 34 years. Spiral sliced too, from top to bottom for easy removal of slices,
yet retains 'whole ham' appearance for serving. Every slice the same delectable thickness. Completely baked and ready to serve. Order you Honey Baked Ham today. An
adventure in hamjoyment you'll never forget. Three sizes: aprx. 11 lbs, $16.50; aprx. 12 lbs, $18.00; aprx 13 lbs, $19.50."
---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, August 17, 1969 (p. I54)
"The many ham lovers in Chicago are giving a warm welcome that originated in Detroit. It's Honey Baked Ham, conveniently spiral sliced around the center bone by a
patented method. A honey-spice glaze keeps the slices sealed together until a easy touch of the knife slips through the glaze to open and release the slices. Every slice
is uniform. No chunks, now waste. A real time-saver for the busy housewife. The ham itself is lean and flavory--a choice Iowa ham that has been dry-cured, hickory and
applewood smoked and oven baked for 30 hours. Being a drier, completely baked hams from 6 to 8 pounds, less salt. Sold in whole hams from 12 to 16 pounds, and half
hams from 6 to 8 pounds. The hams are processed exclusively by the Honey Baked Ham Company, who has a retail outlet and pickup stations in Chicago and suburbs.
Call 588-4237 for more information."
---"Good News for Ham Lovers," Chicago Daily Defender, November 2, 1972 (p. 28)
"World famous Honey Baked Hams are processed from properly finished prime young porkers fed on corn. Slow cured with the finest curing agents obtainable, the Honey
Baked Ham. Co. is generous with expensive imported spices, dry rubbing and dry curing its ham in a costly process to bring out a wonderful nut-like flavor, according to
their spokesman. Properly trimmed before smoking allows for better penetration of smoke aroma as every ham is checked several times with an internal thermometer to
positively assure complet ebaking right to the bone. During this long process, real hickory and applewood chips, sprinkled with spice buds and herbs, send up filtered
smoke to penetrate every fiber with an unforgetable flavor. Honey Baked Hams is the inventor of the Spiral Sliced Ham. The company developed this patented method of
slicing the meat around and around the bone in a spiral manner so the slices remain in place. Any cut made lengthwise releases the slices. Everything can be prepared to
take out. Honey Baked Hams can be sent as a gift to a next door neighbor or to anyone in the continental United States. Call early for Christmas delivery. Visit a Honey
Baked Hame store in La Habra, El Toro, Anaheim, Corona del Mar, Orange or Rancho Mirage."
---"'Honey Baked' Slow-cured hams make ideal gift," Los Angeles Times, November 14, 1978 (p. OCD5)
"Honey Baked Ham. Only one ham is smoked our old-fashioned way for some 30 hours over a blend of real hickory and applewood chips, sprinkled with rare spice buds
and herbs. Only one is spiral sliced for serving convenience by our unique process. And only one is glazed with our blend of expensive, imported spices and honey.
That one is the original Honey Baked Ham. One taste is all it takes. It makes an especially appreciated gift for the holiday, and we'll ship our hams across town or across
the country. To clients, associates, friends or family. Gift certificates are also availalble and redeemable at each location. For Easter we suggest you place your order well
in advance because the demand for Honey Baked Hams peaks during this period."
---Display ad, Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1983 (p. T20)
[NOTE: underneath the Honey Baked Ham logo there is this line: "established 1925 by H. Hoenselaar."]
"Over 30 years of expereience guarantees the quality you'll find only at your HoneyBaked store."
---Display Ad, Los Angeles Times, December 19, 1985 (p. K50)
"Hoenselaar died in 1974, 18 years after inventing the spiral slicer in his basement from a hub cap, his wife's kitchen broom stick, a butcher's knife and a power
drill motor from Sears. In 1957 he opened Honeybaked Ham Co. selling the spiral sliced hams with his still-secret honey-spice glaze. His four daughters, Mary
Jayne Schmidt, JoAnn Kurz, Carol Farbolin and Sue McHugh eventually took over the reins and began rapid, nationwide expansion in 1979. Honeybaked now has
more than 210 stores in 34 states. Twenty more stores are planned for 1993. In the back of each store, hams are hickory smoked, glazed and sliced fresh daily.
The four sisters now compose the board of directors of the Harry Hoenselaar Trust, which oversees all Honeybaked operations. As their children come of age,
many are joining the family business. While the third generation respects the accomplishments of its parents, Kurz and Anderson say times have changed and so
must the company. The patent for the spiral slicer expired in 1981, opening the floodgates of competitors selling spiral sliced ham, many with some kind of honey
glaze."
---"At Honeybaked, Hamming it up is Family Matter," Julia Prodis, Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), December 24, 1992
"da Vinci gave us Mona Lisa, Beethoven gave us The Ninth, and Harry J. Hoenselaar gave the world Honey Baked Ham. Hey, some people do great things with their lives.
Take Harry J. Hoenselaar for instance. back in '57 he opened a small store in Detroit, Michigan, and introduced the world to the unbeatable and unique taste of Honey
Baked Ham. Specially selected, smoked, slow-cooked up to 30 hours, spiral-sliced and glazed. Harry didn't know it, but he created a ham for all seasons. Still a family
owned business, HoneyBaked brand ham is the most imitated ham in America. But don't be fooled. There's only one. And you won't find it at the supermarket. You'll only
find in at a HoneyBaked store. Which is exactly how Harry would have wanted it."
---Display ad, New York Times, April 4, 1993 (p. LI 10)
"It all began with a slicer that trims meat spirally to the bone. HoneyBaked Ham founder Harry J. Hoenselaar patented the machine 37 years ago in Detroit. When
meat companies wouldn't buy it, he cooked up the next best thing: a hickory-smoked ham dipped in a secret family recipe. It is now sold in 250 stores in 35 states,
including nine in northeast Ohio. The number of stores nationally has doubled in 10 years, and, according to President S. George Kurz, the founder's son-in-law,
thoughts have turned to going international. The third-generation family-owned firm is based in Cincinnati, where it moved from Fairlawn eight years ago to be more
centrally located. The second store was in Parma, where Kurz, an ex-pharmacist, and his wife, JoAnn, a former dental hygienist, opened the company's second
store in 1966. There are now 20 Kurz family members in the business. Pre-cooked gourmet hams, wrapped in gold and silver foil and opened for customer
inspection before buying, represent 90 percent of the business. More than half is during the fourth-quarter holidays, according to retail marketing manager Colleen
Harris. "The product has stood the test of time," Kurz said. "It has always remained the entire focus of our company."...HoneyBaked Foods Inc., a direct-mail
division in Toledo, began in 1984. Products are delivered nationally from orders placed by mail or phone...Despite developing several offshoots, the company's
bread and butter is still glazed ham. A 7- to 8-pound half ham sells for $35 to $40; whole hams weigh 13 to 15 pounds for $60 to $65. The core product has
thrived for nearly four decades because of consistency, Kurz said. "By not tinkering with the recipe," he said, "the way we glaze the product - all the things the
consumer experienced in 1957 is the same experience they get today."
---"Ham for the Holidays Honeybaked Profits Spiral Sweetly Since its Founding," Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH),
December 21, 1994
Hot dogs & frankfurters
Wienerwurst (Vienna sausage)is said to have orginated in Austria. Hence, the name. This product
is related to
frankfurters (hot dogs). It is a member of the German Bruhwurst family:
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p. 701)
SOURCE: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council
---Hot Dog: A Global History, Bruce Kraig [Reaktion Books:London] 2009 (p. 23)
[NOTE: If you need more details about the hot dog's place in American history we highly recommend this book!]
Hot dogs/National Hot Dog and
Sausage Council (history, trivia, market statistics, regional variations)
Hot Dogs as America/American Museum of Natural History
Harry M. Stevens. The year is unclear, but the story is great!
---"Topics of the Times: An American Institution," New York Times, August 20, 1953 (p. 26)
"What happened was that Chicago was a city of parks and, although I didn't know it then,
Chicago's 5,000 acres of
parks were to play a major role in my life. In those days, before World War I, the city's park
commissioners weren't
politicians but prominent and usually civic-minded businessmen...The used to go to the
Heidelberg to eat, before or after
their meetings, and they got to know and like my father. They'd even ask his opinion; after all, he
was running one of the
best restaurants in town. And so, one thing led to another, and the commissioners wound up
asking my father if he would
take over the parks concessions...The commissioners apparently were out to hustle better food
and service in the South
Park system, and Frank Twitchell more or less fell into place...The first thing he did was to
arrange to buy hot dogs made
to his specifications from Oscar Mayer, the meat packer. How's that for class: hot dogs made to
his specifications. My
father built a better hot dog and people started beating a path to the parks, where his hot dog
stands began to sprout in
strategic places along the South Park Lake Front."
---My Luke and I, Eleanor Gerhig and Joseph Durso [Thomas Y. Crowell:New York]
1976 (p. 56-6)
Traditional American hot dogs, like most sausages, are made from hogs. They are generally composed with the parts not suitable for other
consumption. Beef hot dogs are considered an acceptable alternative. Tuna hot dogs
were introduced in 1949. They failed. Chickenfurters (aka chicken franks, chicken hot dogs, chicken dogs) first surfaced in 1951. Like their tuna cousins, they
were rejected by hot dog afficianados. Why? It's all about preserving
the *purity* of a national icon.
---"Now, the Chickenfurter: One Use for Older Birds," New York Times, August 3, 1951 (p. 13)
---"Food news: New Products Fill State Exposition," Nan Ickieringill, New York Times, September 3, 1962 (p. 9)
---"Farm Agency Proposes Rule on Frankfurter Turning Chickenfurter," Wall Street Journal, April 7, 1969 (p. 28)
Jambayala
"Jambalaya is one of the most famous Cajun-Creole creations, with as many versions and incorporating as
wide a variety of ingredients as any dish in American gastronomy. Most etymologists believe the name came
form the Spanish word for ham, jamon, a prime ingredient in the first jambalayas of the eighteenth century, but
other prefer the beloved story of a gentleman who stopped by a New Orleans inn late one night to find nothing
left for him to dine upon. The owner there-upon told the cook, whose name was Jean, to "mix some things
together"--balayez, in the dialect of Louisiana-so the grateful guest pronounced the dish of odds-and-ends
wonderful and named it "Jean Balayexz." The word itself first appeared in print only in 1872, and the Picayune's
Creole Cook Book (1900) calls it a "Spanish-Creole dish." Missouri Creoles call it "jambolail." But today it is a
great favorite and synonymous with Louisiana cuisine."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 169)
---Eating in America: A History, Wavery Root & Richard de Rochemont [William Morrow and Company:New
York] 1976 (p. 282)
Yes, and no. Like Booya, Barbeque & Brunswick stew, every self-respecting Jambalaya cook has his/her own secret ingredient and
special method. We Americans celebrate tasty the coexistence of parallel plating. Our products are made better by the
spirit of competition. What strikes us most when reading the recipes below is the culinary dichotomy of primary dish & leftover
economy. The truth likely cuts down the middle in curious ways.
---Southern Food: at home, on the road, in history, John Egerton [University of North Carolina Press:Chapel Hill NC] 1993 (p. 264)
[1885]
/La Cuisine Creole
Jambalaya
"Creole Jambalaya.
Jambalaya is a Spanish-Creole dish, which is a great favorite in New Orleans, and is made according to the
following recipe:
One and a Half Cups of Rice.
1 Pound of Fresh Pork. 1 Slice of Ham.
2 Onions.
1 Tablespoonful of Butter.
2 Cloves of Garlic.
2 Sprigs Each of Thyme and Parsley.
2 Bay Leaves
2 Cloves Ground Very Fine.
3 Quarts of Beef Broth or Hot Water (Broth Preferred).
1/8 Spoonful of Chili Pepper.
Salt, Pepper and Cayenne to Taste.
Cut the pork very fine, lean and fat, into pieces. Chop the onions very fine, and mince the garlic and the fine
herbs. Grind the cloves. Put a tablespoonful of butter into the saucepan, and add the onions and pork, and let
them brown slowly. Stir frequently, and let them continue browning slightly. When slightly brown, add the ham,
chopped very fine, and the cloves of garlic. Then add the minced herbs, thyme, bay leaf and parsley and
cloves. Let all this brown for five minutes longer, and add a dozen fine Charice, cut apart, and let all cook five
minutes longer. Then add the three quarts of water or broth, always using in preference the broth. Let it all cook
for ten minutes, and when it has been carefully washed. Then add to this a half teaspoonful of Chili pepper,
and salt and Cayenne to taste. The Creoles season highly with Cayenne. Let all boil a half hour longer, or until
the rice is firm, and serve hot. Stir often, to mix all well. You will then have a real Creole Jambalaya. Some use
the brisket of veal instead of the pork, but there is no comparison in the flavor, the pork being so superior. But,
again, this is a matter of taste."
---The Picayune Creole Cook Book, facsimile reprint of the second edition, 1901 [Dover:New York] 1971 (p.
181-2)
"Down near the French market in New Orleans is one of the most interesting places in the whole city, a place which has been
widely known for more than forty years, and visitors to New Orleans during the Carnival season miss one of its most
characteristic enjoyments if they fail to breakfast at Begue's...Here are some of the recipes for the famous dishes:
Cut into pieces a young chicken and fry it in hot lard, wiht a few slices of raw ham. Remove the ham and chicken from the pan, tehn
fry in the same lard an onion and a tomato. When they are nearly done stir in a cup of rice and a chicken and ham. Cook all-together
for a few minutes stirring constantly; then add enough water to cover and boil slowly until the rice and chicken are tender. It
should be seasoned with strong pepper, bay leaves, chopped parsley, and thyme. Dry a little before serving.
Boil and peel two dozen large shrimps and allow them to cool. Fry in hot lard one onion, chopped, and a cup of rice which has been
washed in cold water. After a few minutes add the shrimps, stirring constantly until they are well browned; then add enough water to
cover this whole. Season with salt and pepper, bay leaf, thyme and chopped parsley. Let it boil slowly, adding water when necessary
from time to time until the rice is well cooked. When done let it dry before serving."
---"Strange Culinary Combinations Exploited by Famous People," New York Times, December 29, 1907 (p. X9)
"Jambalayah (a Creole Dish)
1 1/2 cups cold chicken, veal or mutton
1 cup boiled rice
2 large stalks celery
1/2 green pepper
1 large onion
1 1/2 cups stewed tomatoes
salt and pepper
buttered crumbs
Mix together the chicken, rice and tomatoes, and allow them to cook for ten minutes. The chop and add the onion, green pepper and
celery. Turn the mixture into a baking dish and cover with buttered crumbs. Bake for one hour in a moderate oven (350 degrees
F.). Serve very hot. This is an excellent way of utilizing left-over meat or chicken."
---Southern Cook Book: 322 Old Dixie Recipes, compiled and edited by Lillie S. Lustig et al, [Three Mountaineers:Asheville NC] 1938
(p. 13)
"Creole Jambalaya
1 1/2 cups rice
1 pound fresh pork
1 sliced ham
1 dozen chaurices (pork sausages)
2 onions
1 tablespoon butter
2 clove garlic
1 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs parsley
2 bay leaves
3 quarts beef broth of consomme
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
salt, pepper, cayenne
Cut the pork very fine, lean and fat, into pieces of about half an inch square. Chop the onions very fine and mince the garlic
and fine herbs. Grind the cloves. Put a tablespoon of butter into the saucepan and add the onions and pork and let them brown
slowly. Stir frequently, and let them continue browning slightly. At this stage add the slice of ham, chopped very fine, and the cloves
of garlic. Let all this brown for five minutes longer. The add the three quarts of broth or consomme. Let it all cook for ten
minutes and when it comes to boiling add the rice, which has been carefully washed. Then add to this the peppers and salt to
taste. The Creoles season highly with cayenne. Let all boil for a half-hour longer, or until the rice is done, and serve hot."
---New York World's Fair Cook Book: The American Kitchen, Crosby Gaige [Doubleday, Doran & Company:New York] 1939 (p. 85-86)
"Jambalaya with Shrimp (Serves 4)
2 pounds of shimp
4 tablespoons of butter or bacon fat
2 tablespoons of flour
3 onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of cooked ham
2 cups of canned tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of oregano or basil
2 cups rice
3 cups of broth or fish stock
Melt the butter or fat in a heavy kettle with a tight lid. Blend the flour into a hot fat and add the peeled and chopped onions and
garlic. Cut the ham in strips and add it to the onion mixture. Cook slowly until the onion is soft. Add the canned tomatoes and cook
them for a few minutes to blend and thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add oregano or basil. Add the washed rice
and pour over it boiling broth or stock to cover 1 inch above the rice. Use fish stock...or meat broth. Cover the kettle tightly and lower the heat
to simmer. Let the rice and seasonings cook slowly. Shell the shrimp and remove the black veins along the backs. Rinse to was out all
grit. The shrimp should be added about 8 minutes before the rice is done. If the mixture gets too dry before the rice cooks, add more
broth."
---The James Beard Cookbook, in collaboration with Isabel E. Callvert [E.P. Dutton:New York] 1961 (p. 161-162)
"Creole Jambalaya
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery with a few leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and cleanes (about 1 cup)
2 dozen raw oysters (about 1 cup)
2 cus (16 oz.) whole tomatoes
1 cup water
Bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup raw rice, washed (unlsess otherwide directed on package)
In large sauceapn saute onion, green pepper, celery and garlic in butter until tender. Add shrimp and oysters and cook five minutes
more. Add remaining ingredients except rice and cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes more. Add rice, stir and cover tightly; cook
25 to 30 minutes over low heat or unntil rice is done. 4 servings."
---Brennan's New Orleans Cookbook, told by Hermann B. Deutsch [Robert L. Crager:New Orleans LA] 1961 (p. 165)
"Creole Jambalaya
1 tablespoon shortening
2 tablespoons flour
1 pound smoked pork sausage or ham, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3 cups cooked shrimp
5 cups diced and peeled tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 large onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons shopped parsley
2 cups raw, long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
Melt shortening in large skillet. Add flour, meat, and chopped pepper. Cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add shrimp, tomatoes,
water, onion, garlic, and parsley. Bring to a boil, add rice; stir in Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, and red pepper. Cover and
simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is tender; stir occasionally. Sprinkle with parsley."
---The Art of Creole Cookery, William I. Kaufman and Sister Mary Ursula Cooper [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1962
(p. 116-118)
[NOTE: this book also offers recipes for Chicken and Oyster Jambalayas.]
"Jambalaya
2 cups diced leftover ham
3 onions, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cp dry white wine
3 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 cup rice
Saute onions, green pepper and garlic in butter for 10 minutes. Add ham, wine, tomatoes and seasonings and mix well. Bring to a
boil and add rice gradually, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Serves 6."
---Picture Cook Book, editors of Life [Time-Life Books:New York] 1968 (p. 217)
Jerky
---Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the
World, Sue Shepard [Simon & Schuster:New York] 2000 (p. 34)
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 171)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
418)
---Food in History, Reay Tannahill [Three Rivers Press:New York] 1988 (p. 228-9)
---American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating & Drinking,
Volume
1 [American Heritage:New York] 1964 (p. 51)
Interesting question. Period cookbooks don't address this topic, probably because they were
written for established housewives with fully-stocked kitchens. Folks who ate jerky were
generally
travelers, explorers, cowboys, and Native Americans. We know about their foods from primary
sources such as journals, letters, and diaries.
The meat is sliced thin and a scaffold prepared by setting forked sticks in the ground, about
three feet high, and laying small poles or sticks crosswise upon them. The meat is laid upon those
pieces, as a slow fire built beneath; the heat and smoke completes the process in half a day; and
with an occasional sunning the meat will keep for months.'
The smoking method required a stopover; but in my twentieth-century view, considering
disease and germs, smoking seems safer than air-drying. In any case, however, jerky was
prepared, it was popular."
---Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregon Trail, Jaqueline Williams [University of
Kansas Press:Lawrence KS] 1993 (p. 153-4)
The Spanish word for dried beef is "Charqui," and we call it jerky. To dry beef, cut meat in strips
as long as 6 to 14 inches. No wider than 1 inch is best so that meat will dry quickly. Do not leave
fat on meat as it becomes rancid in a short time. Cut against grain where at all possible. Sprinkle
each piece of meat with salt and pepper; and if so inclined, a small amount of powdered chili.
Hang strips of meat in a dry place on wire lines. Full sun is not necessary, but is best. A shed or
barn loft will do. Cellars and basements are not at all suitable as they are too damp. The
clothesline is fine if it does not rain. Do not worry about flies as the salt and pepper repels them.
In very hot weather meat will be jerked in a few days or a week. Just be sure meat does not get
wet. When meat looks and feels like old shoe leather, remove from drying wires and store in
flour
sacks in a cool place. Hanging from rafters by thin wires keeps weevils, mice, and other pests
away."---Clair Haight, Hashkinfe Outfir, Winslow, Arizona, 1922"
---Chuck Wagon Cookin', Stella Hughes [Univeristy of Arizona Press:Tucson AZ] 1994
(p. 105)
"Beef Jerky.
Smoke drying game as large as a whole elk or buffalo occupied several days. However, once
dried, jerky could sustain the men for days until the next successful hunt. Jerky was used plain, or
mixed with berries and animal fat to form pemmican. The recipe is designed to use the
Luhr-Jensen smoker, but if you hve a different model, you might need to vary the amount of
smoke and
cooking time:
2 cups water
1/4 non-iodized salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pan mesquite or hickory chips
Remove all fat from the beef. To facilitate slicing, partially freeze the meat before slicing. Slice
the
meat across the grain as thinly as possible. In a large bowl, stir together the water, salt, sugar,
garlic, and pepper until the salt has dissolved. Add the sliced meat and let it soak in the brine for
45
minutes. Remove the meat from the brine and rinse in fresh water. Lighly oil the racks in the
smoker. Drape the meat over the racks. Use 1 pan of woodchips. Smoke the meat for about 12 to
15 hours depending upon the thickness of the meat. The beef jerky should be dry but slighly
pliable."
Jerky making then and
now, North Dakota State University
Kebabs
---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated [Clarkson Potter:New York]
2001 (p. 646)
---A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow:New York] 1999 (p.
333)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
429)
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K. T. Achaya [Oxford University Press:Delhi]
1998 (p.
115)
King Ranch chicken
The general concensus regarding the history of King Ranch chicken is that it probably dates to the 1950s
(when canned soup casserole recipes were very popular) and it was probably not invented at the ranch. Food writers decline to
proffer credit for invention. With good reason. Many thrifty homemakers were experimenting with canned cream soups in this period. Some
produced more memorable results than others.
We found one source crediting
Ruth Slagle for introducing King Ranch Chicken. No word, though, regarding the genesis of the name.
Older recipes feature condensed canned soups; newer interpretations concentrate on fresh foods. We find no print evidence
supporting claims this recipe originated in a corporate kitchen. Notes
here:
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 176)
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson
[Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 110)
[NOTE: this book contains a recipe for the dish.]
---"King Ranch chicken rules the roost," Art Chapman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 2, 1999 (Food p. 1)
[NOTE: Mrs. A. E. Sommer's Chicken Tortilla Casserole claimed 3rd prize in the 12th annual Press-Telegram Cook Book Contest [Long Beach,
California], published September 4, 1966 (p. 19)]
SOURCE: Texas Monthly
[1966]
"King Ranch Chicken is Mrs. William L. Gill's favorite casserole for luncheon or buffet. It was served at her Christmas party for
the Holly Garden Club of which she has been a member for many years. She finds the casserole a hit with men as well as with
women guests. The ingredients for King Ranch Chicken are as follows: Three or four pounds chicken breasts, boiled until tender,
and diced (reserve stock): 1 dozen fresh tortillas, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 cup chopped green
pepper, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 3/4 pound grated cheddar cheese. Line the bottom and sides of a greased
3-quart casserole with a layer of tortillas. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chicken stock. The make a layer with 1 can undiluted
cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 of the diced chicken, and half of the other ingredients, in order. Cover with tortillas, sprinkle
with 2 tablespoons chicken stock, and make a second layer with 1 can undiluted chicken soup and the remaining ingredients. Top
the last layer with a mixture of 1/2 small can tomatoes (10 oz size) and 1/2 small can of tomatoes with chilies. The casserole
may be prepared in advance and refrigerated. When ready to serve, bake at 350 degrees F. for about 1 hour. Serve with a tossed
green salad and hot French bread."
---"What's Cookin'," San Antonio Light [TX], January 23, 1966 (p.9-G)
Kobe beef
A survey of magazine and newspaper articles (ProQuest/Ebsco) confirms Kobe beef hit the
American market in the 1980s. Kobe comes from Wagyu cattle, orginally bred in Japan. In a country where space is
premium, beef is not cheap.
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 71)
---"U.S. Studies Adopting Japan's Kobe beef" Merle Ellis, Chicago Tribune, May 10,
1990 (pg. 8)
About Wagyu
---The History and Culture of Japanese Food, Naomichi Ishige [Kegan Paul:London] 2001 (p. 146-152)
London broil
A quick-broiled flank steak introduced to American diners during the Great Depression.
Specifically, "London Broil" is a recipe, not a cut of meat. Flank steak was the
first cut to hold this moniker. By the 1970s, meat purveyors were proferring this title to other cuts of beef.
Food historian generally agree "London broil" originated in the United States. The dish is unknown in England. We're still
searching for the chef responsible for morphing broiled flank steak. Some experts
speculate the "London" association was employed by USA butchers to encourage consumers to pay premium prices for lesser cuts
of meat. Today we also have turkey London broil. to London broil.
"Q. Can you tell me the origin of the term 'London broil' and the cut of meat used?...A. The origin of the term is unknown, but it is an American term. In her book
"Food of the Western World,"...Theodora Fitzgibbon, who was born in London of Irish parents, notes that London broil, usually a flank steak, broiled quickly on
both sides and sliced thinly against the grain.'
---"Q&A," New York Times, October 19. 1977 (p. C6)
[NOTE: This question was posed again, without further elucidation on the name: New York Times, January 6, 1982 (p. C7)]
"London broil. Flank steak that is broiled and cut into slices, though the term may also refer to
another cut of beef appropriate for cooking in this manner. The name obviously derives from the
English city of London, though the term is not used in England. It seems more specifically
American in origin and dates in print at least to 1931, appearing in Charles G. Shaw's "Nightlife:
Vanity Fair's Intimate Guide to New York After Dark" as a recommended dish at Keens
Chophouse in New York City."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York]
1999 (p. 189)
[NOTE: Gallagher's, a competing upscale NY City steak house, advertised "London Broil" in the New York Times, November 1,
1934 (p. 24)
"London broil is a distinctly American invention, and you will never find it--except in reference
to the American dish--in British cookbooks."
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, compiled by Joan Whitman
[Times Books:New York] 1985 (p. 253)
"London Broil is not a cut of meat at all. It is a recipe. Cattle don't have London Broils. Recipe books have London
Broils. And, if you will check most recipe books, the cut of meat called for is flank steak."
---"The Butcher: A Test of Your Ability as a Canny Buyer of Meat," Merle Ellis, Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1979
(p. H22)
---"The Butcher" London Broil Labeling is Falling Down--Don't Be Outflanked," Merle Ellis, Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1982 (p. O24)
"Flank steak is the cut used for London broil, a favorite with men, judging by the frequency with shich it is offered in
downtown restaurants at lunch. It could be a favorite of housewives, too, for it requires only brief cooking...'London
Broil: Preheat broiler ten minutes. Grease broiler rack and place flank steak on it. Broil one and one-half to two inches below
heat for five minutes on each side. To serve, slice diagonally across grain of meat. Season with butter, salt, and pepper. One steak serves
six to eight."
---"News of Food, Quick to Cook," New York Times, April 14, 1954(p. 35)
"London Broil
Order 2 1/2-lb. aged, top quality flank steak; it must be tender. Have excess fat and membrane
trimmed, and surface scored on both sides. Preheat broiler 10 min., or as manufacturer directs.
Arrange scored flank steak on greased broiler rack. If desired, rub with cut clove garlic. Brush
with salad oil. Place steak 1 1/2" to 2" below heat; broil just 5 min. On each side. Then place on
heated platter. Season...top with butter or margarine. Cut, diagonally across grain, into very thin
slices. Pass mushroom sauce. Nice too for hot grilled beef sandwiches."
---Good Housekeeping Cook Book, Dorothy B. Marsh editor [New York:1955] (p. 57)
"London broil
This flank steak must be of a good grade of meat, should be cooked rare, and carved deftly in very think diagonal slices. Have
the steak at refrigerator temperature, remove the tough outer membrane, and slash any fat around the edge. Brush with a little melted
butter and broil 8 minutes over a good fire, turning once. Slice on a very long diagonal, so that the red center will be
framed by an appetizing brown crust."
---James Beard's Treasury of Outdoor Cooking [Ridge Press:New York] 1960 (p. 25)
Meatloaf & related ground meat
products
Who invented meatloaf, why & when? Good question! Food historians tell us from
Ancient times to present cooks have been mixing ground meat with minced
bread/rice/vegetables,
spices, thickeners and serving them with sauce. For what reasons?
2. To conserve resources (use it up, don't throw it out)
3. To make tough meat more palatable (aid digestion)
"Suffed Meat Patties (Apicius 48)
Esicia omentata: pulpam cincisam teres cum medulla siliginei in vino infusi. Piper, liquamen, si
velis, et bacam mirteam extenteratum simul sonteres. Pusilla esicia formabis, intus nucleis et
pipere positis. Involuta omento subassabis cum careno.
---A Taste of Ancient Rome, Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa, translated by Anna Herklotz,
forward
by Mary Taylor Simeti [University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1992 (p. 89-90)
[NOTE: omentum means pork caul fat; caroenum means reduced wine. This book contains a
modernized recipe for above meatball dish.]
Meat ball recipes evolved according to family tradition. The following recipe was published in the late 19th century by Pellegrino Artusi. He was as famous in Italy
as Fannie Farmer was in the United States. They both cookbooks aimed at the average housewife.
"Polpette (Meatballs)
Compare with this recipe for Italian meatballs published in an American cookbook circa 1922
(click on the book title for citation information).
Do not think for a moment that I would be so pretentious as to tell you how to make meatballs This is a dish that everyone knows how to make...My sole intention is to tell you how to prepare them when
you have leftover boiled meat. Should you wish to make them more simply, or with raw meat, you will not need as much seasoning.
Chop the boiled meat with a mezzaluna; separately, mince a slice of untrimmed prosciutto and add to the chopped meat. Season with grated Parmesan cheese, salt,
pepper, a dash of spices, raisins, pine nuts, and a few tablespoons of a mash made with an egg or two, depending on the amount. Shape the meat into balls the size
of an egg, "flatten at the ends like a terrestrial globe," roll in bread crumbs, and fry in oil or lard. Then, transfer them to a baking dish with some chopped garlic and
parsley, which you have fried in the grease left in the pan, garnishing with a sauce made with an egg and lemon juice...."
---Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, originally published in 1892, translated by Murtha Baca and Stepen Saratelli [Marsilio:New York] 1997 (p. 238-9)
Kofta is a general term used in Middle East cuisine to denote ground meat products mixed with
spices and
other products. Meatballs. The history of this type of food is ancient. Apicius included many
meat
ball-type
recipes in his Roman cooking text.
---Larousse Gastronomique, completely revised and updated edition [Clarkson
Potter:New York]
2001 (p. 656)
---An A to Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.
180)
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999
(p.
434)
"Mudaqqaqat Hamida.
Cut red meat into thin slices, then mince fine, adding seasonings, coriander, pepper, cinnamon
and
mastic together with chickpeas and a little onion. Make in to cabobs smaller than oranges. Melt
fresh tail, and throw in the cabobs, stirring until browned: then cover with water. Cut up two or
three onions and add. When cooked, remove the oils, and sprinkle on top a little lemon or
grape-juice, or a mixture of both, or sumach-juice, or pomegranate-juice. Rub over the saucepan
some
sprigs of dry mint, and throw in a little mastic, pepper and cinnamon. If desired, sprinkle in a
little
wine-vinegar, and colour with saffron. Spray the saucepan with a little rose-water, and wipe the
sides with a clean rag. Leave over the fire an hour: then remove."
---"A Bahgdad Cookery Book," Medieval Arab Cookery, Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry &
Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 59)
Take red meat and cut into slices, then mince fine with the usual seasonings and a little garlic.
Melt fresh tail, throwing out the sediment: make the meat into cakes, and throw them into the oil
to brown. The cover with water, and boil. When cooked, and the water has all evaporated, so that
only the oils remain, sprinkle with a little fine-ground cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Leave to
settle over the fire for an hour: then remove."
---"A Bahgdad Cookery Book," Medieval Arab Cookery, Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry &
Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 67)
Cut lean meat into strips, then pound it fine and throw salt, the well-known spices and a bit of
onions minced small on it. Them make it into meatballs as large as you want, and boil it in water
and moderate salt. When it is done and the water has evaporated from it, take fat tail and fry it
and discard its cracklings. The fry those meatballs in that fat with pieces of onion. As for the sour
version, some like to sprinkle it with sumac water, vinegar, verjuice or lemon juice, or both of
them [viz. Verjuice and lemon juice] mixed together, and some like to dye it with saffron, so let
it
[viz. The additional of saffron] be on the vinegar or lemon juice, as much as needed. Sprinkle the
described spices on it. If you wish, crumble bunches of dried mint on it. Leave it until it settles,
and take it up."
---"The Description of Familiar Foods," Medieval Arab Cookery, Maxime Rodinson, A.J.
Arberry
& Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 346-7)
The American Swedish Institute (Minneapolis, Minnesota) has this to say about the origin of
Swedish meatballs:
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York]
1999 (p. 318)
In America, there are many variations on the recipe. Traditional Swedish recipe here. Compare with this popular
1960s version:
Swedish meatballs.
ABOUT MODERN AMERICAN MEATLOAF
Meatballs:
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
3/4 cup light cream
3/4 cup packaged dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground pork
2 eggs, slightly beaen
2 tablespoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Dash cloves
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup light cream
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1/2 teaspoon bottled gravy seasoning
1. Make Meatballs: In 1 tablespoon hot butter in skillet, sautee onion 3 minutes, or until
golden.
2. In large bowl, combine cream, 3/4 cup water, and the bread crumbs. Add onion, ground meats,
eggs, salt, pepper, allspice, and cloves; toss lightly, to mix well.
3. With teaspoon, shape into 75 meatballs, about 3/4 inch in diameter.
4. In 2 tablespoons hot butter in same skillet, saute meatballs, a few at a time, until browned on
all
sides. Add more butter as needed. Remove meatballs, and set aside.
5. Make Sauce: Remove all but 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Stir in flour until
smooth.
6. Gradually stir in cream and 1 1/2cups water; bring to boiling, stirring. Add salt, pepper, and
gravy seasoning.
7. Add meatballs; heat gently 5 minutes, or until heated through. Serve garnished with
parsley.
---McCall's Cook Book, McCall Corporation [Random House:New York] 1963 (p. 681)
The raw, ground meat commonly used to make today's American meat loaf has a humbler
heritage. In the 19th century, we know the Industrial Revolution made it possible for ground meat
be manufactured and sold to the public at a very low cost. At first, many Americans were slow to
purchase raw ground meat products and generally regarded them with suspicion. Lack of reliable
home refrigeration may have played into this decision. Cooks continued to mince their meat
(often
already cooked, as was the practice for centuries) by hand. Companies selling meat grinders to
home consumers at the turn of the century endeavored to change this practice by provided recipe
books to promote their products. Some of these recipes were simple, others quite creative. A late
19th century recipe for "Meat Porcupine" instructs the cook to press her ground meat into an
animal-type shape mold and decorate it with pieces of bacon to achieve the desired effect.
Eventually, the American public began incorporating ground meat into family meals.
Was meat loaf too homely a recipe to make American cookbooks published in the nineteenth
century or earlier?...I find no meat loaves in American cookbooks before the 1880s; these were
primarily veal loaves (a more economical meat early on than beef) and altogether different from
the meal loaves so familiar today...Sarah Tyson Rorer offers a slightly more elaborate
veal loaf in Mrs. Rorer's Philadelphia Cook Book [1886] along with something called
"Cannelon," which is clearly the precursor of meat loaf as we know it today...Cannelons
appear in cookbooks right into the 1920s, although by this time meat loaves were
outnumbering them. Were meat loaves slow to come because of the lack of meat
grinders? Or was it because of unreliable refrigeration (ground raw meat is extremely
perishable)? Possibly a bit of both, but I can't say for sure... Though simple loaves of
chopped meat may have been made during America's infancy and adolescence, only in
the twentieth century did meat loaves truly arrive. And, yes, many of them did come out
of big food company test kitchens. Like it or not."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 94-100)
[NOTE: this book contains classic meat loaf recipes, including the 1886 recipe for
Cannelon]
Veal Loaf &
meat souffle, Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mrs. D. A. Lincoln
Fleish Kugel
(meat ball) & Spiced Veal
Loaf, Aunt Babette's Cook Book
Cannelon & other recipes from the
Enterprise Meat
Chopper Company, marketed at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo
NY.
Cannelon of Beef, Fannie Merrit Farmer
Baked Hamburg Steak, Beef Loaf (made from chopped round steak, not ground meat)
The New Butterick Cook Book, Flora Rose (p. 265)
Beef loaf, Italian Hamburg Loaf & Meat Loaf with Chili Sauce
America's Cook Book, The Home Institute (p. 226)
Emergency
steak
Your Share: How to prepare appetizing, healthful meals with foods available today,
Betty
Crocker, General Mills
[NOTE: this link provides both accurate recipe and instruction, though no attribution to the
original source.]
"Fluffy Meat Loaf
1 lb ground beef (or veal)
1/2 lb. ground lean pork
2 cups bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
4 tbsp. minced onion
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. sage
Pack into greased 9x5x3" loaf pan. Bake. Unmold. Serve hot...or serve cold. For Catsup-Topped Loaf, spread 3 tbsp. catsup over top
before baking. Temperature: 350 degrees F (Mod. oven). Time: Bake 1 1/2 hr. Amount: 8 servings."
---Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, 1st edition, 3 ring binder [McGraw-Hill Book Company:New York] 1950 (p. 275)
Meatloaf made with Pet Nonfat dry milk:
"Meat Loaf
Directions. Turn on oven and set at moderately slow (350).
2. Mix well: 1 pound ground lea Beef*, 1/3 cup uncooked Rolled Oats, 1/4 cup finely cut Onion, 1 cup drained, canned Tomaotes, 1/2 cup Pet Nonfat
Dry milk, 1 1/4 teaspoons Salt, 1/8 teaspoon Pepper.
3. Press meat mixture into a greased loaf pan holding about 6 cups.
4. Bake on center rack of oven 1 hour, or until top is brown. Serve hot or cold. Makes 4 servings.
*Veal, lean pork or a mixture of these meats can also be used."
---Nonfat Dry Milk Recipes by Mary Lee Taylor [Pet Milk Co.:St Louis MO] 1953 (p. 20)
Susan's meat loaf, Meat loaf ring, One-apiece loaves, Last-minute meat cups, Old-fashioned meat
loaf, Veal loaf, Cheeseburger loaf, Frosted meat loaf (mashed potatoes make the frosting!),
Italian-style meat loaf, Mushroom meat loaf, Bacon-dill meat loaf, Rainbow loaf, Spicy peach
loaf, Mushroom-stuffed meat loaf, Little sherry-barbecued loaves, Two-in-one rice ring, Superb
skilled burger loaf and Minute meat loaves.
Good Housekeeping Cook Book, Dorothy B. Marsh, (p. 68-69).
Perhaps this proliferation is the reason so many people associate meatloaf with the 1950s!
There are a number of sources you can use to research this topic. The sources
you need depend upon which time period you are studying and how much detail you
seek. A truly comprehensive study requires scanning a variety of primary
docments through time. Expect more contradiction than confirmation. Primary documents
include:
Howard Fast's classic book, April Morning, is chock full of colonial American food references. One of these items, "donkers,"
has puzzled literary critics and food historians. Mr. Fast's description suggests "donkers" were economical meatball type
items. The addition of fruit to minced meat dishes was common in 18th century European
inspired
colonial American cuisine.
Mincemeat pies on those days combined real meat, suet, spices and fruit encased in
pastry for holiday dessert. They were typically baked, not fried.
"When I came into the house, Mother was frying donkers, and the kitchen was full of the smell. You save a week's meat leftovers to make donkers, and then it's
chopped together with bread and apples and raisins and savory spice, and fried and served up with boiled pudding. I don't know of anything better...When I ate
some of the raw meatstuff, she slapped my hand."
---April Morning, Howard Fast [Bantam Books:New York] 1962 (p. 5) [First chapter, second section]
---Nederlands-Engels Woordenboek, K. Ten Bruggencate [Wolters-Noordhoff:Groningen]1978 , volume II (p. 185)
"Meatballs with currants
1 pound ground beef
2 slices whole grain bread soaked in milk and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons finely minced onion
1/2 cup or more currants
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Oil for frying.
In a large bowl thoroughly combine all ingredients, divide into 6 parts and form into 6 meatballs. In a large frying pan heat the oil and brown the
meatballs on one side. Use two spoons to turn them and brown the other side. Add some water to the pan, cover and reduce heat. Braise the
meatballs for about 15 minutes until cooked through. Red cabbage, green beans or carrots make nice accompaniments."
SOURCE: Peter G. Rose.
Meat/ball porcupines presumably take their name from their resmeblence of the animal by that
name. Ground meat (beef, lamb, or chicken) is a perfect medium for simple food sculptures. The
"quills" are made of different foods, according to place and period. The concept of "illusion food"
(making one food look like something else, real or imaginary) dates to Medieval times. Recipes
were introduced to American by European cooks.
About
illusion food (note recipe for ground meat to resemble hats)
[1769]
"To Make a Porcupine of the Flat Ribs of Beef
Did people ever eat real porcupines? Absolutely. They say it tastes like lamb. Notes here
Bone the flat ribs, and beat it half an hour with a paste pin. The rumb it over with the yolks of
eggs, strew over it breadcrumbs, parsley, leeks, sweet marjoram, lemon peel shred fine, nutmeg,
pepper and salt; foll up very close and bind it hard. Lard it across with bacon, then a row of cold
boiled tongues, a third row of pickled cucumbers, a fourth row of lemon peel. Do it all over in rows
as above till it is larded all round, it will look like red, green, white, and yellow dice. Then spit it or
put it in a deep pot with a pint of water, lay over it the caul of veal to keep it from scorching, tie it
down with strong paper and send it to the oven. When it comes out skim off the fat, and strain
your gravy into a saucepan. Add to it two spoonfuls of red wine, the same of browning, one of
mushroom catchup, half a lemon, thicken it with a lump of butter rolled in flour. Dish up the meat
and pour the gravy on the dish, lay round forcemeat balls. Garnish with horseradish and serve it
up."
---The Experienced English Housekeeper, Elizabeth Raffald [1769 facsimile], with an introduction
by Roy Shipperbottom [Southover Press:East Sussex] 1997 (p. 59-60)
"Porcupine meat balls. The sort of easy, novelty recipe that appealed to cooks in the 30s, yet it
appears to have been developed during World War I as a way to stretch meat. In Conservation
Recipes (1918) compiled by the Mobilized Women's Organizations of Berkeley and published by
the Berkeley Unit, Council of Defence Women's Committee, there is something called "Rice Meat
Balls," a clear forerunner of the recipes."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes fo the 20th Century, Jean Anderson
[Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 104)
"Porcupines
6 servings
Combine:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped green peppers (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Roll these ingredients into balls. Press them into flat cakes. Roll them in:
1/4 cup raw rice
Heat in a heavy pot the contents of a:
1 1/2 ounce can tomato soup
2 cups boiling water
Add:
6 small skinned onions
6 ribs of celery cut into inch lengths
1 teaspoon chili powder
Add the meat cakes. Cover the pot. Simmer the meat for 45 minutes. Thicken the sauce with:
Flour
Season it, if needed with:
Salt Paprika."
---The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill Company:Indianapolis IN] 1936(p. 92)
[NOTE: This recipe was not included in the inaugural 1931 edition.]
"Porcupine Meat Balls
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 10 1/2-ounce can condensed tomato soup
1 can water
Select beef from neck, shank, or plate, and have ground. Combine meat, rice, seasonings, and onion; shape in small balls. Mix tomato soup and
water; heat. Drop in meat balls; cover and cook slowly 60 minutes. Serves 6."
---My Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book [Meredith Publishing:Des Moines IA] 1939 (chapter 10, p. 6)
"Yummy Porcupine Meatballs
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup
1 pound ground beef
1 cup packaged pre-cooked rice
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons shortening
1/2 soup can water
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Mix 1/4 cup soul with beef, rice, egg, onion, and salt. Shape firmly into 16 meatballs. Brown meatballs and garlic in shortening;
pour off fat. Blend in remaining soup, water, and mustard. Cover; simmer for 20 minutes or until done. Stir now and then.
4 servings."
---Cooking With Soup, Home Economics Department, [Campbell Soup Company:Camden NJ] revised edition, 1970 (p. 9)
Salisbury steak is one of those rare foods with nine lives. Did you know this particular recipe
originated as 19th century American health prescription? In some ways, food evangelist J.H. Salisbury's
high-protein diet was not unlike those avocated today. By the late 19th/early 20th century
Salisbury
steak lost its health connection. It became obscured by the more popular "hamburg/hamburger"
steak.
A patty made of ground beef and seasonings that is usually broiled. The dish was named after Dr.
James Henry Salisbury, who devised a "meat cure" for Civil War soldiers suffering from "camp
diarrhea." Salisbury insisted they be fed a diet of chopped beef patties cut from disease-free
animals' muscle fibers...He went on to advocate this same diet for all Americans, advising them
to
eat beef three times a day for health benefits. The term dates in print to 1895. The Salisbury steak
is often cited as an early example of what was soon to become the hamburger."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 280)
---An A to Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2003 (p.
296)
---Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens [Ohio University Press:Athens OH] 1998 (p. 107)
---Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet, Harvey Levenstein
[Oxford University Press:New York] 1988 (p. 86)
[1935]
Salisbury Steak
The Salsibury steak does not differ much form the Hamburger. In cooking, the Hamburger is
generally fried, while the Salisbury steak is usually broiled. In the composition of Salsibury steak
marrow is used in place of the suet, and in the Salisbury mixture the onions are omitted, and the
bread is best left out. Water can be used to advantage. On the whole, the beef should be of a
choice grade, as the Salisbury has more class, and sells for about ten cents more per portion.
Some flavor with sherry wine. Following are some entree suggestions: Grilled Salisbury steak
with bacon; Broiled Salisbury steak with French fried onions; Combination Salisbury steak,
cafeteria."
---The Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frank Rivers [Hotel Monthly
Press:Chicago] 1935 (p. 22)
Salisbury Steak
4 strips bacon
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (chuch or round)
1 tablespoon ground pork
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced green pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Chop bacon and mix lightly with meat, onion, green pepper, parsley and seasonings. Shape into
cakes and place them 3 inches under broiler heat. Broil 12 minutes, turning once. Serves 6."
---Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, Ruth Berolzheimer editor [Culinary
Arts Institute:Chicago] 1950 (p. 361)
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p.297).
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew J. Smith editor [Oxford
University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 444)
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century,
Jean
Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 349)
---Dictionary of American Slang, Harold Wentworth & Stuart Berg Flexner, 2nd supp.
edition [Crowell:New York] 1975 (p. 488)
Minced meat & hash
The idea of hash (pre-cooked meat cut up into tiny pieces and
simmered/fried until tender with or without vegetables and spices) dates back into ancient times. Ancient Romans
composed similar dishes of various sizes and composition. Food historians tell us minced meat dishes of various sorts were quite popular in the Middle Ages.
Mutton, a traditionally tough meat, was often used. Beef, veal, and venison were similarly
rendered. Corned beef hash was inevitable.
Cut it into small pieces, then boil for a moment, and fry it in lard, and fry with some onions finely
cut up and cooked, and moisten with beef broth, and add mace, parsley, hyssop, and sage, and
boil it together..."Haricot de mouton" is a classic of traditional French cooking--but there are not
haricot beans in this early version...So what is the meaning of these terms--hericot, haricot, or
even hericoq-found in the titles of a whole series of medieval recipes for lamb or mutton stew?
The most common theory is that *haricot* is derived from the verb *aricoter*--to cut into little
pieces-which is apt for a stew made with small chunks of meat."
---Medieval Kitchens: Recipes from France and Italy, Redon, Sabban & Serventi [University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1998 (p. 93-94)...this
recipe is from Le Menagier de Paris [approx. 1400]
[1747]
Early American samples here:
"To Hash Cold Mutton.
Cut your Mutton with a very sharp knife in very little Bits, as thin as possible; then boil the Bones with an Onion, a little Sweet Herbs, a Blade of Mace, a very little
whole Pepper, a little Salt, a Piece of Crust toasted very crisp; let it boil till there is just enough for Sauce, strain it, and put it inot a Sauce-pan, with a Piece of
Butter rolled in Flour; put in the Meat, when it is thorough hot it is enough. Have ready some thin Bread toasted brown, cut thus (picture of a triangle), lay them
round the Dish, and pour in the Hash. As to Walnut-pickle, and all Sorts of Pickles, you must put in according to your Fancy. Garnsih with Pickles. Some love a
small Onion peeled, and cut very small, and done in the Hash."
---The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, facsimile 1947 edition [Prospect Books:Devon] 1995 (p. 59)
Cut it very thin, as above; boil the Bones, as above; strain the Liquor, when there is just enough for your Hash. To a Quarter of a Pint of Gravy, put a large
Spoonful of Red Wine, a small Onion peeled and chopped fine, a very little Lemon-peel spread fine, a Piece of Butter, as big as a a small Walnut, rolled in Flour;
put it into a Sauce-pan with the Meat, shake it all together, and when it is thorough hot, pour it into your dish. Hash Beef the same Way."
---ibid (p. 59)
[1830] Mince Meat
[1839] Beef Minced
[1846] Force Meat Balls (another
Hash)
[1847] Excellent Minced Veal
New England Boiled Dinner
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Freidman:New
York] 1999 (p. 216)
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones, 2nd edition [Vintage:New York]
1981 (p. 117)
---American Heritage Cookbook, American Heritage [magazine], [American
Heritage:New York] Volume 1 (p. 83)
"Veal should boil about an hour, if a neck-piece; if the meat comes from a thicker, more solid
part, it should boil longer. No directions about these things will supply the place of judgement and
experience. Both mutton and veal are better for being boiled with a small piece of salt pork..."
---American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child [Boston 1833] (p. 5)
[NOTE: this most well-known of early New England cookery books does not contain a recipe for
boiled dinner. It does contain a wealth of information on popular meat cuts, proper
storage/handling and cooking instructions. It does contain a recipe for beef soup. Soups were
usually made from bones and leftovers, not to be confused with boiled dinners. This book is
often
reprinted and should be relatively easy to find with the help of your libr
Have questions?