Cooking Around the Calendar

A simple medieval style roasted pork loin, with a wine and onion sauce.

As I mentioned yesterday, for the last couple of years, I’ve been competing in a medieval live fire cooking contest. This recipe is actually so simple, that it’s ridiculous how much research I put into this entry.

The recipe source comes from The Liber de Coquina; The Book of Good Cooking.

The text consists of two independent parts, mostly cited as Part One; Tractatus and Part Two; Liber de Coquina. The titles are taken from marginal notes by the medieval editor. While the identity of both the authors is unknown, scholars believed that the Tractatus was originally written by a French author and the Liber de Coquina by an Italian author.

This is the recipe in the original Latin. “Caro porcina assanda: circa renes accipitur cum costis vel iuxta spinam dorsi et in vino, qui vult, per unum diem iacere permititur ut dealbetur et tenerior fiat et saporosior. Et in veru assatur et supponitur sartago cum vino et cepulis incisis ad colligendum pinguedinem distillantem. Postea frustratim inciditur et aliquantulum frissando b permititur cum predicta pinguedine et cepis frixatis ac condimento specierum. aforementioned drippings, fried onions, and a spice sauce. Quidam simpliciter assatas comedunt sine condimento cum salsa viridi, sal aspergendo. Sunt etiam qui carnes porcinas vel bovinas perminuta frustra incisas ponunt in poto cum aliquantulo vini vel aque, bene cooperto, cum suo iure vel pinguedine, quasi frissandum bullire permittunt ad plenam decoctionem, sepe movendo. Post, imponunt cepas; post, condimentum specierum.”

Here is the modern English translation. “For grilling pork: take the ribs and loin from the kidney area or from the area near the spine, and if desired, let it soak in wine for a day to make it lighter, more tender, and more flavorful. Then grill it on a spit, with a pan of wine and chopped onions underneath to catch the drippings. Afterwards, chop it up and let it simmer for a while with the aforementioned drippings, cooked onions and a spice sauce. Some people simply eat the pork meat grilled without seasoning, with green sauce, sprinkling it with salt. There are also people who cut pork or beef into small pieces and put them in a pot with some wine and water, covering it well and letting it simmer in its own juice or fat until fully cooked, stirring it often. Then they add onions and a seasoning sauce.”

Sounds tasty. And it was!

I have two alternate period treatments of roast pork. Both recipes are similar to the Liber de Coquina recipe, each calling for the use of wine, onions and the drippings as a sauce. This rather basic recipe for Porc Rosti calls for “Roasted pork, eaten with verjuice. Some make a sauce (to wit, add garlic, onions, wine and verjuice to the roast drippings in the pan). In a pie; eaten with verjuice.”

Verjuice, by the way, is a vinegar made from unripe sour fruit, such as grapes. It’s been enjoying a resurgence in popularity among high end chefs.

The second recipe is from The Forme of Cury, a compilation of recipes of the Master Cooks of King Richard II, dating from the around 1390, England. This is the oldest known complete cookbook in English.  This is Cormarye, “A roast pork with aromatic gravy. Take coriander and caraway, ground small, powder of pepper and garlic ground in red wine. Meld them together and salt it. Take raw pork legs, remove the skin,, prick it with a knife and lay it in the sauce. Roast as you will, and keep that which falls from the roast and boil it in a little pot, and serve it with the roast.”

Now it’s time to roast some pork!

Roasted Pork

A pork loin, marinated in red wine and roasted on a spit.

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Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Medieval

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 whole pork loin
• 1 bottle red wine
• 1 red onion diced
• 1/4 cup lard

Method

 

1. Marinate the pork loin in the red wine and onion overnight.
2. Ready the coals for cooking; you should have glowing coals with some ash. Additional coals will need to be added periodically to keep the cooking temperature up. The cooking temperature inside the grill/oven should be maintained at approximately 350 degrees.
3. Remove the pork from the marinate and pat it dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Take the remaining wine and onion from the marinade and add it to a pan, along with the lard. Put the pan under the pork while cooking toc atch any drippings. You will need to periodically add water to keep the mixture from completely evaporating.
5. Thread the pork onto the spit, and place it over the coals. Make sure it is centered over the pan of wine and onions.
6. Every 30 minutes or so baste the pork roast with the drippings, and rotate the meat on the spit for even cooking.
7. Once the internal temperature has reached 150 degrees, the pork is done. Wrap the meat in foil and allow to rest, at least 10 minutes.
8. Slice the cooked pork, then spoon the wine and onion over the meat.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!