Crustardes of Flessh

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Crustardes of Flessh

Crustardes of Flessh is a traditional Medieval recipe for a game bird pie flavoured with spices and bound with eggs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Medieval version of Crustardes of Flessh.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

70 minutes

Total Time:

90 minutes

Serves:

6–8

Rating:

Tags : Spice Recipes Fowl Recipes Baking Recipes British Recipes English Recipes

Original Recipe

Cruſtard⁹ of Fleſsh

(from A Forme of Cury)

Take peions chykens, and ſmale birdd⁹ ſmyte hē ī gobbet⁹, et ſeeþ hem alle ifere in god broþ wiþ v^{9iaws do þ⁹to ſafron, make a cruſt Ĩ a trape. and pynche it .et cowche þ^e fleſsh þ⁹inne. et caſt þ⁹inne Raiſons corance. powdo^r douce and ſalt. breke ayreⁿ and wryng hem thurgh a cloth et ſwyng þ^e ſewe of þ^e ſtewe þ⁹w^t and helde it uppon the fleſsh. coūe it et bake wel. and soūe it forth.}

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

8 pigeon breasts and 1 pheasant breast (or 3 chicken breasts [or any combination of these])
230ml gode broth (made without breadcrumbs)
1 tbsp verjuice
4 saffron threads ground in 1 tbsp water in a pestle and mortar
60g seedless currants
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp galingale
3 eggs
enough pastry for a 22cm pie dish
salt to taste

Method:

Place the pieces of fowl in a saucepan, add the stock and verjuice and bring to the boil. Cover and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the pastry crust for the pie.

When the fowl has cooked thoroughly pour-off the excess liquid (you may retain this as stock if you want) halve the pigeon breasts and cut the other pieces of fowl into equivalently-sized portions then add the currants and spices. Tip into a pastry case, beat the eggs together and add these on top of the birds. Top the pie with a second piece of pastry, sealing the two together by pressing down with the tines of a fork. Either prick the top of the pastry with a fork or slash a cross in the middle with a knife to allow steam to vent.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 200°C (400°F/Gas Mark 6) for about forty minutes, or until the crust is a golden brown. Allow to cool for about five minutes and serve immediately.

Find more Medieval recipes as well as more recipes from the Forme of Cury here.