Ffesaunte Rosted

PERIOD: England, 15th century | SOURCE: Harleian MS. 4016 | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Mustard Sauce for Pheasant

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

Lete a ffesaunte blode in the mouthe as a crane, And lete him blede to dethe; pull him dry, kutte awey his hede and the necke by the body, and the legges by the kne, and putte the kneys in at the vente, and roste him: his sauce is Sugur and mustard.

- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.

MODERN RECIPE:

• 3 two-pound pheasants, large game hens, or a three-pound chicken
• 1 C brown mustard
• 1/4 C sugar, or to taste

2. Prepare birds for roasting. Place on a rack in a roasting pan, and put in the oven. Reduce heat to 350°. Roast for thirty minutes per pound, or until birds are cooked through.

3. In a bowl, blend mustard and sugar together.

4. Put birds on a serving platter, and serve sauce in a separate dish.

Yields one cup of sauce. Serves four to six.

NOTES ON THE RECIPE:

Fortunately, nowadays, all we have to do is go to the poultry case and pick up a bird that has already been partially dismembered after a violent death, unlike the description in this recipe. This same manuscript also recommends this sauce for partridge.