Posted on 04/20/2023 3:27:44 PM PDT by DallasBiff
Henry VIII, who ruled England from 1509 until his death in 1547, was known for his voracious appetite. Portraits of Henry show a man almost as wide as he was tall. When he wasn't marrying, divorcing, or beheading his wives (he was on his sixth marriage when he died at age 58), this medieval ruler dined like a glutton.
He enjoyed banquets so much that he extended the kitchen of Hampton Court Palace to fill 55 rooms. The 200 members of the kitchen staff provided meals of up to 14 courses for the 600 people in the king's court. Here are some dishes served at a typical feast.
1. Spit-Roasted Meat
Spit-roasted meat -- usually a pig or boar -- was eaten at every meal. It was an expression of extreme wealth because only the rich could afford fresh meat year-round; only the very rich could afford to roast it, since this required much more fuel than boiling; and only the super wealthy could pay a "spit boy" to turn the spit all day. In a typical year, the royal kitchen served 1,240 oxen, 8,200 sheep, 2,330 deer, 760 calves, 1,870 pigs, and 53 wild boar. That's more than 14,000 large animals, meaning each member of the court was consuming about 23 animals every year.
2. Grilled Beavers' Tails
These tasty morsels were particularly popular on Fridays, when according to Christian tradition, it was forbidden to eat meat. Rather conveniently, medieval people classified beavers as fish.
3. Whale Meat
Another popular dish for Fridays, whale meat was fairly common and cheap, due to the plentiful supply of whales in the North Sea, each of which could feed hundreds of people. It was typically served boiled or very well roasted.
4. Whole Roasted Peacock
(Excerpt) Read more at recipes.howstuffworks.com ...
Apparently grilled beaver tail is still a thing. Very fatty, and prized by mountain men back in the day.
Where did you read that, if I may ask?
Me, in London at a generic pub.
It's not being "squeamish", it's knowing what I'd rather not try to eat. We all have our own preferences.
Jeez...how many beavers had to die to feed 600 people?
Its good to be King.
Mark
I prefer beaver be served raw.
L
+1
medieval people classified beavers as fish......................we still do...............
58?....;I’m surprised he lived that long.................
Best ox tail soup I ever had was at a Benedictine monastery.
It's good to be King.
Best served at 98.6°F or slightly higher.
I don’t like marzipan-and the black pudding doesn’t sound appetizing-but I’d choose any of those banquet items over a fast food burger, KFC, mac-and-cheese, etc-at least the banquet food is organic, unprocessed and fresh-just add some steamed veggies and/or a salad and I’ll be there...
I like cookbooks, and have several-one was a present from my mom-”Cooking Through the Ages”-it has recipes back to the time of the Roman Empire-like honeyed dormice-gah! Some of the food prep instructions are interesting, too-like take chickens and ram them together, hew them to gobbets, etc...
Yes and weve become so much more civilized. We only disembowel preborn babies now. Thanks for the history lesson.
Yes and weve become so much more civilized. We only disembowel preborn babies now. Thanks for the history lesson.
Yes and weve become so much more civilized. We only disembowel preborn babies now. Thanks for the history lesson.
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