Medieval Irish Food: Peasant to King

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LINKS TO INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENT**

LINKS TO SOURCES**

RECIPE
4 lbs (2kg) corned beef
1/4 cup (85g) honey
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large head of Cabbage
1 Yellow Onion
2 Leeks
2 cups (475ml) beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 optional teaspoon of pepper

Boil the corned beef for 1 minute. Drain and repeat at least one more time. Mix the honey and salt together and coat the corned beef. Wrap the corned beef in aluminum foil and set in a dish or roasting pan. Roast in the oven at 325°F/165°C for approximately 1 hour per pound. 30 minutes before it is finished, open the foil to let darken.

For the cabbage, quarter the cabbage, dice the onion and leek. Place all of the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil on the stove. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Let cook for 25-30 minutes.

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza

PHOTO

MUSIC

#tastinghistory #ireland

[fatcole]

When I was a kid my grandma referred to someone she knew as "he butters his bread on both sides" I always thought she meant he was daft or a glutton. But no! She meant that he flaunted his wealth. That's been rattling around in the back of my mind going unanswered for 30 years. Now I know. Thank you!

[castironchaos]

Plug for last year's St. Patrick's Day video on Tasting History: "Irish Stew". One of Max's best history lessons, revealing the horrors of the Irish Potato Famine. Also, Irish Stew is a wonderful dish that's worth making as well.

[Lauren.E.O]

I love that medieval lawmakers spent time working on specific exceptions for werewolves 😂

[SadbhW]

As a born and raised Irish person I really appreciate you explaining that corned beef and cabbage is an Irish-American tradition, but even more that it is in a medieval Irish tradition, I had no idea!

[abdulalhazred]

I just made this. My God it is rich. The fat melts like butter in your mouth. The meat is so tender and packed with flavor. It is so simple, yet so delicious. This recipe is going on a recipe card. 😋

[DrCroccer]

I believe the medieval Irish term for a freeman, "Bóaire", translates to something like "cow-lord". So I guess that demonstrates the importance of cattle to early Irish society.

[alliewhitlock]

As a insular art historian (basically I specialize in Celtic art in the British isles from the time of the Romans to the Norman invasion) I loved this. Also there is some scholarship that suggests that the cauldron of plenty was the inspiration for the holy grail in Arthurian lore.

[Firegen]

Happy Almost Saint Patrick's Day Max and Jose 💚. I never realised the corned part of corned beef was based on salt.

As an English woman English salt is often best extraced when your aunt asks why you are yet to marry.

[AppliedCryogenics]

I want to mention that burned seaweed is going to be an unprecedently amazing source of iodide! In fact, seeing purple fumes rising from such a fire is pretty much the norm.

[Tweke]

Have you considered putting together a cookbook of all these historically-based recipes? That'd be LEGIT and I'd buy the hell out of that.

[Just_Pele]

My wife wants to thank you for your garum recipe, she uses it in quite a few recipes now. I can attest to this, due to how often she makes the stuff. It's impossible to miss that... aroma. 😆

[CathalMalone]

You need to try Irish "spiced beef" - it's only really eaten in Cork, and then usually at Christmas. It's a form of corned beef with spices and saltpetre, usually boiled (and then maybe baked) on Christmas Eve and eaten cold with Christmas dinner. It's delicious, and often accompanied by pickled red cabbage.

[dcchillin]

I really enjoyed "if your wife is pregnant, you HAVE to feed her".

[TheShadowChesireCat]

Me: *stares in horror at Max threatening me with the "luck" of my ancestors... who ended up so poor, they had to steal to get by, which got them sent to Australia as convict labour*

[emmathefabulous]

I love that you included Irish subtitles! It means a lot! Go raibh míle maith agat Max!

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

There's been a lot of studies done on the traditional Irish diet under the "loving feet" of the English because of how restricted it was, how widespread it was, and for how long people survived on it: entire generations. It turns out that the Irish diet of potatoes, oats, and milk contains everything a person needs to survive indefinitely; not in ideal proportions, but in sufficient macro- and micronutrients not to start getting weird and exotic diseases from lack of things like arsenic and selenium in the diet.

[mrJohnDesiderio]

Damn those Viking overlords, keeping all the Kerrigold to themselves!

[ww]

Ha, I was sitting here thinking "I've always had bacon and cabbage in Ireland not corned beef" and there you go, all expertly explained. Love this channel

[dsadgegdsg]

On the subject of the gluttony demon: MacGonglinne's treatment for the king resembles traditional remedies for tapeworms, a more figurative type of gluttony demon. The idea was that fasting would starve out the tapeworm, and you had to induce it somehow to climb up the digestive tract and out the mouth in search of food.

[theresapebbleinmyboot]

This was fun to watch, as a Jamaican, corned beef and cabbage is a big deal 😂 it's so good in Ireland. Traveling around Europe, it was fun to see how many of our foods were influenced by our colonizers. Portugal had some of the BEST SALTFISH/BACCALAO that I've ever had! Our national dish is Ackee and Saltfish so it was fun to learn about how it's eaten there. Food history is the best!