Cooking A CAPON Dish For A Medieval King - Sweet Measure

Have you ever wondered what a capon is? If so, look no further. In this video I'll show you what a capon is and why it's been such a prized poultry throughout history. You'll also learn to make a medieval dish from the court of Richard II; a dish truly fit for a king: Sweet Measure.

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HOW TO MAKE A TRENCHER

PHOTO CREDIT
Thank you to @tudorcook for the use of the photo of 'The Cockentrice' - (c) Robert Hoare

LINKS TO INGREDIENTS**

SWEET MEASURE
Douce Ame - Take gode cowe mylke and do it in a pot. Take parsel, sawge, ysope, savray and oother gode herbes. Hewe hem, and do hem in the mylke and seeth hem. Take capons half yrosted and smyte hem on pecys and do thereto pynes and hony clarified. Salt it and color it with safron and serve it forth.

MODERN RECIPE (based on the adaptation from Lorna J. Sass in To The King's Taste)
INGREDIENTS
- 3 - 4 lbs capon (or chicken) cut into serving size pieces
- 1/2 Cup flour mixed with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 cups milk
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 2 leaves fresh sage, minced
- 1 tsp hyssop
- 1/2 tsp savory
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp saffron
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1/3 cup pine nuts

MODERN METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
2. Dredge fowl in flour mixture.
3. Brown the fowl in oil in a large saucepan until golden on both sides.
4. Combine milk, honey, herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
5. Layer fowl in an oven-safe dish and pour liquid over browned fowl, stirring to combine drippings with the sauce.
6. Cover and simmer in oven for about 20 minutes or until fowl is tender.
7. Remove from oven and stir in pine nuts.
8. Serve it forth.

SOURCES

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#tastinghistory #foodhistory #capon

[TastingHistory]

Check out these other interesting Medieval recipes:

[MrMegaManFan]

The birth of a legend -- Max realized he needed to show himself tasting the food! Hard to believe there was a point before that time.

[mWAZLIB]

This channel is criminally underrated. Love it.

[pjabrony]

"Capon for dinner, sir."

"Capon? Yummy!" I said.

"No, the master insists that everyone put a cape on for dinner."

- Stephen Fry

[Smallpotato]

it's actually very clever: if you have chickens, and a rooster, you get new chickens every year if you let the chickens sit on a couple of their (fertilised) eggs. Half of these (replacement) chicks are female, and would be kept to be layers, and half of the chicks would be male, but nobody needs a dozen roosters. People didn't eat hens because that was seen as wasteful, since the laid eggs, and they would only be butchered when their egg production wore off. They would be too tough to roast and thus were usually made into soup. But roosters, which you couldn't keep, were fair game to eat. Thing is, roosters are less meaty and plump. There's actually not so much meat on a rooster... unless you caponize it. Just as castrated cats tend to become lazy and fat, so does the rooster!
From an economic standpoint, caponizing is a wonderful thing. It's not so nice for the rooster, because you can't aenesticize them, and it's rather gruesome (although it was said that a professional caponiser could 'do' a rooster chick in a couple of seconds and the chicks would walk away, a little shaken, perhaps, but that was all). Caponising has been outlawed for that reason. Pity, because now, in the chicken industry, rooster chicks are culled and sold as petfood before they are a day old.

[Historical_Vagabond]

In Medieval cookery, a hen is more valuable for the eggs, they would not cook a hen unless it was an old bird, and by that time better for stews. Roosters were made into capons for meat, since you don't need many in the barnyard and they will fight if left "intact". But even the tough old rooster would eventually be eaten...that's why it's called coq au vin.

[donbasuradenuevo]

"Capon or chicken... flour... salt... oil... milk... honey..."
Me: That doesn't seem so difficult!
"... hyssop... savory... saffron... pinenuts"
Me: Ah damn it!

[bradleynoneofyourbizz]

I find it ironic that you're adding nuts to a capon dish.

[dbenkatz]

Watching this feels like watching the early days of Babish all over again. You're gonna make it big, Max

[MarylandResident]

Man this content has no business being this good with such few subscribers. Keep this up and you shall grow quicker than you'd expect. Thank you for your hard work. But please do at least try to eat everything you make on camera.

[pmchamlee]

Max: I have raised chickens for a very long time; on occasion, after ordering a straight run of chicks from a hatchery, I have "caponized" the cocks for two reasons - - - 1. in order to have eggs, one does not need a cock, and 2. keeping cocks [roosters] is just a pain. they are incorrigible animals! My experience with the capons has been very rewarding - they do turn out very tender and plump, and are actually worth the minor inconvenience of 'performing the operation.' With the advent of "Super Glue Suturing" the process is quite easily done. Good recipe. Much obliged. 🤠

[aaronmackenzie]

The YouTube algorithm gods smiled upon me this week. Have been binging these non stop since finding the channel

[imniceatpingpong]

I'm not a history buff but in a sea of negativity it's really relaxing to watch your stuff.

[Malakhit]

This has to be one of the best channels I've come across lately. The style of presentation, being so relaxed, is very enjoyable, and the food genuinely looks both tasty and quite different from most of what's out there today. Keep it up, Max!

[momogal]

As a writer working on their first medieval high fantasy novel, I look to channels like these to help me learn what to include. Love the videos!

[Jedapoo]

Fun fact: a rooster's testicles are internal.... they have no coin purse (if you get my non-monetary meaning)... minor surgery is needed to make a capon

[ispy]

A friend told me about this channel at dinner tonight and I’ve watched 10 episodes in a row! Fantastic, educational, and absolutely amazing! I love it, and I love the history! Thank you, Max!

[jalojet]

These videos are great. They have a very comfy cozy feel to them. They remind me of watching episodes of GoodEats.

[andyinsdca]

It's fun going through the "back catalog" and seeing how Max's work has evolved.

[Chris-iyql]

Came for the chicken, stayed for the history. Love this channel.