Ahahah! I looked at my husband and said "Is he using a bird feather" and before he could answer, perfectly on cue, you said "Yes, I am using a bird feather".
This channel made me so interested in colonial era America that I participated in a reenactment at Cowpens National Battlefield. Such a little joy to watch your videos.
I saw the signs for the battlefield off 85. Had no idea what happened there til I read Chris Kyle's book. The last battle in "The Patriot" is loosely based on cowpens.
Why couldn't American History be taught with this type of content? A proper appreciation for the lifestyle they lived would have made an understanding of important documents such as the Constitution more "personal". It stands to reason that if such content were added to school curriculum the "Spirit of 76 (1776)" would "live" today in us all with renewed pride and patriotism.
I literally live beside it. I run the park 3 times a week. People tell ghost stories about the park. I know an old pretty much hidden cemetery out there that's absolutely terrifying at night
French Aristocrat: "Fishstick" Cook: "You would like fishsticks today?" Aristocrat: "StickS? Plural? Like the poors?! No, a single fishstick, monolithic and fancy like the monarchy."
Always kind of jealous how they're able to make such delicious dishes in that kitchen without modern conveniences. Solid technique and clear narration certainly add to this gorgeous presentation.
Lawrence Godsey well, I don't know how to break this to you, but there is a modern kitchen just off-set used for most of the cooking, especially the baking. I don't think they've used the wood oven as anything but a prop for a few years.
What "modern Convenience could have improved this? I think that his use of a feather as a brush and a bundle of twigs as a stirrer was a bit of a stretch. They had all manner of brushes and implements available at the time .
Are they intending to cook as well off people or poorer people, though? If you were more on the frontier and not wealthy, purchasing brushes and the like which would be brought in from potentially some distance when you could make/find a tool to do the same job would not have been a particularly sensible use of funds. I’d expect the kitchen of a quite wealthy person in a major city might have looked very different.
I think it’s just supposed to give *some* semblance of how life was back then. Not really a full demonstration, but rather a small presentation packed with plenty of information. He speaks to us directly, and addresses us as the modern audience. For a full, in-character tutorial, I recommend checking out Mrs. Crocombe’s videos.
This reminds me of a Chinese dish called beggar’s chicken, where you coat a chicken in wet clay and form into the shape of a ball and cook it over fire. Then you would hammer the clay ball and rip off the solid clay, which also removes the chicken’s feathers. Legend has it that it was a beggar who first came up with the idea, as he stole a chicken and didn't want anyone else (including the feral hounds) to find out.
I read about someone using that technique to cook hedgehogs (maybe people actually did that at some point, it's edible, after all). But does the clay only remove the feathers or the skin?
Yeah, it seems like such a waste. Then again, since this is a medieval style recipe for nobility, maybe that portion is meant to become alms for the poor?
@@whosweptmymines3956 : There are recipes where you bake fish in a mix of coarse salt and egg. The salt / egg coating ensures a moist fish and the crust is discarded.
I’m definitely trying this recipe! Norwegian Mackerel happens to be my favorite fish! Cook it with just a light touch of oil in a frying pan and I swear it’ll taste like you poached it in butter. You don’t even really need to season it. It’s a very oily fish so it really is delicious! My fiancé and I can pick one clean in the blink of an eye.
Thanks so much for keeping these recipes alive! Every once in a while we reach back to cookbooks from the 17-1800's but they can be confusing even for people with culinary training. #LeGourmetTV
Well I think this recipe has lasted because Wolfgang Puck makes a very similar baked fish for the Oscars ceremony each year. The pastry keeps the fish hot for serving lots of people.
@Bruce Jeffries this fish really doesn't have scales. The scales are so tiny and fragile that it's impossible to scale them. You can actually eat the skin; it looks and has the same kind of texture as chicken skin, though it doesn't crisp up as nice.
I love that he uses the traditional methods for everything he does! When I saw that feather for basting the fish in butter, & the sticks for whisking eggs, I smiled. :) we don't realize how far we've come in inventions, & we also don't realize how spoiled we are! 😊
@@rosemcguinn5301 Sounds so delicious. I still watch Jon's videos from years back often and he has been known to use sack generously on many occasions. 😄🍷
I just simply love this videos, they suck you into the time period so much that when he points out that he is using a feather to brush the butter on the fish I barely noticed how odd that was!
Another great episode! Just a pointer for modern palates:- Mackerel is an oily fish, so avoid adding butter, and stick to vinegar, verjuice or white wine poured into the body cavity. You could also stuff some "sweet herbs 🌿 " in there too! The principle of steaming your goodies in their own juices is alive and well in the "en papillote" method. If you like fish, you should try this! 😋😋😋
In the south, when we fry scaled fish, we keep the finns and tail on the fish. It's delicious! When we bake fish, a few minutes before it's done, we put the oven on broil and brown it as much as possible! Some even turn it over and brown the "down side!". All delicious! You have given me many hours of pleasure and taught me many unusual methods and tricks in the kitchen! We love your show! Keep up the good work!
So glad you've posted another recipe. These are my favourite before-bed videos. I found out recently a bunch of friends also follow your channel, and so we had a historical-inspired dinner party where everyone made something from history. Thank you.
The feather brush for the larding is an amazing idea. These days people use a spray can for the same thing sometimes (crisco etc.) but that seems so wasteful compared to a natural brush. Beautiful job and presentation of this very ancient technique.
Awesome! I love how passionate you are when talking about all those recipes. History is interesting, but the secret lies in making it interesting to watch and transmitting that passion to the viewers! I'm sure you would make an excellent teacher too. Thank you for these videos, greetings all the way from France
Dear townsends....dealing with severe anxiety and depression and huge political climate. I love how you have given me an escape from the news and even an escape from my own brain. Dont ever stop making videos!
Fish en croute is a really excellent method. First came across it in a book on Eastern European cooking. It's my preferred method of cooking trout. Especially with a nice flaky crust to soak up all the juices.
@@qwertz70329 Mackerel isn't as boney as many others and fish skin is always disgusting tasting anyway. The fish just steamed inside the pastry so should be nice and juicy.
dang, everytime i see the videos on this channel i swear to god, everything is so wholesome the little remarks of history, the little stories embedded within each recipe god why cant there be more channels like this, i feel right at home.
Another engaging video by the Townsends, and while I'm primarily here for the cooking and food videos, I would certainly be interested in perhaps seeing more videos about the trades and jobs of the 18th century. Like that excellent copper craftsman you did a video on.
You could most likely do this with a boneless fillet with the skin still on. Cooking on the bone does give the fish more flavor, but wouldnt' be compulsory & you could still make it look like a fish on the outside. it would take a lot less time to cook though unless you got a very thick fillet.
Oh this is fun :) ... yes, the vinegar for a bit of acidity ... like squeezing lemon on cooked fish. It cuts the "fishy" taste :) I should NOT have watched this before lunch. LOL
I'd love to make a kind of hand pie version of this with fillets, like your older video of 'salmon cooked in the Italian fashion'. You could still shape the paste to look like a fish, too!
Thank you for this video. I dont know what its about your channel, but its been helping me through one of the worst depressions i have gone through. Thank you for bringing a smile to me when all i have been feeling is doubt. Thank you Townsends.
So, being steamed like that, it would be served up and juicy. So, as juices run out from the fish onto the plate, would it not be good to use the pastry as a sopping bread to sop up and enjoy those juices? I know that the art of using pastry and bread to sop up juices from cooking is a lost art, but it was common back then as one would not waste anything and get every bit of goodness out of the foods you ate. There were even some recipes for specific broths known as "sopping broth". I love to sop up soups and broth from stews with a good crusty airy bread.
It would depend on the pastry. Often the less good flour would have been used for this sort of thing as the pastry is basically just doing what we’d use parchment paper or foil to do today, and could then be given to the pigs/composted/etc. so it was reused in that way. Many times the pastry you’ll see recommended for this sort of thing has no salt, very little fat, just not tasty as they didn’t want to waste the things that made it tasty on something that wasn’t to be eaten. You’d have some regular bread or something at the table for sopping up.
i love the platter.. have noted seeing what looks like pastry crusted fish in various period images/illustrations.. never thought they were actually fish pies. cool.
I can't help to think that it would have been absolutely exellent with a trout ! But as a coast dweller I can't blame you in any manner for going with the mackerel. Superb video as usual !
He's such a trooper and I love it. I just knew he wouldn't like this dish and he just came out said "it's perfect!" And I'm like...is there a dish he just doesn't like lol! 😂🤣
At that time ( and in medieval times ) crusts usually served as the cooking vessel. Sweet pies were consumed with the crust. Remember it was form over function ( fancy cookery generally being a status enhancing activity for those hosting dinners in the upper crust of society ).
It probably depended upon what tier of society you lived in as to whether you consumed the crust. I imagine the lower classes would have added butter and lard to the crust and consumed it as it would have been wasteful to discard good flour.
often the type of flour that was used was not very quality. making a crust was a way to utilize the rougher or less pure blends of flour that were leftover from sifting out bread flour.
I've made the medieval version of this recipe a couple of times. For mine, I used a somewhat 'fancier' medieval paste so that the paste would be edible and add to the fish. The recipe I used called for putting quite a lot of herbs on the sides of the fish, which added a lot to the flavor. It's a pretty tasty dish, but if you don't add enough fat or don't put enough seasoning on the fish, it might be a little bland or dry. If you make the paste a bit richer with butter and such, you'll find you can indeed hold your fish like a hot pocket and even eat it on the go.
I love your enthusiasm about this topic. You bring us into the kitchen where we can taste the past. I think that's exactly what happens when I eat some of my mother's/grandmother's recipes. Thank you for doing these videos. It takes me out of everyday, ordinary existence and takes me to the past. A past with food. I couldn't be happier.
Excellent! I believe that as you feather buttered the fish that was akin to 'larding' as mentioned in recipe. Nice background music. I make something much like this using puff pastry and salmon filets. Very good. Best
Being pregnant this made me feel a little queezy, but I am so happy you made the video because I have apparently always wanted to see a fish pie being made!
We did something similar when camping in the area where I grew up. Instead of using a pastry, we wrapped the fish in clay from the stream's bank and set them in or around the camp fire
Medieval cooking was mentioned - LaVarenne's book is widely accepted to be one of the main catalysts for progress from the Medieval cooking of the French court - to a more modern, fresh, and light style of cooking. He very much laid the groundwork for the coming food of Careme and eventually Escoffier. Finding a translated version of his book when I was doing my apprenticeship was so exciting to me. Great choice for subject matter!! There are several great French books from the basic time period covered - Massialot's book, and Cuisine Royal et Bourgeoise are 2 that come to mind
This is one of the wierdest hot pockets I've ever seen
unlike hotpockets- cooked/hot in the center
@beanis 😂
Hooooot POC-kets!
@@Drukendru you're a little off on that hot pockets are still frozen and also literally magma inside
The original hot pocket! LOL’s
Ahahah! I looked at my husband and said "Is he using a bird feather" and before he could answer, perfectly on cue, you said "Yes, I am using a bird feather".
😂😂😂😂
"Fish baked in pastry"
Me, an intellectual: fish wellington
nah no pate so you just dumb
Max battersby who cares. Close enough
@@maxbattersby9164 better to be though a fool than to open ones keyboard and remove all doubt. Have the day you deserve.
Carter Stokoe 😂😂😂
@@maxbattersby9164 when you're too stupid to realize the joke was aimed at you....
This channel made me so interested in colonial era America that I participated in a reenactment at Cowpens National Battlefield. Such a little joy to watch your videos.
I saw the signs for the battlefield off 85. Had no idea what happened there til I read Chris Kyle's book. The last battle in "The Patriot" is loosely based on cowpens.
I stopped off at Cowpens on a road trip two years ago. Fascinating bit of history I'd been unaware of.
This inspired me so much that im planning to invade poland
Why couldn't American History be taught with this type of content? A proper appreciation for the lifestyle they lived would have made an understanding of important documents such as the Constitution more "personal". It stands to reason that if such content were added to school curriculum the "Spirit of 76 (1776)" would "live" today in us all with renewed pride and patriotism.
I literally live beside it. I run the park 3 times a week. People tell ghost stories about the park. I know an old pretty much hidden cemetery out there that's absolutely terrifying at night
This guy has such a wholesome face. A face worthy of half-moon spectacles. Love this dude!
Wholesome👣💚💙
JeanClaude Clemenceau Love this information!
My Mainer Grandmother called that kinda face homely ;)
@@faithsrvtrip8768 THAT'S THE WORD I WAS LOOKING FOR!!
Reminds me of Martin Freeman.
Because of that, I labeled my playlist for this channel ‘Hobbit Daytime TV’.
"Ah yes, the perfect disguise!"
- fish in the 18th century
lmaooooo
French Aristocrat: "Fishstick"
Cook: "You would like fishsticks today?"
Aristocrat: "StickS? Plural? Like the poors?! No, a single fishstick, monolithic and fancy like the monarchy."
Kanye disliked that.
Leon Ormenisan 😂
Fish sticks? More like fish fags
@@icrushchildrensdreams4556 I mean, technically correct. Ah great now I'm imagining fish cigarettes.
I just read this in a very offensive french accent and I'm not ashamed
Always kind of jealous how they're able to make such delicious dishes in that kitchen without modern conveniences. Solid technique and clear narration certainly add to this gorgeous presentation.
Lawrence Godsey well, I don't know how to break this to you, but there is a modern kitchen just off-set used for most of the cooking, especially the baking. I don't think they've used the wood oven as anything but a prop for a few years.
wood oven a prop? hardly.
What "modern Convenience could have improved this? I think that his use of a feather as a brush and a bundle of twigs as a stirrer was a bit of a stretch. They had all manner of brushes and implements available at the time .
Are they intending to cook as well off people or poorer people, though? If you were more on the frontier and not wealthy, purchasing brushes and the like which would be brought in from potentially some distance when you could make/find a tool to do the same job would not have been a particularly sensible use of funds. I’d expect the kitchen of a quite wealthy person in a major city might have looked very different.
I think it’s just supposed to give *some* semblance of how life was back then. Not really a full demonstration, but rather a small presentation packed with plenty of information. He speaks to us directly, and addresses us as the modern audience. For a full, in-character tutorial, I recommend checking out Mrs. Crocombe’s videos.
This reminds me of a Chinese dish called beggar’s chicken, where you coat a chicken in wet clay and form into the shape of a ball and cook it over fire. Then you would hammer the clay ball and rip off the solid clay, which also removes the chicken’s feathers.
Legend has it that it was a beggar who first came up with the idea, as he stole a chicken and didn't want anyone else (including the feral hounds) to find out.
I read about someone using that technique to cook hedgehogs (maybe people actually did that at some point, it's edible, after all). But does the clay only remove the feathers or the skin?
Btw that flag in your pfp is the Sweden flag so are you swedish?
"We're not necessarily going to eat the paste" Oh yes we are
Yeah, it seems like such a waste. Then again, since this is a medieval style recipe for nobility, maybe that portion is meant to become alms for the poor?
It could also be that it was made from rough flour with a lot of grit in it from the grinding.
Especially after you taste the mackerel.
@@whosweptmymines3956 : There are recipes where you bake fish in a mix of coarse salt and egg. The salt / egg coating ensures a moist fish and the crust is discarded.
Crust was meant as a way to preserve and transport the food so I'm going to imagine that the paste is disgusting, I'm sure you could improve it.
Just got back from the hospital ):
Happy to be greeted with a new video
Thank you history daddy
We hope things are well!
Hope you are doing better now that you are home.
Good ol' Nicole
Best wishes and warm thoughts to you, Nicole. Great mother of daddy.
Hope you are doing well today.
This guy is the Bob Ross of food. I can't stop watching him 😂😂
I’m definitely trying this recipe! Norwegian Mackerel happens to be my favorite fish! Cook it with just a light touch of oil in a frying pan and I swear it’ll taste like you poached it in butter. You don’t even really need to season it. It’s a very oily fish so it really is delicious! My fiancé and I can pick one clean in the blink of an eye.
your videos help me feel better when i'm having a hard time. you seem like a very kind person and i just wanted to say thank-you!!!
Same here dude, somehow I just feel better watching them
Anyone else high asf rn
@@easy-e452 over here
@@easy-e452 okay, Mason Ray.
But I am...
Thanks so much for keeping these recipes alive! Every once in a while we reach back to cookbooks from the 17-1800's but they can be confusing even for people with culinary training. #LeGourmetTV
its confusing because its stupid to use these outdated recipes lol there horrendously bad
@@13BangBang Wow, such an original dissenting opinion. You must be much hyper intelligence.
@@13BangBang Found the troll
I like that he call's the fish him instead of it.
Hes assuming the gender so...😕
@@TRACKSTARRR It was a joke. You know with this whole movement and what not
@@TRACKSTARRR last time I checked nobody died and made you king of England, bud.
😕....have a great night/day.
Pink Diamonds 💀💀💀 youre good bro . this wolff guy is an idiot
Well I think this recipe has lasted because Wolfgang Puck makes a very similar baked fish for the Oscars ceremony each year. The pastry keeps the fish hot for serving lots of people.
There is a similar way fish is eaten down here in S. Florida.
@Bruce Jeffries this fish really doesn't have scales. The scales are so tiny and fragile that it's impossible to scale them. You can actually eat the skin; it looks and has the same kind of texture as chicken skin, though it doesn't crisp up as nice.
You realize that, when canned, mackerel is packed not only with the skin still on, but the bones still in, right?
@@jameshollingshead1845 why you talking about canned fish? This recipe uses a whole one...?
@@spellwing777 because he is grossed out by mackerel still having skin on when cooked. I was stating that a lot of its culinary uses involve skin
Congratulations on 1 million, you deserve it 🙌🏻
I love that he uses the traditional methods for everything he does! When I saw that feather for basting the fish in butter, & the sticks for whisking eggs, I smiled. :) we don't realize how far we've come in inventions, & we also don't realize how spoiled we are! 😊
Blue gills would probably taste good in that pie.
I'd love to taste this with Pacific coast salmon, and a fresh cigar.
Crappie
Walleyes
I'll try it
@SeriousName both
Sounds like something they serve at the cozy Nutmeg Tavern! 🐟🐟🐟🍺🍺🍺
Ryan might rather make their boiled trout, which (if I recall it correctly) is cooked in Sack, a form of Sherry wine.
@@rosemcguinn5301 Sounds so delicious. I still watch Jon's videos from years back often and he has been known to use sack generously on many occasions. 😄🍷
Hello Sithis That Boiled trout (well, poached, actually) is one recipe that begs to be made!
I just simply love this videos, they suck you into the time period so much that when he points out that he is using a feather to brush the butter on the fish I barely noticed how odd that was!
you guys have become easily by favorite youtube channel, good content and so well put together.
Another great episode! Just a pointer for modern palates:- Mackerel is an oily fish, so avoid adding butter, and stick to vinegar, verjuice or white wine poured into the body cavity. You could also stuff some "sweet herbs 🌿 " in there too! The principle of steaming your goodies in their own juices is alive and well in the "en papillote" method. If you like fish, you should try this! 😋😋😋
I imagine some fennel stalks would do quite nicely.
I was thinking of dill, especially for freshwater fish like trout or salmon.
@@Kruegernator123 dill and capers?
mackerel is a stick of butter with fins
Lots of great ideas 💡! We're going to lob some lemon slices and caraway seeds into the cavity, and see where that takes us 👍👍👍
Holy Mackerel!! That is a visually stunning fish pie! I might have to try this with some of our local fish here in NW FL.
"Holy mackerel!" Literally! :-)
But Mackerel? No way!!! Red drum sure! Yellowtail? Great..
Mackerel? Greasy, oily, strong tasting yuckers!!
In the south, when we fry scaled fish, we keep the finns and tail on the fish. It's delicious! When we bake fish, a few minutes before it's done, we put the oven on broil and brown it as much as possible! Some even turn it over and brown the "down side!". All delicious! You have given me many hours of pleasure and taught me many unusual methods and tricks in the kitchen! We love your show! Keep up the good work!
So glad you've posted another recipe. These are my favourite before-bed videos. I found out recently a bunch of friends also follow your channel, and so we had a historical-inspired dinner party where everyone made something from history. Thank you.
The feather brush for the larding is an amazing idea. These days people use a spray can for the same thing sometimes (crisco etc.) but that seems so wasteful compared to a natural brush. Beautiful job and presentation of this very ancient technique.
I have used clay mud to cook a fish in a bed of coals. Scales or not. It peels off with the skin when you crack it open.
clay mud sound much better, to use pastry to only be a cooking vessel feel like a waste of dough.
@@Gamemaster-64 chickens or dogs would disagree
Awesome! I love how passionate you are when talking about all those recipes. History is interesting, but the secret lies in making it interesting to watch and transmitting that passion to the viewers! I'm sure you would make an excellent teacher too. Thank you for these videos, greetings all the way from France
That’s a gorgeous looking fish.
Dear townsends....dealing with severe anxiety and depression and huge political climate. I love how you have given me an escape from the news and even an escape from my own brain. Dont ever stop making videos!
Hey man, it's possible to beat that anxiousness. Stay strong.
@@caedenchapman5373 thanks! Appreciate the positive thought.
Why don't you join a Bible study which you are comfortable with
It has helped me and I have bipolar
@@alannacorrea9740 perhaps. I'll consider it.
@@kevinvu5432 Thanks
Fish en croute is a really excellent method. First came across it in a book on Eastern European cooking. It's my preferred method of cooking trout. Especially with a nice flaky crust to soak up all the juices.
Your videos are SO enjoyable. You make us happy every time we watch you. Thank you.
Man. As a professional Cook these videos are so interesting to me! I love this series!
This is definitely one of my top 5 favorite youtube channels.
That's one satisfying fish stick!
Shure If you like bones ans a leather skin. Tastes are different.
@@qwertz70329 Mackerel isn't as boney as many others and fish skin is always disgusting tasting anyway. The fish just steamed inside the pastry so should be nice and juicy.
annette fournier fish skin can be good depending on how you cook it.
Someone must of caught a little fish and called it a fish stick after making this recipe lol jk
dang, everytime i see the videos on this channel
i swear to god, everything is so wholesome
the little remarks of history, the little stories embedded within each recipe
god why cant there be more channels like this, i feel right at home.
Holy mackerel! This recipe looks delicious! Thank you please keep the recipes coming. I enjoy them all. Fish Daddy!
The pie looks beautiful. I love mackerels, so I’d have to give this one a try. Thank you so much for sharing this great video!
That's the biggest fish finger I ever saw
Never seen a shark?
In Finland we have kalakukko (fishcock)... Bake some fish and fatty meat in bread. Delicious
Where's the nutmeg? I want my money back!
You get what you pay for and this video is free.
You have two nuts, don't you......
I thought it was pretty funny how dejected he sounded when saying nutmeg wasnt mentioned in the recipe
I use three layers of tinfoil and fill with onions, butter and spices.
I think that Miss Ivy would enjoy helping cook that fish pie.
It does look delicious! We will have to try it!
Thanks for sharing!
I love the feather as a basting brush.
Love your videos. And now I'm hungry.
This channel fills totally satisfies my love of history. Little by little I’ll be making these things myself. Thank you so much.
Another engaging video by the Townsends, and while I'm primarily here for the cooking and food videos, I would certainly be interested in perhaps seeing more videos about the trades and jobs of the 18th century. Like that excellent copper craftsman you did a video on.
You could most likely do this with a boneless fillet with the skin still on. Cooking on the bone does give the fish more flavor, but wouldnt' be compulsory & you could still make it look like a fish on the outside. it would take a lot less time to cook though unless you got a very thick fillet.
Oh this is fun :) ... yes, the vinegar for a bit of acidity ... like squeezing lemon on cooked fish. It cuts the "fishy" taste :) I should NOT have watched this before lunch. LOL
I'd love to make a kind of hand pie version of this with fillets, like your older video of 'salmon cooked in the Italian fashion'. You could still shape the paste to look like a fish, too!
Thank you for this video. I dont know what its about your channel, but its been helping me through one of the worst depressions i have gone through. Thank you for bringing a smile to me when all i have been feeling is doubt.
Thank you Townsends.
I've actually had this before,it was made with a puff type pastry and quite well seasoned but basically the same...thanks for the great channel!
Larding is taking fat cut it into a long strips like a string and lard the fat like a needle and use it thrusting it. 🇵🇱🇺🇸👩🍳
Thanks for the answer!
Great as always, Mr. Townsend.
thanks, townsends. your channel is helping me cope with the hard time im going through right now.
So, being steamed like that, it would be served up and juicy. So, as juices run out from the fish onto the plate, would it not be good to use the pastry as a sopping bread to sop up and enjoy those juices?
I know that the art of using pastry and bread to sop up juices from cooking is a lost art, but it was common back then as one would not waste anything and get every bit of goodness out of the foods you ate. There were even some recipes for specific broths known as "sopping broth". I love to sop up soups and broth from stews with a good crusty airy bread.
It would depend on the pastry. Often the less good flour would have been used for this sort of thing as the pastry is basically just doing what we’d use parchment paper or foil to do today, and could then be given to the pigs/composted/etc. so it was reused in that way. Many times the pastry you’ll see recommended for this sort of thing has no salt, very little fat, just not tasty as they didn’t want to waste the things that made it tasty on something that wasn’t to be eaten. You’d have some regular bread or something at the table for sopping up.
Such an incredible recipe today!
That is an amazing looking fish pie. Great video.
i love the platter.. have noted seeing what looks like pastry crusted fish in various period images/illustrations.. never thought they were actually fish pies. cool.
Awww it's like a story book fish pie!
Fish looks fantastic. If I ever get time I'd love to try my hand at attempting this. Your videos are always great.
Fantastic, I bet that would work great with Alaskan salmon. Thanks for the great videos.
I can't help to think that it would have been absolutely exellent with a trout !
But as a coast dweller I can't blame you in any manner for going with the mackerel. Superb video as usual !
Serenity - when I need to escape my world, I visit Jon in the 18th century.
I guess many of us come here to escape. I'm on that list too.
What a gorgeous dish, and I can see it served at a fancy dinner. Your guests would be surprised by how delicious it is.
Totally cool! Reminded me of the direwolf pie made for Arya in Game of Thrones...
He's such a trooper and I love it. I just knew he wouldn't like this dish and he just came out said "it's perfect!" And I'm like...is there a dish he just doesn't like lol! 😂🤣
so why dont you eat the pie crust?
At that time ( and in medieval times ) crusts usually served as the cooking vessel. Sweet pies were consumed with the crust. Remember it was form over function ( fancy cookery generally being a status enhancing activity for those hosting dinners in the upper crust of society ).
It probably depended upon what tier of society you lived in as to whether you consumed the crust. I imagine the lower classes would have added butter and lard to the crust and consumed it as it would have been wasteful to discard good flour.
2:35
often the type of flour that was used was not very quality. making a crust was a way to utilize the rougher or less pure blends of flour that were leftover from sifting out bread flour.
I would make this but keep the crust on and eat it that way lol
The outer pastry you made to look like a fish is so cute!!
Does this remind anyone else of Kiki's Delivery Service? Just me? Man that rich girl was a real jerk.
bruhh...
Oh my gosh that's what I was thinking too!
the real villain
Exactly what I was thinking.
Was totally thinking of that the whole time!
Looks like a fun one to put on the table
This is o-fish-ally an interesting recipe to try.
Watching your videos feels like returning home after a long day. Cheers
I love cooking fish, the way my family has for probably 100 plus years.
Looks great. Lots of fun watching this.
Excellent. I love French food.
I've made the medieval version of this recipe a couple of times. For mine, I used a somewhat 'fancier' medieval paste so that the paste would be edible and add to the fish. The recipe I used called for putting quite a lot of herbs on the sides of the fish, which added a lot to the flavor. It's a pretty tasty dish, but if you don't add enough fat or don't put enough seasoning on the fish, it might be a little bland or dry.
If you make the paste a bit richer with butter and such, you'll find you can indeed hold your fish like a hot pocket and even eat it on the go.
This is actually a medieval dish pastries were the first dishes to cook Meats in
can't wait for more french recipes
Lightly salted Minnows dipped in batter then deep fried.....made in heaven.
I love your kitchen! How have I not found this channel until now
When you get lazy and just throw a fish into the fryer.
I love your enthusiasm about this topic. You bring us into the kitchen where we can taste the past. I think that's exactly what happens when I eat some of my mother's/grandmother's recipes. Thank you for doing these videos. It takes me out of everyday, ordinary existence and takes me to the past. A past with food. I couldn't be happier.
An interesting way to cook a fish i must say.
Excellent! I believe that as you feather buttered the fish that was akin to 'larding' as mentioned in recipe. Nice background music. I make something much like this using puff pastry and salmon filets. Very good. Best
I think we will try this as part of our homeschool food of the past
This is honestly my new favorite channel
Maybe stuff the gut cavity with some fresh dill and garlic perhaps. That looks good. Thanks for sharing!
I am striving to be as excited about life as Townsend is about historical cooking.
Mmmmm now I have a hankering
I absolutely love your show
Being pregnant this made me feel a little queezy, but I am so happy you made the video because I have apparently always wanted to see a fish pie being made!
We did something similar when camping in the area where I grew up. Instead of using a pastry, we wrapped the fish in clay from the stream's bank and set them in or around the camp fire
Could you please do some quail and bear cooking?
Hang in there, Paul. We are pulling for you.
I'd rather do some ale and beer drinking.
I often wonder if the mock pigeon pie episode from years ago is how quail would have been made?
There have to be other quail recipes
While he's at it - maybe one on dragon steaks?
I love this channel so much
I think France has brown trout. That would be delicious.
This looks like it would taste good and I like your decorations.
In classic French you remove the eyes to.
Medieval cooking was mentioned - LaVarenne's book is widely accepted to be one of the main catalysts for progress from the Medieval cooking of the French court - to a more modern, fresh, and light style of cooking. He very much laid the groundwork for the coming food of Careme and eventually Escoffier.
Finding a translated version of his book when I was doing my apprenticeship was so exciting to me. Great choice for subject matter!! There are several great French books from the basic time period covered - Massialot's book, and Cuisine Royal et Bourgeoise are 2 that come to mind