Crustade (Beef Tarts)

Original

Take veal, and smite in little pieces into a pot, and wash it fair; then take fair water, and let it boil together with parsley, sage, savory, and hyssop small enough and hew; and when it is on boiling, take powder pepper, canel, cloves, maces, saffron, and let them boil together, and a good deal of wine therewith. When the flesh is y-boiled, take it from the broth all clean, and let the broth cool; and when it is cold, take eyroun, the white and the yolks, and cast through a strainer, and put them into the broth, so many that the broth be stiff enough; then make fair coffins, and couch 3 pieces or 4 of the flesh in a coffin; then take dates, and cut them, and cast thereto; then take powder ginger, and a little verjuice, and put into the broth and salt; and then put the broth on the coffins, bake a little with the flesh ere thou put thyne liquor thereon, and let all bake together till it be enough; then take it out, and serve them forth.

Original Recipe Notes

Smite into small pieces meaning to cut into smaller than gobbet sized chunks. Gobbets are stew meat in size. This should be a finer chop.

My Redaction

Two Fifteenth Century p. 50/63

2 lb veal (or beef)

1 T parsley (or more)

1/2 t sage

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t mace

1 T cinnamon

1/2 t cloves

1/2 c wine

eggs

1 lb of dates

about 1 T verjuice or dilute vinegar

about 1/2 t salt

dough for about 2 9 inch pie crusts

Boil veal and herbs for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Boil spices with wine. Let the veal broth cool; separate it from the meat. Add ginger and verjuice to broth, also salt. Add beaten eggs to about 1 c of the broth to stiffen it. Mix in wine. Make little tart crusts in a muffin tin. Bake 10 min at 350 deg. Put in meat. Cut up dates and put them in. Pour on wine mix. Bake until it hardens, about 30 minutes at 325deg.