Cooking Thread~ Recipes & Things

[Aleh]

How would one make bacon in a medieval-level-tech setting?

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Bacon is a form of preserved meat that dates back at least to then. It also, in modern usage, refers to several different things, so it gets a bit complicated to talk about.

The thing we most commonly think of when we talk about bacon is simply cured and often smoked pork belly that is then cut into the familiar thin strips. So, for simplicity's sake, I'll assume you mean that.

The easiest way, IMHO, to do this is to dry-brine (or salt) and then smoke the meat. Dry-brining involves packing the meat in salt (and maybe a spice mix) and then letting the salt draw out and mix with the juices from the meat. This is what makes it dry brining, as you're not adding any water -- if you add more salt and the juices aren't enough to make things into a proper brine, that's salting (which was also a common medieval food-preservation method).

As the Knights Templar (of all people) put it:

Dry curing was a popular method of preserving meat with salt during the Middle Ages. To dry cure meat, a generous amount of salt was rubbed onto the surface of the meat, ensuring it was thoroughly coated. The meat would then be left in a cool, well-ventilated area for an extended period to allow the salt to draw out moisture from the meat, effectively dehydrating it. This process also helped in inhibiting the growth of bacteria.

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Then, once dried, the meat can be smoked -- or, in other words, hung over a smoky fire or in a smoke chamber to let the smoke permeate and maybe partially cook the meat.

Then, once that's done, you have bacon -- just slice and fry away.

There are, of course, a number of finicky details in this and a number of ways it could go wrong. Medieval cooks had to be aware of and carefully consider many of them (and should have been aware of and carefully considered more, which is part of why various forms of food poisoning were so common back then). The articles I linked above have a good bit more on that.

 

[Scygnus]

Thanks for the help guys, I think I have an idea of how to write it now- whenever the character gets to some place they can actually do it.

 

[Biigoh]

Thanks for the help guys, I think I have an idea of how to write it now- whenever the character gets to some place they can actually do it.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9L4mjk8TJU

 

[Aleh]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9L4mjk8TJU

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He went pretty light on the salt for the salting step... but yes, that's the general process. It's finicky, but it's not overly complicated.

 

[Something_GENUINE]

How I stumbled on this wholesome thread in QQ, I don't recall.

Anywho, I'd like to ask, does someone have a good Chili con Carne recipe? Hopefully inexpensive. I always wanted to make my own!

 

[vyor]

How I stumbled on this wholesome thread in QQ, I don't recall.

Anywho, I'd like to ask, does someone have a good Chili con Carne recipe? Hopefully inexpensive. I always wanted to make my own!

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Oh, easy. So you'll want either a pot or a crock pot for this, obviously. The second is much easier to use because it's very set and forget.

You'll want a can of black beans and a can of red beans.
1 can of tomato sauce.
Sliced green chili peppers (technically optional? Can be swapped for chili powder, but that's worse)
1-2 pounds of ground OR diced meat (beef best, others usable)
Worcestershire sauce or Vinegar
Diced onion or onion powder (optional)
Paprika (optional)
Chili powder (optional)
Hot sauce or spicy peppers (optional)
Olive Oil (optional)
Chopped Bacon (optional)

Put literally everything into your pot. If using worcestershire sauce add and mix until the red tomato sauce turns a darker color, approaching brown. If vinegar, use about 1/4 of a cup. For olive oil, 1 or 2 tablespoons.

Sprinkle the paprika and any other powders you're using across the top and spice to taste.

If using a crock pot, start making it earlier in the day if you can, between 12pm and 2pm, and cook on low heat; stirring every half hour to hour after the first 2 hours of cook time. It should be done cooking in 4-5 hours. If you want a faster cook, use High heat for the first hour while stirring regularly.

If a stovetop pot, cook covered at medium heat while regularly stirring every 15 to 30 minutes, stirring more frequently as it approaches being done. It should be done in an hour to two hours.


Will this make the world's best chili? No. Will it be good? Absolutely. And it's relatively cheap and easy. To enhance it, add cheese and sour cream after serving into bowls. Goes really well with tortilla chips and crackers.

 

[Something_GENUINE]

Oh, easy. So you'll want either a pot or a crock pot for this, obviously. The second is much easier to use because it's very set and forget.

You'll want a can of black beans and a can of red beans.
1 can of tomato sauce.
Sliced green chili peppers (technically optional? Can be swapped for chili powder, but that's worse)
1-2 pounds of ground OR diced meat (beef best, others usable)
Worcestershire sauce or Vinegar
Diced onion or onion powder (optional)
Paprika (optional)
Chili powder (optional)
Hot sauce or spicy peppers (optional)
Olive Oil (optional)
Chopped Bacon (optional)

Put literally everything into your pot. If using worcestershire sauce add and mix until the red tomato sauce turns a darker color, approaching brown. If vinegar, use about 1/4 of a cup. For olive oil, 1 or 2 tablespoons.

Sprinkle the paprika and any other powders you're using across the top and spice to taste.

If using a crock pot, start making it earlier in the day if you can, between 12pm and 2pm, and cook on low heat; stirring every half hour to hour after the first 2 hours of cook time. It should be done cooking in 4-5 hours. If you want a faster cook, use High heat for the first hour while stirring regularly.

If a stovetop pot, cook covered at medium heat while regularly stirring every 15 to 30 minutes, stirring more frequently as it approaches being done. It should be done in an hour to two hours.


Will this make the world's best chili? No. Will it be good? Absolutely. And it's relatively cheap and easy. To enhance it, add cheese and sour cream after serving into bowls. Goes really well with tortilla chips and crackers.

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Thanks so much for this, vyor!

 

[vyor]

Thanks so much for this, vyor!

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Enjoy

 

[Longtimelurker]

I agree with everything Vyor says. I would also like to propose an additional optional step if you feel like putting in the extra time and effort, which is to brown the meat first in a pan with a little bit of oil, then putting the meat into the slow cooker or pot. (A bonus step to that would be to also deglaze the pan with a little of broth, water, or beer - it also simplifies cleaning the pan)

 

[Stephen the barbarian]

A deep dish gluten free pizza for my sister. I now know why you can't find that anywhere. It came out edible, but not very appetizing. Somehow the crust was both cooked yet almost still raw.

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can i pick your brain on gluten free bread? my future sister-in-law* is deathly allergic and any advice you have is appreciated.


*it's complicated.

 

[vyor]

can i pick your brain on gluten free bread? my future sister-in-law* is deathly allergic and any advice you have is appreciated.


*it's complicated.

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Right! So, this is going to sound really weird, but pick a flour without gluten. Yes, I'm serious. There are two ways to make it taste good when made into bread.

The first option is sugar.

The second option is beer. Inside the flour.

Do both for something properly tastey.

 

[Hellhound_dow]

can i pick your brain on gluten free bread? my future sister-in-law* is deathly allergic and any advice you have is appreciated.


*it's complicated.

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Might also want to try flour made with Heritage Wheat. Most of the reason people have issues with modern flour is that it's not the same as what we've used over thousands of years and adapted to nor is it processed in traditional ways. The new wheat grows a lot faster and the new processing burns out a lot of what little nutrition is left in the flour so they have to add stuff to it to make it 'healthy' again.

Now, I, personally, haven't tested it, but from what I understand, tests using heritage wheat to make bread for people with gluten allergies or difficulties digesting modern bread shows that they have little to no allergic responses to heritage wheat flour made in traditional ways.

 

[Aleh]

Right! So, this is going to sound really weird, but pick a flour without gluten. Yes, I'm serious. There are two ways to make it taste good when made into bread.

The first option is sugar.

The second option is beer. Inside the flour.

Do both for something properly tastey.

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Beer depends. It also depends on what sort of bread you're making.

So! Yes, @vyor is right regarding the basic gist. I disagree with his commentary regarding how to make it taste good, however.

Also, beer is not gluten-free.

The biggest problem with substituting any gluten-free flour for wheat is that gluten plays a huge role in the structure of bread. The gluten levels are actually the largest difference between pastry flour and bread flour, if you're going that route in bread-making.

As a general rule, this means that tough and chewy types of bread are a lot harder to credibly do without gluten; light and cake-y types are much easier. Rice flour -- be sure to use finely milled flour -- is the most common go-to substitute.

That said, there's a good bit of advice available online if you know where to look. This page looks decent, for instance, from what I can see.

Might also want to try flour made with Heritage Wheat. Most of the reason people have issues with modern flour is that it's not the same as what we've used over thousands of years and adapted to nor is it processed in traditional ways. The new wheat grows a lot faster and the new processing burns out a lot of what little nutrition is left in the flour so they have to add stuff to it to make it 'healthy' again.

Now, I, personally, haven't tested it, but from what I understand, tests using heritage wheat to make bread for people with gluten allergies or difficulties digesting modern bread shows that they have little to no allergic responses to heritage wheat flour made in traditional ways.

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The first paragraph of this is... pretty much concentrated marketing bullshit. The second involves a "show me the evidence" sort of thing. More importantly, however, testing this sort of thing is a terrible idea if there's a legitimate allergy issue involved.

 

[Raven1138]

There are some decent breads out there that are gluten free. Pao de queijo, Brazilian cheese bread, uses tapioca flour and is by large gluten free.

 

[Aleh]

There are some decent breads out there that are gluten free. Pao de queijo, Brazilian cheese bread, uses tapioca flour and is by large gluten free.

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If there's a serious allergy issue involved, "by large" won't cut it.

 

[snthsnth]

There's the possibility of using European wheat, Italian for example. My dad doesn't do well with wheat from North America, but Italian wheat is fine. It's possible the fortification has something to do with it.

Serious gluten issues won't even let you eat grain at all.

 

[Aleh]

There's the possibility of using European wheat, Italian for example. My dad doesn't do well with wheat from North America, but Italian wheat is fine. It's possible the fortification has something to do with it.

Serious gluten issues won't even let you eat grain at all.

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If there's an actual allergy issue, this strategy won't work.

 

[BlackDragon98]

Since I fish for food a lot (grocery prices are insane in Canada these days), I thought i might share this recipe for baked whole lemon garlic walleye (the European equivalent is zander). Alternatively, if you are fortunate to live next to the ocean, substitute the walleye with spotted seatrout (American East Coast) or European sea bass (European coast). I chose those two fish specifically because they have the same shape as the walleye and the cook time would be similar.

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole walleye, gutted and scaled with fins removed (~2lb)
2. 2-3 cloves of garlic depends on the size
3. 1 whole lemon
4. Italian herb seasoning (dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, parsley) (*fresh herbs of the same type are better of course, just make sure to chop finely and mix together)
5. Butter (depends on how much buttery sauce at the bottom one desires)
6. Salt

Steps:

1. chop the lemon into thin slices and dice up the garlic, also slice the butter into thin slices that can fit inside the fish
2. take the whole cleaned walleye and use a knife to score the flesh on both sides, 1 inch apart. This helps the thick part of the meat cook more evenly
3. lay the fish onto a big piece of baking parchment (big enough that you can wrap up the fish)
4. rub the whole fish (including the body cavity) with salt and Italian herb seasoning
5. stuff the empty cavity of the walleye with garlic, lemon slices, and butter slices.
6. place butter, garlic, and lemon into the scored flesh on both sides
7. wrap up the parchment and bake for ~30 minutes at 400 Fahrenheit (205 Celsius) or until the thickest part of the fish is opaque and flakes easily. A bigger fish takes long while a smaller fish takes less time
8. Once its done, take it out the oven and serve. I usually eat it with steamed rice and vegetables but I've also eaten the fish on its own before when I didn't want to bother with carbs or veggies.

I hope this helps anyone who wants a simple whole fish recipe!