I might never cook an actual 18th century recipe, but I'll be damned if I don't watch all of these videos... This is comfort content for me, and I appreciate it, considering there's a raging war at my doorstep.
I love watching these as well, and I've actually made several of the recipes. The plum pudding is incredible. The ones I really want to try next are the collared pork belly and the sea pie.
My Grandfather was a US Navy Captain's personal assistant on the island of Bermuda during the Second World War. I think they actually had something like this once or twice as salt pork, fresh potatoes, and wheat flour were welcome change from the canned food the Navy tended to supply and the local foods which were basically all onions and seafood. Funny to think that salt pork would be considered a treat, but shows you how monotony is relative; what is dull to one person is going to be exotic to another. Also fun to think that a Captain in 1942 could be eating the same thing his counterpart in 1742 did.
@@floydblandston108 Mind, in Missouri during the 1920s where my Grandfather grew up, lobster was definitely not cheap for anyone since it had to be shipped fast at high cost from the East Coast. Made his time in Bermuda all the more amusing since lobsters cost barely pennies while he was lucky if he got a tin of ham once a month. Came back from the war with some very complicated tastes. Thankfully, as a successful country lawyer, he could afford to buy lobster, pineapples, and other then exotic foods for the American Midwest.
@@genericpersonx333 - conversely, in 'downeast' New England, pork- in the form of smoked bacon, hocks, and salted fatback was used mostly as flavoring and grease in such local delicacies as clam (and corn) chowder, baked beans, and salt pork gravy. Land to grow grain- and the climate to do it- basically don't exist, which leaves you with pasture (milk and some meat), garden vegetables like potatoes, and the ocean. Oh, and apples- lots of apples! My Dad said he never saw a whole steak set out for dinner until he joined the U.S Army.
salt pork is actually really good tasting if you prepare it and cook it well (which wasn't always an option for men using it as provisions due to limits in resources and time but hey). Same for salt cod I've found. Both have a wealth of uses and recipes that are all really good, many of which are better than even their fresh alternatives.
This recipie is excellent, I add thinly sliced yellow onions with each layer..the potatoes help take away the saltiness if you're worried about it. Blessings.
Onions, garlic or carrots would be naturals! Edit: the main question is, in my mind, how well such things survive onboard a ship. Potatoes? Obviously. Carrots? They and turnips both should do well. Kraut saw use to battle scurvy. I’m not so certain about onions and garlic. Perhaps they got used up early in the journey.
I made this yesterday. Not bad, just a little bland. And the pork does get a little tough. I also made a smaller "tart" (with leftover dough) but diced everything, and added onions, mushrooms and some Thyme which helped it immensely. A fried egg over the top and a little hot sauce further improved it and made for a very nice breakfast! Thanks for the inspiration, Townsends!
Hmmm. I have a chunk of left over roast. I've gotten 2 dinners out of it, grilled roast beef sandwiches with au jus and steak salad, and didn't know what to do with the last of it. Thank you for the idea! With rising meat prices I'm trying to get them to stretch further.
As I saw this I was screaming in my head "THIS NEEDS AN ONION TOO!" But if it wasn't in this recipe, it wasn't in. Buuuuut, I'm a pork+potato fellow enough that I'll definitely try this more than once and try with/without.
Meat and Potato Pasties (rather than pies) are still very common in Bolton, England where I come from, one of the pasty shops was established in 1667 and still going today, the neighbouring town Wigan has theirs in Pies. A local delicacy in each place is too put the pie/pasty in a bread bun. They are called a Wigan Kabab and a Pasty Barm.
Just had a pasty from Ye Olde Pasty Shoppe today from my lunch! Queues were huge as always at lunch time, It was on Rate My Takeway's youtube channel a couple of months back as well. Such a small world, tbh I prefer carrs pasties if I'm honest.
Pasties are quite big here in northern Michigan as well and i love them. The best ones use turnip and rutabagga in them. Jon's pie looked great as well and probably tasted even better coming out of that clay oven. Hard to beat pork/potato/butter in a crust!
I can’t get enough of this channel. We all need to be taught history by people who are as enthusiastic as John and crew. I’ve always been a hands on learner, and seeing them cook and build like the people in olden days is almost as good has getting to be there with John and crew myself. Keep it up!
I love these episodes not only do you get awesome cooking ideas but you also get a great history lesson. I really enjoy this entire channel thank you Mr Townsend for sharing your passion and enthusiasm it's very inspiring 👍
Good to see you back, Jon. It wasn't snobbery that made a captain want to serve different dishes than his officers (and other guests) could see on their wardroom table. It was hospitality. The captain had a duty to make his entertainment something special. After all, a sailor's life was pretty bad at the best of times. A cabin invitation was one of the few bright spots in an officer's life at sea.
@@greenpedal370 And a good deal more money. Not to mention space for storage of more and better provisions. Plus. They typically hired a cook to cook for their mess. Ratings appointed a cook from among their mess to do the actual food preparation. The ship's "cook" didn't really cook. He steeped the salt meat to get some of the salt out and then boiled it. Turning the boiled ingredients into the final dish was the responsibility of the mess's cook. (Note that on stated days of the week, the ratings did not get meat. )
@@BigSnipp The captain entertained one or more guests nearly every evening at dinner, partly to familiarize himself with his officers, and partly to get a more intimate understanding of what was going on with the ship and crew during dinner conversation. It was part of his job, and part of his role as an officer and a gentleman. Watch Master and Commander and you can see some of this at work.
Thanks for sharing this recipe with us Jon. Wish we knew about this years ago, we missed out on lots of wild hogs that were prepared with salt and we didn't know about boiling the meat to rid it of salt so we lost out on lots of good eating. Fred.
I stumbled upon this channel on a whim, but I cannot get enough of how eager you are to show us new recipes and ideas from the 18th century. So well done, I plan on watching everything from the beginning. Your content is terrific, thank you!
I have always enjoyed going to Williamsburg Virginia growing up and this channel brings me right there. I love the passion you put into your videos and the historical and educational demonstrations. I find I want to try some of the recipes you make just because in today's time we wind up eating the same things and it would be fun to try new things.
That pie would benefit from some dehydrated vegetables. Some dried carrot, or other root vegetable would probably be awesome in that pie. Rutabaga or turnip would be nice. Always hated rutabaga when i was a kid, but they are amazing in stews and pies.
@@ZakTheFallen Not exactly. Rutabagas have a different flavor, and heck, they even look different. I did a quick google, and it turns out they are the same family, but are a different root vegetable.
"Imagine you have a barrel full of salt pork. How will you prepare it?" Its salt pork. It doesnt have feelings or emotions. You dont have to prepare it for anything.
As always, such a wonderful video of traditional cooking.. Love these things.. the family not so much as I am always making them try my "creations" ! LOL
LOVE your work John! Keep it up! I'd love to see the Soused Hog's Face and/or your thoughts on what they might have made the Galapagos Islands Dessert from in Master And Commander!
I have the recipe for that. They made a cookbook based on every meal in the series. It's called "Lobscouse and Spotted Dog" by Anne Grossman and Lisa Thomas. Fun to just read, but if you work through most of the recipes, you could gain a lot of old-timey cooking skills. The directions are very clear.
Thank you for your videos good Sir. They are helping me keep calm and interested while my wife goes through her chemo treatments. It gets boring sitting in the waiting room and your videos make it much more pleasant. Thank you.
Hi John, in England these days we make pork pies with hot water pastry. It’s more of a standing crust. I wonder if it came from the kind of recipe you made here. Anyway, keep up the good work. I’ve been watching for years and hope to continue to do so. :)
wow that looks really good, i love these types of recipes with preserved meat, idk why it just fascinates me. also i love salt pork, jerky, and aged sausage
A Townsends episode without using nutmeg?!!?! Certainly a red-letter day. I'm pretty sure I saw him grating some into the clay when they were making the big oven. :D Excellent video as always.
I don't know if it's authentic, but I could see taking the leftover crust scraps and baking them up. It would make a nice change from regular bread or hard tack. You could crumble it over a soup or stew, or use it to eat with preserves and cheese (think like a modern charcuterie board) and stuff. In general, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just used to decorate the top of whatever pie(s) they were making at the time. Cut it in thin strips to make vines, and then triangular shapes for leaves or flower petals. Though that sort of thing would be more common in a wealthy home, I'd think.
@@MissingmyBabbu Oh, you're onto something with that decoration. As long as it wasn't too thick that could work pretty well nowadays. I'm sure they didn't just throw it out, maybe it just got turned into...well I'm not sure.
John, you make your crusts like I do- so thick that it takes a recipe for three to make a double crust pie. My Mother and Sister being of the 'no good crust can be too thin' school would weep and gnash their teeth at such work!
My crust-loving family was rather the opposite: half (or more!) of the reason for making a pie was to get the thick, flaky crust! So your thick crusts sound delightful!
Looks really good may try that on a Sunday dinner , my daughter made us buy a canned ham , she made her own version of salt pork, using a pickle jar. This might be a good way to use it , just need to scour your recipes for a sauce of some kind. Great post , thank you.
Now I understand why Tweety taunted Sylvester with salt pork when he was seasick. I just figured it was because salt pork is gross, but now I have context.
Hey Aaron or Ryan or the Amazing Lauren -- I'd like to request a possible crossover Livestream connection with the RU-vid channel, @Working Horses with Jim. I think their videos were recommended to me by RU-vid because of my interest in your channel, actually. Jim and his wife Brenda are farmers in Upstate NY. They farm and log with draft horses. They use modern equipment, as well, as necessary. Jim built his own sawmill. He's got a planting of lumber, and he takes commissions to harvest neighbors' plantings. He's low key and modest, doesn't like the fuss of attention, yet when he realized viewers are truly interested in learning from him, he took to teaching like a fish takes to water. I think your viewers would be interested in the old ways of farming and logging with draft horses. I think it would be especially interesting to hear Jim and Jon talk about tree plantations, and the necessity of responsible harvesting for the health of the forest (or the woods, if you will). I'm not sure if he'd be able to schedule a 4pm Eastern Time Livestream connection on a Friday, but all I can do is suggest it to both of you and maybe get your brains gearing up for a future event. It might be better to aim for next winter, as his schedule frees up some. But if you connect with him, it gives you both time to consider and prepare. If nothing else, you'll enjoy watching his horses work 🐎
On the pie crust. My mother was an excellent cook. She could make pie crust from scratch. She said it isn't enough better to make it worth the trouble when the ones from the store were good enough and no hassle. That's from someone that cooked for 40 years in addition to working a full time job. Breakfast for us before she went to work, and supper when she got home. As someone that has eaten homemade from multiple people, and storebought. Just go buy it at the store, keep 'em in the freezer until you need them.
Awesome channel glad I found it! Here in Newfoundland salt pork and salt beef are still very common with Sunday dinner. I think you’d definitely be interested in salt cod and pork scrunchions. We often make fish cakes from salt cod and potatoes fried with the scrunchions. Another good one is fish and brews, salt cod and hard tack mixed together with the fried scrunchions poured over top. Usually served with some blackstrap molasses. Cheers!
If ever tragedy strikes, and need to start a new life … I’m throwing on a waistcoat and heading to Indiana. Jon, Ryan and Brandon will never be in need of firewood again.
I've enjoyed watching this for series, for quite a while. Question: what exactly does "good" mean in these old recipes? In this case, it sounds like it might mean "strong/thick" in reference to the pie crust but I'm not certain. I'd imagine that every word counted, considering publication costs of the era, so it seems like each word would carry some necessary meaning.
I wondered this myself. Your explanation is perfectly reasonable. I can see that being what they mean. One other alternative might be the same as in the modern sense…”high quality”. Maybe then the author is saying you can use any pie crust recipe you want but make sure it’s sufficiently suited for this recipe because it the interior ingredients need a high quality crust. I’m just guessing but that sounds reasonable to me.
@@MurderMostFowl Yeah, it's entirely possible that it's a straightforward reference to quality but that seems potentially vague. What would qualify as high or low quality, etc? I'll have to go back and watch some of the other videos but I feel like "good" is often used for things like broth, gravy, etc.. What would make it high or low quality? It makes me wonder, again, if it's a more of a reference to potency?
@@atomicagegamer3693 Personally I interpreted good pie crust as meaning made entirely with butter as opposed to the cut with suet or lard or even made entirely from either.
@@Richard0292 Something along those lines (specific ingredients) would make sense to me. I re-watched the beef stew video and the recipe called for "good gravy" with no clarification. Any ideas?
