Original from Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks:
XXXV: Capoun or gos farced -- Take Percely, & Swynys grece, or Sewet of a schepe, & parboyle hem to-goderys til they ben tendyr; than take harde jolys of Eyroun, & choppe for-with; caste ther-to Pouder Pepir, Gyngere, Canel, Safroun, & Salt, & grapis in tyme of yere, & clowys y-noewe; & for defawte of grapis, Oynons, fyrst wil y-boylid, & afterward alle to-chppyed, & so stffe hym & roste hym, & serue hym forth. And jif the lust, take a litil Porke y-sode, & al to-choppe hit smal a-mong yat aper; for it wol be the better, & namly, for the Capoun.
Translation:
(Recipe #)35: Capon or Goose, Stuffed -- Take parsley and swine's grease or suet of a sheep and parboil them together until they are tender; then take hard(boiled) yolks of eggs and chop forwith and cast thereto pepper, ginger, cinnamon, saffron & salt, and grapes in time of year and cloves enough; & for default of [i.e. if it's the wrong time of year for] grapes, onions first well boiled and afterward all chopped, and so stuff him and roast him and serve him forth. And if you like, take a little pork boiled and also chop it small among the rest; for it will be the better, and namely for the capon.
Substitutions:
Having recently baked a ham for the holidays, I had 'swine grease' on hand. At other times of the year, I would probably use butter. I buy my saffron at Pennsic, by the thread. In a dish with this many other spices, it would be a waste of a very expensive spice. I used tumeric instead. I skipped the pork and onions this time. I may experiment with them next time.
- A pair of 3lb. chickens
- A dozen eggs
- 2 tablespoons ham fat (or butter)
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 2 cups green grapes
- 2 cups red grapes
- 1/2 teaspoon each of:
- pepper, ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon, tumeric, salt