This was served as part of the first course at the Ymir 2023 feast.
Introduction
Roast beef with pepper sauce — the straightforward, hearty anchor of the first course. Both A Book of Cookrye (1591) and The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594) list “a rib of beef with pepper and vinegar sauce” as a menu item, though neither provides a recipe for the sauce itself. For the sauce, I turned to the Handmaide’s recipe for roast venison with pepper sauce, on the logic that a pepper sauce recipe in the same volume is as close to the intended pairing as I was likely to find.
Sources
A Book of Cookrye (1591)
A dubble Rib of Beef rosted, sauce Pepper and Vinagre.
The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594) — Roast Venison with Pepper Sauce
To roast venison — First perboile it, and then make it tender cast it into cold water, then Lard it and roste it, and for sauce take broth, Vinagre, Pepper, Cloves and mace, with a little salt and boile these togither and serve it upon your Venison.
Discussion
- The sources specify rib of beef; I used bottom round, which is what the budget allowed. It’s a leaner, tougher cut, but the overnight salt and low-and-slow roasting method (30 minutes at 400°F to sear, then lowered to 225°F) helped compensate.
- The overnight salting is not documented in the original but seems plausible as a period practice. It served the dual purpose of seasoning and tenderizing the meat.
- The pepper sauce was made from the pan drippings — brought to a boil with vinegar, pepper, cloves, and mace, then finished with a bit of butter beaten in off heat to thicken. This follows the Handmaide’s venison sauce method, adapted for beef.
Roast Beef with Pepper Sauce
A salt-cured roast beef finished at low heat, served with an Elizabethan pepper-and-vinegar sauce with cloves and mace.
Ingredients
- Roast:
3 lb bottom round roast (or rib of beef if budget allows)
Kosher salt, as needed
2 tbsp butter, melted
- Pepper Sauce:
Pan drippings from the roast
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground mace
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp butter, cold, cubed
Directions
- The night before: salt the meat generously on all sides and let rest uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This seasons and tenderizes.
- Tie the roast with butcher’s twine for even cooking.
- Roast 30 minutes at 400°F to develop a crust, then lower the oven to 225°F. Continue roasting, basting with melted butter occasionally, until internal temperature reaches 135°F for medium-rare — approximately 2 hours total, depending on size.
- Rest the meat at least 15–20 minutes before slicing. Reserve pan drippings.
- Make the sauce: bring pan drippings to a boil with vinegar, pepper, cloves, and mace. Season with salt. Remove from heat and beat in cold butter a bit at a time to thicken.
- Slice the meat and arrange on a platter. Drizzle with pepper sauce before serving.
Sources
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“The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin, 1594, 1597.” Seite. Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, 21 Feb. 2020, https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/fbz/fb05/germanistik/absprache/sprachverwendung/gloning/ghhk/handmaide.htm.
A Book of Cookrye. 26 Apr. 2004, https://jducoeur.org/Cookbook/Cookrye.html.
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