Cock Ale anyone? An old recipe that was popular a 3 - 4 hundred years ago.
To make Cock-Ale
PERIOD: England, 17th century | SOURCE: The Closet Of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt. Opened, 1677 | CLASS: Authentic
DESCRIPTION: A drink of ale, chicken broth, & sack
To make Cock-Ale.
Take eight gallons of Ale, take a Cock and boil him well; then take four pounds of Raisins of the Sun well stoned, two or three Nutmegs, three or four flakes of Mace, half a pound of Dates; beat these all in a Mortar, and put to them two quarts of the best Sack: and when the Ale hath done working, put these in, and stop it close six or seven days, and then bottle it, and a month after you may drink it.
Sack is an old term for fortified wine from Spain so a good dry sherry would do.
Mace is hard to get so I'd add pepper or maybe allspice, to the mix.
I have a gallon demijohn so it might be worth a go as I am not buying eight gallons of ale just to throw a chicken in.
I reckon 4 bottles of beer.
A small chicken
400gs of raisins and a tin of dates, (stoned).
Spices, etc.
Boil chicken bones and all for 3-4 hours. I reckon you boil it in the ale, but you wouldnt what to boil off the alcohol?
Seperately bring rasins, dates and spices together in a blender and blitz.
Add this to a bottle of sherry.
It says add this to when the ale "hath done working" - which suggests when it stops fermenting??? or does it mean when the cock is boiled?
Stick the lot in a demijohn and put on an airlock.
bottle after a week and leave for a month.
Drink
Go to hospital.
Suggestions or thoughts?
Just found another recipe - I think the ale is unfermented.and you add the chicken to the sack and spices and add that to the finished ale. Remeber ale would have to be fairly fresh as there are no preservatives in those days.
A similar recipe was printed in 1739 in The Compleat Housewife:
Take ten gallons of ale, and a large cock, the older the better; parboil the cock, flay him, and stamp him in a stone mortar till his bones are broken (you must craw and gut him when you flay him); then put the cock into two quarts of sack, and put it to three pounds of raisins of the sun stoned, some blades of mace, and a few cloves; put all these into a canvas bag, and a little before you find the ale has done working, put the ale and bag together into a vessel; in a week or nine days time bottle it up; fill the bottle but just above the neck, and give the same time to ripen as other ale.[3]
http://www.beerandbrewer.co.nz/_blog/Magazine/post/Cock_Ale/
This is another modern interpretation. I still think thye should have used a sherry as that is what sack is.
Don't have an ale kit so must buy one.