Cockentrice Explained

Cockentrice is a dish consisting of a suckling pig's upper body sewn onto the bottom half of a capon or turkey.[1] Alternately, the front end (head and torso) of the poultry is sewn to the rump of the piglet to not waste the other half. Other animal combinations were also used.[2] The cockentrice was basted with a mixture of egg yolk and saffron during the roasting or covered with gold foil; it was also filled with a similar mixture to have a gilded inside. The dish originates from the Middle Ages[3] and at least one source attributes the Tudor dynasty of the Kingdom of England as its originator.[4]

Nomenclature

Cockentrice, at times also spelled cockentryce, is only one version of the dish's name. The original name was cokagrys or cotagres, a portmanteau of "cock" and grys, a suckling pig. Other spellings from the period include koketris, cocagres and cokyntryche.[3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Madrigal . Alexis C. . Perhaps the Strangest Photo You'll Ever See and How It's Related to Turduckens . . 26 November 2013 . 29 November 2013.
  2. Web site: Making a medieval cockentrice feast . 10 February 2022.
  3. Web site: Matterer . James L. . The History of the Cockentrice . 29 November 2013.
  4. Web site: From Tudors to Turducken: An Engastration Tale . 29 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150922052257/http://www.delicioushistory.org/?p=1709 . 22 September 2015 . dead .