Food: A Cultural Culinary History

(singke) #1

You want to cook long and slow, but because this is before the discovery of
metallurgy, you need to make a lattice using fresh green sticks. Lay them
across the pit in one direction, and then lay more in the other direction so that
you have a kind of primitive grill. They should be far enough away from the
hot coals so that they don’t burn, but they probably will char a little. Place on
top of the sticks any meat you prefer: a few split chickens, large cuts of pork
shoulder, or even a fi sh wrapped in sturdy leaves. Your seasoning should be
minimal—whatever herbs you can fi nd and salt. Because you are using a
very gentle fi re, expect larger pieces of meat to cook for at least an hour or
so. If you have a fl are-up, you can always sprinkle a little water on the fi re to
prevent the meat from burning. It will smoke a lot, which is good. Smoke is
unquestionably a major fl avor category that we have learned to enjoy in the
millennia of cooking in this way.

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