To Boyle A Brest Of Veale

This recipe hails from an early 18th-century English manuscript, dated approximately 1700, a period when culinary practices were evolving but still retained many elements of grand household cooking. Veal was prized for its tenderness and was often the centerpiece at well-to-do tables. Recipes like this—richly seasoned, rolled, and boiled—were typical of celebratory or formal meals. The use of bacon, sweet spices, and a lavish buttery sauce signifies the dish's status as a showcase of both wealth and culinary fashion. The manuscript was likely written for household cooks or stewards, so instructions were terse but assumed competent hands and familiarity with large joints of meat and intricate preparation. Such recipes also reflect the English palate for herby, spiced, and richly sauced dishes before the simplicity of later centuries.

In the 1700s, the cook would have used a large, sturdy kitchen knife for boning the veal, and possibly a meat mallet to flatten or tenderize it. Chopping utensils and a wooden chopping board were essential for herbs and spices. To bind the rolled veal, kitchens employed linen tapes or string (‘packthread’). A large iron or copper stockpot was needed for boiling the meat, usually suspended over or set near an open hearth fire. For the sauce, a small pan would have been placed at the side of the hearth to keep it from overheating as the butter and egg yolks were combined. Simple utensils like wooden spoons, ladles, and tongs completed the tool kit for this impressive dish.