Traditional Korgic Meals, by Urik of Muttonhall

Written for Prompt 30 (2019 Summer Camp)

Written by David_Ulph

Being raised in the trading town of Muttonhall in the Skìrah Hold of Dawnsmarch, I have been especially lucky with being able to learn about the culinary traditions of all the cultures in my race of Korgs. As a famed and respected chef, I have been able to test and try these meals I have discovered and it is my treat to document some of the lesser known traditional meals of my great race so that all in the Great Western Empire may experiment with new flavours.

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Meals

Brain Cakes

It is without a doubt the skill of the Korgs to be able to use up every single part of an animal that many other cultures in the GWE will leave as leftovers to throw away. This meal is a perfect example of this skill. Usually, the meal is used with parts of a sheep but theoretically any animal can be used in it's place, don't fear for experimentation.

Wash and boil the brains of a sheep and boil them in milk till tender.

Skin a sheep’s tongue, chop it up and add to chopped brains.

Add a cupful of breadcrumbs, pepper, salt and some chopped parsley.

Moisten with beaten egg, and make into flat cakes.

Dredge with flour, dip in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs, and fry a bright golden-brown in hot fat.

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Korgic Bun

Not necessarily the least common of this short list, being a ceremonial dish baked to mark special days in the Elder Faith. Nonetheless, it's taste allows for it to be an acceptable desert for any time, any where!

First make the dough by rubbing the butter into the flour in a large bowl. Now mix in the yeast, salt and sugar. Stir in the water and mix with your hand to form a fairly smooth dough. You do not need to knead it. Cover with something damp and leave to rest for 2 hours.

While the dough is fermenting, slowly melt the butter and sugar together. This mixture will look terrible and split to begin with but keep stirring and it will all come together eventually. Stir in the spices and leave to cool completely.

When the dough has rested remove 400g of the dough, keep this for the top and bottom layer.

In the bowl incorporate the remaining dough with the sugar, butter and spice mixture with your hand. Again this takes a while to incorporate but it comes together in the end. Now stir in the fruit.

Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out to the depth of roughly half a centimetre. It needs to be big enough to cover the bottom and top.

Lay the bottom layer of dough. Pour in the fruit mixture and flatten this out. Now lay the top over and brush it with a beaten egg.

Bake in a hot oven for anything between 2 1/2 – 3 hours. A skewer should come out clean when the cake is ready. Leave to cool completely before slicing it.

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Beverages

Caudell

While Caudell is an extremely common beverage for the Korg nobility, I see no reason for the commonfolk such as myself to adopt the drink as I would genuinely recommend it. While these instructions are for wine, it is perfectly compatible with ale, but remember to serve and drink soon after finishing cooking, in a small bowl or cup.

Beat together the egg yolks and wine.

Place in a pot over medium to high heat. Bring to a boil while continually stirring.

As the mixture heats up, it will begin to become thick & frothy (Add more egg yolks if needed - the more egg, the thicker & frothier the result).

As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce heat.

Beat in sugar to taste, saffron, and a dash of salt. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

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Black Broth

The Korgs seem to have quite a culinary affinity with blood, clearly seen with black pudding, but one that hasn't especially moved west from the old lands of the Wolf Kings is the highly nutritious black broth. (Note: I would like to point out that this drink has saved me from one or more run ins with Vampyres.)

Poor fresh blood into shallow pans and place in the cold cave till nearly congealed. Meanwhile, whip together a couple of chicken egg yolks and melted tallow.

Using a sharp knife, slice the blood into chunks, then dice.

Whip the blood slivers with the yolks and tallow, adding more tallow if needed to thin into a beverage. Add salt to taste.

Set aside for a month to allow it to ferment.