Name: Brawn
Yield: Serves 15–20
Ingredients: Caperberries, olives or pickled plums; Orange and lemon slices; Gold leaf; 2 blades of mace; 10 whole cloves; A 3 kg/6 lb joint of pig, skin on, cut vertically from top to bottom; 3 tbsp roughly chopped sage leaves; 1 tbsp roughly chopped rosemary; 1 tbsp thyme; 1 tbsp coarse salt; 4 bay leaves; 2 litres beer (not too hoppy); Rosemary sprigs; Bay leaves; Barberries (or cranberries); 2 tsp ground ginger; ½ tsp ground nutmeg; Pinch of ground mace; Pinch of ground cloves

Preparation info

Serves
15–20

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

At Christmas We Feast

By Annie Gray

Published 2021

About

Hannah Woolley, 1670, The Queen-like Closet¹⁸

Brawn was originally based on boar flesh. Recipes vary wildly, but at their most basic they all involve a slab of meat which is rolled, boiled and brined. There were multiple recipes and various tips given on when and how best to prepare it. Most were stuffed, initially with spices such as ginger and mace, and later with herbs. Brines