To Roast Larks
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the larks without opening them.
Wrap each lark in a slice of lard and skewer them with a small skewer.
Secure the lard by passing a thread from one side to the other and tie it to the spit.
Cook and serve
Cook the larks over a brisk fire.
Place toast in the dripping pan to catch the fat.
Serve the larks on the toast.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Larks
- The main meat, cooked whole so the flesh stays enclosed and moist.
- Lard slices
- Fat that bastes the birds as they cook, keeping the lean meat moist and adding richness.
- Toast
- Soaks up the dripping fat and serves as a base for the larks.
The step that matters
Secure the lard by passing a thread from one side to the other and tie it to the spit.. If the lard slips off during roasting, the lean meat dries out and loses its basting fat. Tying it firmly keeps the fat in place across the whole cooking time.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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