I have a dream: I dream that we can take the singularity of purpose that enabled us to drive passenger pigeons extinct and do the same to starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), an introduced pest. If you would like to learn more about bird introductions and invasions, please email me at briwaf at gmail dot com. If you want to tell me that I'm a bad person for encouraging people to kill starlings, please don't.

In the spirit of this dream, I present this recipe, in the hopes that you will try it with hundreds of starlings. Starlings are not protected by any laws, as far as I know.

"Smale Byrdys y-Stwyde: Take small birdies, and pull (pluck) them and draw them clean (remove guts?), and wash them fair, and chop off the legs and fry them in a pan of fresh grease (ie lard or bacon grease) right well; then lay them on a fair linen cloth, and let the grease run out; then take onions, and mince them small, and fry them on (in) fair fresh grease, and cast them on (in) an earthen pot; then take a good portion of canel (cinnamon), and wine, and draw (it) through a strainer, and cast (it) into a pot with the onions; then cast the birdies thereto, and cloves, and mace, and a little quantity of powder(ed) pepper thereto, and let them boil together now (or enough?), then caste thereto white sugar, and powder(ed) ginger, salt, saffron, and serve it forth."

I translated this from the original in A Fifteenth Century Cookry Boke, compiled by John L. Anderson.

I'll be posting more starling recipes (and startling recipes!) here in the future.

©Laurel Black