Buzz
Victorians didn't limit themselves to just steaks and chops from animals like cows, pigs, and sheep, nor did they simply grind the remaining parts into sausages. They utilized every part of the animal, from snout to tail, savoring offal and other portions typically used in hot dogs. Brains, tripe, tongue, head, feet, tail, ears—nineteenth-century cooks had a recipe for every part.
These dishes were commonly featured in cookbooks across both sides of the Atlantic during that era. If you're a fan of offal, you might find yourself eager to try these recipes by the end of the list. For others, the idea of hot dogs originating from some undefined, non-gelatinous part of the animal might remain a comforting thought, despite the butcher's chart suggesting otherwise.
Enjoy your meal!
10. Boiled Calf’s Head
This dish is precisely as it sounds. A calf’s head, bought from the butcher, often required the cook to clean off the hair and prepare it before boiling it until tender. The tongue was sliced and arranged on a platter alongside the meat. The eyeballs, halved, were included not as decoration but as a prized delicacy. The dish was typically served with brains minced into a sauce for a fancier presentation. For a family meal, the entire head, complete with jellied eyeballs, might be served whole.
9. Calves’ Foot Jelly
Regarded as suitable for invalids, this aspic-like dish was made by boiling a calf’s head and feet for hours, then straining the mixture. Cooked brains were added, and the jelly was clarified, strained again, and poured into a mold to set. The resulting grayish jelly was firm enough to slice. For added flair, brains and boiled egg slices could be placed at the mold’s base before adding the jelly. Similar to head cheese, this dish contained minimal actual meat.
8. Crimped Fish
While the dish itself isn’t inherently strange, the preparation method clashes with modern sensibilities. Victorian cooks insisted that most fish lacked firmness unless they were crimped—a process involving deep cuts made into the fish’s sides while it was still alive and thrashing. Cod was particularly favored for this treatment. Even at the time, the practice was deemed cruel, yet chefs and home cooks persisted in crimping fish and skate. However, as the century progressed, the method gradually fell out of favor.
7. Flour Soup
A straightforward recipe: start by preparing a brown roux using butter and flour in a pan. Add boiling water, salt, and caraway seeds, stirring until the mixture is smooth. And there you have it—soup! Another version swaps caraway for nutmeg. One can only imagine the dire circumstances and bare pantry that led a cook to serve this dish. While “mehlsuppe” is a traditional Swiss soup, modern versions often include flavorful additions like onions, chicken or beef stock, and grated Parmesan cheese. In the nineteenth century, however, diners were served a plain flour soup.
6. Soused Pig’s Face
Similar to #10 on the list, this dish was exactly what it sounds like—a pig’s head boiled for hours with cow’s heels, salted, and then brined for several days. The brine was seasoned with lemon or lime, pepper, and a hint of cayenne. The final presentation included the snout, ears, eyes, and grinning jaw, served with mustard and vinegar for those who enjoyed pickled meats. For a more refined version, the meat was removed from the bones, chopped, placed in a stoneware jar or mold, and covered with the strained cooking liquid, then cooled until set—akin to modern brawn.
5. Pressed Duck
To begin, the duck must be strangled—literally, not metaphorically. This method was chosen over decapitation to retain the duck’s bodily fluids. The duck was then partially roasted, with its legs, breast, and liver removed. The remaining carcass was crushed in a specialized press to extract blood and juices, which were transformed into a sauce served over the reserved meat. This dish originated at the Tour d’Argent restaurant in Paris. Duck presses soon found their way into home kitchens. If you’re intrigued and visit Paris, the dish remains a specialty on the restaurant’s menu.
4. Water Souchy
This soup embodies the “waste not, want not” philosophy. It was made by boiling assorted small fish—often leftovers from the fisherman’s catch—in water with parsley roots, a splash of wine, and vinegar if available. The result was a thin, green, and distinctly fishy broth. When using freshwater fish, care was taken to prevent a muddy flavor. Notably, the fish were not deboned, so diners had to eat cautiously. A more refined version featured larger fish chunks cooked in less water, seasoned with bouquet garni and leeks, resembling a rustic stew.
3. Slink
When pregnant cows or sheep were slaughtered, the fetus often aborted spontaneously or was removed during processing. Victorian butchers sold these aborted calves and lambs as slink veal or slink lamb, providing an affordable protein source for those unable to purchase higher-quality cuts. A rare and controversial delicacy from Anglo-Indian cuisine is kutti pi, a slow-braised goat fetus. The undeveloped bones are soft enough to eat, and the meat reportedly has a texture similar to liver, according to accounts.
Diners in the nineteenth century were far less selective than we are today, and their cuisine reflected their adventurous tastes. Mealtime wasn’t about choosing between pizza delivery or microwaved taquitos. Instead, you often found yourself at the table, face-to-face with your dinner—and sometimes, your dinner stared right back at you.
2. Broxy
Broxy was a cheap meat option for those who couldn’t afford better cuts. It referred to sheep that had died from illness and were sold in lower-class shops. Much more affordable than mutton, broxy was consumed by both rural and urban poor. However, eating broxy was a gamble, as it carried risks far beyond an upset stomach or heartburn. Diseases transmissible from sheep to humans included tetanus, toxoplasmosis, scabby mouth disease, salmonella, cryptosporidia, ringworm, Q-fever, and campylobacter infections.
1. Well Hung Pheasant
No, this isn’t a reference to a risqué film title. Game meats like venison and birds such as pheasant, grouse, and partridge were hung to age, enhancing their flavor and tenderness. Victorians preferred their meat extensively aged, with recommendations ranging from 6-7 days to hanging until blood dripped from the beak (as per Louis Eustache Ude’s *The French Cook*) or even until the feet fell off. Without refrigeration, the meat often reached a state of decomposition. Some enjoyed it so aged that it turned green and maggoty. While modern meat aging occurs under cleaner conditions, some hunters still prefer their game so pungent it seems alive on the plate.
