Chykonys in Bruette — Medieval Chicken in Ale-Broth with Saffron (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Chykonys in Bruette — Chicken in Ale-Broth with Saffron (Harleian MS. 279)

Chykonys in Bruette — Chicken in Ale-Broth with Saffron (Harleian MS. 279, c.1430)

Originally published 12/21/2016 - Updated 9/10/2025

Bruet/bruette in Middle English generally signals a sauce or broth thickened with bread and seasoned with warm spices. In Harleian MS. 279, this dish is a straightforward, feast-friendly pottage: gently boiled chicken, chopped, then simmered in its own broth with ale, pepper, ginger, and saffron, thickened with ground bread. A related stream of recipes (Forme of Cury, Liber cure cocorum, Noble Boke) adds pork and cumin; this post presents the Harleian-only version first and notes the pork-and-cumin variant below.

Original Recipe

.lxxxxvij. Chykonys in bruette.
Take an Sethe Chykonys, & smyte hem to gobettys; þan take Pepir, Gyngere, an Brede y-grounde, & temper it vppe wyth þe self brothe, an with Ale; an coloure it with Safroun, an sethe an serue forth.

Gloss: Boil chickens; chop to gobbets. Grind pepper, ginger, and bread; temper (mix) with the same broth and ale; color with saffron; boil and serve.

Modern Recipe (tested)

Yield: 4 servings (pottage course) • Time: ~45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) bone-in chicken (thighs or split breasts)
• Water to cover (or light chicken broth)
• 1 cup (240 ml) mild ale (low-bitterness)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ¾–1 tsp ground black pepper
• Generous pinch saffron, crumbled
• ¾–1 cup (45–60 g) fresh breadcrumbs (or 35–45 g dried, finely ground)
• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Parboil: Cover chicken with water; bring to a gentle boil. Skim, then simmer until just cooked (20–25 min). Remove chicken; reserve broth. When cool enough, strip meat and cut into bite-size pieces.
2. Make the bruette: Measure 4 cups (950 ml) of the chicken broth back into the pot. Add ale, ginger, pepper, and saffron. Bring to a gentle simmer 3–5 minutes to bloom spices.
3. Thicken: Whisk in ground bread gradually until the broth lightly coats a spoon; simmer 3–5 minutes. Adjust thickness with more bread or broth.
4. Finish: Return chicken to the pot; simmer 2–3 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve hot.

Cook’s Notes: Aim for a spoonable, saucy pottage—not a paste. If your ale is bitter, cut with more broth. For a silkier texture, sieve the sauce before adding the chicken.

🥕 Dietary Notes

• Contains: gluten (bread), alcohol (ale). Dairy-free by default.
• Gluten-free option: use GF breadcrumbs or a small amount of rice flour as thickener.
• Alcohol-free option: substitute additional broth plus 1–2 tsp malt vinegar or verjuice.
• Vegetarian/Vegan: ❌ (chicken-based).

Substitutions & Adjustments

• Texture: For tavern service, thicken slightly more so it holds on trenchers.
• Spice balance: Ginger leads; pepper supports. Keep saffron subtle—golden hue, gentle aroma.
• Bread: Day-old wheaten bread works best. Sieve crumbs for a smooth sauce.

Historical & Culinary Notes

Two streams of “Hennys/Chykonys in Bruet(te)”: The Harleian 279 reading (this post) uses chicken, ale, bread, pepper, ginger, saffron—no cumin, no pork. A related tradition (e.g., Forme of Cury, Liber cure cocorum, Noble Boke) includes pork (often boiled with the hens) and cumin. If you’d like that flavor profile, add ½ lb (225 g) fresh pork (belly or shoulder), simmer with the chicken for the broth, and include ½–1 tsp ground cumin with the spices.

Bread-thickened sauces: “Brede y-grounde” is the standard medieval roux—breadcrumbs whisked into hot liquid for body and gloss.

Ale in cookery: Ale softens edges of spice heat and adds malt sweetness. Choose a mild/amber with low bitterness to avoid a harsh finish.

Humoral glance: Chicken (moderately warm/moist) with warming spices (ginger, pepper) and saffron reads as gently warming—good cooler-season fare.

Ale in Context

Medieval ale was unhopped (hops were only slowly adopted in England in the 15th c.). It was mildly alcoholic, malty, often cloudy, and drunk very fresh.

Beer, by contrast, was hop-flavored and preserved, more bitter.

Modern Substitutions

1. Mild, unhoppy ales or lagers
   • Mild ale (English style) if you can find it — low ABV, malty, not bitter.
   • Belgian witbier (Hoegaarden, Allagash White) — light, cloudy, gently spiced, little bitterness.
   • Kölsch or other light German ale — clean and malty, subtle hops.
2. Non-alcoholic substitutes
   • Unfiltered apple cider (unsweetened, not spiced) — fruity/malty without bitterness.
   • Malt beverages (like malta in Latin markets) — rich malt sweetness, no alcohol.
3. Avoid
   • IPA, pilsner, or any heavily hopped beer — too bitter.
   • Stout/porter — too roasted/dark for a golden saffron pottage.

For feasts: choose a mild English ale if available.
For easy kitchen use (or alcohol-free): unfiltered apple cider with a splash of white grape juice or malt beverage gives gentle sweetness without bitterness.

Menu Placement

Dish Type: Pottage (soup/stew course). Why “Pottage”? In medieval cookery, “pottage” was a broad class of dishes covering soups, stews, and sauced meats — anything served in a bowl with liquid, eaten with bread or spoon. A “bruette” is essentially a bread-thickened broth or sauce poured over meat. So while this looks like a simple chicken stew today, it would have been placed among the “pottages” on a medieval feast menu.

Serve with

• Almond Milk – Basics & Period Use
• Ryse of Flesh (Rice in Almond Milk)
• White Wortes (Greens with Almond Milk)
• Lange Wortes de pesoun (Braised Greens with Peas)
• Arranging a Feast: Course flow & entremets
• Medieval Spice Mixes: Powder Douce & Forte

Cross-Links

• Arranging a Feast: Course flow & entremets
• Medieval Spice Mixes: Powder Douce & Forte

Sources

• Harleian MS. 279 (c.1430) — transcription via UMich link above.
• Forme of Cury — “Hennys in Bruet” (pork + cumin stream).
• Liber cure cocorum — “Hennes in brewes.”
• A Noble Boke off Cookry — “Hennes in Bruet.”

Labels

Browse by Dish Type: Pottage
Browse by Ingredient: Poultry, Spices, Bread
Browse by Use: SCA Feast Planning, Period Techniques
Browse by Era: Medieval