Coleys (Chicken Cullis): Medieval Chicken Bone Broth & Restorative Soup

Coleys (Chicken Cullis): Medieval Chicken Bone Broth & Restorative Soup – Harleian MS. 279

Harleian MS. 279 (c.1430) — .xxvj. Coleys — Chicken Cullis

What is “Coley(s)” / Cullis? A medieval restorative made by cooking a capon until tender, then enriching the broth with the meat, bread, and the “liquor of the bones.” Think early bone-broth technique with a comforting, spoonable finish.

Originally published 5/12/ 2019 Updated 5/13/2026

In Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books (Harleian MS. 279), Coleys calls for not only the broth from boiling the capon but specifically the liquor of the bones—a clear nod toward longer extraction and collagen, much like today’s bone broth. French sources, including Du fait de cuisine, even frame coulleys as food for the sick: nourishing, mild, and easily digested.

This is not a clear soup. It is closer to a spoonable medieval chicken soup, a savory porridge, or a soft restorative broth thickened with bread. The result is mild, warming, and practical: a dish that uses the bird thoroughly and turns broth, meat, bones, skin, and bread into something sustaining.

What Is a Cullis?

The word cullis has shifted meaning over time. In medieval and early modern cooking, it often referred to a strong strained broth, meat essence, or restorative preparation. Later, the word developed into a sauce base, and the related modern word coulis is now most often used for a smooth fruit or vegetable sauce.

Cullis Through Time:

• Medieval: A strained broth or soft restorative dish, often made with meat, bread, grain, or almond milk.
• Early modern: A concentrated meat essence or rich reduction used in cookery.
• Classical French cookery: A smooth sauce foundation or strained preparation.
• Modern usage: Usually a smooth fruit or vegetable purée sauce, such as raspberry coulis.

Why Coleys Was Considered Restorative

Medieval restorative foods were often soft, warm, moist, and easy to swallow. A dish like Coleys fits that pattern beautifully. The chicken provides substance, the long-simmered bones and skin enrich the broth, and the bread turns the liquid into something more sustaining than a plain soup.

In humoral terms, dishes for the sick or recovering were often adjusted to suit the condition of the patient. Some versions of cullis in related sources are gently seasoned or even prepared with almond milk, especially for fish days or for those requiring lighter food. The goal was not bold flavor. The goal was comfort, nourishment, and digestibility.

📜 Timeline: Bone Broth & Cullis in the Sources

• 1390 – England: Forme of Cury, “For to make a Colys” — hen with oats or bread, strained with broth and bone matter.
• 1420s – France: Du fait de cuisine — coulleys appears as a restorative dish for invalids, including almond milk and fish-day variants.
• c.1430 – England: Harleian MS. 279, “Coley(s)” — capon, liquor of the bones, bread, ginger, sugar, and salt.
• 1468 – England: Noble Boke of Cookry — “Colles” with capon, oatmeal, bread, saffron, and a strained smooth finish.
• 18th century: “Cullis” becomes a strong meat reduction used as a sauce base, helping bridge medieval restorative broth and later gravy-making traditions.

The “Liquor of the Bones”: Medieval Bone-Broth Technique

The phrase liquor of the bones is one of the most useful details in this recipe. It suggests that the bones were not simply discarded after boiling the capon. Instead, they were used to strengthen and enrich the broth. A medieval cook may not have described this in modern nutritional language, but the kitchen logic is clear: bones, skin, joints, and connective tissue give body and richness to a long-simmered broth.

For a modern version, cracking or breaking the bones before returning them to the pot helps expose marrow and connective tissue. A gentle simmer extracts flavor and gelatin without making the broth muddy or harsh. This also makes Coleys a good example of low-waste medieval cooking. The bird is used thoroughly: meat, bones, skin, broth, and thickening all become part of the final dish.

Technique Note: Why Crack the Bones?

• Cracked bones give the broth more body and flavor.
• Skin and joints help create a silkier texture.
• A gentle simmer is better than a hard boil for a clean, pleasant broth.
• Straining well keeps the finished cullis smooth and spoonable.

Original Texts & Translations

The Harleian recipe belongs to a wider family of medieval colys, coulleys, colles, and cullis-like dishes. Several English and French sources describe similar preparations using poultry, bread, oats, almond milk, fish, or carefully strained broth. These comparisons show that Coleys was not an isolated recipe, but part of a broader medieval tradition of nourishing, soft-textured food.

Harleian MS. 279, c.1430 — .xxvj. Coleys

.xxvj. Coleys. — Take a gode Capoun an boyle hem tendere, an pyke a-way clene þe bonys an þe Skyn, an bray hym in a morter, an tempere hym wyth þe same brothe, an strayne hym þorw a straynoure; þenne take þe brawn an þe fleysshe, an a lytil whyte brede, an bray hem alle to-gederys in a morter; þen take þe lycowr of þe bonys, an þe skyn, an þe brothe þat þe Capoun was sothyn ynne, an with al tempere it, but nowt to þicke; þen put it in a potte, an let it be al hote, but let it boyle for no þing; an caste þer-to a litil powder of Gyngere, Sugre an Salt.

An ȝif it be on a fyssheday, take Haddok, Pyke, Tenche, Reȝge, Codlynd, an pyke a-way þe bonys [leaf 10.] an tempere wyth almaunde mylke; an make it hot, an caste þer-to Sugre an Salt, an serue forth.

Translation: Take a good capon and boil it until tender. Pick away the bones and skin cleanly, and pound the capon in a mortar. Temper it with the same broth and strain it through a strainer. Then take the brawn and the flesh, and a little white bread, and pound them all together in a mortar. Then take the liquor of the bones, the skin, and the broth in which the capon was boiled, and temper it all together, but not too thickly. Put it in a pot and let it become hot, but do not let it boil for anything. Add a little powdered ginger, sugar, and salt.

If it is a fish day, take haddock, pike, tench, ray, or codling, pick away the bones, and temper it with almond milk. Make it hot, add sugar and salt, and serve it forth.

What Did Coleys Taste Like?

Coleys is mild, warm, and deeply chicken-forward. The texture falls somewhere between broth, gruel, and savory porridge. The bread gives it body, while the long-simmered bones make the broth silky. Ginger adds gentle heat, and the small amount of sugar rounds the flavor rather than making it sweet.

If served over sops, or pieces of toasted bread, it becomes more substantial. As a feast dish, it would be a practical way to serve something soft and comforting without wasting the valuable broth or remains of the bird. As a sick-day dish, it sits comfortably beside other global comfort foods such as congee, chicken soup, and bread-thickened broths.

Cook’s Notes:

• Texture: Expect a spoonable, porridge-like cullis rather than clear soup. Serve on sops, or toasted bread, for period presentation.
• Bone liquor: After picking the meat, simmer cracked bones and skin for 2–4 hours to enrich the broth; strain well.
• Do not over-thicken: The manuscript suggests the final dish should not be too thick. Add breadcrumbs gradually.
• Fish-day variant: Use haddock, pike, tench, cod, or another firm white fish and almond milk instead of meat broth; season gently.
• Optional brightness: A small splash of vinegar can brighten the finish and echoes common medieval balancing practices.

🥕 Dietary Notes

• Gluten-free: Replace bread with gluten-free breadcrumbs or a small rice-flour slurry.
• Dairy-free: Period-accurate; no dairy required.
• Fish-day / Lenten: Use fish and almond milk as directed in related manuscript traditions.
• Low-waste: Utilizes bones, skin, broth, and meat for enrichment; excellent for feast kitchens.
• Vegetarian adaptation: Not period-equivalent, but a mild mushroom or roasted vegetable broth thickened with bread can imitate the soft restorative texture.

Modern Adaptation: Coleys (Chicken Cullis)

Serves 8 as a small restorative course or side dish

Ingredients

• 2 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken, or capon if available
• Water to cover by about 1 inch
• 2–2 2/3 cups fresh breadcrumbs, added gradually
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• Optional: 1–2 tsp vinegar to brighten the finish

Method

1. Cut the chicken into pieces and place it in a pot. Cover with cold water by about 1 inch.
2. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the meat is tender. Remove the chicken and allow it to cool enough to handle.
3. Pick the meat from the bones and skin. Reserve the meat.
4. Crack or break the bones and return them to the pot with the skin. Simmer gently for 2–4 hours, adding water as needed.
5. Strain the broth well. This strained liquid is your bone liquor.
6. Chop, shred, or pound the cooked meat finely. Mix it with a little hot broth and the breadcrumbs to form a soft paste.
7. Stir the meat and bread paste back into the hot bone liquor. Add more broth or crumbs as needed. The final texture should be spoonable, not stiff.
8. Heat gently without boiling hard. Season with ginger, sugar, and salt.
9. Serve hot in bowls or over toasted bread sops.

Optional Feast-Kitchen Method

For a feast or larger household meal, use a whole chicken or leftover roasted chicken carcasses. Simmer the bones and skin into a rich stock, pick and chop the meat, then thicken with fresh breadcrumbs. This is an excellent low-waste dish for using broth, meat scraps, and stale bread.

Related Recipes & Further Reading

Continue the Feast:

• Hen in Cyve – Medieval Chicken in Onion & Wine Sauce
• VJ Gruelle – Medieval Oat & Pork Pottage
• Spice Measurement FAQ: Ounces to Tablespoons

Coleys / Chicken Cullis – FAQ

Is Coleys the same as cullis or coulis?

They are related terms, but their meanings changed over time. Medieval Coleys belongs to the older family of cullis-like dishes: soft, strained, broth-based preparations often used as restorative food. Modern coulis usually means a smooth fruit or vegetable sauce.

Is this medieval bone broth?

It is not modern bone broth in name, but the technique is closely related. The Harleian recipe specifically calls for the liquor of the bones, meaning broth enriched from bones after the meat has been cooked.

Why does the recipe use bread?

Bread was a common medieval thickener. It gives the dish body, makes the broth more filling, and turns the preparation into a soft spoonable food.

Why should I avoid boiling it hard at the end?

A hard boil can make the bread-thickened mixture gummy or uneven. Gentle heat keeps the cullis smooth and pleasant.

Can I use leftover roast chicken?

Yes. Simmer the carcass, skin, and remaining bones to make a rich broth, then fold chopped leftover meat and breadcrumbs back into the strained liquid.

What should I serve with Coleys?

Serve it with toasted bread sops, soft cooked greens, or as part of a medieval first course with other pottages and gentle dishes.

Sources

• Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books, Harleian MS. 279, c.1430.
• Forme of Cury, c.1390.
• Chiquart, Du fait de cuisine, c.1420s.
• Liber cure cocorum, 15th century.
• Noble Boke of Cookry, c.1468.

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