Main & Second Course Dishes

Main and Second Course Dishes

Substantial dishes for the heart of the meal: roasted meats, poultry, fish, savory pies, sausages, hashes, stews, and other feast dishes that served as the main strength of the table.

What Belonged in the Main or Second Course?

In medieval and early modern dining, the middle and later services of a meal often carried the heavier dishes: roasted meats, birds, fish, pies, game, sausages, hashes, and richly sauced preparations. These were the dishes that gave weight, abundance, and spectacle to the feast after lighter opening dishes, broths, pottages, and first-service foods had prepared the stomach.

The “main dish” was not always a single modern entrée. A historical table might include several substantial dishes at once, arranged by service, season, household status, religious calendar, and occasion.

About this collection: This catalog gathers recipes labeled as main dishes, second-course dishes, roasted meats, poultry, fish and seafood, game, sausages, capons, savory pies, meat dishes, and other substantial feast foods.

Catalog note: This is a living collection and part of an ongoing archive renovation project. Historical recipes on Give It Forth span many years of research, and older posts were sometimes labeled according to earlier systems or broader categories. As labels are reviewed and standardized, recipes that do not best fit this catalog may be moved to a more appropriate collection, while dishes that belong here may be added.

Recipe Catalog

Gathering recipes from the archive...