2002-08-20 - 1:14 p.m.
So today we continue on with the tales of Pennsic XXXI...primarily because it's easier than working.
Some of you (heck, most of you) know that Eilis and I became members of House Drunken Badger back in March. As such, we camped with them at Pennsic, and assisted in the friday night party.
Drunken Badger is a service household. We're not in fealty to anyone (not even a Crown, since we have members from something like 11 of the 17 Kingdoms), we're just a group of folks who believe that service is it's own reward. Between the Heralds (Wreath, Golden Dolphin, and a few other CoA members), Marshals, scribes and others, there is a *large* contingent of Chiurgeons. The Head of the House is a Master Chiurgeon, her wife is one as well, and there's at least 3 other Master Chiurgeons, several journeymen, and a few apprentices.
So, as a favor to the Chiurgeon community, HDB hosted the annual "THank You" Chiurgeon party friday night of War Week.
To host said party required meat...so Kristen goes off and purchased beef and pork. Specifically 55 pounds of dead uncooked cow ass and 45 pounds of cooked whole pig.
My task, since I was the only guy in camp available to monitor the fire and cook was to turn the raw cow ass into cooked meat.
Available for this task was one large firepit, one metal grate, a couple of meathooks, one glove, an assortment of wood, and various spices.
So we set off to build a nice coal bed to place the grate over and cook the dead cow butt, only to be told by the other guy in camp (who was packing to go home) "You know, a fire takes three things...heat, fuel, and air".
No shit? Really? And All this time I'd been tossing freon on the soaking wet wood I'd been keeping in the sealed metal box.
I restrained myself from killing him.
Anyhow, in a bit we had a nice coalbed working and put the dead cow on top of it.
Whoops...someone (whistling innocently) had forgotten to account for the fact that when the fat on the meat melted, it would fuel the fire very nicely...it didn't quite go up in flames, but it did get a nice charred outside.
So three hours later, the meat thermometer says it's done.
Well...it wasn't. The inside was still too raw to eat easily...especially when there weren't enough knives to go around, but hey, that's neither here nor there.
Okay...the next story will be the Epic Tale of Gorm the Crossbow Destroyer and the battle of Hadrian's Wall...stay tuned.
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