“Old hens have all the juice.”
I’ve always had an ambivalent relationship to the whole subject of meat on the Greek and, by extension, Mediterranean table. Relegated to the smallest compartments of the Mediterranean diet pyramid, meat is often disparaged without really understanding its place in the culture and diet.
While consumption of animal protein was nowhere near as prevalent a generation or two ago as it is in Greece today, meat was—and still is—consumed for everyday meals and holiday feasts alike. In rural communities, the attitude toward meat consumption is one of both acceptance and reverence. Most country families keep a few animals, everything from chickens to a goat or two, maybe a pig, to perhaps some rabbits. At some point, after reaching the right age and weight, living well and being treated humanely until then, animals are regarded as food.
Like the vast array of seasonal plant-based specialties, meat, too, in the Greek kitchen, is seasonal. Traditionally, for example, pork was the winter meat, and its consumption has been a paean to nose-to-tail cooking long before the term ever became fashionable. To this day, the idea of wasting food is anathema to most Greeks, whether they live in cities or villages, mountains or islands.
Some meat is almost exclusively festive. Turkey, rooster, and spit-roasted or stuffed whole lambs and goats were and still are the centerpieces of celebratory tables, Christmas and New Year’s for the former, Easter, of course, for sheep and goats.
In this chapter, most of the recipes are meant to be accessible as everyday meals. Greek meat cookery is both simple and deliciously aromatic. Warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, natural sweeteners such honey and petimezi (grape molasses), and a plethora of herbs and fresh and dried fruits all find a place in the heady, hearty meat dishes on the Greek table. The selection is both one of regional specialties and more contemporary interpretations on the classics. From easy chicken recipes to succulent lamb and a few rich stews, there is something here for carnivores of every ilk.