In ancient times, many historians and writers were able to document their experiences of dining among the Celts. One in particular describes the rather informal feasting habits of the Celts this way: ‘the Celts place dried grass on the floor when they eat their meals, using tables which are raised slightly off the ground.‘ The writings, mostly attributed to the Classical era, suggest that a Celtic feast was centered around a cauldron and several roasting spits. It was primarily characterized by profuse amounts of roasted and boiled meat, eaten with bare hands and considered to be a ceremonial manifestation of the warfaring nature of Celtic society.
‘On straw or hides the diners would gather, seated on the ground, and eat their meat with their fingers in a cleanly but leonine fashion, picking up pieces of meat in two hands and eating directly from the bones. Parts that were hard to tear off were cut through with the small dagger which hangs attached to their swordsheath in its own scabbard’.
The men and women of the house were attended by younger sons and daughters. Brave warriors were honored with the best cuts of meat. During the Celtic Iron Age, the establishment of salt mining along Britain’s coasts began. Salt enabled the Celts to preserve meat for storage during winter. Celts in the region of Gaul, who loved pork especially well, prepared hams so renowned that they were shipped off to Rome as a delicacy. In Britain’s mainland, nothing is known about the popularity of salted meats. Some of the surviving Italian recipes of the mid-second century BC detail the process of making these hams: hams had to be covered with salt and steeped in their own brine for seventeen days, then dried for two days, rubbed over with oil and vinegar, and smoked for two days more. It is believed that Celtic Britons would have employed a similar technique, minus the oil and vinegar dressing which was not a part of their culture.
Here, pictured, is a modern dish likely derived from the traditional Celtic cooking.