14 Completely Insane Dishes from History

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Roasted Heron

If you happen to have a copy of the 1390 English cookbook The Forme of Cury lying around, you'll notice that it contains cooking instructions for quite an amazing array of animals, including seals, whales, porpoises, cranes and herons. Herons are not famous for being easy to catch, nor plump and filling when served at the table, but there they are. The inclusion of this strange bird is probably due to the lack of consistent food sources in Medieval times and chefs who had to get creative with whatever they had. In case you were wondering, The Forme of Cury recommends wrapping the plucked heron up in bacon and ginger and roasting it whole.