The first course includes Ein gute Niderla:endische Huszpudt - A hot-pot in the Netherlands style; entered here as a main dish. Rumpolt mentions layering the ingredients, so I chose to prepare this dish in a crock pot because it can achieve the long slow cooking required to get everything tender, and does not need stirring.. In the 1580's this dish would have been put near the edge of the fire, or on a banked section, to keep it at a minimal simmer without scorching the part closest to the heat, and without needing to be stirred. Stirring would disturb the layers.

In this case the Hu:edtspudt is what is now called an Eintopf or one pot in Germany. The entire meal is cooked in one pot. It is still eaten in the Netherlands, though the modern version includes onions and potatoes along with the carrots and pork, and omits the other meats and the wonderfully flavorful parsnips.

From page CLXXVIIa

Hu:edtspudt zu zurichten/ mit
aller Zugeho:erung
I.

Nim{m} Rindfleisch/ das halb gesotten ist/ vnd heb die Bru:eh davon
auff.
2. Nim{m} Kalbfleisch/ vnd quells wol/ vnd sa:eubers ausz.
3. Schweinenfleisch.
4. Castraun oder Hammelfleisch/ lasz halb eynsieden.
5. Quell gelbe Ruben/ schneidt sie grob.
6. Quell auch Pastenackwurtzel/ vnd schneidt sie voneinander.
7. Nim{m} ein Fischkessel/ der vberzindt ist/ vnd leg es in den Kessel sauber
nacheinander/ die gelb Ruben vnnd Pasternack zwischen eyn. Nim{m} gesotten
feitzten Speck/ hack jn mit gru:enen wolschmeckenden Kra:utern/ auch Weck/
der in einer Rindtfleischbru:eh geweicht/ vnd wenn er klein gehackt/ so thu es
vber das Fleisch/ seig ein gute Rindtfleischbru:eh daru:eber/ schneidt/ Knobloch
klein/ thu gantzen Pfeffer vnd Muscatenblu:et daru:eber/ gelbs/ vndd pfeffers
mit gestossenem Pfeffer/ lasz miteinander sieden/ so wirt es gut vnnd wolgeschmack.
Vnd diese Speisz nennet man auff Niderlendisch Hudspudt. Du
magst auch wol ein Sta:euchlein oder zwey Rosemarein darein thun/ dasz ein
lieblichen geschmack gibt/ wenns auffgesotten hat/ so thut man die Rosemarein
wieder herausz/ so wirt es gut vnd wolgeschmack.

Hotpot to prepare/ with
all that belongs with it
I.
Take beef/ that is half cooked/ and save the broth (from the cooking.)
2. Take veal and soak it well/ and clean it out (trim it.)
3. Pork.
4. Mutton/ let it (be) half cooked.
5. Soak also yellow roots (carrots)/ cut them coarsely.
6. Soak also pasternake (Wild Parsnip)/ and cut it apart.
7. Take a fish pot (???) with a lid (???) (these seem to be applicable, though I do not know if that is what the words mean in literal translation)/ and lay it in the pot, clean one after the other/ the carrots and parsnips in between. Take cooked fat bacon/ chop it with green welltasting herbs/ also loaf (of bread)/ that has soaked in beef broth/ and when it is chopped/ so do (put) it over the meat/ pour a good beef broth thereover/ cut garlic small/ do whole pepper and nutmeg flower over it/ yellow it (with saffron) and pepper it with crushed pepper/ let it all simmer together/ so it will be good and welltasting. This dish is called Hotpot in the Netherland style. You may also well put a sprig or two of rosemary therein/ that it give a lovely flavor/ when it has cooked/ so do (take) the rosemary back out/ so it becomes good and well tasting.

My interpretation:

Hotpot Netherland Style

1 1/2 lb beef (I used top round because it was on sale, a fattier cut like 7-bone would likely have been used, but would give me digestive trouble)
1/2 lb veal (For personal reasons I do not use veal, and have omitted it in the dish sampled here.)
1 1/2 lb pork (I used sirloin, more likely it would have been a fattier cut like shoulder)
1/2 lb mutton (sorry, all I could find was lamb, I used leg of because of the fat concerns; because of cost a smaller amount was used)
1 lb carrots
1 lb parsnips
1/4 lb bacon, precooked but not to the crispy stage
1/2 cup green herbs (parsely, savory)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3" of whole wheat french baguette, or an equivalent amount of bread (1 french roll..)
3-4 cups beef broth (in addition to what you will make)
1 t whole black peppercorns
1 t nutmeg, freshly grated
2 t black pepper, freshly ground
saffron threads (as much as you can/want to afford)
2 sprigs rosemary (left whole)
(salt to taste - Rumpolt only ever cautions about not oversalting, he usually does not list it as a separate ingredient.)

Cut your meat into equal sized cubes, keeping each kind separate. In a 3 quart saucepan place your beef and enough water to cover. Simmer 30 minutes.
In another saucepan place your mutton, cover with water and simmer 30 minutes. At the end of cooking discard broth or save for some other use.
Meanwhile wash and scrape your carrots and parsnips. Cut them into equal pieces.
In a crockpot layer your meats, a separate layer for each animal, and separate with layers of the carrots and parsnips.
Take the bacon and mince it with the herbs.
In a small bowl soak your bread in some beef broth, when the bread is soft mince it.
Add your minced bread, bacon and herbs to the meat, add beef broth to cover, add the garlic, peppercorns, nutmeg, saffron and freshly ground pepper. Let it simmer for several hours. In a crockpot it can cook all day without needing to be stirred. You may include a sprig or two of rosemary, it will add a lovely flavor, but remove the sprigs before serving. So it is good and welltasting.

I suggest using a crockpot because it can achieve the long slow cooking required to get everything tender, and does not need stirring. I was surprised how the flavor of the parsnips permeated the carrots and the rest of the dish, and the meat was tender without falling apart. Delicious

(NOTE: on reheating the meat does shred and fall apart.)

The transliteration, translation and re-creation are my own work. Gwen.