Odysseus’s Roast Pork

Skewer or roast pork covered in seasoned barley meal, accompanied by the Ancient Greek potion, Kykeon

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City/Region: Greece

Time Period: c. 1650-1100 B.C.E., Mycenaean Period

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When Odysseus finally makes it back to his home of Ithaca, he goes to the home of the swineherd Eumaeus. Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus is welcomed into Eumaeus’s home, and Eumaeus prepares skewers of roasted pork sprinkled with barley meal.

While I could just make plain roast pork sprinkled with plain barley flour, let’s assume that Eumaeus does the disguised Odysseus the courtesy of seasoning the meal. Archaeologists have found evidence that the people living in Greece during the Mycenaean Period, when The Odyssey is supposed to have taken place, commonly used coriander, cumin, celery, and fennel, so that’s what I used to season the barley flour coating.

This dish is very simple, and surprisingly flavorful. I made mine in the oven, but if you can cook it over an open fire, it would be even better. The cumin and fennel seeds are both very strong flavors, so choose one or the other so as not to completely overpower everything else.

“Eumaeus went off to the sties where the pigs were penned. Choosing two sucklings, he carried them in, slaughtered and singed them both, then cut them in pieces and spitted them on skewers. Then, when all was well roasted, he served it to Odysseus piping hot on the skewers, sprinkling the meat with white barley meal.”

— The Odyssey, Book XIV

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Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb (340 g) pork, you can use any cut, I used boneless pork chops
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup (70 g) barley flour
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 2 teaspoons celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin or ground fennel seed

Instructions:

1. Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces, then coat them in olive oil. Sprinkle them evenly with the salt and rub it into the meat. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix together the barley flour and herbs.
3. After the meat has sat for 10 minutes, toss a few pieces at a time in the barley flour mixture to evenly coat the pieces.
4. Heat up a barbecue if you have one to cook over an open flame, or use an oven like I did by preheating it to 425°F (220°C).
5. Skewer the meat onto a skewer or two. I roasted mine in the oven by suspending the skewer over a baking dish. Roast for about 18-20 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through.
6. Serve the roast pork forth with the New and Improved Kykeon.

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