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For Fourth of July, an American feast inspired by founding father Alexander Hamilton

 
Caribbean Pork With Potato Salad makes for the perfect Fourth of July meal.
Caribbean Pork With Potato Salad makes for the perfect Fourth of July meal.
Published July 5, 2017

Are there a million things you haven't done? Is one of them throwing a patriotic party inspired by one of the founding fathers?

This Fourth of July, trade in those cliched burgers and hot dogs for an evening with Alexander Hamilton, best known as America's first treasury secretary — and recently brought back to national attention thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit Broadway musical Hamilton.

It feels appropriate to celebrate our independence by connecting with one of America's creators. So invite fellow Hamilton fans who are as young, scrappy and hungry as you are and take a culinary journey through Hamilton's life with these recipes fit for both a historical homage and a patriotic picnic.

Forgotten spot in the Caribbean

Our first stop: Hamilton's childhood home. As Miranda's musical tells us, Hamilton grew up "in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean," on the island of St. Croix. He didn't board a ship headed for the colonies until he was a teenager.

We asked Linford Fisher, associate professor of history at Brown University, to offer more context.

"I can easily imagine him getting a start in New York City, still hungering for the more familiar tastes of the Caribbean," says Fisher.

So, what were those Caribbean tastes?

"Perhaps turtle, from time to time," Fisher says.

Turtle as an entree? I'd prefer not to connect with that part of Hamilton's past. Luckily, Fisher imagines Hamilton also dined on "bananas, plantains, pineapples and a whole host of exotic fruits."

Although the impoverished young Hamilton likely ate a lot of fish and fruit, you may want something a bit more elaborate for your Fourth of July feast. Try serving Caribbean-flavored pork, seasoned with spices unique to the New World, like allspice. Paul Freedman, professor of history at Yale and author of Ten Restaurants That Changed America, says that on Hamilton's island they likely would have barbecued the pork.

I don't know whether Hamilton ever tasted this spiced meat, but if he did, he probably would have found it a welcome change from the salt cod sold in his mother's island shop.

Rise up!

Fast-forward to the beginning of America. What would Hamilton have eaten as a captain during the Revolutionary War?

"Terrible, terrible food," Freedman says.

It probably involved hardtack, an unappetizing cracker that's difficult to choke down, and dried beef. Why don't we skip this chapter of his life?

A hero and a scholar

As treasury secretary, Hamilton hosted some pretty fancy banquets. If you want to simulate one of his dinner parties, spread your entire feast on the table at once. This "magnificent display of dishes" was meant to impress guests, Freedman explains. Sure, the food got a little cold. Sure, it was hard to reach across the table when you wanted more of that roast mutton. But it looked beautiful.

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Here's how one of Hamilton's dinners might have gone down: raw oysters, followed by Consommé a la Reine soup, boiled kingfish in anchovy sauce, boiled meats, roast meats, cold dishes, an entree, a palate-cleansing Roman Punch, a game course and dessert. A far cry from the meager food he ate as a child.

Make sure to save room for the dinner's delicacies: organ meat.

"They would serve these with pride," Freedman says.

True Hamilton fans can dig into a plate of pigs' feet and calves' brains. I'm not that adventurous. Instead, I'd rather try a hearty meat pie, ubiquitous at such dinner parties. With its buttery crust, our recipe for chicken pot pie will be sure to leave your guests satisfied.

You can't say no to this

A dessert of frothy syllabub. Okay, maybe you can say no, if a dessert that's half-beverage doesn't appeal to you. But Hamilton's guests would have certainly loved the dish, which combines heavy cream with sugar and sweet Madeira wine. Back then, Madeira was popular because it traveled well: The more it rocked on pitching ships, the better it tasted.

"They would boast that it had been at sea for a year or had traveled around Cape Horn," explains Freedman.

Not a fan of syllabub? Try ending your meal with fruit, considered a proper dessert in the 18th century. (Our fruit salad recipe is extra patriotic because of its red, white and blue hues.) Alternatively, serve up an apple crumble — an homage to the apple pies popular in Hamilton's day.

If you feel like it's time to take a shot, we have you covered. Our cocktail combines fresh pineapple with rum, a liquor which would have likely been served at such a banquet. A sip of this tropical drink may have reminded Hamilton how far he had come. No longer the orphaned child on a storm-torn island, he had helped form a new nation.

This Fourth of July, we can drink to his honor and the start of our country. Let's raise a glass to freedom.

Contact Emily Young at emilyyoungfreelancing@gmail.com.