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If I'm not mistaken, the preparation of the dish (meat boiled in vinegar for several hours, then sweetened up with gingerbread and reduced apple juice) was traditionally intended to tenderise the tough meat of old farm horses that had been used for ploughing the land. Almost all restaurants prepare the dish with beef nowadays.

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Many old dishes are like this - slow cooking, for example, really comes into its own when you're slow cooking a egg-laying chicken that is 3-5 years old vs the "grown for meat" ones these days that are barely 8 weeks.

I'm reminded of an old Joy of Cooking recipe for raccoon: Boil it in baking soda overnight, then throw away the water and braise it for another few hours iirc

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