The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual Part 80

The _piquance_ of pies may be regulated _ad libitum_, by sprinkling the articles with zest (No. 255), curry powder (No. 455, and see Nos. 457 and 459), or by covering the bottom of the dish with any of the forcemeats enumerated in Nos. 373 to 385, and making it into b.a.l.l.s; lay one ring of these, and another of hard-boiled eggs cut in halves, round the top of the pie; and instead of putting in water, put strong gravy.

After the pies are baked, pour in through a funnel any of the various gravies, sauces, &c.: truffles, mushrooms, wine, spices, pickles, &c.

are also added. See also Nos. 396 to 402.

MEM. These are dishes contrived rather to excite appet.i.te than to satisfy it. Putting meat or poultry into a pie is certainly the very worst way of cooking it; it is often baked to rags; and very rarely indeed does a savoury pie come to table that deserves to be introduced to the stomach.

_Pigeon or Lark Pie._--(No. 13.)

Truss half a dozen fine large pigeons as for stewing, season them with pepper and salt; lay at the bottom of the dish a rump-steak of about a pound weight, cut into pieces and trimmed neatly, seasoned, and beat out with a chopper: on it lay the pigeons, the yelks of three eggs boiled hard, and a gill of broth or water, and over these a layer of steaks; wet the edge of the dish, and cover it over with puff paste (No. 1), or the paste as directed for seasoned pies (No. 2); wash it over with yelk of egg, and ornament it with leaves of paste and the feet of the pigeons; bake it an hour and a half in a moderate-heated oven: before it is sent to table make an aperture in the top, and pour in some good gravy quite hot.

_Giblet Pie._--(No. 14.)

Clean well, and half stew two or three sets of goose giblets: cut the legs in two, the wing and neck into three, and the gizzard into four pieces; preserve the liquor, and set the giblets by till cold, otherwise the heat of the giblets will spoil the paste you cover the pie with: then season the whole with black pepper and salt, and put them into a deep dish; cover it with paste as directed in No. 2, rub it over with yelk of egg, ornament and bake it an hour and a half in a moderate oven: in the meantime take the liquor the giblets were stewed in, skim it free from fat, put it over a fire in a clean stew-pan, thicken it a little with flour and b.u.t.ter, or flour and water, season it with pepper and salt, and the juice of half a lemon; add a few drops of browning, strain it through a fine sieve, and when you take the pie from the oven, pour some of this into it through a funnel. Some lay in the bottom of the dish a moderately thick rump-steak: if you have any cold game or poultry, cut it in pieces, and add it to the above.

_Rump-Steak Pie._--(No. 15.)

Cut three pounds of rump-steak (that has been kept till tender) into pieces half as big as your hand, trim off all the skin, sinews, and every part which has not indisputable pretensions to be eaten, and beat them with a chopper: chop very fine half a dozen eschalots, and add them to half an ounce of pepper and salt mixed; strew some of the mixture at the bottom of the dish, then a layer of steak, then some more of the mixture, and so on till the dish is full; add half a gill of mushroom catchup, and the same quant.i.ty of gravy, or red wine; cover it as in the preceding receipt, and bake it two hours.

N.B. Large oysters, parboiled, bearded, and laid alternately with the steaks, their liquor reduced and subst.i.tuted instead of the catchup and wine, will be a variety.

_Chicken Pie._--(No. 16.)

Parboil, and then cut up neatly two young chickens; dry them; set them over a slow fire for a few minutes; have ready some veal stuffing or forcemeat (No. 374 or No. 375), lay it at the bottom of the dish, and place in the chickens upon it, and with it some pieces of dressed ham; cover it with paste (No. 1). Bake it from an hour and a half to two hours; when sent to table, add some good gravy, well seasoned, and not too thick.

Duck pie is made in like manner, only subst.i.tuting the duck stuffing (No. 378), instead of the veal.

N.B. The above may be put into a raised French crust (see No. 18) and baked; when done, take off the top, and put a ragout of sweetbread to the chickens.

_Rabbit Pie._--(No. 17.)

Made in the same way; but make a forcemeat to cover the bottom of the dish, by pounding a quarter of a pound of boiled bacon with the livers of the rabbits; some pepper and salt, some pounded mace, some chopped parsley, and an eschalot, thoroughly beaten together; and you may lay some thin slices of ready-dressed ham or bacon on the top of your rabbits. "This pie will ask two hours baking," says Mrs. Mary Tillinghast, in page 29 of her 12mo. vol. of rare receipts, 1678.

_Raised French Pie._--(No. 18.)

Make about two pounds of flour into a paste, as directed (No. 5); knead it well, and into the shape of a ball; press your thumb into the centre, and work it by degrees into any shape (oval or round is the most general), till about five inches high; put it on a sheet of paper, and fill it with coa.r.s.e flour or bran; roll out a covering for it about the same thickness as the sides; cement its sides with the yelk of egg; cut the edges quite even, and pinch it round with the finger and thumb, yelk of egg it over with a paste-brush, and ornament it in any way fancy may direct, with the same kind of paste. Bake it of a fine brown colour, in a slow oven; and when done, cut out the top, remove the flour or bran, brush it quite clean, and fill it up with a frica.s.see of chicken, rabbit, or any other _entree_ most convenient. Send it to table with a napkin under.

_Raised Ham Pie._--(No. 19.)

Soak a small ham four or five hours; wash and sc.r.a.pe it well; cut off the knuckle, and boil it for half an hour; then take it up and trim it very neatly; take off the rind and put it into an oval stew-pan, with a pint of Madeira or sherry, and enough veal stock to cover it. Let it stew for two hours, or till three parts done; take it out and set it in a cold place; then raise a crust as in the foregoing receipt, large enough to receive it; put in the ham, and round it the veal forcemeat; cover and ornament; it will take about an hour and a half to bake in a slow oven: when done, take off the cover, glaze the top, and pour round the following sauce, viz. take the liquor the ham was stewed in; skim it free from fat; thicken with a little flour and b.u.t.ter mixed together; a few drops of browning, and some Cayenne pepper.

P.S. The above is, I think, a good way of dressing a small ham, and has a good effect cold for a supper.

_Veal and Ham Pie._--(No. 20.)

Take two pounds of veal cutlet, cut them in middling-sized pieces, season with pepper and a very little salt; likewise one of raw or dressed ham cut in slices, lay it alternately in the dish, and put some forced or sausage meat (No. 374, or No. 375) at the top, with some stewed b.u.t.ton mushrooms, and the yelks of three eggs boiled hard, and a gill of water; then proceed as with rump-steak pie.

N.B. The best end of a neck is the fine part for a pie, cut into chops, and the chine bone taken away.

_Raised Pork Pie._--(No. 21.)

Make a raised crust, of a good size, with paste (as directed in No. 5), about four inches high; take the rind and chine bone from a loin of pork, cut it into chops, beat them with a chopper, season them with pepper and salt, and fill your pie; put on the top and close it, and pinch it round the edge; rub it over with yelk of egg, and bake it two hours with a paper over it, to prevent the crust from burning. When done, pour in some good gravy, with a little ready-mixed mustard (if approved).

N.B. As the above is generally eaten cold, it is an excellent repast for a journey, and will keep for several days.

_Eel Pie._--(No. 22.)

Take eels about half a pound each; skin, wash, and trim off the fin with a pair of scissors, cut them into pieces three inches long, season them with pepper and salt, and fill your dish, leaving out the heads and tails. Add a gill of water or veal broth, cover it with paste (No. 2), rub it over with a paste-brush dipped in yelk of egg, ornament it with some of the same paste, bake it an hour; and when done, make a hole in the centre, and pour in the following sauce through a funnel: the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs boiled in half a pint of veal stock, seasoned with pepper and salt, a table-spoonful of lemon-juice, and thickened with flour and water, strained through a fine sieve: add it boiling hot.

_Raised Lamb Pies._--(No. 23.)

Bone a loin of lamb, cut into cutlets, trim them very nicely, and lay them in the bottom of a stew or frying-pan, with an ounce of b.u.t.ter, a tea-spoonful of lemon-juice, and some pepper and salt: put them over a fire, and turn them and put them to cool; then raise four or five small pies with paste (as No. 6), about the size of a tea-cup; put some veal forcemeat at the bottom, and the cutlets upon it; roll out the top an eighth of an inch thick, close and pinch the edges, bake them half an hour, and when done take off the top, and pour in some good brown sauce.

_Beef-Steak Pudding._--(No. 24.)

Get rump-steaks, not too thick, beat them with a chopper, cut them into pieces about half the size of your hand, and trim off all the skin, sinews, &c.; have ready an onion peeled and chopped fine, likewise some potatoes peeled and cut into slices a quarter of an inch thick; rub the inside of a basin or an oval plain mould with b.u.t.ter, sheet it with paste as directed for boiled puddings (No. 7); season the steaks with pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg; put in a layer of steak, then another of potatoes, and so on till it is full, occasionally throwing in part of the chopped onion; add to it half a gill of mushroom catchup, a table-spoonful of lemon-pickle, and half a gill of water or veal broth; roll out a top, and close it well to prevent the water getting in; rinse a clean cloth in hot water, sprinkle a little flour over it, and tie up the pudding; have ready a large pot of water boiling, put it in, and boil it two hours and a half; take it up, remove the cloth, turn it downwards in a deep dish, and when wanted take away the basin or mould.

_Vol au Vent._--(No. 25.)

Roll off tart paste (No. 3) till about the eighth of an inch thick: then, with a tin cutter made for that purpose (about the size of the bottom of the dish you intend sending to table), cut out the shape, and lay it on a baking-plate, with paper; rub it over with yelk of egg; roll out good puff paste (No. 1) an inch thick, stamp it with the same cutter, and lay it on the tart paste; then take a cutter two sizes smaller, and press it in the centre nearly through the puff paste; rub the top with yelk of egg, and bake it in a quick oven about twenty minutes, of a light brown colour: when done, take out the paste inside the centre mark, preserving the top, put it on a dish in a warm place, and when wanted, fill it with a white frica.s.see of chicken, rabbit, ragout of sweetbread, or any other _entree_ you wish.

_Oyster Patties._--(No. 26.)

Roll out puff paste a quarter of an inch thick, cut it into squares with a knife, sheet eight or ten patty pans, put upon each a bit of bread the size of half a walnut; roll out another layer of paste of the same thickness, cut it as above, wet the edge of the bottom paste, and put on the top, pare them round to the pan, and notch them about a dozen times with the back of the knife, rub them lightly with yelk of egg, bake them in a hot oven about a quarter of an hour: when done, take a thin slice off the top, then, with a small knife or spoon, take out the bread and the inside paste, leaving the outside quite entire; then parboil two dozen of large oysters, strain them from their liquor, wash, beard, and cut them into four, put them into a stew-pan with an ounce of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, half a gill of good cream, a little grated lemon-peel, the oyster liquor, free from sediment, reduced by boiling to one half, some Cayenne pepper, salt, and a tea-spoonful of lemon-juice; stir it over a fire five minutes, and fill the patties.

_Lobster Patties._--(No. 27.)

Prepare the patties as in the last receipt. Take a hen lobster already boiled; pick the meat from the tail and claws, and chop it fine; put it into a stew-pan, with a little of the inside sp.a.w.n pounded in a mortar till quite smooth, an ounce of fresh b.u.t.ter, half a gill of cream, and half a gill of veal consomme, Cayenne pepper, and salt, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy, the same of lemon-juice, and a table-spoonful of flour and water: stew it five minutes.

_Veal and Ham Patties._--(No. 28.)

Chop about six ounces of ready-dressed lean veal, and three ounces of ham very small; put it into a stew-pan with an ounce of b.u.t.ter rolled into flour, half a gill of cream; half a gill of veal stock; a little grated nutmeg and lemon-peel, some Cayenne pepper and salt, a spoonful of essence of ham and lemon-juice, and stir it over the fire some time, taking care it does not burn.