Having found a great difficulty in raising the crust for a pie with my hands, I purchased for a trifle a tin pie-mould, by the use of which the process is more simple, and the pie retains its shape whilst baking, and secures the gravy, much better.
Well wipe and butter the interior of the mould, then have ready two pounds of pâte fine, rather firm than otherwise, two thirds of which roll out to fit the mould, press it evenly over the interior, raising the paste half an inch above the edge of the mould, you have previously prepared six pounds of veal, cut from the fillet, as follows: cut four pounds into pieces an inch square, and as nearly as possible to the length of the pie; with the remainder make some forcemeat (see Receipt); then run eight pieces of fat bacon, each two inches in length, and a quarter of an inch square, through each piece of veal; have also two pounds of lean bacon, cut into pieces of nearly the same size as the veal, then put a quarter of a pound of butter into a frying-pan, and when melted over the fire, lay in the veal and bacon, season rather highly with a teaspoonful of salt, the same of pepper, half that quantity of grated nutmeg, and a tablespoonful each of chopped onion and parsley, sauté the whole a quarter of an hour, occasionally turning the meat, until getting of a nice color, and the bottom of the pan is covered with a thickish glaze; then line the interior of the pie with some of the forcemeat, to the thickness of half an inch, after which lay three pieces of veal at the bottom with two of the ham, alternately, which cover over with more forcemeat, to about an inch in thickness, then more veal and bacon, with forcemeat, again proceeding thus until full, finishing with the forcemeat, forming a dome about an inch above the edge of the paste, and lay a pat of butter with a bay-leaf at the top, then mould the remainder of the paste into a ball, which roll to the size of the top of the pie, wet the edges with a little egg, lay on the cover, which press down with the thumbs, working the edge up gracefully with the thumb and forefinger, to about an inch above the top of the mould, cutting some of the paste away where too thick, and crimp the extreme edge with a pair of paste nippers; then have ready half a pound of puff paste, which roll to about the thickness of about a quarter of an inch, from which cut a piece the size and form of the dome of the pie, upon which place it to form a lid (previously wetting the top with a little water), press it down lightly, egg over with a paste-brush, edges as well, make a small hole with a knife at the top, and carve any design upon the puff paste according to fancy; tie a band of buttered paper round the mould, an inch above the pie, put it into a moderate oven to bake about two hours, but to be certain if done, run a pointed knife or trussing needle into the centre, and if it feels tender it is sufficiently baked.
Then take it from the oven, and pour in a gill of strong gravy, in which you have dissolved a little isinglass (especially if in summer); when cold, take it from the mould (which opens at one end by drawing out a pin), and serve upon a napkin, garnished round with parsley. To carve, cut it into slices, the whole breadth of the pie and half an inch in thickness.
Such a pie as above would weigh four pounds when baked; but should you require a smaller one, diminish the proportions accordingly. If no puff paste, the top might be ornamented with a few leaves from the trimmings of the other paste. I have given you the above receipt very minutely, as the above applies to every description of raised pie, the difference only being its contents.
603. Raised Pie of Fowls.—Make the paste and forcemeat as in the last, but instead of veal and ham, bone a young fowl as directed for galantine, which lay flat upon a clean cloth, breast downwards, season the interior with a little pepper, salt, and chopped onions; spread a layer of forcemeat over, half an inch in thickness, have ten pieces of veal of the thickness of your finger, and the same length as the fowl, and the same number of pieces of fat bacon, lay half of the veal and bacon alternately upon the fowl, well seasoned with pepper and salt, cover over with more forcemeat, then another layer of veal and ham, cover with more forcemeat, then roll the fowl over, making the skin meet at the back, you have previously lined a raised pie-mould with paste, then line the pie with forcemeat, half an inch in thickness, lay in the fowl, sprinkle a little pepper and salt over, cover with the remainder of the forcemeat, to form a dome, place a pat of butter and two bay-leaves upon the top, finish and bake precisely as in the last: when done, pour in a gill of gravy made from the bones of the fowl; serve cold.
604. Raised Pie of Pheasant.—Proceed precisely as for the pie of fowl, but of course using a pheasant, an old one would answer the purpose if kept long enough, but all the sinews of the legs must be taken out in boning it, the fillets of the breast also, being very thick, may be partly cut out and used with the veal for the interior; if in a situation to obtain rabbits, the fillets of them might be used instead of veal for the interior, and the legs for forcemeat.
For gravy, break up the bones of the birds, which put into a stewpan with a glass of sherry, an onion, a few sprigs of thyme, parsley, and a bay-leaf; let it simmer a minute over the fire, then add a pint of broth and a little isinglass or gelatine, let the whole simmer for an hour, giving it a nice brown color, when pass it through a sieve into a smaller stewpan, place it again upon the fire, skim off all the fat, and reduce it to half a pint, and when the pie is baked, pour it in, shaking the pie a little to mix well; serve when cold.
Pies of grouse, partridges, moor fowls, &c. are made precisely in the same manner, using one or more according to the size you wish to make your pie. The fillets of hares are likewise excellent in pies, whilst the legs might be jugged or converted into soup.