Take a neck, shoulder, or breast of venison, that has not hung too long; bone them, trim off all the skin, and cut it into pieces two inches square, and put them into a stew-pan, with three gills of Port wine, two onions, or a few eschalots sliced; some pepper, salt, three blades of mace, about a dozen allspice, and enough veal broth to cover it; put it over a slow fire, and let it stew till three parts done; put the trimmings into another saucepan, cover it with water, and set it on a fire. Take out the pieces you intend for the pasty, and put them into a deep dish with a little of their liquor, and set it by to cool; then add the remainder of the liquor to the bones and trimmings, and boil it till the pasty is ready; then cover the pasty with paste made like [No. 5]; ornament the top, and bake it for two hours in a slow oven; and before it is sent to table, pour in a sauce made with the gravy the venison was stewed in, strained and skimmed free from fat; some pepper, salt, half a gill of Port, the juice of half a lemon, and a little flour and butter to thicken it.
Mutton or Veal Pie.—(No. 10.)
Cut into chops, and trim neatly, and cut away the greatest part of the fat of a loin, or best end of a neck of mutton (the former the best), season them, and lay them in a pie dish, with a little water and half a gill of mushroom catchup (chopped onion and potatoes, if approved); cover it with paste ([No. 2]), bake it two hours; when done, lift up the crust from the dish with a knife, pour out all the gravy, let it stand, and skim it clean; add, if wanted, some more seasoning; make it boil, and pour it into the pie.
Veal pie may be made of the brisket part of the breast; but must be parboiled first.
Hare Pie.—(No. 11.)
Take the hare skinned and washed, cut it into pieces, and parboil it for two minutes to cleanse it; wash it well, and put it in a stew-pot with six eschalots chopped, a gill of Port wine, a small quantity of thyme, savoury, sweet marjoram, and parsley, tied in a bunch, four cloves, and half a dozen allspice; cover it with veal broth, and stew it till half done; pick out the prime pieces, such as the back, legs, &c. (leaving the remainder to stew till the goodness is quite extracted); take the parts preserved, and fill them into a dish with some water, and cover it with paste as [No. 2]; bake it an hour; strain the gravy from the trimmings, thicken it a little, and throw in half a gill of Port, the juice of half a lemon, and pour it into the pie boiling hot; line the bottom of the dish with Hare stuffing ([No. 379]), or make it into forcemeat balls.
Pies of game and wild fowl are made in like manner; and as the following receipt for Pigeon pie.
Savoury Pies, Pasties, and Patties.—(No. 12.)
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 balls; 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 appetite 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.