begins to swell, then drained, and mixed with 1 or 2 eggs well beaten, and spread in a thick layer over the meat.
A glazing for meat pies is made of white sugar and water; yolk of egg and water; yolk of egg and melted butter.
To ice paste, beat the white of an egg, and brush it over the tart, when half baked; then sift finely powdered sugar over that.—Another way: pound and sift 4 oz. refined sugar, beat up the white of an egg, and by degrees add it to the sugar, till it looks white, and is thick; when the tarts are baked, spread the iceing over the top with a brush, and return them to the oven to harden, but take care that the iceing do not burn.
Be careful to keep the pasteboard and rolling-pin quite clean; and recollect that the best made paste will be spoiled, if not nicely baked.
Plain Crust for Meat Pies.
To 2 lbs. of fine, well dried flour, put 1 lb. finely sliced fresh suet, and a little salt, mix it up lightly, with enough cold water to mould it, then roll out thin, fold it up, roll again, and it is ready. Put more suet to make it richer. Another.—Common bread dough, or French roll dough, makes very good crust for plain pies. Roll it out, and stick bits of butter and lard into it, and roll up again. If the dough be good the crust will be light.
Richer Crust.
For 2 lbs. of flour, break in pieces 1½ lb. washed salt butter, rub it in the flour, wet it up with the yolks of 3 eggs well beaten, and mixed in from ½ to a whole pint of spring water. Roll the paste out thin, double it, and roll out again; repeat this three times, and it is ready.
An Elegant Crust.
Wash ¾ lb. of very good butter, and melt it carefully, so that it do not oil, let it cool, and stir into it an egg well beaten: mix this into ¾ lb. of very fine well dried flour. It should not be a stiff paste, and must be rolled out thin.
