steak (some stew it first) at the bottom of the dish, or veal cutlets, seasoned, and thin slices of bacon; put in the pigeons, the gizzards, yolks of hard-boiled eggs (forcemeat balls, if you like), and enough water to make gravy. Cover with a puff paste, and bake it. Some cooks cut up the pigeons, and use no beef steak, as they say that the pigeons, if cut up, will produce a sufficiency of gravy. Port and white wine may be added; also catsups, sauces, and mushroom powder.—Rooks must be skinned; the back-bone cut out.—Moorfowl pie must not be over-baked: when done, you may pour in a hot sauce of melted butter, lemon juice, and a glass of claret.
Hare Pie.
Cut up a leveret, and season it well; to be very rich, have relishing forcemeat balls, and hard-boiled yolks of eggs, to mix with the meat in the dish. Put plenty of butter, rolled in flour, and some water, and cover with a paste. This pie will require long soaking, as the meat is solid; but, unless it be a leveret, much the best way is, to stew the hare first, like venison for pasty.
Chicken, or Rabbit Pie.
Cut up the chickens, season each joint with salt, white pepper, mace, and nutmeg, lay them in the dish, with slices of ham or bacon, a few bits of butter, rolled in flour, and a little water, cover with a crust, and bake it. This pie may be made richer, by putting veal cutlets or veal udder, at the bottom of the dish, adding forcemeat balls and yolks of hard-boiled eggs; also a good jelly gravy, seasoned with peppercorns, onions, and parsley, and poured over the chickens before the pie is baked. Mushrooms are an improvement. Forcemeat for rabbit may be made of the livers, suet, anchovies, eschalot, onion, salt, and pepper.
Goose Pie.
Bone, then season well, a goose, and a large fowl; stuff the fowl with the following forcemeat: 2 oz. grated ham, the same of veal and suet, a little parsley, salt, pepper,
