A Goose Pye

Title:
A Goose Pye

Yield:
25 Servings

Categories:
Poultry,
English,
Pies,
Historic




Ingredients:




------------------------------HOT
WATER CRUST------------------------------


     3 lb Flour


    21 oz Water


    18 oz Lard


 1 1/2 ts Salt





----------------------------------FILLING----------------------------------


     1    Goose; boned


     1    Farm chicken; boned


 2 1/2 lb Pickled tongue (whole)


   1/2 oz Mace


     3 ts Black pepper


 2 1/2 tb Sea salt; ground


     2 oz Butter





 NOTE -- This recipe was written 1747 (Original recipe) "Half a peck of


 flour (5 lbs) will make the walls of a goose-pie ... Raise your crust just


 big enough to hold a large goose; first have a picked dried tongue boiled


 tender enough to peel, cut off the root, bone a goose and a large fowl;


 take half a quarter of an ounce of mace beat fine, a large teaspoonful of


 beaten pepper, three teaspoonfuls of salt; mix all together, season your


 fowl and goose with it, then lay the fowl in the goose, and the tongue in


 the fowl, and the goose in the same form as id whole. Put half a pound of


 butter on the top, and lay on the lid. this pie is delicious, either hot or


 cold, and will keep a great while. A slice of this pye cut down across


 makes a pretty little side dish for supper."


   A splendid centre piece for a party. Unless your pie has to go by train


 to London, like Mr Turner's, there is no need to make such a thick crust.


 However it must be thick enough to keep in the juices as far as possible.
I


 recommend a hot-water pastry made with 3 lbs flour. It seems that the


 varieties of poultry in Hannah Glasse's day were not as large as they are


 now, because you need to increase the seasonings (as in ingredients list


 IMH).


 


   To make pastry


   ==============


 


   Bring water to boil with the lard and the salt. As soon as it comes to


 the boil, tip it into the middle of the flour, mixing everything together


 rapidly to a dough with a wooden spoon or electric beater. Leave the dough


 until it can be handled without too much discomfort, but do not let it


 allow to cool. Cut off about a quarter for the lid and put the rest into a


 large hinged pie mould, or even a roasting pan 11?" x 9" x 2" as a mould.


  Quickly and lightly push the pastry up the sides of the tin, being careful


 to leave no cracks. If the pastry collapses down into a dismal heap, it is


 a little too hot, so wait and try again. Having put your filling in the


 pie, put on the lid, fixing it with beaten egg, and make a central hole.


 Decorate the top with leaves and roses made from the trimmings.


 


 Before starting the pastry, soak, boil, trim and skin the tongue as usual.


 Bone the goose and the chicken. Prepare the seasonings.


   Proceed as above, putting the tongue inside the chicken inside the goose,


 seasoning as you go. Put the butter  on top and close the pie with the lid


 section which you reserved.


   To bake the pie, put it into a hot oven, mark 7 425F for 20 minutes. then


 lower the heat to Mark 4 350 F and cover the top with brown paper to


 prevent it from becoming too brown too soon. Leave for


       3    hours.


   It is only prudent to check the pie from time to time. Lower the heat if


 it is bubbling away too fast, to mark 3 325F. Towards the end of this time,


 push a larding needle or skewer into the pie through the top central hole;


 if the juices come out very red, leave the pie a little longer. On the


 other hand, if they come out a pale pink, that is all right - the pie


 continues to cook as it cools down (I took mine out of the oven at 1 am.,


 and it was still not quite cold by lunchtime next day, with the juices


 still liquid: it should have been left until the evening with an hour or


 two in the refrigerator to set it properly JG).


 


 Recipe  Hannah Glasse "Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy" 1747


 Posted to bbq-digest by Jim Anderson 
on May 30,


 1998