4. "Hare Pie"

This should be made like the foregoing 'pasty' exactly, with two slight variations, viz. :- a glass of port, half a glass of good vinegar, with a dessertspoonful of red currant jelly should be mixed into the gravy, and a little pounded mace may be sprinkled over the meat in addition to the ordinary spiced pepper.

5. "Pigeon Pie"

A pound and a .half of tender lean beef to three good pigeons, half a pound of leanish bacon, and a pound of gravy beef. The process is not very different from that of the pies already described. You must make the best gravy possible from the pound of gravy meat, the pigeon trimmings, and any scraps at hand. The pigeons should be placed upon the tender beef, which should be cut into neat collops and blended with the bacon cut into thin strips as propounded for "beef-steak pie," Menu No. 28. Do not cut the pigeons in halves : let them be prepared whole as if for roasting, and put some chopped bacon seasoned with pepper, salt, or "spiced pepper," salt, and grated lime peal, inside each bird. Half a glass of Madeira or any sound white wine may be mingled with the gravy, the pie-dish should be rubbed with a shallot before it is packed, finely chopped parsley should be sprinkled over the bottom of the dish before the beef collops are arranged upon it, and the pigeon's livers with bacon rolled round them should be arranged on the surface.

I have also found that mutton collops may be used with almost as good an effect as those of beef. I used the meat of the blade-bone of a shoulder, which was cut into neat pieces; these were rolled with a slice of bacon inside them as directed for beef.

6. "Snipe Pie"

When snipes are plentiful, as they often are in India, the cook ought to remember this delicacy. Supposing eight birds to be available, I would work in this way :- I would prepare six of them, as if for roasting, for the pie; and two I would sacrifice for the gravy, which ought to be very first rate. For this purpose two pounds of gravy meat must be obtained, besides about a couple of pounds of the undercut, or tender rib-meat, for the pie. Having made as good a beef gravy as possible, I would throw into it the two snipe, and proceed to make a little puree (as explained in Menu No. 16) pounding the meat of the birds, after they have been slowly simmered in the gravy, to a paste, and blending it with the gravy secundum artem. After rubbing the pie-dish with a shallot, I would fill up the bottom of it with little collops of the tender beef rolled with strips of bacon, "spiced pepper" being dusted over each layer until all the beef has been used. I would lay the six snipes on the surface of the beef with slices of lean bacon, ham, tongue, or Bologna sausage, between each bird, garnish as usual, baptize the pie with the puree, saving some of it for the final process previously described, cover it with a nice light paste, and bake.

Birds badly knocked about in shooting come in usefully for gravy.

Partridges, and quails make good pies, but they require a sound and strong support in the way of fresh meat, and good gravy. Beef, - the tender undercut, or rib-meat, - forms the best basis you can devise: it should be cut up into collops, as I have frequently said before, and strips of bacon should be rolled round them. Or you can use the blade-bone collops of good mutton just described, or the neck cutlets; each cutlet should be trimmed neatly, with a strip of bacon wrapped round it. Excellent gravy can be obtained from the scraps left after trimming the beef or the cutlets, the remnants of the birds not wanted in the pie, and a pound of gravy meat, with the usual vegetables, and other flavouring ingredients often described. A little wine is almost a sine qua non with these game birds : Madeira, sound brown sherry, or any white wine - of which a glass is quite enough.

A good "Game pie" is a capital thing for the luncheon, or breakfast party. Snipe, quails, partridges, hares, pigeons, teal, wild duck, etc., etc., can be thus disposed of most advantageously: they must be assisted by tender beef, or good mutton collops; slices of bacon, of ham, or of Bologna sausage must be introduced, and the gravy must be very attentively composed. A forcemeat made thus will be found undeniably valuable :- take the livers of all the game composing the pie, and make the composition described elsewhere as " foie-gras forcemeat," truffles and all, using the game livers instead of that of a calf. When ready, you can use it as follows :- spread a layer of it over the bottom of the pie-dish, and up the sides also : what remains should be introduced here and there amongst the layers of meat during the packing operations. As the game must be boned in the case of this particular dish, we shall have to mash all the bones with the pestle, and throw them into our stock-pot. Take a pound and a half of gravy beef, the mashed game bones, a bacon or ham bone, (or a few slices of either) two sheep's feet cut up, and the vegetables generally used in soup-making, with a bouquet of sweet herbs, a clove of garlic, a little mixed spice, a dozen pepper corns, a little caramel for colouring, and salt to taste, and make the very richest gravy in the style of "aspic jelly" stock, Menu No. 9. Instead of tarragon vinegar, add to the broth which you get after straining, one glass of Madeira, or fruity sherry, a tea-spoonful of reduced vinegar, one table-spoonful of red currant jelly, and half a wine-glass of mushroom ketchup, boil the gravy up again, and then set it to get cool prior to its being poured into the pie. The game of which the pie is to be made should be carefully boned, and if of a large kind, cut up into neat pieces; skin, scraps, and trimmings should be cast into the stock-pot with the mashed bones. Arrange the meat when trimmed satisfactorily upon a large flat dish, dredge it over with flour, and give it a dusting of "spiced pepper" which ought to be specially prepared for the occasion. After having rubbed the pie-dish well with a shallot, spread the thin coating of force-meat over the bottom of it, and up the sides, as already mentioned. Next, place a good layer of tender beef, or mutton collops, each rolled round a slice of bacon, over the forcemeat at the bottom of the dish, and then go on packing the game meat, with slices of ham, bacon, or Bologna sausage, dotted in here and there, and frequent dustings of "spiced pepper" until the dish is filled.