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Pork Pies, Pastry For

Put a quarter of a pound of finely-shredded beef suet--or five ounces of lard, or a quarter of a pound of mutton suet--and an ounce of fresh butter into a saucepan with half a pint of boiling water and a pinch of salt. Stir the mixture until the fat is dissolved, and pour it boiling hot into a pound and a half of flour. Knead well to a stiff paste, and add a little more warm water if required. Shape the dough, and get it into the oven while it is warm. If the pie is to be baked in a mould, lay a piece of the proper shape at the bottom. Press long pieces into the sides, and fasten these to the top and the bottom with white of egg. If a mould is not to be used, cut off as much pastry as will make the cover, and wrap it in a cloth to keep it warm. Mould the rest with both hands into the shape of a cone, and make the sides smooth and firm. Press the top down with the knuckles of the right hand, and with the left press the outside closely to keep it firm and smooth. Be careful that the walls are equally thick in every part. Fill the pie, put on the cover, pinch the edges, fasten securely with white of egg, ornament the outside in any way that may suit the fancy, brush over with yolk of egg, and bake in a slow oven if the pie be large, in a quicker one if it be small.