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Rabbit Pie, Superior

Cut a young rabbit into neat joints, and lay these in lukewarm water for half an hour, then drain and dry them. Make a quarter of a pound of veal forcemeat into small balls the size of a nutmeg, and lay them aside till wanted. If liked the livers of the rabbits may be boiled, minced, and mixed with the forcemeat. Boil three eggs hard, and cut them into quarters lenghtwise. Cut half a pound of streaky bacon into strips, and three-quarters of a pound of lean veal into neat pieces an inch square. Make a savoury powder with the eighth part of a nutmeg grated, the thin rind of half a lemon grated or minced very finely, a pinch of cayenne, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a tea-spoonful of pepper. Line the edges of a pie-dish with good puff-paste. Put the veal into the pie, then the rabbit, and lastly the bacon, intersperse the contents of the pie with the forcemeat balls and the hard-boiled eggs, and season each layer, as it is placed in the dish, with the savoury powder. Moisten the whole with stock or water, but do not entirely cover the meat. Wet the edges of the pastry, lay on the cover, trim and ornament it neatly, brush over with egg, and with a knife make a slit in the centre through which the steam can escape. Bake in a moderate oven, and cover the pie with buttered paper whilst it is baking, for fear the crust should be burnt. Serve either hot or cold. Two or three sliced truffles or half a dozen mushrooms may be added to the pie if liked, and a glassful of port may be mixed with some good gravy, and poured into the pie through the hole in the top, after it is taken out of the oven. If preferred the forcemeat balls instead of being made of veal forcemeat may be made of the livers of the rabbits, parboiled, minced, and beaten in a mortar with six or eight oysters, a spoonful of bread-crumbs, a seasoning of salt, cayenne, and powdered mace, a pinch of savoury herbs, and the raw yolk of an egg. Time to bake, fully two hours. Probable cost, 4s. 6d. Sufficient for six or eight persons.