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Rook Pie

Rooks require long stewing, or they will not be tender. The breasts are the only parts of the birds which are really worth using, and when the other portions are put into the dish, care should be taken to cut out the spine and the flesh near it to the width of three-quarters of an inch, or the pie will have a bitter taste. Many cooks lay the birds in a dish, season them with pepper and salt, put a coarse flour-and-water crust over them, and then bake them for a couple of hours; the next day they remove the common crust, lay good pastry over them, and bake the pie in the usual way. The following recipe will, however, be found very good. Take six or eight freshly-killed young rooks. Skin without plucking them, and to do this cut the skin round the first joint of the legs, and draw it over the head. Cut off the necks, draw the birds, and cut away the legs, backs, and wings. Cut a pound of chuck steak into neat squares, pepper these, and lay them in a pie-dish, pouring over them half a tea-cupful of stock or water; cover the dish closely, and bake the meat till it is almost done enough. Lay the breasts of the rooks upon the steak, with a small slice of butter upon each. Sprinkle over them a seasoning of salt, pepper, and pounded mace, and pour over them as much stock or water as will barely cover them. Let them bake gently for half an hour. Let the dish cool, then line the edges with good pastry, cover it with the same, ornament according to taste, make a hole in the centre that the steam may escape, and bake in a brisk oven. When the pastry is done enough, the pie may be served. Time to bake, altogether, two hours and a half. Probable cost, uncertain, rooks being seldom sold. Sufficient for five or six persons.