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Sausage Pie
Mince separately one pound of lean beef, one pound of sheep's or pig's liver, and half a pound of fat pork. When finely shredded, mix the ingredients thoroughly, and add two table-spoonfuls of stale crumb of bread, grated a tea-spoonful of unmixed mustard, a tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar, and a little pepper, salt, and cayenne. Moisten the preparation with two table-spoonfuls of cold water. Press it into a buttered dish, lay one or two slices of fat bacon on the top, and bake in a gentle oven. Serve hot or cold. Time to bake, about two hours. Probable cost, 1s. 10d. Sufficient for five or six persons.
A baked forcemeat loaf rather than a pastry pie ame the meat mixture itself is the "pie". The only structural point that matters is the fat: at roughly 20 per cent by weight it is the lower limit for a loaf that slices rather than crumbles, so do not trim the pork.
- Gentle ovenThe original gives no temperature; a slow oven, roughly 300-325F, is the usual modern reading. Two hours should carry a loaf of this size past 160F internally, but check with a thermometer, as minced beef, liver and pork should reach that.
- Unmixed mustardDry mustard powder, not prepared paste. A teaspoon of English mustard powder is the intended strength; prepared Dijon would add vinegar and thin the mix.
- Sheep's or pig's liverBoth are strongly flavoured. Soaking the liver in milk for an hour before mincing is a common way to tame the metallic edge; lamb's liver is the closest match to "sheep's".
- Mincing separatelyThe recipe is explicit about it, and mixing only after each is minced. Liver and beef break down differently in a mincer, so putting them through together can give a pasty texture. Mince each, then fold them together by hand.
- Fat pork and bacon"Fat pork" here means unsmoked pork belly or back fat, not a lean chop. The bacon slices on top are a self-basting lid; lay them fat-side up and lift them off if they darken too far before the end.
- The dishThe mixture runs to about two and a half pounds of meat, so a two-pound loaf tin or larger, or a small deep pie dish, buttered and pressed firmly to exclude air pockets. Only two tablespoons of water go in, so the loaf sets rather than steams.
- ServingFive or six as written. Cold is arguably the better version: chill it overnight under a light weight and it slices cleanly for bread and pickles.
The formula invites comparison with the French pâté de campagne: cheap muscle meat stretched with organ meat, bound with breadcrumbs, weighted with pork fat and eaten cold. The recipe gives a probable cost of 1s. 10d. for five or six portions, with mustard and sugar doing the seasoning work a modern cook might expect from herbs or wine.