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VENISON PASTY (another way) (Modern pasty is made)

A modern pasty is made of the parts that do not roast well, as the neck, the breast, or shoulder. The breast makes a good pasty. Cut it into little chops, trimming off the bones and skin; make some good gravy from the bones and other trimmings; place fat and lean pieces of the meat together, or, if very lean, place thin slices from the firm fat of a leg or a neck of mutton along with each piece of venison; season the meat with black pepper; salt, pounded mace, and allspice; place it handsomely in a dish, and put in the drawn gravy, a quarter of a pint of claret or port, a wine-glassful of shallot vinegar, and, if liked, a couple of onions very finely shred. Cover the dish with a thick crust. Before serving the pasty, if the meat is lean, more sauce, made of a little wine, gravy, mixed spice, and the juice of a lemon may be put in hot. An hour and a half in a moderate oven is quite sufficient for baking an ordinary-sized pasty; an hour will do for a small one. Some cooks marinade the meat in the wine and other seasonings for a night, or for some hours previous to baking. This no doubt imbues the venison with the flavour of the seasonings, but at the same time draws off the juices and hurts the natural flavour of the meat.