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Woodcock Raised Pie, Cold

Make some good veal forcemeat. Bone four woodcocks. Put the bones and trimmings into a saucepan with a shallot, a small onion, and a sprig of thyme, and cover them with stock. Let them simmer till the gravy is strong and good. Remove the gizzard from the trail, then pound it, and mix it with the forcemeat. Place the woodcocks, skin downwards, open upon a board, spread over them first a layer of forcemeat, then two or three sliced truffles, and another layer of forcemeat. Fold the skin over, and restore the birds to something of their original shape. Line a pie-mould with pastry (see RAISED PIES). Put a layer of forcemeat at the bottom, place two woodcocks on this, cover them with a few slices of truffle and a thin layer of forcemeat, put in the other two woodcocks with a little more truffle and another layer of forcemeat, and place some thin slices of fat bacon over all. Cover the pie, and finish in the usual way. Bake in a moderate oven. Half an hour after it has been taken out of the oven, pour into it a little of the gravy from the bones, which should be strong enough to form a jelly when cold (see RAISED PIES OF GAME OR POULTRY). Close the hole in the cover, and when the pie is cold, serve on a dish covered with a napkin.