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Pigeon Pie
758. Rub the pigeons with pepper and salt, inside and out; in the former put a bit of butter, and, if approved, some parsley chopped with the livers, and a little of the same seasoning. Lay a beef-steak at the bottom of the dish, and the birds cut in half on it; between every two, a hard egg. Put a cup of water in the dish; and, if there is any ham in the house, lay a bit on each pigeon; it is a great improvement to the flavour. Season the gizzards and two joints of the wings, and put them in the centre of the pie; and over them, in a hole made in the crust, three feet nicely cleaned, to show what pie it is. Cover with puff paste (see par. 732).
PHEASANT, PARTRIDGE, OR GROUSE PIE IN A DISH. 759. Pick and singe two pheasants, or four partridges or grouse; cut off the legs at the knee; season with pepper, salt, chopped parsley, thyme, and mushrooms. Lay a veal-steak and a slice of ham at the
A raised-flavour game pie of the old English kind: birds halved over a bed of steak, moistened with a single cup of water, and sealed under puff paste. The instructions assume a cook who already knows how to build and bake a deep pie dish, so the gaps worth filling are the bird, the oven and the timing.
- The birdsThe recipe does not say how many pigeons, nor whether wild or dovecote-reared; period pigeon pies used both. Wild pigeon is dark and lean, farmed squab milder and more tender; squab of about 12 oz each are the easiest modern stand-in. On a lean bird the breast is the only reliably tender part, which suits a recipe that surrounds it with steak, ham and pastry.
- Beef-steak at the bottomA layer of beef laid under the birds, which cooks down into the gravy and keeps the birds from drying against the dish. Thinly sliced stewing cuts -- skirt, chuck or shin -- suit the long bake; quantity is left to the size of the dish.
- Hard eggHard-boiled, shelled, and used whole or halved. Cook them a little short of firm, since they will spend an hour or more in the oven and the yolks turn chalky and grey-rimmed if fully set beforehand.
- Only a cup of waterThat is deliberate. A covered pie loses very little liquid, and the steak and birds give up their own juices; more water floods the pastry. For a richer gravy, a well-reduced game or veal stock can be used in place of the water.
- Puff pasteParagraph 732 in the original book gives the pastry. Rough puff or a bought all-butter puff sheet works; roll it thicker than you would for a tart, since it has to bridge the birds and hold up for a long bake.
- The ovenNo temperature is given. Start at 425F for 15-20 minutes to set and lift the crust, then drop to 325F for a further hour to hour and a half, until a skewer slides easily into the beef. Cover the pastry loosely with foil if it colours before the filling is done.
- The feetThe three cleaned feet standing up through a hole in the crust are a serving-hatch label, not a garnish to eat -- a period convention for showing which game was inside a sealed pie. Skip it without loss; if you keep it, scald and scrub the feet first, and note the hole will let steam and some juice escape.
- The hamAny cured ham does the work described. The original makes it conditional -- "if there is any ham in the house" -- but calls it a great improvement to the flavour, since a bit laid on each pigeon contributes salt and fat to birds that have almost none.
- YieldDepends on how many birds the dish holds, which the recipe does not specify; with the steak and eggs it is a substantial main course, served with a green vegetable and boiled potatoes. Season the birds lightly -- ham, gizzards and reduced juices concentrate the salt.