Duckling Pie a la Rouennaise

Prepare two pounds of cold pie paste (No. 144), having it rather firm; let it rest for an hour and a half in a cool place. Cut off the pinions, legs and necks from two clean ducklings, bone them entirely, leave the fillets adhering to the skin, remove half the fillet through its thickness and lay on the skin that has no fillet, and detach the meat from the legs to suppress the sinews, then chop up finely; in with this mix a pound and three-quarters of boned turkey forcemeat (No. 65); pound both together for a few moments with four ounces of chopped truffles and four ounces of raw chopped ham, seasoning with No. 2 pie spices (No. 168). Place this forcemeat in a bowl and add to it a third of its volume of baked liver forcemeat (No. 64), passed through a sieve, also a few spoonfuls of cooked fine herbs (No. 385) and half a pound of blanched fat pork cut in quarter-inch squares. Prick the skin of the boned ducklings with a larding needle and fill their insides with a part of the forcemeat, placing the liver well seasoned in the center; reshape the duck to its original appearance. With the bones and parings prepare a succulent stock. Place on a small baking sheet covered with strong, well buttered paper a smooth oval hinged mold; line this mold with two-thirds of the paste and cover the bottom and sides with thin slices of fat pork; on this place a layer of the forcemeat and set one of the stuffed ducklings on the bottom, then cover over with more forcemeat and another duckling on top, finishing with the remainder of the forcemeat, having it dome-shaped on the top, then cover with thin slices of fat pork and over this place a flat of the same paste; press it down on the base of the dome and against the projecting edges of paste to fasten the two together; cut away any surplus paste close to the edges and pinch it with a pair of pincers, or else decorate the dome with fanciful cuts of the same paste; cut a small hole exactly in the center, which is intended to act as a chimney for the steam to escape. Egg over the surface and set the pie in a moderate oven; as soon as it begins to brown cover with paper and cook for an hour and a half. An hour after the pie has been removed from the oven pour in through the opening on top a few spoonfuls of duck fumet (No. 397) reduced to a half-glaze and mixed with a little Madeira wine and jelly; close the opening with a pad of paste. Half an hour later take off the mold and let the pie cool for twelve hours before serving.