Ham Pie

Select a fresh, smoked ham, detach the kernel and under kernel; free these meats from their hard parts and cut them into inch and a half squares: if the meat be very salty it will require unsalting either in water or milk for a few hours before cutting up; lard each piece with a bit of truffle, passing it through from one side to the other. Melt half a pound of lard and when hot add to the squares of ham and fry for a few moments only. Prepare a chopped forcemeat (No. 65); mix in four ounces of chopped truffle parings, pound the whole and add half a pound of lean and finely chopped cooked ham, and half a pound of fat pork cut in small three-sixteenths inch squares; season with red and white pepper, nutmeg and a little salt. Line a cold pie mold with short paste (No. 135), cover the bottom and sides of this with a layer of the prepared hash and fill the center, alternating the squares of ham with another layer of the hash; finish by giving it a dome form on top and cover with bards of fat pork; moisten the inside of the crest with a brush, then add a layer of paste; form this into a pretty crest, pinch the top and sides, egg over twice and range a puff paste (No. 146) cover over the whole, having it only a quarter of an inch thick; egg this twice also, score the entire surface and form a chimney in the center of the paste. Bake for three hours to three hours and a half. Should the pie brown too quickly cover over with strong, wetted paper. Two hours after removing it from the oven pour sufficient good jelly (No. 103) through the chimney to fill it well.