SC - Recipe for good small Pork or chicken pies

[Elaine Koogler]

Lorix wrote:

>
> I am in the middle of preparing for a feast & am about to make some small pies
> or pasties for the lunches.  I have a tried & true recipe for beef pies that
> goes down well, but I am also looking at making pork & chicken pies as well.  I
> have egg-based quiche type recipes, but I am looking for something more meatier.

As promised, here is the recipe for Pies of Paris (from Pleyn Delit)

Original:

Take and smyte fair buttes of porke and buttes of vele togidre, and put hit in a
fair potte, And putte thereto faire broth.  And a quantite of Wyne, And lete all
boile togedidre til hit be ynogh; And then take hit fro the fire and let kele a
litel, and cast there-to raw yolkes of eyren, and pouudre of gynguere, sugre and
aalt, and mynced dates, reseyns of corence; make then coffyns of feyre past, and do
it ther-ynne, and keure it & lete bake y-nough.  Harl. 4016

The redactiion:

Pastry for a 9-inch pie pan or ca 24 tart shells
1 1/2 lbs mixed ground meat, including at least two of pork, veal, beef
1 cup each meat stock or broth, red wine
3 egg yolks or 1 whole egg plus 1 yolk
1/2 tsp. each ginger, salt & sugar
1/4 cup each minced dates, currants
optional:  pinch of ground pepper or cubebs, and/or mace, ground clove

Put the ground raw meat in a saucepan and cover with the wine and water; bring to a
boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Then drain all the cooking juices into a heatproof
container, setting aside the meat.  Let the cooking liquid cool (preferably in the
refrigerator or freezer) until you can remove all of the fat from the top.

When you are ready to assemble the pie, line a pie dish with pastry.  Then bring the
de-fatted juices to a bil; beat the egg yolks (or egg and yolk) in a bowl, and beat
in a little of the hot, but not quite boiling, stock.  Beat in the rest, still off
the heat; then mix together meat, dried fruits, spices and sauce, and stir over low
heat for a few minutes to thicken slightly.  Put in the prepared pie shell and cover
with a top crust (unless you're making individual tarts).  Bake in a pre-heated 350
oven for about one hour (less for individual tarts)./  As the mixture may tend to be
pretty sloppy at first, be sure to slit the top crust to allow steam to escape, and
it also may be wise to put a cookie sheet or foil under the pie pan.

We did these both this way and as turnovers for Pennsic, and it worked out very
well.  There is also a sausage pie which my lord has made....I'll see if I can get
that recipe as well.

Kiri