TAKE some cold boiled ham, and slice it about half an inch
thick, make a good crust, and thick, over the dish, and lay a layer
of ham, shake a little pepper over it, then take a large young
fowl clean picked, gutted, washed and singed, put a little pepper
and salt in the belly, and rub a very little salt on the outside,
lay the fowl on the ham, boil some eggs hard, put in the yolks
and cover all with ham, then shake some pepper on the ham,
and put on the top-crust. Bake it well; have ready when it comes
out of the oven some very rich beef gravy, enough to fill the
pye; lay on the crust again, and send it to table hot. A fresh
ham will not be so tender; so that I always boil my ham one
day and bring it to table, and the next day make a pye of it. It
does better than an unboiled ham. If you use two large fowls
in they will make a fine pye; but that is according to your com-
pany, more or less. The larger the pye, the finer the meat eats.
The crust must be the same you make for a venison-pasty. You
should pour a little strong gravy into the pye when you bake it,
just to bake the meat, and then fill it up when it comes out of the
oven. Boil some truffles and morels and put into the pye, which
is a great addition, and some fresh mushrooms, or dried ones.