Rook Pie.—Pluck, draw, and singe four or more fine young rooks, and remove the backbones (if left in these are bitter), and then steep the birds for one and a half to two hours in water or milk, or half and half, after which cut them into neat joints, seasoning these rather highly with mignonette, and pack them in a buttered piedish in alternate layers with thinly sliced beef steak or ham, some bacon, sliced hard boiled eggs, and little forcemeat balls; add an ounce or so of butter broken up, and about one and a half gills of good strong gravy; cover with a good rough puff paste, and bake two hours or more till the pie is cooked. If the birds are skinned and freed from their backbones, they may be cooked by any recipes for game or pigeon pie. N.B.—This treatment applied to foreign game often renders it thoroughly palatable when otherwise too bitter. Be careful not to break the gall in drawing, but if it be broken, soak the bird in strong salt and water.