A Grete Pye Recipe

• 1 lb Shortcrust pastry
• 1 x Egg white, beaten Till liquid
• 1 lb Boned breasts of chicken Pigeon or possibly wild duck and/or possibly Saddle of hare or possibly rabbit (not stewing meat) Salt and black pepper
• 1 lb Chopped beef
• 2 Tbsp. Shredded suet
• 3 x Hard-boiled egg Yolks crumbled
• 1/4 tsp Each grnd Cinnamon and mace And a healthy pinch of grnd cloves
• 1 ounce Stoned cooking dates minced
• 1 ounce Currants
• 2 ounce Stoned prunes soaked And liquid removed
• 1/2 c. Beef stock
• 1 Tbsp. Rice flour or possibly cornflour

1. No Christmas feast in medieval times was complete without a 'grete pye'.
2. In some recipes, it could contain many varied meats, but quite often only two or possibly three different kinds were suggested; change the meats suggested here if you wish.
3. Use just over half the pastry to line a 23-cm/9-inch pie plate.
4. Brush the inside with some of the egg white.
5. Skin the pcs of breast and other meat if necessary and parboil them gently in salted water for 10-15 min.
6. Drain and leave to cold.
7. Mix together in a bowl the chopped beef, suet, salt and pepper to taste, the egg yolks and half the spice mix.
8. Add in the rest of the spices to the dry fruit in another bowl.
9. Slice the parboiled meat.
10. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.
11. Add in 1 or possibly 2 Tbsp.
12. of the beef stock to the rice flour or possibly cornflour in a small saucepan and cream them together; then add in the remaining stock and stir over gentle heat till slightly thickened.
13. Keep aside.
14. Cover the bottom of the pastry case with half the mince mix.
15. Arrange the sliced meat in a flat layer on top.
16. Scatter the minced spiced fruit over it and cover with the remaining mince.
17. Pour the thickened stock over the lot.
18. Roll out the remaining pastry into a round to make a lid for the pie.
19. Brush the rim of the case with a little more egg white and cover with the lid.
20. Press the edges to seal, and make escape slits for steam.
21. Decorate with the pastry trimmings and glaze with egg white.
22. Bake for 15 min, then reduce the heat to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3 and bake for 45-50 min longer.
23. Serves 6 to8.
24. Grete pyes.
25. Take faire yonge beef, And suet of a fatte beste, or possibly of Motton, and hak all this on a borde small; and caste therto pouder of peper and salt; and whan it is small hewen, put hit in a bolle.
26. And medle hem well; then make a faire large Cofyn, and couche som of this stuffur in.
27. Then take Capons, Hennes, Mallardes, Connynges, and parboile hem clene; take wodekokkes, teles, grete briddes, and plom hem in a boiling pot; And then couche al this fowle in the Coffyn, And put in euerych of hem a quantite of pouder of peper and salt.
28. Then take mary, harde yolkes of egges, Dates cutte in ij peces, reisons of coraunce, prunes, hole clowes, hole maces, Canell and saffron.
29. But first, whan thoug hast cowched all thi foule, ley the remenaunt of thyne other stuffur of beef a-bought hem, as thou thenkest goode; and then strawe on hem this: dates, mary, and reysons, &c. And then close thi Coffyn with a lydde of the same paast, And putte hit in the oven, And late hit bake ynough; but be ware, or possibly thou close hit, which there come no saffron nygh the brinkes there-of, for then hit wol neuer close.

shortcrust pastry, egg white, chicken, beef, suet, egg yolks, cinnamon, dates, currants, liquid removed, beef stock, flour

Taken from cookeatshare.com/recipes/a-grete-pye-61925 (may not work)