Make a good paste in the proportion of a pound of butter to two
pounds of sifted flour. Divide it in half, and line with one sheet
of it the bottom and sides of a deep dish, which must first be
well buttered. Have ready two pounds of the best beef-steak, cut
thin, and well beaten; the bone and fat being omitted. Season it
with pepper and salt. Spread a layer of the steak at the bottom of
the pie, and on it a layer of sliced potato, and a few small bits
of butter rolled in flour. Then another layer of meat, potato,
&c., till the dish is full. You may greatly improve the flavour by
adding mushrooms, or chopped clams or oysters, leaving out the
hard parts. If you use clams or oysters, moisten the other
ingredients with a little of their liquor. If not, pour in, at the
last, half a pint of cold water, or less if the pie is small.
Cover the pie with the other sheet of paste as a lid, and notch
the edges handsomely, having reserved a little of the paste to
make a flower or tulip to stick in the slit at the top. Bake it in
a quick oven an hour and a quarter, or longer, in proportion to
its size. Send it to table hot.
You may make a similar pie of mutton chops, or veal cutlets, or
venison steaks, always leaving out the bone and fat.
Many persons in making pies stew the meat slowly in a little water
till about half done, and they then put it with its gravy into the
paste and finish by baking. In this case add no water to the pie,
as there will be already sufficient liquid If you half-stew the
meat, do the potatoes with it.