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No Christmas feast in medieval times was complete without a 'grete pye'.
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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.
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Use just over half the pastry to line a 23-cm/9-inch pie plate.
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Brush the inside with some of the egg white.
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Skin the pcs of breast and other meat if necessary and parboil them gently in salted water for 10-15 min.
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Drain and leave to cold.
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Mix together in a bowl the chopped beef, suet, salt and pepper to taste, the egg yolks and half the spice mix.
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Add in the rest of the spices to the dry fruit in another bowl.
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Slice the parboiled meat.
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Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.
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Add in 1 or possibly 2 Tbsp.
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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.
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Keep aside.
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Cover the bottom of the pastry case with half the mince mix.
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Arrange the sliced meat in a flat layer on top.
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Scatter the minced spiced fruit over it and cover with the remaining mince.
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Pour the thickened stock over the lot.
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Roll out the remaining pastry into a round to make a lid for the pie.
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Brush the rim of the case with a little more egg white and cover with the lid.
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Press the edges to seal, and make escape slits for steam.
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Decorate with the pastry trimmings and glaze with egg white.
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Bake for 15 min, then reduce the heat to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3 and bake for 45-50 min longer.
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23
Grete pyes.
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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.
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And medle hem well; then make a faire large Cofyn, and couche som of this stuffur in.
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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.
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Then take mary, harde yolkes of egges, Dates cutte in ij peces, reisons of coraunce, prunes, hole clowes, hole maces, Canell and saffron.
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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.
