MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

      Title: Shakespearean Meat Pies
 Categories: Pastry, Beef, Fruits, Herbs
      Yield: 24 pies

MMMMM--------------------------PASTRY--------------------------------
      4 c  Pastry flour; use pastry
           - flour for a flakier result
      2 lg Egg yolks
      1 c  Water
      8 tb Butter

MMMMM--------------------------FILLING-------------------------------
    1/2 lb Veal shoulder meat
      1 lb Suet; fine chopped
    1/4 lb Dried currants
    1/4 lb Dates
    3/4 c  Sugar
    1/2 tb Mace
    1/2 tb Cinnamon
    1/2 tb Ginger
    3/4 ts Cloves
    1/2 ts Salt
    1/4 ts Pepper
    1/8 ts Crushed saffron

  In a large pot, cover the veal with cold water. Cover
  pot with a lid and simmer until tender, about 1 1/2
  hours.

  Drain and allow the veal to cool. Then chop it finely
  with the chopped suet or beef fat. Note that suet will
  produce a better texture result; beef fat will make for
  a greasier pie, but it is easier to locate than suet so
  we add it here as an alternative. Add in currants,
  chopped dates, sugar and spices. Set aside.

  Set oven @ 350°F/175°C.

  To make crust, first melt the butter in 1 cup of water.
  Heat just until the butter is melted, do not boil.

  In a large mixing bowl, make a well in the center of the
  4 cups of flour. Mix in water/melted butter mixture
  until well combined. Let sit until it reaches room
  temperature. Mix in egg yolks. The dough should come
  together as a ball.

  Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes, then divide into 4
  equal portions. 

  On a floured surface roll the dough to 1/16 inch
  thickness, then cut out 24 4" circles. Roll out
  remaining dough and cut into 24 3" circles.

  Place the larger dough circles into the bottoms of a
  greased muffin tin, then spoon in 2 tbsp of filling. 

  Top with the smaller dough circles, pressing down to
  make sure that there are no air pockets between the
  dough and the filling. Use a fork to crimp the top and
  bottom edges together.

  Make a vent in the top by cutting a small "x" in the
  center.

  Place muffin tins on a baking sheet, then bake for 1
  hour rotating the pan halfway through, till golden brown
  and baked through.

  If you open the oven and see that fat is draining from
  the pies onto the baking sheet, don't worry, this is
  likely to happen (especially when using beef fat in
  place of suet) and will not ruin the pies.

  Serve warm or at room temperature (we preferred them
  warm). They are similar to sweet mince pies. Note they
  tend to get greasy after sitting for prolonged periods
  of time; keep pies separated by layers of parchment or
  wax paper when storing.

  Adapted from The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen

  RECIPE FROM: https://toriavey.com

  Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

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