Mrs Beeton’s Veal & Ham Pie!

Happy British Pie Week!

By Jove! Miss Windsor has certainly surpassed herself today! You see, in the spirit of British Pie Week, and my passionate quest in “Bringing food history alive”, I recreated Mrs Beeton’s Veal & Ham Pie.

You see, whilst searching for something frightfully unusual, yet awfully hearty and traditional which one could recreate for British Pie Week, thankfully, Miss Windsor stumbled upon Mrs Beeton’s Veal & Ham Pie recipe – in her 1906 edition of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management – first published in 1861. 

Darlings, now you’re forbidden to turn your nose up to this glorious dish, which I must admit, is of an acquired taste; yet delightfully delicious (believe me, I was extremely surprised by how mouth-watering tasty this recipe turned out to be!) British, suet crust, meat-based pie created with an unusual concoction of ingredients such as sliced veal fillet or cushion, chunky bacon bits, hard-boiled eggs, a sprinkling of seasoning, followed by a “gill” (translation: 140ml or 5 US fl oz.) of beef stock – and nout more!

That’s right, darlings, you’ve read it correctly – boiled eggs, three in fact! Even Miss Windsor suffered a moment of doubt when she spied this rather interesting addition – a Victorian delicacy, I wonder? To to be honest, at first glance of this recipe, one presumed it could’ve been served during some kind of medieval banquet – curious to find out? Miss Windsor certainly is!
 
Okey dokey, I’ve just consulted one of my modern mentors: the jolly old internet, therefore, I discovered that we’ve been gorging on pies since the medieval times and maybe a trifle before then. Apparently, during the late 14th century a cookbook which included many recipes for all kinds of pies was written for the chefs of King Richard II. 

In fact, during such times a pie was commonly known as a “coffyn” or “coffin”, which means container. This was actually a stiff paste created with flour and water that would act as a robust vessel for baked sweet and savoury fillings. Apparently, in Elizabethan England, one would revel, “If it’s good, tis better in a coffyn.”

And rather interestingly, the Victorians were still making a similar kind of paste, which the cook of the house whipped together with ingredients such as flour, water, plus the addition of butter, egg, lard, or dripping. 

Also, during the Victorian era suet crust for meat and sweet pies was terribly popular and so easy to make – just flour, suet, cold water, baking powder, and/or sugar! I say, when Miss Windsor was a nipper Grandmother Josie advised that one must bring the pastry together with the blade of a knife, including the likes of suet pastry!

Therefore, I vividly recall Grandmother Josie reciting one of her mother’s culinary maxims, Great Grandmother Gertie’s to be precise, “Stir with a knife, stir up strife!” 

​​Darlings, I like to think it’s an old wive’s tale, but admittedly one is very superstitious, so if I ever find myself armed with a knife immersed in a bowl of pastry dough, I naturally mutter that rather ghastly phrase, which of course, as a matter of caution, I do so with all my fingers crossed, including my teeny toes!

Moving swiftly on, now according to the food history records, during the medieval times, one would feast on pies made with a hot water crust. You see, back in those days of beyond pies were an elaborate and exceedingly grand centrepiece of the banqueting table – How fabulous!

​They were baked in decorative moulds, often glazed, and on occasion would boast a stuffed animal or bird which would, of course, suggest the filling of the pie.

Just one more thing; whilst I scoured through the jolly old internet for snippets of information about veal and ham pie, I learned that many recipes require a hot water crust, and some recipes call for whole hard-boiled eggs, not slices. Therefore, suffice to say, I do believe some kind of version of veal and ham pie would’ve perched most comfortably on a medieval banqueting table.  

​​Darlings, now before you dash off to your kitchen to recreate this scrumptious slice of food history, I must say, if you’re a tad put off by the addition of hard-boiled eggs, then may I suggest slices of parboiled potatoes instead.  

Cheerio for now, 

Miss Windsor x

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MISS WINDSOR – EXCEPT FOR 1940’S FAMILY PHOTO!