Howdy Campers,
I was perusing an old cookbook from the UK, The Art of Cooking Made Plain and Easy (1747) looking for a Christmas dish to try, and found this "Christmas-Pye" recipe. In it, the directions talk about deboning several birds (though no Duck, so this isn't a turducken), but it talks about adding them to the pie, so that when completed, it looks like a whole, very large turkey. So this pretty much sounds like a bird, inside a bird, inside a bird, inside a bird, ending inside a turkey... which is pretty much the same concept, no?
Now, they didn't roast this as is done with a modern turducken. They make a huge, standing crust pie shell, and around the "turducken" you put some game animals, and then and bake it in that huge crust.... and sometimes these are then sent as a gift. The baking a meat dish in a crust, then sending it or keeping it a day or so, was a known, short term technique to preserve food after it grew cold. If the pie arrived in a short amount of time with a crust meant to be eaten, it could be eaten cold, OR if it took a bit of time to travel, the crust would be made with a lot of salt, and when eaten the crust would be opened, and the interior contents would be eaten, the crust being discarded as it was just a container.
Just thought it very interesting that the turducken concept at least goes back to 1747..., and it was a Christmas thing....
A Yorkshire Christmas-Pye
FIRST make a good Standing Crust [hot water crust], let the Wall and Bottom be very thick, bone a Turkey, a Goose, a Fowl [chicken?], a partridge, and a Pigeon, season them all very well, take half an Ounce of Mace, half an Ounce of Nutmegs, a quarter of an Ounce of Cloves, half an Ounce of black Pepper, all beat fine together, two large Spoonfuls of Salt, mix them together. Open the Fowls all down the Back, and bone them ; first the Pigeon, then the Partridge, cover them ; then the Fowl, then the Goose, and then the Turkey, which must be large ; season them all well first, and lay them in a Crust, so as it will look only like a whole Turkey ; then have Hare ready cased, [cleaned & dressed] and wiped with a clean Cloth. Cut it [the hare] to Pieces, that is jointed ; season it, and lay it was close as you can on one Side [of the turkey] ; on the other Side Woodcock, more Game, and what Sort of wild Fowl you can get. Season them well, and ley them close ; put at least four Pounds of Butter into the Pye, then lay on your Lid, which must be a very thick one, and let it be well baked. I must have a very hot Oven, and will take at least four Hours.
This Pye will take a Bushel [42 lbs.] of Flour ; in this Chapter, you will see how to make it. These Pies are often sent to London in a Box as Presents ; therefore the Walls must be well built.
LD
I was perusing an old cookbook from the UK, The Art of Cooking Made Plain and Easy (1747) looking for a Christmas dish to try, and found this "Christmas-Pye" recipe. In it, the directions talk about deboning several birds (though no Duck, so this isn't a turducken), but it talks about adding them to the pie, so that when completed, it looks like a whole, very large turkey. So this pretty much sounds like a bird, inside a bird, inside a bird, inside a bird, ending inside a turkey... which is pretty much the same concept, no?
Now, they didn't roast this as is done with a modern turducken. They make a huge, standing crust pie shell, and around the "turducken" you put some game animals, and then and bake it in that huge crust.... and sometimes these are then sent as a gift. The baking a meat dish in a crust, then sending it or keeping it a day or so, was a known, short term technique to preserve food after it grew cold. If the pie arrived in a short amount of time with a crust meant to be eaten, it could be eaten cold, OR if it took a bit of time to travel, the crust would be made with a lot of salt, and when eaten the crust would be opened, and the interior contents would be eaten, the crust being discarded as it was just a container.
Just thought it very interesting that the turducken concept at least goes back to 1747..., and it was a Christmas thing....
A Yorkshire Christmas-Pye
FIRST make a good Standing Crust [hot water crust], let the Wall and Bottom be very thick, bone a Turkey, a Goose, a Fowl [chicken?], a partridge, and a Pigeon, season them all very well, take half an Ounce of Mace, half an Ounce of Nutmegs, a quarter of an Ounce of Cloves, half an Ounce of black Pepper, all beat fine together, two large Spoonfuls of Salt, mix them together. Open the Fowls all down the Back, and bone them ; first the Pigeon, then the Partridge, cover them ; then the Fowl, then the Goose, and then the Turkey, which must be large ; season them all well first, and lay them in a Crust, so as it will look only like a whole Turkey ; then have Hare ready cased, [cleaned & dressed] and wiped with a clean Cloth. Cut it [the hare] to Pieces, that is jointed ; season it, and lay it was close as you can on one Side [of the turkey] ; on the other Side Woodcock, more Game, and what Sort of wild Fowl you can get. Season them well, and ley them close ; put at least four Pounds of Butter into the Pye, then lay on your Lid, which must be a very thick one, and let it be well baked. I must have a very hot Oven, and will take at least four Hours.
This Pye will take a Bushel [42 lbs.] of Flour ; in this Chapter, you will see how to make it. These Pies are often sent to London in a Box as Presents ; therefore the Walls must be well built.
LD
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