Unlike Sam Weller’s “weal pies,” Mrs. Beeton’s includes a recipe for a proper veal pie.*
Veal Pie Ingredients.—2 lbs. of veal cutlets, 1 or 2 slices of lean bacon or ham, pepper and salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs, 2 blades of pounded mace, crust, 1 teacupful of gravy.
Mode.—Cut the cutlets into square pieces, and season them with pepper, salt, and pounded mace; put them in a pie-dish with the savoury herbs sprinkled over, and 1 or 2 slices of lean bacon or ham placed at the top: if possible, this should be previously cooked, as undressed bacon makes the veal red, and spoils its appearance. Pour in a little water, cover with crust, ornament it in any way that is approved; brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for about 1-1/2 hour. Pour in a good gravy after baking, which is done by removing the top ornament, and replacing it after the gravy is added.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from March to October.
A Very Veal Dinner.—At a dinner given by Lord Polkemmet, a Scotch nobleman and judge, his guests saw, when the covers were removed, that the fare consisted of veal broth, a roasted fillet of veal, veal cutlets, a veal pie, a calf’s head, and calf’s-foot jelly. The judge, observing the surprise of his guests, volunteered an explanation.—”Oh, ay, it’s a’ cauf; when we kill a beast, we just eat up ae side, and doun the tither.”
See Isabella Beeton. The Book of Household Management; Comprising Information for the Mistress, Housekeeper, Cook, Kitchen-Maid, Butler, Footman, Coachman, Valet, Upper and under House-Maids, Lady’s-Maid, Maid-of-All-Work, Laundry-Maid, Nurse and Nurse-Maid, Monthly, Wet, and Sick Nurses, Etc. Etc. Also, Sanitary, Medical, & Legal Memoranda; with a History of the Origin, Properties, and Uses of All Things Connected with Home Life and Comfort. London: S. O. Beeton, 1861 Reprint, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
*Charles Dicnens’s The Pickwick Papers.