Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

Lancashire Hot Pot. — This excellent dish, which is partly a stew and partly a pie, may be made quite simply or flavoured with oysters and kidneys. Any kind of meat, or poultry, or rabbits, can be used for it, but mutton is far the best. Pans are sold expressly for Hot Pots, but a deep fire-proof casserole, with a lid, answers better than anything. For a Plain Hot Pot take three pounds of the best end of a neck of mutton and form it into neat cutlets, trimming off nearly all the fat. Put a layer of these at the bottom of the casserole , seasoning well with pepper and salt. Take three pounds of raw (or, if liked, partly cooked) potatoes, and four onions. Slice the potatoes, and slice the onions lengthwise. Fill the casserole nearly full with alternate layers of meat and vegetables, sprinkling each with a saltspoonful of salt and the same of pepper. Pour in half a pint of good broth, or stock, and then make a roof of sliced potatoes arranged so as to slightly overlap each other like tiles. Put a few little bits of butter on the top of the roof, put on the lid of the casserole, and bake in a moderate oven for three hours or three hours and a half. For the last half hour keep the lid off so as to let the potatoes brown. If the oven is not moderate the Hot Pot will get dry ; it should be looked at from time to time, and if it is getting dry more broth must be added. Just before serving pour in half a pint of strong gravy, made boiling hot. For an Elaborate Hot Pot proceed as above, only adding layers composed of sheeps’ kidneys sliced (four kidneys will be required) , and bearded oysters (four oysters to a layer). Add a sprinkling of cayenne pepper to the seasoning of these layers. Instead of the first half-pint of stock use the oyster liquor, also half a pint of water in which the beards of the oysters have been stewed. SHEPHERD’S PIE ’ Shepherd’s Pie. — Use for this one of the large white china fire-proof souffle cases, crimped to look like paper. The pie can be made of any sort of cold cooked meat, or of several sorts, but the meat must be thoroughly minced, and there must be an abundance of gravy. Begin by putting a thickish mattress of well-made potato puree at the bottom of the dish. Then fill the dish to within an inch of the top with meat and gravy, prepared in this way. Put the meat once or twice through the Enterprise Mincer, which cuts it like scissors. See that all fat, skin, and gristle is removed. Add to the meat a slice or two of cooked ham, bacon, or tongue, or, if liked, a little minced liver. Allow for each half-pound of meat one small onion peeled and minced, and if possible one mushroom minced, and fry them till just coloured in half an ounce of butter. Thicken with half an ounce of flour, and continue frying till the onion is a pale coffee-colour. Add gradually half a pint of stock, so that the sauce will be about as thick as good cream. Boil it up well, let it cool a little, mix in the meat, season with salt and pepper, boil up again, and pour the meat and sauce on the mashed potato in the dish. Fill up to the top with another layer of potato, smooth this with a knife dipped in hot water, and brush over the surface with beaten egg. Brown the top in a moderate oven. This pie is much liked at shooting luncheons.