# Canning before Cans - Meat Pies



## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

I've recently acquired a fascination with the Yorkshire Christmas Pie. There is not a ton of info on them, some historical research notes, and a couple reproductions of the smallest versions of the pie, but nothing like the grand Christmas roast I'm imagining.

At first I thought the purpose of the crust was (like on beef wellington) to keep the roast moist. After all such a huge roast would normally dry out if not covered in bacon or very well basted.

But I was having trouble understanding how they stayed fresh when being shipped around as one of the earliest examples of mail order foods.

But then I ran across this tidbit:


> The concept was to cut off the crust lid, chop up the cooked meat within, serve everyone to some of each of he different the meats,then recover the remaining meat with clarified butter and re- seal the crust lid, to serve more people another day.


Why recover in clarified butter? Because it's a tight seal, similar to a paraffin lid! Each of the old recipes calls for monumental amounts of suet or butter, in the four hours of cooking the majority of the fat would render out and be liquid. As the pie is removed from the oven, freshly made (recently boiling) gelatin is poured into the vent hole until it fills all the air gaps, and a plug of flour paste is used to seal up the hole. The entire pie except that little plug is sterile, the fat floats up to the top, hardens and forms an airtight lid, the gelatin binds up the water inside the pie, and the tough standing crust prevents the whole from being damaged in storage/shipping. It's essentially potted meat with no pot.

This source suggests that only suet was used when being made to store, and that it was melted out and replaced with gravy at serving time. "Gravy" can mean a number of things, gelatin included.

It wouldn't pass modern USDA safety recommendations, but if you overcook the poultry to 185 and hold it for 5 minutes, it should be reasonably safe. Storing in the fridge or an unheated pantry in winter should extend shelf life. Of course, as soon as you break the seal it can start going bad again, so making a monumental pie (some famous examples took multiple men to serve) might not be a wise use of resources, but the smaller versions might be a suitable way to do some short-term preserving. (For long term preserving I'd be concerned about rodent/insect damage.)

Here's a small standing crust recipe, which could be used for everyday eating: http://savoringthepast.net/2012/11/19/a-standing-crust-recipe/


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

A reasonable sized version, serves 8-10:
http://www.mountvernon.org/recipes/yorkshire-christmas-pie


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Very interesting, thanks for posting. I love reading about old cooking methods, especially British since they did things so differently. I don't know that I'd use it personally, especially with poultry, lol, but I like the idea of it, and that picture looks really good!

I know a lot of potting of meat was done in the old days, here and across the pond. That was where they cooked meat to almost done, put it in a crock or barrel and then poured hot lard or tallow over it to cover, then another layer of meat and fat, etc., until it was full. It was just stored in the larder (pantry) with no refrigeration, but I think it was mostly beef, pork and venison. I've never read of them doing it with poultry.

Then through the winter as they needed it, they would dig in and pull out some of the meat and finish cooking it to serve, making sure that the fat was redistributed in the crock to make sure nothing was exposed to the air. By spring and getting toward the bottom of the crock the flavor would be getting a little off, but they would season it with more spices and/or sauce and serve it.


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## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

potting is done with all meats and fish, you cook it to death cover it in fat and leave it somewere cool. same idea as a french comfit.

it does carry the risk of botulism, it's certainly not a method I would use if I had any other choice.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

If I make one it will be made right before serving and if served coldd will be stored in the fridge. I will probably serve hot with modern gravy, the modern consumer isn't into the jelly around the meat thing.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

I picked up a chicken to practice deboning. Not going to touch the more expensive birds until I master the skills on chickens then turkeys. (I glanced at duck and gosse in the store and wouldn't spend that kind of money outside a holiday.) Chicken and turkey come in enough sizes to practice the techniques, maybe I can use ham or beef to replace the missing dark meat flavors.


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## Declan (Jan 18, 2015)

In europe people tend not to refrigerate their eggs. It is the processing that requires it in the US. The Irish would butter the shells of their eggs as well to extend their shelf-life and the flavor would seep through. 

My mom said they used to preserve cooked meat in grease. When they butchered a hog, they would make sausage, cook it, put in in jars and then fill the jar with the grease. Said so long as the grease was over the sausage to keep the air out, it kept the meat safe.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

Also known as potted meat or confit.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

Just an update: I've gotten decent at (but have not mastered) deboning poultry. I use the Jacques Pepin method on store chickens (more tearing than cutting) but the Scott Rea method (using a knife to separate meat from bone) on tougher barnyard birds and turkeys. I'm just not strong enough to tear the stronger tendons.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfY0lrdXar8[/ame]

Note in the Scott Rea video that you can massage the deboned bird into a round shape, that will be essential to getting it to fill the pie nicely, although we'll dispense with the strings when we have a crust in place. We'll still need to fill the corners with something...
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MBYdoSMk1Y[/ame]

I made a half-chicken scale standing crust pie. It was a lot of work but fun to do. I rolled out the pie crust scraps into fondant molds to make decorations. The crust has to be warm to mold well, but reheats ok in the microwave a few times if you keep it moist. I don't think I'm doing a full scale crust until the holidays.

I made a lazy top crust over a Turken, and decided the bottom crust was important to keep the roasting juices close to the bird. I did another in a crock pot he just barely fit in that came out quite nice. I think chinese five spice powder makes a good quick substitute for the old English spice mix, but I've picked up some other things to experiment with. Husband is fond of a plain old ground beef stuffing, but I've also done rice with cranberries and an apple and egg stuffing.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

... I make one of these deboned roasts every couple weeks, usually just a chicken, to practice the deboning technique.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Verrrry interesting....!


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

FYI, since this is traditionally served cold, you can make it a day ahead and refrigerate, taking a lot of the stress out of timing dinner. You only need worry about the sides timing, the roast is just waiting as long as it has to for fresh gravy.


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