Pastey Van Een Trap-Gans

This recipe hails from the Dutch culinary classic 'Het Hollands, of Neederlands kook-boek', first published in Leiden in 1725. In the early 18th century, elaborate meat pies known as 'pasteien' were a centerpiece of festive or aristocratic tables in the Netherlands, showcasing both culinary skill and the hunter's bounty. Game birds like bustard (nowadays extremely rare and protected) were prized for their size and flavor, though their leanness required clever use of fats and seasonings. This particular pastey would have been a showstopping winter or feast day dish, baked in the hearth or communal oven.

In the 18th century Dutch kitchen, cooks would use a large wooden table for preparing dough and larding the bird, a strong sharp knife for butchery, larding needles to insert the pork fat, and a mortar and pestle for grinding spices and mincing pork fat. The pie would be baked in a heavy ceramic or metal pie dish or even free-form on a baking stone, then cooked in a brick oven fired with wood or peat. Tongs, wooden spatulas, and brushes made from feathers (for gilding with egg wash) were standard tools of the trade.