Recipe Manuscript

To Make A Pigen Py

Name: To Make A Pigen Py
Prep time: PTPT45M
Cook time: PTPT1H30M
Yield: 6
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 6 young pigeons (or 6 small quails/cornish hens if not available); 2 veal sweetbreads (about 250g total); 1 veal palate (boiled tongue, substitute with more sweetbreads or chicken thigh); 250g asparagus (about 25 spears); 200g veal (forcemeat base, finely minced); 100g beef suet (or 100g unsalted butter if suet unavailable); salt and pepper, to taste; 4 large egg yolks (raw, for forcemeat); 100g bone marrow (or additional butter, if not available); 8 large eggs (hard-boiled yolks); 100g mushrooms (button or chestnut, sliced); 50g black truffles (optional, can substitute with more mushrooms); 1 medium onion (peeled, whole); 50g bacon (chunk, unsmoked); 1 lemon (for peel and juice); 100g butter; Pastry for lining and covering the pie (shortcrust, about 600g in total); Veal gravy (see below); For the gravy: 300g veal (sliced), 500ml beef or veal stock, 2 anchovy fillets, 1 blade of mace, 1 sprig thyme, 1 sprig marjoram, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 lemon (chunk for simmering, juice for finishing)

1709

From the treasured pages of Cook-book of Margaret Turner

Written by Margaret Eyre

Culinary Enlightenment (1700 - 1800)European Advanced Dinner Lunch

Original Recipe • 1709

Original Manuscript(circa Culinary Enlightenment, 1700 - 1800)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

To Make A Pigen Py

"Take 6 young pigens 2 sweet breads on pallet & a qvarter of a 100 of sparragrase; make forst meat of Veall beaf suet sesoned prity hy mix it up with yolks of eggs; then beat it all togeather in a morter for then take it & spread it ouer ye bottom of ye py & lay in yr pigens whole; cut ye sweetbreads & pallets in small peices & som of ye sparragrase; & ye marron of 2 bones, then take ye yolks of 8 eggs boyled hard & lay them in whole or a few mushrooms or peices of trefels; in the midle of the py put a whole oynion & a peice of bacon, at the tope lay 3 slices of Lemmon peall & all, then put in sum veill grauey with a peice of butterr & set it in the oven to bake against it coms out of ye ouen, make a ragust thus, take pallets & sweetbreads mushroms & trefels fry them in litle peices & put them into veall grauey, & stue them softly shaking it some times tell it be thick, if it is not thick annough put in ye yolk of an egg & a bit of butterr & ye juce of halfe a lemmon; & when you drau ye py take out ye oynion & peice of bacon & lemon, & put this into ye py altogeather & send it in a ragust well mad. To Make the grauey for this py take Veaill & slice it fry it broun then put into it some broth anchovies & a blade of mace & a litle time & marjoram. then shake in a litle flower, put in a peice of lemon & so shake it altogeather tell it is good grauey"

Note on the Original Text

The recipe is written in a continuous narrative, using period spelling ('pigen' for pigeon, 'oynion' for onion, 'grauey' for gravy) and archaic vocabulary ('pallet' for veal tongue, 'sweetbread' for glandular meats). Punctuation is sparse, instructions are dense, and measurements use approximations based on household scale. Like many manuscript recipes of the era, methods are described for experienced cooks familiar with core techniques—so details on quantities, timings, or temperatures are rarely precise, assuming knowledge passed orally or by practice within the kitchen.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Cook-book of Margaret Turner - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Cook-book of Margaret Turner (1709)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Margaret Eyre

Era

1709

Publisher

Unknown

Background

Step into the refined world of early 18th-century cookery with Margaret Eyre, where recipes are whispered secrets and culinary wonders await. From hearty roasts to delicate sweets, this charming tome serves up inspiration fit for the tables of historic England.

Kindly made available by

Folger Shakespeare Library

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This recipe is drawn from the early 1700s and attributed to Margaret Eyre, an English gentlewoman. At the time, pies—especially those filled with game birds and luxurious offal—were crowning glories of the wealthy English table, signaling affluence, culinary skill, and access to specialty ingredients. Dishes like this 'pigen py' would likely appear at grand feasts and special family gatherings, encased in elaborate pastry and filled with rare delicacies such as veal sweetbreads, marrow, and even truffles or mushrooms, showing off the reach of trade and the cook's technical prowess.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

The original recipe was prepared in a well-stocked early modern kitchen. Tools would include a large mortar and pestle for making forcemeat, sharp knives for butchery, a pie mould or deep earthenware baking dish, and heavy rolling pins for pastry. Baking was done in a wood-fired oven, requiring practiced judgment for temperature. Stews and ragouts would be simmered in copper or iron pans over open hearth fires. A strainer and wooden spoons would help with sauces and gravies.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

45 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 30 mins

Servings

We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!

Ingredients

6 young pigeons (or 6 small quails/cornish hens if not available)
2 veal sweetbreads (about 9 oz total)
1 veal palate (boiled tongue, substitute with more sweetbreads or chicken thigh)
9 oz asparagus (about 25 spears)
7 oz veal (forcemeat base, finely minced)
3.5 oz beef suet (or 3.5 oz unsalted butter if suet unavailable)
salt and pepper, to taste
4 large egg yolks (raw, for forcemeat)
3.5 oz bone marrow (or additional butter, if not available)
8 large eggs (hard-boiled yolks)
3.5 oz mushrooms (button or chestnut, sliced)
1.75 oz black truffles (optional, can substitute with more mushrooms)
1 medium onion (peeled, whole)
2 oz bacon (chunk, unsmoked)
1 lemon (for peel and juice)
3.5 oz butter
Pastry for lining and covering the pie (shortcrust, about 1 lb 5 oz in total)
Veal gravy (see below)
For the gravy: 10.5 oz veal (sliced), 1 pint beef or veal stock, 2 anchovy fillets, 1 blade of mace, 1 sprig thyme, 1 sprig marjoram, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 lemon (chunk for simmering, juice for finishing)

Instructions

To recreate this early 18th-century English Pigeon Pie, first prepare a forcemeat by combining veal, beef suet, seasoning, and egg yolks, then blend or pound this mix until it forms a paste.
Use this to line a pastry case or pie dish.
Nestle six whole young pigeons onto this base.
Scatter over small pieces of sweetbread (calf's thymus), boiled veal ‘pallet’ (tongue) if available, and about 9 oz of trimmed, blanched asparagus.
Dot with bone marrow if possible (substitute with extra butter if not), and arrange eight hard-boiled egg yolks among the meat, plus a handful of mushrooms or black truffle pieces if you like.
At the center, place a peeled onion and a chunk (about 2 oz) of bacon.
Lay a few thin slices of lemon (peel and all) over the top.
Pour over rich veal gravy (see below), dot with butter, and cover with a pastry lid.
Bake at 350°F until golden and cooked through (about 1–1.5 hours).
While the pie bakes, prepare a ragout: fry diced sweetbread, palate, mushrooms, and truffles in butter, then simmer gently in more veal gravy until thick.
Enrich with a little more butter, an egg yolk, and the juice of half a lemon.
When the pie is done, remove the onion, bacon, and lemon slices.
Pour in the ragout filling and serve hot.
For the gravy, brown slices of veal, add beef or veal stock, a couple of anchovies, a blade of mace, fresh thyme and marjoram, a dusting of flour, and a chunk of lemon.
Simmer all together until you have a deeply flavoured sauce.

Estimated Calories

750 per serving

Cooking Estimates

Preparing this classic pigeon pie with forcemeat and rich gravy takes some time, mainly due to preparing the meats, hard-boiling eggs, and assembling the pastry. Baking and making the gravy and ragout fill up most of the cooking time. We estimate around 45 minutes to prepare all the ingredients and case the pastry, and about 1.5 hours to bake and finish the dish. Each serving is quite substantial, so expect roughly 750 calories per portion if you divide the pie among six people.

As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.

We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.