Preparation:
- For the crust take 3 pints of cream, a heaping teaspoonful of salt and enough flour so that it will make a stiff enough dough to roll out easy. A deep earthen dish with flaring sides should first be lined with a thin layer of paste, and the remainder of the latter rolled about 1/2 inch thick. 3/4 of a pound of butter are cut into small pieces and put on the dough close together, a little flour is then sprinkled over the butter and the paste rolled over and over after which it is rolled out again to the thickness of a finger and rolled up. Cut the ends from the roll, turn the pieces over and roll out to the thickness of a finger for rims. Use milk to moisten the paste lining in the dish, and place the rims around the sides of the dish, put on 2 to 3 or 4 rims, one above the other having the inside rim the highest.
- Parboil 2 chickens and fill into the center of the dish after taking out some of the larger bones. Season the liquor with pepper and salt and pour it over the chicken, enough to nearly cover. Cut a quarter of a pound of butter into pieces the size of a chestnut putting them over the meat.
- Roll the remainder of the crust to fit the top, cutting a slit in it which should be turned back to let the steam escape. If you can bake this in a brick oven the time required will be about 3 hours; if baked in a stove it will take about 2 hours only and then use only 2 rims of crust.
