To Cover a Meat Pie

Roll the pastry out into an oblong shape about ¼ inch thick. From this cut a strip about 1 to 1½ inches in width, or a little wider than the rim of the pie dish. Wet the rim of the dish with cold water and place the strip around the rim, wetting one of the edges to make them stick at the join. Do not overlap the pieces, or one part of the edge will be thicker than the rest. Brush the strip of pastry with cold water. Cut out a piece of pastry large enough to cover the top of the pie dish and place it over the pie, making sure that the pastry does not stretch or drag over the dish. With a sharp knife, cut off any pieces of pastry hanging round the dish; then hold the dish up with one hand, and with the other hand trim neatly round the edges of the pie, inclining the knife so that the edges of the crust will slope outwards.