Cornish Pasties

With hands, mix flour, salt and lard into a coarse meal consistency. Mix in about 10 tablespoons of the ice water and gather into a ball. If it is too crumbly to gather, add water 1 teaspoon at a time, until it forms a good ball when gathered. Divide it into 6 parts and refrigerate at least 1 hour, overnight is better. Remove dough balls from refrigerator and roll them into circles about 8 1/2 to 9 inches across and about 1/4 inch thick. Divide the filling into 6 parts and place in layers in the center of the circles, starting with the meat. (Filling may be diced and mixed together, if desired, instead of sliced.) Put a small chunk of butter on the filling. Dampen the edges of the pastry with water, and fold the edges up to make a seam on top. Press the edges together with the fingers and crimp to seal. Make 2 or 3 ventilation slits in the top of the pasty. Carefully pour a teaspoon or so of water into the pasty through the ventilation slits. Brush with milk or egg if you want a glaze, and bake at 450 until the pasty is pale brown, then reduce the heat to 350 for about 40 minutes. Makes 6