The Cottage Smallholder

I recently downloaded some ebook versions of old cook books. I thought I'd have a look through for an old mince pie recipe and found this:

Title: The accomplisht cook
       or, The art & mystery of cookery

Author: Robert May

Published: 1685

  To make minced Pies of Beef.

Take of the buttock of beef, cleanse it from the skins, and cut it
into small pieces, then take half as much more beef-suet as the
beef, mince them together very small, and season them with pepper,
cloves, mace, nutmeg, and salt; then have half as much fruit as
meat, three pound of raisins, four pound of currans, two pound of
prunes, &c. or plain without fruit, but only seasoned with the
same spices.

That's the entirety of the recipe, no mention of pastry. The recipes are similar, with beef, fruit (including raisins) and spices (including cloves).

The book also includes minced Pies of a Hare which is similar, with meat, suet, spices and fruit (grapes, gooseberries and barberries). This time the recipe actually mentions putting the mixture into a pie.