There is something very satisfying about making a pork pie. I think it’s the labour intensity along with the tactile nature of hot water crust pastry that gives it the edge over a shortcrust or puff pastry specimen. My American friends are not very familiar with savoury pies, when I mention meat pies they look at me with  confusion sprinkled with a touch of horror. They don’t know what they are missing.

This pie is very basic. My fluted french pie mould is in storage so I made do with a high sided pie dish. Not as pretty as the Tractor Wheel Pork Pie I had in Manchester, UK, in the September of 2012 post either. But Yummo all the same.

Pies here in the USA are mostly filled with fruit and are unbelievably sweet by my British/Australian taste buds. I won’t mention sausage rolls or pasties here for fear I will induce a dead faint on anyone within earshot… (sausage roll recipe to follow shortly)

For savoury meat pies and convenience you can buy ready made puff pastry or short crust pastry in the UK and Australia but here they are invariably full of sugar. Phyllo pastry really was the only choice until Trader Joe’s finally brought out a plain unsweetened Frozen puff pastry recently. Hurrah!

Anyway, it was a cool day and I felt like baking. The slow cooker really helped with the labour of this endeavour.

Pork Pie (a cheats version)

Put 1kg of diced pork in the slow cooker with 1 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp sage, thyme and a teaspoon of salt and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning and a cup of water for 4 hours on low. It will form a thick “pancake” of meat perfectly fitting the pastry lined cake tin. (There was plenty of stock that came off the meat and it set really well without having to add gelatine.)

For the pastry:

200g lard (may substitute butter or 50:50 of each, but the crust won’t be quite as crisp)

220g water

575g plain flour

1 beaten egg

1 x 20cm cake tin or a pie mould the same diameter as the slow cooker insert.

Make the pastry

Put the lard or butter and water into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Sift the flour with a good pinch of salt into a large bowl. Lightly beat the egg with a fork and add to the flour and give it a quick mix. Pour the hot lard and water into the flour, mix with a wooden spoon quickly so the hot liquid doesn’t cook the egg, then leave until cool enough to handle. The pastry must be warm when you start to work it.

Pull off a quarter of the pastry and roll it into a lid that will fit the top of the cake tin. Roll the remaining pastry to fit the base of the tin. Lay it in the bottom, then firmly push the dough up the sides with your hands. It should spread quite easily. If it slides down, leave it to cool a bit more. Make certain there are no holes or tears, this is very important, as the jelly will leak out. Add the pork filling into the lined cake tin and press it down. It should come almost to the top of the pastry.

Brush the edges of the pastry above the meat with beaten egg. Lower the lid into place and press tightly to seal with the edges. Make a small hole in the lid to let out the steam and to give you a place to pour in the stock later.

Bake the pie (on a baking sheet) in a 180’c/ 350’f oven for 45 mins or until the pastry is golden and cooked through. Let the pie cool enough to handle and then carefully remove it from the cake tin.

When the pie is cool, warm the stock until it melts and then pour the stock carefully through the hole in the top of the pastry until it will take no more liquid. A funnel is invaluable here. Leave the pie to cool further, then refrigerate overnight so the stock will set to jelly.

Serve with a cold ale.

A Plowman’s Lunch

Enjoy.

Regards,

J