My head swelled to the size of a non-meat pie when my recipe was published in the Boston Herald a few months back. Had I really achieved the sort of fame only previously known by helicopter traffic reporters and Major League Baseball wives? Why, indeed I had.
When I was a brewer over in North Yorkshire in England, Pork Pie was my lunch nearly every day. There were two pie makers in the village our brewery was in. There was the traditional pork pie maker: the local butcher shop. These guys charged 99 pence for their simple and classic pies, about three inches round. You might have to talk about the weather with them, but it was a great little lunch! Then there was also a pie maker of the “award-winning” variety. He thought it was interesting to throw fruit and funny business into his pies. Long lines at his shop, combined with his many and publicized medals allowed his pies to fetch the princely sum of 1 pound and 49p. I didn’t think much of his pies. Real pork pie is made in butcher shops fresh every morning. It’s the pâté of England, yet rugged enough to throw in your pocket and eat like an apple. Americans could do well to eat pork pie.
With only a few changes (all for the best), here’s my latest take on this most delightful of all pie creations. No fruit or cinnamon, no reason to top this with Ready-Whip, no reason to wait for the relatives to travel over the river and through the woods… I suggest finding a dark spot in the back of your closet, get Benjamin Britten on your ipod, don your earphones and enjoy the most brilliant English snack.
What you need:
A Pork Pie Mold: I bought mine on ebay.co.uk. If you’re really talented you could probably use the bottom of a pickle jar, well floured. I will attempt to describe how to use it later. I’m no Julia Child so you’ll need a good imagination.
A Turkey Baster: Or some such thing to inject gelatin into the pie.
Meat Grinder: You could just buy supermarket ground pork but it’s way too lean to pull this magic off.
Ingredients:
Plain Flour (1.5 lbs), 3 eggs, Pork Shoulder (.5 lbs), Belly Pork (.5 lbs), Lard (.5 lbs), Salt Pork (.25 lbs), Plain Bread Crumb powder (.25 lbs), Sage, Nutmeg, White Pepper, Black Pepper, Salt, Gelatin Powder, Bay Leaf, Pork Bone (optional for gelatin), Anchovy essence (optional), Water
MAKE PASTRY
- Put the HALF of the lard (.25 lbs) and water (7 fluid ounces) in a saucepan and heat gently until melted: DO NOT BOIL.
- Put the flour (1.5 lbs) and salt (2tsp) in a mixing bowl and mix with the remaining lard (.25 lbs) and the 2 beaten eggs. I use a KitchenAid with the dough attachment. Nice.
- Make a dimple in the mixture and add the heated lard and water solution.
- Mix until it forms a massive doughball. At this point you can make merry with your lard-based dough. I like to tell people my brains fell out while brandishing my dough ball proudly.
- Turn out onto a floured board. Briefly knead until smooth.
- Put into bowl, cover with cloth and rest in fridge overnight. A few hours before you want to make pie get it in the freezer. I’m serious, this will help it keep stiff when you need it to be. (This sounds like a double entendre, and of course, this is a British recipe, so you should take it as it comes).
MAKE FILLING
- De-bone, de-skin and liberally de-fat your pork. Cube it so it fits in your grinder
- Mince Shoulder, Belly pork and Salt pork
- Sprinkle rusk (or plain breadcrumbs) over top to cover, mix in well and repeat. Try to keep air in the mix. Do not squeeze. You’re going to want this mixture to remain “fluffy”.
- Add Sage, Nutmeg, White Pepper, Black Pepper, Salt & the pinch of Cayenne if you’re a mad person. Personally, I don’t use the Cayenne in this.
- Finally add Anchovy Essence (1 tspn) and Water to bind (3 tspn). No one will ever know that you replaced the Anchovy with water either. So go with what you have.
PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 350 F
FORMING (I have best luck when dough is almost frozen)
- KEEP BULK OF DOUGH IN FRIDGE THROUGHOUT
- Roll out a doughnut sized piece of dough (should be just under .5 lbs) to flatten and then form the sides DOWN a floured(!) pork pie form (or 4″ upside-down jar).
- When sides are 3 inches or more down the form run a knife along top of side walls to create a uniform height (while still on form)
- Remove from form (only possible if form was well floured and dough cold)
- Gently add filling, carefully not packing down. Let it sit proud of the sides.
- Cut a round lid, then punch a center hole (approximately ¼ inch wide)
- Brush the underside of the lid with cold water and attach it to the sides, crimping with your fingers. You want a pretty lid so get as fancy as you can.
Still don’t get it? This guy does it quite well. Watch him for the forming only. I don’t like what he does with his big ball of pork. Listen closely and you’ll hear an English brass band playing an instrumental of “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles in the background. Ace!
COOKING
- Bake at 350F for 30 minutes,
- Remove from oven, brush egg on to create the classic glaze
- Return to oven, reduce temp to 320F and bake for another 1h 15m.
- Pork is considered cooked when it hits 140F. This will be plenty of time.
MEANWHILE THE GELATIN
Why gelatin? It’s like the bottle cap on a beer – it seals the pie from the air very well if you can be bothered. I would, your pie will last a lot longer.
Take a few cups of water, throw in that bone you took out of the pork, add the bay leaf, a bit of black pepper, even mace if you have it. Oh yeah, add a gelatin packet to make sure it works. Work the gelatin in when it’s still cold with a whisk and the heat up slowly – do not boil. I am still shaky on this part, it’s hit or miss. Let me know if you have any good tricks.
Take the pies out of the oven and get them on cooling racks. Get the gelatin in through the lids when they’re fairly cool. Do this with your baster – then get them in the fridge quickly.
SERVING
Pork pies are meant to be served cold. Do not throw them in the microwave. Slice it up, maybe even bake some beans to go with it. A slice of Cheddar or Stilton would go well too. Did you forget a bottle of Saint Botolph’s Town? No? Good.
NOTE
Hey, don’t substitute butter for lard! It doesn’t work. You’re trying to build something here. This is a pie you can play catch with and then eat. Butter will leave a rather limp version of real thing.
Cheers from Dann!
These pies should last about 3 days – so start eating!
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