Pork pie

[Richierich]

Made a batch up on Monday evening following Sausagemakers recipe back on page 1. Had 1 last night for dinner, and to be honest I was quite dissapointed, the flavour was a little bland, I bought Anchovy Sauce from Waitrose and used 1 1/2 tsp of it. As far salt and pepper there was not a lot in, just seasoned it as I would if I was cooking a sauce up, not much at all, say less than 25 turns of the mill. There was around 1kg of meat.

I also don't think I cooked them either hot enough or long enough, the pastry was a bit underdone, not that crispy.

The pies were about 5" across and about 2 1/2" high.

How much salt/pepper would you typically add?? If I remember rightly the recipe just suggests to add salt and pepper.

[wheels]

Richierich

To 12oz of pork I add � tsp of salt, � tsp ground white pepper, a pinch of mace and 1 tsp rubbed sage.

Phil

[Richierich]

Then it is as I thought, a lack of seasoning.

Thanks!!

[Richierich]

Would anyone or has anyone ever replaced some of the lard with butter in the pastry, was reading somewh,ere that this makes slightly tastier, more crispy pastry, didn't say how much to swap out though.

[wheels]

I don't know about the butter.

But I know that some recipes add an egg yolk.

Is your pastry not as crispy as you'd like?

Phil

[Richierich]

Crispy is not a word I would use to describe it, but then most of the time the pastry on shop bought are not crispy, there seems to be a certain softness to mine. Might try the egg yolk - clearly add it to the mix once the water and lard is in the flower, don't put the yolk in the pan

Will let you know how I get on.

[wheels]

No, don't boil the egg!

I saw somewhere recently where it said only to warm the lard in the water to melt (i.e. keep it as cool as possible). I have not try this yet - it flies in the face of all other advice.

Phil

[Katharine]

Hello,

I am about to make my very first pork pie! It's a little daunting!

I'm basically following the infamous Rick Stein recipe.
I made my stock last night and boiled it down to about a pint but the jelly hasn't set - it looks pretty runny!
I'm a bit scared that when I pour it into the pie it will just stay runny and ruin the whole thing! I can't imagine anything worse than cutting open a pie and seeing the jelly just leak out!

Does anyone have any advice?
Should I add some gelatin just to be sure?
I didn't weigh the pig bones before boiling them so I'm worried that there might not have been enough to ake a strong Jelly!

The other thing is that I couldn't find Anchovy Essence so I bought a few anchovies to add to the mix instead. I've heard that you can chop them up and fry them and it does a similar job. Has anyone tried this?

The third thing is that I don't have a metal pastry cutter to go in the top - is this really necessary or is it OK to cut a slit and fold back the edges?

All help and advice greatly appreciated!

-K[/b]

[Richierich]

Just google "rick stein pork pie" and got this....

http://www.gourmet-food-revolution.com/ ... ecipe.html

I would really not worry about the pastry cutter, I use the handle of a wooden spoon to work my way through, just make sure you don't push it in too far, you'll dent the filling, you could use a knife or a pair of scissors if you want, you only need a hole.

I used a bit of gelatin in my first batch, I did not boil it for long enough, however, have you refridgerated the "jelly mix", I was surpirsed how much it did thicken up.

[Katharine]

Thank you for replying so quickly.

The jelly is in the fridge right now but won't be able to check until I get home from work - Eek!

If it still doesn't work, I might just reduce it by half again!

Thanks for the link - really not going to cheat with this one unless it's absolutely necessary and I'm usually pretty good with pastry!

My one regret now is that I've not made any chutney or pickle to go with it - I'll have to pick some up I think!

-K

[Katharine]

The jelly worked - hoorah. It set really well - the wonders of the fridge!

It was worth getting up at 5.30am to pour it into the pie so that it would set again before I had to leave this morning.

And the pie looks and smells beautiful! I hope that I've got the seasoning right.

I'll make sure I get some photographs at the picnic tomorrow!

Thanks for all your advice.

-K

[saucisson]

How did you do your anchovies? I would have suggested simply popping them in a blender, but I got here too late...

Welcome to the forum by the way,

Dave

[wheels]

Anchovy, anchovy, anchovy in pork pie! That's fighting talk where I come from!

[Pork Pie Eyed Dolly]

I use 50/50 butter and lard and I add eggs too.

I realise this is too late to help you though!

[kimgary]

Hi Everone,

I apolgise now if this has been asked before but could someone recommend a amount of cure# 1 to add for a pork pie filling?.

I have tried adding anchovy essence for colour but found it not too good.

I did use actual anchovies one time, mashed up and they did help colour wise but I am thinking I may get more consistent results using a little cure #1.

All thoughts gratefully received.

Kind regards Gazza.

Ps. Cure #1 is Francos, I believe its 5.88% nItrite?.