www.sausagemaking.org

Congratulations CB. If that was your first attempt I think you did very, very well. Matter of fact my husband wants you to send him half a dozen and he'll let you have his opinion too!

You know I have never had a Melton Mowbray type pork pie before.. after reading this thread that will soon be a thing of the past!! Hope this isn't blasphemy but it would be interesting to play around with a venison version.

Here is a pretty lengthy instructional video (cheaters version) http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-mak ... y-pork-pie

LOL I figured as much (which is why I added the cheaters version comment). I am making some Brawn this weekend so will have some jelly to try Paul's recipie. Both sets of Grandparents were from the UK (one side from Devon the other from Scotland) so some of the recipies on this forum are like a trip back to my childhood.

BTW I was all set to loose some weight this year.. this site has rekindled my obsession for all things homemade and meaty. My cardiologist curses you all hehe.

No one near me has anchovi essence near me anymore, best i fould find was anchovi past in tescos, could i use this instead? and roughly how much would i use of paste per 1tsp of essence?

Thanks,
Shane.

It's what most of us have as a substitute, I'm not sure what the best dose is, but try one for one.

Dave

Cheers Dave,
im going to have a bash at making some tonight, maybe do a few with a bit of branston mixed in for a treat

Most Sainsburys have it (usually in the speciality foods section).

I have done pork pies a number of time and use the anchovy essence and exactly the same recipe as above - I got it from Tesco and it is in a tube. I made the pies specifically for the OH; she is a Bolton girl and likes her pies, although you would have thought her from Wigan as she is very taken with them

I can't read the ingredients as the print has worn off, but it does give great allergy advice, namely:"Contains fish" I just wouldn't have known if they hadn't stated it

Having coming across this article through Google whilst looking for roast trotter recipes I now have a desire to make a Pork Pie (or several) at the weekend.

Can anyone enlighten me on the jelly-stock, I assume just make up a stock using the trotters, bones etc., will it all be "jelly-y" or do I need to skim of part of it off, seems like you don't need a lot of jelly to pour in the pies but will have to use a lot of liquid in order to get the stock.

Not sure if those 2 trotters are gonna make it anywhere near those mushy peas for dinner now, although I do have 3 more in the freezer... how does a butcher manage to sell trotters in 3's??

Boil them up with a carrot, onion, celery and some seasoning, skim off any scum and reduce the liquid down to a "suitable" level...

Dave

I test some by putting it in the fridge for a couple of hours. I guess I boil the stock down to about 1/4 of the original liquid.

Don't do what I did and add some fresh sage leaves - green jelly looks awful in a pie!

Phil

Attempt 1 was a moderate success, in fact so much so attempt 2 are in right now. Followed the recipe on the very first page of the thread. It was a little grey and perhaps a bit dry. Although I did make several small pies and I think I may have overcooked them. I had some meat left so this afternoon made up some more pastry and there are 2 more in the oven, gonna give them 30 minutes on 200C then 30 on 160C, maybe even less.

Out if interest, I have anchovy paste, is this the same as anchovy essence? The flavour in my mind was a little flat, so I added more salt and more anchovy paste, see if the flavour is any deeper.

Bad news is though one of the pies lids looks like it has come loose from the edge, I'll be having words with my pie making assistant when she's feeling better.

Success was the jelly, used what I had left from making the mushy peas the other night, reduced it down a little and added a little dry stock. I have a trotter boiling now with carrot, celery and onion, so this jelly should be a little meatier, will keep the rest for future endeavours, do you think the jelly/stock will freeze?

Will report back with an update on the 2nd attempt.

To avoid the lid separating, you're best to sit the lid inside the pie rather than on top, that is leave a lip of pie above the top. You can see this clearly on the photos (towards bottom of page) here:

http://www.brocklebys.co.uk/BF-pies.htm

I have written about both Oddley's and my own recipe here:

http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/weblog ... php?id=157

They are both good.

By the way, anchovy is not that usual an ingredient in a Melton Pie, certainly the Old Pork Pie Shop in the Melton Mowbray (Dickinson and Morris) tell me that they don't use it. White Pepper seems to be the dominant spice in most.

Phil

Richierich wrote: do you think the jelly/stock will freeze?

Yes, it definitely does.