MY FLOWERPOT KITCHEN HAND RAISED PORK & GAME PIES TRADITIONAL CORNISH PASTIES AND VENISON RABBIT PIES

THIS WAS MY FARMERS MARKET STALL, I HAVE SUCH A LOVE OF FOOD I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO SECURE A STALL AND MAKE BAKE AND SELL MY PIES. 

CUSTOMER REQUESTS ENCOURAGE MY BAKING TO INCLUDED SUMPTUOUS CUSTARD TARTS, LOCAL PORK SAUSAGE ROLLS, TRADITIONAL SKIRT CORNISH PASTIES, STILTON AND PORK PASTIES, LAMB AND MINT AND STEAK AND HORSERADISH PASTIES AMONG ALL THE PIES THAT I MADE.

I LOVED GOING TO THE LOCAL FARMER/GAMEKEEPER AND ORDERING MY LOCAL MEATS AND GAME, I GOT TO COOK WITH RABBITS, PIGEON, TEAL, WOODCOCK, WILD DUCK, PHEASANT, VENISON, SQUIRREL, LOCAL PORK, BEEF AND CHICKEN ALL VERY VERY FRESH AND OFTEN STILL LEFT FURRY !

FABULOUS TRADITIONAL CORNISH PASTIES, I MADE THIS TOTALLY TRADITIONALLY AND BROUGHT MY SKIRT BEEF FROM FALMOUTH IN CORNWALL, CARROTS AND POTATOES GROWN IN MY GARDEN, PASTRY WAS ALSO A OLD CORNISH TRADITIONAL RECIPE, AND HELPED MY SUCCESS

FRENCH RAISED GAME TERRINE PIE

INGREDIENTS

THE PASTRY

900g plain flour

225g stork or butter, chilled

200g fresh lard

355ml water

1 tbsp salt

Place the flour in a large bowl mix in the salt, then grate the stork or butter and lard into the bowl, mix with a knife, using a cutting action, add the water and bring together to form a ball, knead the pastry for a couple of minutes gently just to bring the pastry together, you don't want to make the pastry one nice mix, it is important to have streaks of the fat and butter running through like flecks, as this puffs up while cooking a little like a rough puff pastry, this is what makes this pastry really fantastic, it is a short pastry with a rough puff hint, most excellent and very versatile.  Once made place in the fridge for approx 1 hour if you can to rest and firm up.  At this point you can freeze this pastry, wrap in baking paper and freeze.  Sometimes I roll out the pastry and use what I need and then I may roll out the left overs into pie size rounds usually 8" and wrap and freeze that so it is ready to go at a moments notice.  As you can imagine I have friends drop in for lunch on the off chance so I just whip out the pastry, stuff and bake and hey presto !

FOR THE PATE STUFFING

50g butter

2 garlic cloves chopped

1 shallot fine diced

450g chicken livers

100ml brandy

1 pinch ground mace

50ml double cream

This is for the middle of the game terrine pie, I love this pate and often eat this with old fashioned Melba toast and lashings of butter mmm!  Ok melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic and shallots, pan fry for approx 5 minutes, now keep on a medium heat add the chicken livers and brown on both sides, cook on for a few minutes and then add the brandy and reduce down, add the mace and double cream and then once upto a simmer take off the heat and leave to cool slightly, taste and adjust the seasoning to your taste, then blend in a super duper blender, I love my magic bullet for this as it removes all lumps, if after blending you still have a few lumps, pass the pate through a sieve.  A really smooth consistency for this pate is very important.

GAME FILLING INGREDIENTS

200g pigeon breast diced

200g rabbit prime meat diced

200g pheasant breast diced

300g venison

40g butter

1 onion fine diced

1 bunch parsley chopped

4 sage leaves chopped

1 tsp salt & black pepper

1 clove garlic fine diced

Melt the butter in a pan and gently fry the onions, no colouring, take off the heat and leave to cool,  place in a large mixing bowl and add all of the game meat, herbs, seasoning and garlic and mix well.

Roll out the pastry and line your greased tin, any shape will do, I am very lucky to have found a old French raised game mould tin, took some time!!!  Fill the pastry lined tin just over 1/3 full, then top with the chicken liver pate and roughly patt down, now fill the rest of the pie with the game filling and then egg wash the top and place the pastry lid on and crimp round the edges and any left over trimmings of pastry make some leaves to decorate the top of the pie with.  Brush with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes at 200 degrees, then cover the top of the pie with tin foil and reduce the heat to 150 degrees and cook for approx 1.30mins.  Take out of the oven and leave to cool for  15 minutes, meanwhile turn the oven back upto 200 degrees.  Take the pie out of the loose tin, the reason I spent so much time looking for this classic French tin is because it comes apart in 4 pieces, so it is easy to use but I do use normal loose bottom tins too.  Once the oven is back upto temperature, egg wash the pastry and place the pie back into the oven to glaze for approx 15 minutes.  Leave the pie to cool completely and once cool place in the fridge over night.

THE JELLY FOR THE PIE

1 pigs trotter & fowl bones

10 whole black pepper corns

1 bay leaf

500ml water

OR

1 can beef consume

1 portion of gelatin

I like to simmer a pigs trotter and bones of the fowl in the water with the bay and pepper corns for approx 1 hr, then strain and leave to cool this is your natural gelatin for the pie.  Or melt the gelatin into the tin of beef consume and leave to cool.  Once the game terrine pie has been completely cooled in the fridge pour in the jelly and place back in the fridge to set, this will take a couple of hours.



HAND RAISED PORK PIE

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE HOT WATER CRUST

100g pork lard

100g butter

450g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

100ml water

To make the hot water pastry, bring the water to a simmer and add the butter and lard, as soon as it is boiling take off the heat.  In a large bowl place the flour and seasoning and make a well in the centre, pour in the hot lard and mix the two together, you will form a hot soft ball of dough.  It is important to work with this crust immediately, so have your pin tin greased and ready to use.  When using a tin and not a pie dolly, I roll out the pastry roughly to size and line the tin.

PORK PIE FILLING

200g belly pork minced

400g pork shoulder finely chopped

8 sage leaves fine diced

2 good sprigs of thyme chopped

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp black pepper

 1/2 tsp mace

Good pinch of cayenne pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and press firmly into your pie tin, making sure there are no air gaps.  At this stage you can place some boiled eggs if you want to turn this into a gala pie.  Place a disk of pastry on the top and crimp the edges together to form a seal.  Egg wash the pie and place in a pre heated oven 180 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down and cook on for another 1hr, at this point take the pie out of the oven and turn the heat back upto 180 degrees, when the pie has cooled slightly for 15 minutes remove from the tin and place on a baking sheet, egg wash and pop back in the oven for approx 15-30 minutes to set the glaze on the pie crust.

Once cooled add jelly, as above and put back in the fridge to set the jelly, I often do not add the jelly as I don't really like it.