CHRISTMAS PORK PIE

French Pie Tin Show Stopper

Glorious hot water roasted crackling lard pork pie, a beautiful tasting traditional pork pie that every mouthful sings of great times shared with family and friends.   Our own Organic raised loved and rootling pork seasoned with fresh sage, thyme and bay from the garden and hint of old fashioned mace. Home made jelly or Not! and a gorgeous hot water crust made with our own roast crackling rendered down lard this pie is a show stopper.  For me this is a beautiful way to celebrate Christmas and New Years and I love to make these as gifts for friends and family to enjoy over the festive season, love in every bite.

A Not Jellied Pork Pie !

Cooking these pie’s for family and friends as gifts at Christmas is a lovely time for me where I get to be in the kitchen for most of the day, I start by getting the jelly cooking first, if you are into jelly! I’m not, my family are and through food law I respect that jelly is a important honest historic part of a pork pie and as I do nose to tail cooking this is a tradition I have loved learning, but if like me your not in to jelly just leave it out, it’s personal just go with it, however I f you are into jelly like so many of my London family then you will need to start this cooking day with the jelly, this is so that later we can jelly the cooked pork pie and leave to set overnight in the fridge ready for the excitement of sharing, giving and eating with everyone the next day.  Traditionally this pie would take 2-3 days to make, first day you make the pie, second day jelly the pies and leave to set overnight ready to sell the next day.

Ingredients 

(serves 6-8)

Hot Water Crust Pastry

600g strong plain flour

2 beaten eggs

7g Himalayan sea salt 

5g white pepper

1 tsp fresh chopped thyme

110g lard

110g butter

240ml water

The Pork Pie

800g pork shoulder diced

200g belly pork minced

200g bacon minced

10 sage leaves finely chopped

4 sprigs thyme chopped

1/2 tsp mace

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tsp black pepper

The Jelly

1 pork hock or 2 trotters

1 ltr water

1 onion skin on halved

1 carrot rough chopped

1/2 stick celery 

1 garlic clove bashed

8 peppercorns 

1 bay leaf

1 tsp mustard powder

1 pinch celery salt

2 leaves gelatine (optional) 

First get the jelly underway in a pressure cooker for 1/12 hrs or casserole dish for 3-4 hrs place all the ingredients in your pan, bring to a simmer and place on the lid, leave to cook for the time needed for your cooking vessel.  Once cooked remove the trotters or pork hock, the latter makes a wonderful dinner with some buttery vinegar mashed potatoes and pease pudding or a suet bacon and onion pudding roll.

Now to check if your pork jelly will set without the need for gelatine, which it should once cooled, place a saucer in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, take a tablespoon on the Cooke jelly stock and place on the cold saucer on your work top, leave for two minutes and assess the thickness of the set cooled jelly.  If too running then add the gelatine leaves by soaking in water to soften for 5 minutes and then stirring in off the heat.  Leave your jelly to one side while you bake the pork pie.

Next make the pork pie filling mix all the ingredients together and reserve to one side to infuse their flavours while you make the hot water crust pastry.

To make the hot water crust is really simple place the lard, butter and water in a saucepan and melt without allowing a simmer, in a large mixing bowl place the flour, salt and ribbon through the beaten eggs, make a well in the centre and pour in the hot lard and butter mix, using a spoon gently bring together until just combined, using your hand knead the mix for a minute until a smooth ish ball is formed.  Take 2/3 of the dough and place in your tin pressing the sides up and forming the base, place in your pork pie meat, lay your pastry lid on the top and crimp the edges, I like to take my left hand ready to pinch the pastry from the underneath of the tin lip and pastry, while my right hand will push the top pie crust pastry in to the two pinch fingers, this gives a great crust finish.  Make a hole in the centre of the pie to allow steam out and for adding the jelly later and decorate with leaves around the hole.

Place the pork pie in a pre heated oven 200 C for half an hour, then lower the heat to 160 C for one hour, remove the pork pie from the oven and as with these French pie tins they are comprised of 3 pieces held together with clips, remove the two sides of the pie tin carefully, then glaze the whole pie with egg wash and place back in the oven to cook for a further 10-15 minutes.  Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool, to fill with your homemade jelly use a large syringe or tiny funnel and jug and pour the jelly in until it reaches the top of the hole then store in the fridge overnight to set the jelly, then your good to go, enjoy this glorious pork pie it is a outstanding pie.