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Thursday, 16 December 2010

Pork Pies

It aint Christmas without a pork pie to tuck into for breakfast. The plate adorned with pickles, it is the breakfast you can scoff in your pyjamas, clutching a bloody mary, feeling ever so slightly dirty for consuming such large amounts of pork fat so early in the day. I highly recommend it.

I went a little over-board this year. Maybe I didn't need quite so much meat. I couldn't help myself. Besides which, is there ever such a thing as too much pie?

(The answer is yes. When I was a child I was sick in my sleep from eating too much pie. True story.)

Scale the quantities down if you like. Or give a pie away as a Christmas present. Or freeze it.

Pork Pie

Feeds an army

For the filling:

700gr pork shoulder
600gr belly pork
6 rashers of bacon
4 large sage leaves
1/2 nutmeg, grated
4 stalks of thyme
2 Bramley apples
1/2 tsp salt
Loads of black pepper
A large pinch of white pepper

For the pastry:

100gr lard
100gr butter
150mls water
550gr plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg + 1 egg for glazing

For the jelly:

2 pigs trotters
1 bay leaf
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
Large pinch of salt
1 onion
15 peppercorns

First thing's first, over your trotter in water, whack in the aromatics and simmer it for 3 hours, topping up with water every now and again. Strain, season. You want to end up with about 300mls of jelly.

Chop all the meat by hand into small pieces. It's tedious and boring and there's a strong risk you'll chop parts of fingernails off at least once but it's worth the nice coarse texture of the pie innards. Dice the apple roughly, then mince the herbs finely. Add the spices and then the salt. Fry a little patty in some oil and leave to cool - taste test for seasoning. Make sure you eat it cold, as you'll be eating the pie cold.

For the pastry, melt the lard and the butter in a pan. Don't let it boil. Add the flour, salt, water and egg to a bowl and mix well - add the lard and butter and mix until combined. Form into a ball and whack it in the fridge for an hour. (If it's a bit sloppy wrap it in cling film, stick it in a bowl. It'll firm up.)

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Grease your pie tin (or in my case, Daddy Pyrex and Baby Pyrex bowls) well. Slice the dough in half, then slice a third off each half - these will be the lids. Roll out evenly and line your pyrex / pie tin. Pile in your meat, then top with the lid loosely and crimp it on. Cut out a hole to pour your jelly into. Glaze with the remaining egg wash and add some nice decorations - leaves, or something. Egg wash the decorations.

Bung in the oven for 30 mins, then turn it down to 150 degrees C and cook for another 40 mins. Remove and allow to cool completely. If your trotter stock has turned to jelly, warm in a pan to liquidise it. Using a funnel, pour it very slowly into your pie. Don't overfill it - you must be patient. Then bung in the fridge overnight.

Serve at room temperature with mustard and pickles.

21 comments:

  1. Wow - that looks fantastic. Even beats my champagne, smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast. However, will champagne go with pork pie? Mmmm. Not so sure and no matter how much I love pork pie, and I truly do, I couldn't give up the Christmas morning champers!

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  2. Fantastic... especially the vomitting in your sleep! I will give this a try, the pie that is!

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  3. I haven't made mine yet this year! Will there be another burstgate?! I don't know if mum and I can take the mental strain ;) Glad to see you solved your leakage problemo, they look yummers.

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  4. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.... I want pie. A pork pie. No time to bake this year. BOO HOO HOO. :(

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  5. Wow Lizzie. They look beautiful. Mr Graphic Foodie would think all his christmases had come at once if I presented him with this on the morning!

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  6. Oh wow!! That is very relevant to my interests!!!

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  7. Mmmm pie!
    http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/pie/

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  8. I get to eat this! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

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  9. I do like a little pork pie for Christmas breakfast, as you know. Was thinking of cracking on and making one this year too, time allowing.

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  10. There is far too much pork pie going around the moment so you HAVE to give me some......OK?

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  11. mmmmmmmm pie... I'm roasting a goose for 1 this Christmas so I may be making this with leftover goose instead of pork... mmmmmm

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  12. You didn't do the initials this year! I wanted to, but it seemed like too much effort.

    Love the idea of adding apple - beautiful combo!

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  13. Oh my god these look amazing. I remember the post from last year as well - love these sort of Christmas foodie traditions.

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  14. Is today pork pie day? What with you and Meemalee making pork pies! Anyway, I like your Christmas tradition of pork pies for breakfast!!

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  15. It's never to early in the day for pie...These look fabulous

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  16. Great recipe for what is a great food, Lizzie. I do love pies and pork pies in particular as that fat-suffused pastry really gets the neurones firing in my pleasure centres. Fatty pastry, oh yeah!

    Pork trotters are an absolute must for a decent piggy jelly. They also go rather well when de-boned, stuffed with fresh foie gras and fried. Yeah, now I am hungry, email me a slice of pie, eh?

    Cheers,
    David Strange

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  17. Hi Lizzie! Just started following your blog! You have some lovely ideas :) x

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  18. I've never been in a position where I've had to freeze a pork pie.

    I find the whole concept incomprehensible.

    My last pork pie had 1.5kg of pork in it, and I'm very pleased to say that it caused people to gasp audibly.

    That was a real result.

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  19. I had pork jelly recently and wish I'd seen this then! Next time I shall come straight to this recipe to recreat it!

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  20. You don't mind if I just sit here and say: "Phwooooaaaaaar" a few times, do you? Phwooooaaaaaar.

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  21. Clare - pork pie and champers would DEFINITELY go!

    Pavel - No, I don't recommend the sleepy vom. Do try the pie though.

    Helen - THANK GOD there was no burstage. Get makin'!

    Su Lin - Oh no! It will have to be your january project.

    Graphic Foodie - thanks!

    Ross - Good-o

    Kavey - hah, thanks

    Chris - yes you do. Prepare that stomach...

    Josh - you should definitely get cracking.

    Dom - Awh, Christmas for one? :(

    Meemalee - No, I ran out of pastry. The apple gave a subtle sweetness, it worked well.

    GC - thanks! It's a great tradition, though only 2 years down so far.

    Mr Noodles - it must be that time of the year!

    Tori - true say. Thanks!

    David - I have never attempted that trotter recipe - it scare the life out of me. Pies though, oh yes!

    Kooky Crumb - Thanks very much :)

    Rich - Well, I had to make my pork pie in advance for Christmas, hence it got frozen. I am looking forward to hoovering it up. An audible gasp is, indeed, a result. Bravo!

    Lex - Mmm porky jelly.

    G&C - PHWOAAAAR away. I've done it a lot.

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