Impress your friends and family with a good old homemade pork pie
ByRebecca Cox | 1 week ago
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The pork pie is a staple in British food, beloved by generations. This British Pie Week (4 – 10 March 2024), why not forego the supermarket option and have a crack at making your own with this Dickinson & Morris award-winning Melton Mowbray traditional pork pie recipe.
Pork Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
To make a 450g (1lb) Pork Pie
Pastry
- 200g plain flour
- 2.5ml salt
- 60g lard
- 35ml water
- Beaten egg to glaze
Filling
- 225g lean pork, chopped (shoulder would be ideal, but not bacon or ham)
- Salt and pepper
- 125ml pork stock & 15g gelatine
Method:
How to make the pastry
- Sift flour and salt into a warm bowl and rub in 15g of lard.
- Gently heat the remaining lard and water together until boiling, then add to the flour, mixing until mixture is cool enough to knead.
- Knead well to ensure no air is in the pastry.
- Keep aside a quarter of the pastry for the lid.
- Make the remaining piece of pastry into a ball and leave in the fridge overnight.
How to make the filling
Dice the fresh uncured pork into small pieces and season well with salt and pepper.
How to make the jelly
Make the jelly at a later stage, whilst baking, by dissolving the gelatine in pork stock.
Step-by-step how to hand raise a pork pie in a traditional way
- Remove the pastry from the fridge at least two-three hours before making the pie case. Begin by gently squeezing / tempering the pastry ball between your hands so that it becomes pliable and mouldable. Loosely form into a flattened ball.
- Tip: take great care not to overwork the pastry.
- Using a floured surface, circle the pastry between your hands to begin bringing the wall sides up.
- Take your dolly, or if you do not have one of these, a regular sized jam jar, and push firmly into the centre of the pastry. This should raise the wall sides up and outwards, ready for shaping.
- Whilst rotating the dolly in a circular motion, squeeze the pastry with your hands and at the same time work the pastry up and around the body of the dolly. The pastry should have a regular and even thickness all the way round.
- Tip: make sure you do not push the dolly through the bottom of the pastry case!
- Raise the pastry to the top of the dolly and prepare to remove the dolly from the pastry case.
- Gently remove the pastry case from the dolly by teasing the pastry away from the sides with your thumbs. Slowly remove the dolly from the case.
- Firmly place your ball of coarsely chopped, seasoned fresh pork into the pastry case, moulding the sides to the meat to ensure no air remains in the body of the pie.
- Damp the inside rim of the pastry case with egg.
- Roll out the reserved pastry to an even thickness and cut out a circular lid. Place on top of the meat and pastry case.
- Seal and finish the pie by hand, gently pinching the lid and wall sides together.Tip: very important to ensure the lid is very securely sealed to the pastry case otherwise the sides will collapse during baking.
- At opposite points around the circumference of the pie push the sides in to create a crimped finish to the top of the pie.
- Chill the pie for at least 1 hour in a fridge, or for best results, overnight.
- Your pie will now be ready to be placed in the oven.
- Just lightly brush the top of the pie (not the crimp) with egg and make a hole in lid centre. Place on a
- baking tray, and bake in the traditional way – without a supporting hoop – to give a distinctive bow-sided shape to the walls. Bake in the oven at Gas Mark 4 (220°C) for approximately 1.25 -1.5 hours. (NB times will vary according to oven type and make).
- Once baked until a rich, golden brown, cool the pie, make two holes in the lid and pour in the jelly.
- Leave to cool further, ideally overnight, in a fridge.
- Remember the pie is designed to be eaten cold, not reheated. To enjoy the pie at its best, remove from the fridge at least an hour before consuming.
Visit porkpie.co.uk for more information on this pork pie recipe.
FAQs
The sides of a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie are bow-shaped as they are baked free standing, whereas most other pork pies are straight-sided being baked in hoops. The meat used is fresh pork which is naturally grey when cooked, liked roast pork, not pink like other pork pies which used cured pork.
Are pork pies still made in Melton Mowbray? ›
First hand-raised by baker, Mary Dickinson in 1851 and still made today with over 170 years of expertise, skill and craft. Our pies are made with outdoor-bred, British pork and have peppery seasoning complimenting the rich, hot water crust pastry.
What are the rules for Melton Mowbray pork pies? ›
Permissible ingredients are fresh pork (pies must be at least 30% meat), shortening (usually lard), pork gelatine or stock, wheat flour, water, salt and spices (predominantly pepper). Artificial colours, flavours and preservatives are not allowed.
Do Melton Mowbray pork pies have jelly in them? ›
This filling shrinks during cooking, so once the pie has cooled, a savoury jelly is poured in through a hole on top to stop it drying out. Ye Old Pork Pie Shoppe, winner of the Melton Mowbray pork pie category at the British Pie Awards, serves both the classic version and less traditional options.
Who makes Aldi Melton Mowbray pork pies? ›
You can't hurry a Tottle Pork Pie
As well as supplying Aldi's Melton Mowbray Pork Pies since 2011, they are also creators of our amazing new Specially Selected Exquisite Jewelled Pork Pie, on sale this Christmas.
What is the best pork pie in Britain? ›
Steve Leeson and the team at Leeson Family Butchers in Oakham, Rutland, has been awarded first place in the 2023 British Pie Awards. Leeson Family Butchers have notched up over 100 awards for their Melton Mowbray pork pies and award winning sausages.
What three things are required for a pork pie to be called a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie? ›
For a pie to be considered a Melton Mowbray pie it must meet 3 main criteria.
- It must be baked within the Protected Geographic Indication (PGI) boundary of Melton Mowbray. ...
- Made with British uncured pork (grey in appearance, not pink like ham). ...
- Must be baked free-standing, not supported in a tin or hoop.
A pork pie is best eaten cold – or even better at room temperature. Everyone has their own favourite condiment to go with a pork pie– some love hot English mustard or Branston pickle. We love ours with beetroot relish or a crisp pickled onion.
What town is famous for pork pies? ›
But the pork pie does have that regional identity, with its origins from Melton Mowbray. Pork pies are now produced all over the UK but it is the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie that is most famous.
Can you buy the jelly for pork pies? ›
You mean unflavored gelatin. Yes, you can buy it most any well stocked grocery store. It is hardly the most flavorful way to do it, but that is the purified form. To do it right takes cooking pork bones (I prefer smoked ham hocks) and letting that congeal.
The company revealed that it experienced significant financial challenges due to rising raw material costs, increasing energy costs and difficulties with recruitment. Despite attempts to attract new investment, the business was no longer able to meet its financial obligations and ceased to trade.
What happened to Vale of Mowbray pork pies? ›
Vale of Mowbray was based in Leeming Bar and specialised in the production of pork pies and Scotch eggs. It went into administration in late September 2022 after it experienced significant financial challenges due to rising raw material costs, increasing energy costs and difficulties with recruitment.
What's special about Melton Mowbray? ›
Melton Mowbray pies have to be baked free-standing, which leads to the characteristic bulge, whereas most commercial pies are baked in hoops to produce a regimented, uniformly shaped product. And finally, they'll use a jelly made from commercial gelatine, with flavourings added to mimic the pork flavour.
What is the famous pork pie in Yorkshire? ›
Born, Bred & Baked
Jones Pies was started in the back of a Yorkshire Butchers shop in 1988 and since then has gone on to be renowned for it's fantastic range of pork pies, pies, sausage rolls and pasties.
What is the most expensive pork pie in the world? ›
Priced at £100, the costly snack has been made with the traditional ingredients of pork and pastry. However, it is garnished with a range of lavish toppings. The additional special ingredients include black summer truffle, beluga caviar and edible 24 carat gold.
