Melton Mowbray style pork pie

  1. Cut about 300g of the meat into neat cubes of about 1cm, and very finely chop or mince the rest - don't use a processor.
  2. (You may find it easier to buy 300g lean pork, plus 700g good minced pork with around 20% fat.)
  3. Mince or finely chop the bacon.
  4. Put all the meat into a bowl with the sage, anchovy essence, a little salt, plenty of pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg.
  5. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
  6. Take about a teaspoon of the mixture and fry it, like a mini-burger, then taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper, perhaps some more sage, as needed.
  7. The mixture should be tasty, not bland.
  8. If possible, cover the bowl and chill overnight for the flavours to develop.
  9. If not, cover while making the pastry.
  10. For the shortcrust pastry, follow the steps below and when cool enough to handle, cut off a third and keep for the lid.
  11. On a lightly floured surface roll out the larger piece of pastry to a circle large enough to line the base and sides of the tin.
  12. Lightly flour the surface of the pastry, then fold it in 4 and lift it into the tin.
  13. Unfold the pastry and press it on to the base and up the sides of the tin so it overhangs by about 2cm.
  14. Take care there are no cracks or holes.
  15. The pastry should be about 5mm thick.
  16. Pack the meat filling into the pastry case, making sure there are no pockets of air.
  17. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6.
  18. Fold the excess pastry neatly over the filling.
  19. Brush this rim with a little water.
  20. Roll out the remaining pastry to a circle to fit the top of the tin - cut round a plate to get a neat shape if necessary.
  21. Lift the pastry over the filling to cover, then press the pastry edges firmly to seal.
  22. Pinch the rim to neatly flute it.
  23. Make a large steam-hole in the centre of the pie and fit a small cylinder of foil into the hole to keep it open during baking.
  24. Brush with beaten egg, then set the tin on the baking tray and bake in the heated oven for 15 minutes.
  25. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F/gas 4 and bake for a further 2 hours, covering the top of the pie with a piece of foil or greaseproof after an hour to prevent over-browning the crust.
  26. Leave to cool in the tin, then pour the cold stock into the pie through the foil tube.
  27. Chill overnight to set fully, then unmould, remove the foil, and serve at room temperature.

pork, rashers, fresh sage, anchovy, salt, liquid to finish

Taken from www.lovefood.com/guide/recipes/10803/melton-mowbray-style-pork-pie- (may not work)

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