Here is the recipe for the ✨traditional Pork Pie✨in its mini version suitable for a Picnic.
A Pork pie is a traditional English meat pie, usually served at room temperature or cold (although often served hot in Yorkshire).
It consists of a filling of coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, surrounded by a layer of pork jelly in an hot water crust pastry.
It is usually eaten as a snack or with a salad.
The smaller variants, from 3 to 5 inches (8 to 13 cm), sometimes called “picnic pie”, often have additional ingredients in the filling, such as apples, pickles, and bacon.
For the English, the picnic is an essential tradition, especially during the summer season.
Every occasion is a good one: from the Royal Ascot horse races to concerts in various castles and many other occasions.
All the necessary items, including provisions, are placed in the hamper, the classic wicker basket: there are all sizes, and the quintessential hamper is the Fortnum & Mason one.
In an English picnic besides the pickles – pickled vegetables – the loaf – the classic sandwich bread – quail eggs with celery salt, English cheeses like Cheddar, Stilton, Cheshire or Caerphilly and some cooked ham, there are always various pies, plenty of beer, wine and for the more sophisticated champagne and Pimm’s, but most importantly …
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Stove, Oven
- Cuisine: English
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 12 oz flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp lard
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tbsp milk
- to taste salt
- 1.1 lbs pork shoulder (chopped)
- 4 oz sausage
- 6 oz bacon (or lard)
- to taste mace (or nutmeg)
- to taste sage (chopped)
- to taste white pepper
- 1 egg
Tools
- 4 Jars – molds with 3.5-inch diameter
Steps
To prepare the pastry, put 1/2 cup of hot water in a saucepan, add the milk, diced lard, and butter, and gently heat until the fat has melted.
Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and carefully pour in the just-boiled liquid.
Immediately mix with a table knife until a rough dough forms.
Knead the dough lightly until it is smooth and silky.
Wrap it in plastic wrap to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
In a bowl, combine the pork shoulder, sausage meat, bacon, mace or nutmeg, sage, white pepper with a big pinch of salt, ensuring the ingredients are evenly mixed.
To prepare four small pies, prepare 4 molds of about 12 oz (approximately 3.5 inches in diameter).
Set aside 1/3 of the dough.
Keeping the unused dough covered with plastic wrap or a towel to prevent drying, evenly shape a piece of dough around the base of each jar, lifting it about 3-3.5 inches up the sides.
Refrigerate for 1 hour until cold and firm.
Divide the reserved third of the dough into four.
Roll each piece into a circle, about 3 inches in diameter.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (static) or 320°F (fan).
Divide the pork mixture among the four molds, pressing it firmly with the back of a teaspoon while supporting the sides.
Place the circles on top and join the edges, crimping them between your thumb and forefinger to create a raised fluted crown.
Brush the surface with the beaten egg and, using a small knife or skewer, make a small hole in the top of each.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes.
While the pies are cooking, heat the chicken stock in a saucepan until almost boiling.
Meanwhile, soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes until softened. Squeeze out the excess water and add it to the hot stock, stirring to dissolve.
Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Using a very small funnel or plain nozzle, pour the stock into the hot pies through the central holes, adding it slowly to give it time to absorb and trickle into the gaps between the meat and pastry at the sides and top.
Leave to cool for at least 4 hours or overnight for the jelly to set.
You can also buy a nice picnic kit online.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Why is hot water crust pastry used?
As the name suggests, the pastry is prepared by heating the water, dissolving the fat in it, bringing the mixture to a boil, and finally incorporating the flour.
This can be done by beating the flour into the mixture in the pan or kneading on a board.
In either case, the result is a warm and rather sticky dough that can be used for hand-raising: shaping by hand, sometimes using a plate or bowl as an inner mold.
The molded crust maintains its shape as it cools and is prepared for baking with a filling and an additional layer of crust on top.
Hand-raised hot water crust pastry does not produce a clean and uniform finish, as there will be some sagging during the baking of the filled pie. This is generally accepted as the sign of a handmade pie.
It is possible, however, to bake the pastry in a mold, as with other pies.
The pastry is often used to make pork pies or other heavy fillings because, compared to other types of pastry, a hot water crust pastry allows for retaining even very moist fillings.
