Pork Pie Recipes

Steps:

• For the double crust leaf lard pastry: In a bowl, mix the flour and salt together with 2 knives. Cut in the lard until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture, a spoonful at a time, stirring with a fork and adding just enough water so it holds together. Shape into a ball, press into a flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
• For the pork filling: Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp; remove to a plate. Add the pork and a pinch of salt and brown for 2 minutes; remove to a plate. Add the potatoes, celery, celery leaves, parsley, savory, garlic and onions and sweat for 3 to 5 minutes. Deglaze the skillet with 1 cup of water, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the pork and bacon back to the skillet with the cinnamon, cloves and a large pinch of salt, and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, 20 minutes.
• While the mixture is simmering, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the chilled pastry into two 13-inch rounds for a 10-inch double-crust pie, or into one 14-inch round for a single-crust pie. If using the double-crust method, line a 10-inch pie plate with one of the pastry rounds and fill with the meat mixture; cover with the remaining pastry. Trim and crimp the edges to seal, and cut small steam vents. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg yolk and milk mixture. If using the single-crust method, place the meat mixture in a 10-inch pie plate and cover with the single pastry round. Trim, press the edges into the sides of the pan and cut small steam vents in the center. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg yolk and milk mixture. Bake until the crust is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes and serve warm.

Steps:

• For the filling: Mix together the bacon, pork shoulder, Worcestershire, mustard, fish sauce, salt, nutmeg and some pepper in a bowl. Divide into 4 even portions. Wrap each portion in 1 or 2 slices of prosciutto, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
• For the hot-water crust: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the flour. Set aside.
• Add the milk, water and lard to a saucepan; heat until warm and the lard has melted. Pour into the flour well and work the mixture with a wooden spoon until uniformly moistened. Transfer to a clean work surface and knead until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside to rest for 4 or 5 minutes. (Do not allow the dough to cool any further: as it cools, it sets and becomes hard to handle.)
• While the dough is still warm and pliable, divide it into 4 pieces. Pinch off a scant quarter of the dough from each piece and set aside. Form the larger portions into balls, then press into 5- to 6-inch disks. Using a small jar wrapped in plastic wrap, press the dough so that it reaches halfway up the jar, forming a "cup." Place the chilled, prosciutto-wrapped filling in the cups. Press the reserved smaller pieces of dough into disks and place on top of the filling, pinching the bottom crust and "lid" together at the edges. Make a hole in the middle of the lid with a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon. Brush the top of each pie with egg wash.
• Bake the pies for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F; bake for about 40 minutes more.

Steps:

• Remove fat and gristle from meat: chop, measure, set aside.
• Cook and mash potatoes,. Whip with electric beater, adding half the butter and enough cream to make a smooth mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• While potatoes, cook, melt second half of butter in frying pan: add onion and garlic; saute 8 minute or until onions are golden.
• Add flour (if not using gravy), stir until blended. Add drippings, broth or gravy. Stir until smooth and thickened. Add mustard, thyme and chopped meat; heat through. Add half the parsley.
• Spread 1 cup of potatoes in bottom of buttered 1 1/2 -2 quart baking dish. Pour meat mixture over top. Pipe or spoon mashed potatoes around edge.
• Bake in center of oven at 400°F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Garnish with remaining parsley.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients for the filling.
• To make the pastry, put the flour in a large bowl, then put the lard and water into a small pan and heat gently until the lard melts. Bring just to the boil and then stir into the flour using a wooden spoon. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, (it should still feel very warm) knead well until smooth.
• Cut off 1/4 of the dough, wrap in cling film and reserve for the lid. Roll out the remaining dough to a circle and then place in the base of a non-stick 20cm springform cake tin. Working quickly while the dough is warm and pliable, press the dough evenly over the base and up the sides of the tin. Make sure there are no holes. Fill with the meat mixture and pack down well. Roll out the dough for the lid. Place on top of the pie. Pinch all around the edge to seal the pie. Make a hole for steam in the centre, using the handle of a wooden spoon.
• Cook in the oven for 30 mins then reduce the heat to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and cook for 90 minutes. Brush the top with beaten egg and return to the oven for a further 20 mins. Leave until cold.
• Soak the gelatine in cold water for about 5 mins, then remove and squeeze out the excess water. Heat the stock until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine. Leave to cool to room temperature.
• Use a small funnel to pour the stock into the pie through the hole in the top. Pour in a little at a time allowing a few seconds before each addition. Place in the fridge to set overnight.Watch our pork pie video for techniques and tips.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a small saucepan, mix cornstarch and broth until blended; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. , In a large skillet, cook pork, garlic and seasonings over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until pork is no longer pink, breaking up pork into crumbles; drain. Add broth mixture; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly., Unroll each pie crust. On a work surface, roll each into a 12-in. circle. Using floured round cookie cutters, cut twenty 4-in. circles and twenty 2-3/4-in. circles, rerolling scraps as needed. Place large circles in ungreased muffin cups, pressing crust on bottoms and up sides., Fill each with 3 tablespoons pork mixture. Place small circles over filling; press edges with a fork to seal. In a small bowl, whisk egg and milk; brush over tops. Cuts slits in crust., Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove pies to wire racks. Serve warm. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pies in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw pies in refrigerator overnight. Reheat on ungreased baking sheets in a preheated 350° oven 14-17 minutes or until heated through.

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until fat begins to render, about 2 minutes. Add ground pork and cook, breaking it up into bite-size pieces, until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Return skillet to medium-high; swirl in oil. Add onion, garlic, and celery; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and brown in spots, 7 to 9 minutes. Return pork mixture and any accumulated juices to skillet. Stir in potato, broth, cinnamon, and clove; season with pepper. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until broth is mostly evaporated, 25 to 28 minutes.
• Transfer pork mixture to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Lightly beat 1 egg; stir into pork mixture with parsley.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees with racks in center and lowest positions. Roll out one disk of dough to an 11-inch round on a work surface dusted with flour. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate; trim edges to a 1/2-inch overhang. Transfer pork mixture to pie shell. Roll remaining dough to an 11-inch round and center over filling. Trim edges to a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold edges of top crust under edges of bottom crust, tucking dough until flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp edges with the tines of a fork. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush crust with egg wash, then cut a few vents in top of crust.
• Bake the chilled pie on the center rack with a rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack (to catch any drips) until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles slightly through vents, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack 30 minutes before slicing. Serve with mustard and cornichons.

Steps:

• Brown ground beef and ground pork over medium heat until thoroughly cooked. Drain off grease.
• Mix together cooked meat, potatoes, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
• Line a 9 inch pie dish with pastry. Spoon pork mixture into pie crust, and top with second pie crust. Brush top crust with egg white. Shield crust edges with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove foil for final 15 minutes of baking to brown edges.

Steps:

• Saute onion in butter until golden.
• Add meat and cook over medium heat, stirring, until cooked through.
• Remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper and spices.
• Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water then stir in remaining 3/4 cup w ater.
• Pour water into meat and mix well.
• Line 8-inch pie pan with pastry and pour in meat mixture. Add top crust. Pierce in several places to allow steam to escape. Bake on cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 minutes or until crust is golden.

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Cook pork with onion, garlic, savory, salt, allspice, and pepper in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently and breaking up lumps with a fork, until pork is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool filling completely.
• Make pastry while filling cools:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Blend in shortening and butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and stir with a fork just until a dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead 10 to 12 times. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a rough 18-inch round (1/8 inch thick), dusting with just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking. Cut out 24 rounds with 3-inch cutter and 24 leaves with leaf-shaped cutter. Make decorative lines on leaves with tip of a sharp paring knife.
• Fit each round into a muffin cup and fill with a rounded tablespoon of filling. Arrange leaves on filling.
• Bake pies until crusts are golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Lift pies out of muffin cups and transfer to a rack. Cool to warm, about 15 minutes.
• *Available at Sweet Celebrations (800-328-6722).