Individual Hand Raised Pork Pies
This traditional British Pork Pie recipe is a classic! It’s made with ‘Hot Water Crust Pastry’, filled with chopped, seasoned pork and finished with savoury gelatin.
Equipment
- 4 Jam jars as molds
Ingredients
For the hot water crust pastry
- 200 ml Water
- 75 grams Butter unsalted
- 75 grams Lard or Crisco Shortening
- 450 grams All-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 Egg - beaten
- 1 tsp Canola oil
For the pork pie filling
- 400 grams Ground pork
- 100 grams Pork belly, ground
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper freshly ground
- 1/2 tsp Mace
- 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg
To make the egg wash
- 1 Eggs - large
- 1 tsp Water
- 1 pn Salt
For the pie jelly
- 3 Gelatin leaves
- 1 cup Chicken stock - warmed
- Salt to taste
- Ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the hot water pastry
- Place the water, butter and shortening in a saucepan and heat until everything is melted. Bring to a low boil.
- In a large heatproof bowl add the flour, salt and beaten egg. Mix together with a knife or pastry cutter..
- Add the contents of the saucpan and mix together with a wooden spoon.
- Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead into a nice shiny smooth dough.
- Invert the four jam jars on the work surface and lightly brush the bottom and sides with the canola oil.
- Set aside 1/3 of the pastry wrapped in cling film for use as lids.
- Roll out the reamining pastry to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Cut 6 inch circles and lay them over the bottom of the jam jars being careful not to make it too thin avoiding holes and tears. If you have any holes, simply reroll and form again over the mol (jam jar).
- Cut strips of parchment paper to the same width as the pastry on the side of the mold. Wrap the parchment around the pastry and secure with kitchen twine just tight enough to keep it in place. Tidy up what is now the top edge of the pastry to make it even. Place the molds in the fridge for 30 minutes, long enough for the pastry to firm up.
Prepare the pork pie filling
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF with a rack in the center position
- Add the pork and pork belly to a large bowl. Season with the salt, pepper, mace and nutmeg. Mix well.
- Remove the pastry molds carefully from the jam jars and invert onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. They pastry will be stiff so be careful not to crack it. Some people use cling film instead of the canola oil to make the pastry easier to remove.
- Fill the pastry cases almost to the top, packing it well but again do not press so hard the case cracks.
- From the remaining pastry roll out lids to a diameter only slightly larger that the base of the jam jars to get a good fit. Cut a small hole about 1/4" in the center of the lids and place them on the pies. Crimp around the top to seal.
- Makie an egg wash with the egg, a little water and a pinch of salt. Brush the pies all over.
- Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. The internal temperature when done should be 175ºF.
- Remove from the oven and while hot, egg wash again.
Prepare the gelatin
- Soak the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
- Add the gelatin to the chicken stock and warm in a pan. Set aside to cool then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- With the help of a small funnel pour the gelatin into the hole in the pie lid. Add as much as you can, giving it a chance to run down inside the pie filling any gaps
- Place in a cool place to set.