Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
Submitted by captaingbb
Traditional Melton Mowbray pork pie with hand-raised hot water crust pastry, seasoned diced pork shoulder, and pork bone jelly. A classic British cold pie served chilled.
YIELD
1 piePREP
30 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
2 hrsThe Melton Mowbray pork pie is one of Britain’s great culinary traditions, and making one from scratch is a proper project worth every minute. Hand-diced pork shoulder (never minced!) seasoned with sage, allspice, and dry mustard fills a hand-raised hot water crust pastry, baked until golden, then finished with homemade pork bone stock poured through the lid after cooling.
Hot water crust is unlike any other pastry. Lard gets boiled with milk and water, then poured into flour to create a warm, pliable dough that you literally mold by hand around the outside of a tin. It sets firm as it cools, holding its shape even without a pan to support it during baking. Working quickly is essential since the dough stiffens as it drops in temperature.
The jelly is what makes a Melton Mowbray a Melton Mowbray. Pork and veal bones simmered for two hours with onion, bay leaf, marjoram, and thyme create a naturally gelatinous stock that sets up around the meat as it chills. That layer of savory jelly fills the gap between the cooked meat and the crust, keeping everything moist and adding another dimension of flavor.
Kitchen Tips
- Dice the pork, don’t mince it. Quarter-inch cubes are traditional and give the filling a chunky, meaty texture. Minced pork makes a completely different (and inferior) pie.
- Fill the casing immediately after forming. Hot water crust will slump and collapse if left empty. Have your filling ready to go.
- Start hot, finish low. The high initial temperature sets the crust, then the lower temperature cooks the pork through gently without burning the pastry.
- Cool the pie completely before pouring in the stock. The stock should be chilled and just starting to jell so it’s liquid enough to pour but sets quickly once inside.
Variations
- Add a hard-boiled egg in the center of the filling for a traditional “gala pie” presentation when sliced.
- Anchovy essence: A few drops in the meat seasoning is a traditional English addition that adds depth without a fishy taste.
- Cranberry accompaniment: Serve slices with cranberry sauce or piccalilli for the classic British ploughman’s pairing.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the meat, salt, pepper, herbs and spices and set aside.
To make the stock, boil bones, onions, bay leaf, herbs salt and pepper in 4 cups of water for two hours or until the liquid is reduced to 2⅓ cups.
Cool, degrease and refrigerate until it starts to jell.
To make the pastry, rub 2 oz of the lard into the flour mixed with a teaspoon of salt until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.
Boil the rest of the fat with the milk and water.
Make a well in the mound of flour and while stirring with a wooden spoon, mix in the boiling liquid.
Knead and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
To make the casing, roll out three-quarters of the dough into a circle ¾ inch thick.
Flour the outside of the tin and stand it in the centre of the dough.
Work the dough up the sides of the tin and then gently remove the tin leaving you with a pie casing.
Fill it immediately with the meat mixture as it is likely to collapse.
Roll out the remaining dough into a circle slightly larger than the diameter of the casing, to form the lid.
Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Dampen the top edge of the pie and gently press on the lid.
Crimp the edge.
Make a hole in the centre of the lid and decorate it with pastry leaves.
Place on a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 300℉ (150℃) and bake for 1 ¾ hours.
If necessary place some aluminim foil on the top to prevent burning.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Pour the chilled stock through the hole in the lid and refrigerate Serve Cold.
Comments
