Melton Mowbray style Pork Pies

How to make Melton Mowbray style Pork Pies Recipe - Serious pork pie followers will know of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. I was lucky enough to get a pork pie lesson from the managing director, Stephen Hallam, of Dickenson and Morris Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe’. Here is my version with one change. I have cheated with the jelly 􀀐but for those purists, I have included a pork pie jelly! Warning these little delicacies are a 48-hour-plus process. You can make and bake them within a day, but the results will not be as good. Enjoy chilled with Stilton cheese and chutney. recipe from Dean Brettschneider

MAKES 4 MEDIUM PIES

PASTRY
1 quantity of Hot Water Pastry

PORK JELLY
500ml store-bought pork stock
3 tsp powdered gelatine (or 6 sheets leaf gelatine, softened in cold water)

FILLING
500g pork shoulder, finely chopped into 5mm cubes 100g pork belly, skin removed, minced

55g lean bacon, finely chopped ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg salt and freshly ground black pepper

GLAZE
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash

Method:
Make Hot Water Pastry the day before.

Heat the pork stock until it is almost boiling, then stir in the gelatine. Set aside overnight in the refrigerator. Warm to a liquid prior to using.

For the pie filling, place the pork, pork belly, bacon and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix well with your hands. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator overnight.

Take the pastry balls out of the refrigerator and manipulate one large ball at a time with your hands to soften it, to form a 6cmround circle.

Once the pastry is soft, take one ball at a time and lightly dust the work surface with flour. Press a flour-dusted dolly (small jam jar, approximately 6.5cm in diameter) into the pastry circle until you feel it hit the bottom and the outer edges rise naturally. Use your right thumb and fingers to raise the pastry up the side of the dolly, turning it constantly with your left hand, pressing, pushing and raising the pastry up the sides of the jar until it’s about 8cm in height. Gently slide your thumb between the pastry and the jar, slowly rotating the jar until the pastry case releases itself and comes away, leaving a pastry cup.

On a floured surface, roll out the smaller pastry balls to approximately 9cm-diameter circles, enough to cover each pastry case and filling as a lid. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Divide the pork pie filling into four equal portions, roll into balls and place one inside each pastry case.

Brush the top inner parts of each pastry casing with some of the egg wash and place the pastry lids on top. Pinch the edges of the pastry to seal each pie, then push the pastry top edges inwards between your thumb and forefinger to create a crimped wavy top edge. Cut two pencil-sized holes in the top of each one, brush with the rest of the egg wash, then place the pies on a tray and put uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This helps set the pastry.

The following day, remove the pies and place them on a baking paper-lined oven tray. Bake in a preheated oven set at 230°C for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190°C and bake for a further 1 hour 15 minutes or until the pies are a dark golden-brown all over.

Remove the pies from the oven and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. You may have to re-cut the small holes in the top in order to pour in the pork jelly through a cone made from non-stick baking paper (you will need to heat the jelly gently to loosen it for pouring). Chill the pies in the refrigerator until the jelly is set.

Left to right, from top: raising the pastry around the dolly; filling with meat; washingtheinsidelip; applying thetop; crimpingthetopedge; holescut into pie; egg washing.

Melton Mowbray style Pork Pies