Raised Pork and Egg Pie

I’m continuing my Great British Bake-Off challenge on the blog with this Raised Pork and Egg Pie! Earlier in the week, I shared Mary Berry’s Viennese Whirls and so this time around I wanted to try my hand on one of Paul Hollywood’s recipes. This one is right up my alley because I think that savory pies are far superior to sweet pies and I’ll never say no to a slice or two of a delicious pie filled with meat. This one has a hot water pastry crust, which is so much easier to work with than traditional pie crust. It’s much more forgiving and I think that the flavor is better for savory pies. It’s filled with ground pork, sausage, bacon, spices and a hard-boiled egg surprise with each slice. It’s perfect served warm, room temperature or my personal favorite, cold right from the fridge. If you’ve never tried a savory pie before, this is a great way to start. 

Let’s start with the filling, which is actually quite simple to put together. Just combine the bacon, shallots and fresh parsley in a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture is fully combined and is broken down.

**Note: You want just plain ol’ bacon for this. Stay away from the maple or brown sugar flavored bacon because you don’t want that flavor in your filling. Maybe you do though? Maybe no.**

Transfer to a large bowl and add the sausage, pork and spices (which include dried sage, mace, granulated onion, granulated garlic and crushed red pepper flakes). Season liberally with salt and pepper and mix with your hands until evenly combined.

**Note: Mace is is the outer covering of nutmeg that is ground and sold separately, used in various recipes like these old fashioned doughnuts. If you can’t find Mace or don’t want to buy it, you can use ground nutmeg instead!**

You’ll want to set the mixture off the side and allow to sit while you make the pastry crust because this will develop all of the flavors and give the filling a more robust taste. You can make it ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge until ready to use.

To make the pastry, in a large bowl, whisk together the flours, add the butter and rub in lightly with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal. Heat 200ml water, the salt and shortening in a saucepan until just boiling.

Pour the mixture into the flour and mix together with a spoon until the dough comes together. It should be smooth and look “oily” so don’t panic if it appears that way. It’s supposed to. Once cool enough to handle, tip onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough.

Working as quickly as you can, roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a very lightly floured work surface and use it to line the prepared tin, leaving any excess hanging over the edges.

**Tip: The pastry will become more crumbly as it cools so you want to work with it while it’s still warm. You can keep the remaining dough warm by placing it in bowl and then placing the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water.**

Press half of the meat mixture into the pastry-lined tin. Take a thin slice off the top and bottom of each boiled egg (this helps them sit next to each other and makes slicing the pie easier), then place the eggs down the middle of the pie.

Add the remaining meat filling on top of the eggs and pat the filling down as much as you can. You don’t want to squish it down to death, but a firm press will prevent any air pockets from forming in the pie.

Brush the overhanging pastry edge with egg yolk. Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid and place over the pie. Pinch the pastry edges together to seal and trim the edges neatly. 

**Note: You can decorate the top of the pie as you’d like with any of the leftover do. Make three steam holes on the top of the pie and brush with more egg yolk. I rolled out the scraps and cut out some leaves and small rounds for decoration. It doesn’t have to be fancy at all.**

Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 400°F oven, then reduce the heat to 350°F and continue to bake for another hour or until the internal temperature of the filling is at least 160°. Let the pie cool completely in the tin before removing.

I like to cut thick slices and serve with a spicy brown mustard, a sweet/spicy jam of any kind and a few briny cornichons. It all works together with the saltiness from the pork filling and the flaky crust. A simple green salad on the side completes the meal!

Leftovers are even better! I prefer them cold from the fridge, but you can definitely warm it up before serving. Don’t let this recipe scare you off. It’s so good and quite easy to make. Hot water pastry is so forgiving and the easiest type of dough to work with. You don’t have to worry about being delicate with it as you would traditional pastry crust. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Raised Pork and Egg Pie

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour 30 mins

Total time

2 hours

 

This British Raised Pork and Egg Pie is a tasty savory pie that will fill anyone up. Homemade hot water pastry filled with flavorful pork and boiled eggs!

Author: The Candid Appetite

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Filling:

• 150g bacon, chopped
• 2 small shallots, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 300g ground sausage (such as Lincolnshire), removed from casing
• 300g ground pork
• ½ teaspoon dried sage
• ½ teaspoon mace (or nutmeg)
• ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
• ½ teaspoon granulated onion
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• salt and white pepper
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Hot Water Pastry:

• 450g all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100g bread flour
• 75g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• ½ tsp salt
• 100g vegetable shortening
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 4oz loaf tin (measuring about 10x20cm/4x8in across the base) with shortening or cooking spray, then cut one long strip of baking parchment, the width of the tin, and place it in the tin so that there’s an overhang of parchment at each end, which will help you remove the pie later. Set aside.
2. To make the filling, combine the bacon, shallots and parsley in a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture is fully combined and is broken down. Transfer to a large bowl and add the sausage, pork and spices. Season liberally with salt and pepper and mix with your hands until evenly combined. Set aside.
3. To make the pastry, in a large bowl, whisk together the flours, add the butter and rub in lightly with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal. Heat 200ml water, the salt and shortening in a saucepan until just boiling. Pour the mixture into the flour and mix together with a spoon. Once cool enough to handle, tip onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough.
4. Working as quickly as you can (the pastry will become more crumbly as it cools so you want to work with it while it's still warm), roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use it to line the prepared tin, leaving any excess hanging over the edges.
5. Press half of the meat mixture into the pastry-lined tin. Take a thin slice off the top and bottom of each boiled egg (this helps them sit next to each other and makes slicing the pie easier), then place the eggs down the middle of the pie. Add the remaining meat filling and pat it down, pressing down on it to pack it in. Brush the overhanging pastry edge with egg yolk. Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid and place over the pie. Pinch the pastry edges together to seal and trim the edges neatly. You can decorate the top of the pie as you'd like with any of the leftover do. Make three steam holes on the top of the pie and brush with more egg yolk.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and continue to bake for another hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin before removing. To remove the pie, turn the tin on its side and use the parchment paper to slide out the pie. Serve in thick slices with cornichons, mustard and spicy jam. Enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Paul Hollywood and PBS.

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