My Half Acre Homestead

Pork Pies!

A Taste Of Great Britain!

 These days..food..REAL food has taken a back seat to take out and instant prepackaged junk. YES JUNK!! Stuff so full of preservatives and chemicals, that it is a shadow of it's former self!

You know what I mean? Meat pies partially cooked then frozen to be reheated in the oven in 15 minutes?

I heard my father talk about Pork Pies all my life...but I have NEVER had one!!

The closest I came was a bakery pie filled with hamburger and gravy. It was good...but Pork pies have HAUNTED me!

So I looked them up..and much to my STUPIFICATION ...they are SO EASY a CHILD could make them!!

I feel mortified that I..(ME ..the woman who thinks prepackaged foods are an abomination)..did not 

know just how simple and WONDERFUL these really are to make..and to EAT??

OH MY GOODNESS! Can you say party in your MOUTH??

So here it is folks..A little time consuming..but as simple as ordering fries! ( or almost)

You will need:

one pound of lean ground pork

one pound of bacon ( mine is home raised and cured so I recommend you use ham or pea-meal bacon)

1 cups bread crumb if store bought

(two if you just threw some bread in the food processor and made your own)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground garlic powder

2 cups jellied broth

( Don't panic get your favorite meat stock and a package of plain gelatin and mix it up in advance.)

Pastry:

Easiest pastry you will EVER make..this is not for flaky recipes..this stuff is tough and NEEDS to be.

5 or so cups of AP flour with 2 tsp salt

2 cups boiling water

1/2 pound of lard

 ( NOT SHORTENING that shit will kill you)

and one egg

Got it? Good!! Lets do this!!!

take your boiling water add the lard and let it melt to liquid.

Stir into your bowl of flour and salt.

If it is too dry..add some hot water.

mix it up and knead it into a ball..put it in the fridge to chill.

This is called hot water pastry.

( now that wasn't so bad was it?)

The filling!

Throw you ground pork into a bowl.

mince you bacon and add it.

Throw in the Garlic, Pepper and Bread Crumbs

Get your hands in there and mix it REAL well!

That's your filling!

Now Let's make our shells!

remember..these are independent little suckers that need to stand on their own..so don't worry ..you can't over work this pastry..well not in 10 minutes you can't! ;D

Flour your board and take a piece of pastry roughly the sized between a golf ball and a tennis ball. Shape it into a hockey puck shape.

Take a normal everyday drinking glass and press the bottom into the pastry about half way down.

 Then Turn the glass over and begin to shape your pastry around the glass .

When you have a nice cup shape with no holes in it..roughly the same thickness all the way through..trim the edge with a sharp knife by turning the glass.

And there it is!!!

set on a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper laid on it and repeat..saving just enough pastry to make lids for you pies!

Now roll out the remaining dough.

And Use the TOP of the glass to cut your lids!

NOW!

Mix the egg in a half cup cold water and beat it up.

set aside with a pastry brush and get your filling from the fridge!

Making meat balls a TINY bit smaller than your balls of dough were,

gently press them into the shells.

Brush the rim of one of the pastry shells with egg wash

and pop a lid on..push it slightly inside the shell.

Fold the edges of the shell inwards a bit..and pinch closed!

Preheat your oven to 300 Degrees Fahrenheit

and brush egg wash all over the tops and sides of your pies.

Slide the cookie sheet with your pies into the oven and slow bake for 1&1/2 - 2 hours. Until golden brown and you can't STAND the delicious aroma ANOTHER SECOND!

remove from the oven and feel free to eat one while hot...HOWEVER...

these are meant to be eaten cold also..so poke a hole in the top of each pie..about the size of a pencil. ( Don't USE a pencil!)

and pop into the fridge to chill. 

               Gently heat up your jellied broth until just melted..NOT HOT.

Then pour it into a gravy boat.

Take your cooled down pork pies out of the fridge and pour the broth inside the hole until it over flows.

Chill and eat..or heat and eat..the choice is yours..but you may NEVER buy store bought meat pies again!

CHEERIO!!

z