Porky Pies – Homemade Pork & Apple Pies
21 February 2012 in Easy to prepare
I entitled this post Porky Pies because that’s what these are (to tell a porky pie means telling a lie in Cockney rhyming slang). These are not pukka pork pies as I use pork sausage, but they are delicious..They are not hard to make, and are very economical as one packet of sausages makes 12 individual pies. My family are mad about them and I watched my son devour 4 in quick succession on Sunday!!
I know some people are wary of pastry and gelatine, but I promise that nothing in this recipe is difficult.
This is one of my Mum’s recipes that I have adapted.
Pastry
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg yolk
Ice cold water
Sift the cake flour, add the salt and rub in the butter – you can do this by hand but I find it easier to use the K beater on my mixer.
Rub in the butter to the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs
Mix until it resembles breadcrumbs, make a well, add the egg yolk and a little water, mix and add more water until it forms a dough. Wrap in cling and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Filling
1 pkt (6) pork sausages
375mls strong chicken stock
2 tsp gelatine
2 TSP cold water
1 tsp dried sage
1 small onion chopped
1 apple peeled and grated
Seasoning
Simmer the sausages in the chicken stock, remove, cool and keep the chicken stock for mixing with the gelatine later.
Simmer the pork sausages in the chicken stock for 15 minutes
In the meantime, fry the onions gently until translucent (not brown)
Sprinkle the gelatine onto 2 TSP cold water and leave to get spongy
Grease or spray a muffin tin
Roll our 2/3 of the pastry and line the muffin tins, use the remainder for the lids.
I normally put the tray back in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm, the colder the pastry the less it will shrink during cooking.
Remove the skins from the cooled sausages, chop and mix with the fried onion, sage, seasoning and grated apple.
Chop the sausages into small pieces
Fill the muffin cases with the pork mixture.
Fill the pastry bases with the pork mix
Cut the rounds for your tops, as you can see there is not much pastry rim to adhere to, so I brush the underside of the lid with egg wash (egg and a little milk mixed) then I crimp it together with the edge of a fork. Make a hole in the top to enable you to add the gelatine later, I use a plastic syringe I got from the pharmacy but if using a spoon make the hole a little bigger than I did.
Top the pies with lids
Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash and place in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes @ 200c (I usually egg wash them again halfway through)
Fresh out of the oven
Leaving the pies in the tray, let them cool and put in the fridge until they are cold.
Heat 125mls of the reserved chicken stock and dissolve the spongy gelatine in it, let it cool until it’s starting to thicken, using a syringe (just the plastic bit) or a spoon pour approx 8-10mls of gelatine into the cold pies. Put them back in the fridge for at least another hour for the jelly to set. Don’t be tempted to leave the jelly out, this is a much tastier jelly than you find in supermarket pork pies.
Pork pies are traditionally served cold with salad and pickles, they are also great in lunchboxes and picnics.
rumtumtigger said on 21 February 2012
Nice recipe. I’m suprised at the addition of the gelatine…I will have to try it and be convinced ;o)
Sous Chef said on 21 February 2012
All pork pies have gelatine in them, the meat shrinks during cooking and it is added to fill the gaps and keep the meat moist. I hope you try making them, they are very good.
ninatimm said on 21 February 2012
sue, sue, this is drop dead gorgeous. Wow, my children will love a porky pie in their lunchboxes.
love the easy peasy pork sausage idea, but hey you know me and “easy”!
Sous Chef said on 21 February 2012
Thank you Nina, I’m sure your lad with the hollow legs would enjoy them!
Tandy said on 21 February 2012
OH YUM! these are perfect for a snack *wonders how to get them off the screen*
Sous Chef said on 21 February 2012
Hi Tandy, you’ll just have to lick the screen dear! Did you see you can now subscribe?
Mandy - The Complete Cook Book said on 21 February 2012
Right, I have subscribed and await my confirmation email thingy – nothing yet but hopefully soon.
Mandy
I HAVE to make these for Pete – he loves pork pies! Brilliant recipe!
Sous Chef said on 21 February 2012
Thank you Mandy, I have confirmed your subscription, please let me know if you don’t get an email. You have the dubious honour of being my first subscriber
Debbie said on 22 February 2012
Oh I do love pork pies…not big down in CT.
Remember buying Escort pork pies with my dad often
Sous Chef said on 22 February 2012
We all love pork pies as well, I love it when I go back to England, they make the best ones!
Blondie said on 22 February 2012
I’m SO going to try this recipe – I love pork pies!!
I just tried to subscribe, but got some error message … I probably did it wrong, will give it another go.
Sous Chef said on 22 February 2012
I bet the boys would like them too! It is working cos I have a few subscribers already. I will come and subscribe to yours and try it out myself.
Blondie said on 26 February 2012
I still can’t subscribe – I click on the link, but it says ‘page not found’ … what am I doing wrong??
Sous Chef said on 27 February 2012
Nice chatting with you, let me know if you come right.
Sideview said on 22 February 2012
Yum yum on looks. I licked and licked the screen but nothing nice was there
Ps I wonder when you will be full wp users or we get migrated as well
Sous Chef said on 22 February 2012
They are very yummy sidey pity you are so far away! I have no idea about when we will all be together again, don’t think we get to be full WP users as we are on a platform.
Max said on 22 February 2012
They are too pretty to eat!
Sous Chef said on 22 February 2012
Thanks Max, but that doesn’t deter my family!
Mandie said on 10 November 2012
200 seems a very low temperature?
Sous Chef said on 11 November 2012
Sorry Mandy it appears I left out the little ‘c’ after the temperature. Here in South Africa we cook in centigrade and I tend to forget that there are people from other countries reading.