Perfect Pork Pie
Nothing quite says 'British Summer' like a check blanket laid out on luscious grass, laden with bread, olives, scotch eggs, strawberries and a fantastic homemade pork pie as the main event. Use our organic free-range pork to create a filling bursting with flavour, beautifully encased in a golden pastry...are your mouths watering, or just us?
Perfect Pork Pie
Nothing quite says 'British Summer' like a check blanket laid out on luscious grass, laden with bread, olives, scotch eggs, strawberries and a fantastic homemade pork pie as the main event. Use our organic free-range pork to create a filling bursting with flavour, beautifully encased in a golden pastry...are your mouths watering, or just us?
- Serves: 6
- Prepare: 20 Minutes
- Cook: 2 Hours
- Difficulty: hard
WHO ARE THE ORGANIC BUTCHERY?
We are an organic farm in Somerset producing award-winning pork, beef, lamb and chicken. Farming organically means that we never use chemicals on our fields and rely instead on natural methods that are kinder to nature. Organic farms are home to 30% more species of wildlife and 50% more pollinators as a result.
WHAT IS ORGANIC PORK?
We rear organic pigs that are a cross of traditional, native breeds. Reared outdoors, they have plenty of space to express their natural instincts - they love to wallow, rootle and forage in the grass for bugs. Growing our animals slowly ensures their meat has great flavour and texture, balanced by just the right amount of fat.
Ingredients
For The Pastry
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 110g lard
- 110g butter
- 500g plain flour (10g extra for dusting)
- 50g all-purpose flour/ bread flour
- 200ml hot water
- 1tsp salt
For The Filling
- 525g pork belly, chopped into 1-2cm pieces
- 250g bacon lardons
- 500g pork shoulder, minced, or 500g pork mince
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- handful sage leaves, chopped
- 2tbsp thyme
- 6 leaves of gelatine
- ½tsp ground nutmeg
- 330ml chicken bone broth
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200°C
- Melt the lard and butter in a pan with the hot water. Sieve the plain flour, all-purpose or white bread flour and salt into a bowl, carefully pouring in the lard - mix and stir in, add the egg. Mix to make a smooth pastry. Cover and chill for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut a circle of nonstick baking paper the same size as the base of the tin
- Dust a generous amount of flour on the outside and bottom of a 20x5cm solid-base cake tin. Wrap ¼ of the pastry in greasproof paper; set aside in the fridge. Put the rest on a floured baking tray. Roll to a circle 28-30cm in diameter. Place the tin on the circle of baking paper, in the centre of the pastry, and raise the pastry up against the outside sides of the tin to the top. Smooth the pastry and trim. Keep any offcuts
- Use a few layers (around 4 or 5) of greasproof paper to make a collar the same height as the pastry. Wrap this around the sides and secure the bottom, middle and top with string, this is so the sides are fully supported when it comes to cooking the pastry. Pop it into the fridge and chill on the tray for 25-30 mins or until firm
- Mix together the pork belly, pork lardons, pork shoulder/ mince, onions, sage leaves, thyme and nutmeg. For the lid of the pie, roll out the leftover pastry to a 22cm wide circle approximately 5mm thick. Shape the leftover pastry into leaves, if you desire. Remove the pie crust from the fridge and ease it from the tin using a palette knife or something similar, this will leave you with the pastry and collar. Spoon in the filling, pressing down gently to even it all out
- Add the pastry lid, lining the edge with cold water so it sticks to the pie, crimp the edges, add the pastry leaves (if you've made them) and make a small hole in the centre. Brush with the egg. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, after which time reducing the temperature to 180°C. Cook for a further 25-30 minutes, or until deliciously golden and crisp. Remove from the oven, and take off the paper, now brush the sides with beaten egg. Place in the oven to cook for another 25-30 minutes, if you have a meat thermometer ensure the inside temperature has reached at least 65°C. Cool for 20 minutes.
- Now it's time to set your pie. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until pliable. In a pan, heat 150ml of the chicken broth until simmering. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine. Once the gelatine has fully dissolved, add in the rest of the stock. Using a funnel, insert this into the pie hole and fill gradually, until full
- Chill the pie overnight and serve cold
WHO ARE THE ORGANIC BUTCHERY?
We are an organic farm in Somerset producing award-winning pork, beef, lamb and chicken. Farming organically means that we never use chemicals on our fields and rely instead on natural methods that are kinder to nature. Organic farms are home to 30% more species of wildlife and 50% more pollinators as a result.
WHAT IS ORGANIC PORK?
We rear organic pigs that are a cross of traditional, native breeds. Reared outdoors, they have plenty of space to express their natural instincts - they love to wallow, rootle and forage in the grass for bugs. Growing our animals slowly ensures their meat has great flavour and texture, balanced by just the right amount of fat.
Frequently asked questions
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When choosing any meat to purchase, it is worth carrying out some research. There are a number of studies that suggest organic pork is a healthier option – higher in Omega 3, Amino Acids and Healthy Fats. There are also several other reasons why choosing organic pork is a good idea. They range from the contribution of organic pork to climate change, animal welfare and the use of pesticides and medicines used in the farming of conventional pork animals having a detrimental effect on our health.
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Pigs cannot survive only on grass, they also need some grain in their diet, this is why you will not find ‘grass fed pork’ on meat packaging, unlike beef which can survive on grass alone. Our pigs are raised on a diet of grass, hay and concentrated food that helps them grow at the rate nature intended.
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Organic pork comes from organic pigs that have been reared in accordance to high welfare standards, we there are raised a nature intended, they live active lives outdoors, foraging and exercising freely. Our pigs are slow grown unlike intensive farming, this gives their muscles deep colour and robust flavour.