A Real Prize Pork Pie Recipe
The Master Pie Maker
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Scroll down to see my Family Award winning Pork Pie Seasoning recipe
A Real Pork Pie Recipe
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PLEASE NOTE: You can now adjust the number of servings on the recipe below. or on the Print Menu option.
Calories per Serving 701
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 140 g Pork lean, I use shoulder
- 60 g Pork fatty, I use belly pork
- 7 g seasoning see recipe below
For the Pastry
- 200 g bread Flour
- 75 g Water
- 80 g Lard this will not work with other fats
- ½ tsp Salt
For the Jelly
- 250 ml chicken stock
- 3 sheets gelatin
DISCLAIMER
I recommend using the Metric measurements (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
For the filling
- Mince or chop the pork finely
- Add the seasoning and mix well, hands are the best for this.
- Set aside in fridge for about an hour for seasonings to permeate.
For the pastry
- Place flour in a food mixer.
- Add the lard and salt to the water and bring to the boil then pour into flour.
- Mix well until a smooth paste is reached. Wrap paste in cling-film and allow to cool to a consistency of modelling clay.
- Roll out to about 1/2 cm no thinner. line your tin which should be about 10cm across x 5cm deep.
- Make a ball from the meat mixture and press into the pastry case, and apply a lid rolled out to the same thickness and make a hole in the lid to allow the jelly to be added later.
- Egg wash the top and Bake at 190c for 40-45 mins
- When cool enough to handle remove from tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Heat a small amount of chicken stock and dissolve 1 sheet of gelatin then top up the pie.
As a general rule a pork pie should have equal amount of paste and filling 50/50.
If you weigh a piece of pastry, roll it out and form it in the tin as in my video, trim off the excess and weigh it, deduct that from your original weight and that will give you the weight of filling you need.
The jelly is added to the pie to give a little more flavour and moisture, it also fills the cavity between the pastry and the pork created by the shrinking during baking.
The jelly we use commercially is usually made by the baker by cooking pigs trotters and seasoning to create a natural jelly. Paul's Tip For more detailed instructions see my post Birth of a Pork Pie
The jelly we use commercially is usually made by the baker by cooking pigs trotters and seasoning to create a natural jelly. Paul's Tip For more detailed instructions see my post Birth of a Pork Pie
Have you tried this recipe?Please leave a comment below, or If you have any other questions or problems Leave me a message HERE
My Secret Prize Winning Pork Pie Seasoning Recipe
Adjust Serving Size
PLEASE NOTE: You can now adjust the number of servings on the recipe below. or on the Print Menu option.
Ingredients
This is Mr. Paul's Prize winning Pork Pie Seasoning Recipe. These quantities will give you 100g of Seasoning.
Use 7g of seasoning to every 200g of Pork.
- 66 g Salt
- 30 g White Pepper
- 1 g Mustard Powder
- 1 g Cayenne Pepper
- 2 g Nutmeg
DISCLAIMER
I recommend using the Metric measurements (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
- Mix well together, if you have a coffee or spice grinder use that to make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Always give a good shake or mix each time you use it as the salt can settle out on standing.
Have you tried this recipe?Please leave a comment below, or If you have any other questions or problems Leave me a message HERE
Category: Baking, British, Cuisine, Pies & Tarts, Recipes, Soups, Salads, Side Dishes & Sauces, Teatime Treats, Snacks, Party Food, The Master Pie Maker, Videos
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Hi, Thanks for your feedback and for the 5 star rating too. Sorry for delay in but only out of hospital 3 days so still a bit shaky xx
G”day Mr Paul
I made the pork pies using your recipe today. After a recent holiday in the UK we enjoyed a pork pie in Yorkshire and agreed “no more supermarket pork pies” after some looking your You Tube recipe stood out and we made 8 pies 6 in a muffin tin and 2 hand raised pies, the jelly was made from the rind and bones from the belly and some stock, The result was excellent.
Thanks Euan & Emily Victoria Australia
Many thanks Paul!
Thanks Mr Paul, I’ll try that
Hi John,
I haven’t purchased any for years as ,ine came from my bakery, however, a few people have told me they have nought very small spring form cake tine and that they make excellent pork pie tins. I hope that helps. Amazon may be another solition.
Hello Mr Paul
Where can I buy small metal tins for pork pie making please. Tried all over john
Hello John, thanks for your email. Firstly, you cannot make this pastry successfully in a food processor, it will not develop the gluten like kneading it does. You can use a stand mixer if you have one. Secondly, the pastry on the inside of a pork pie will always be soft and moist, this is due to the juices from the meat during cooking and also the gel added if you use it. Judges at pork pie competitions look for a crispy pastry on the outside and a moist layer on the inside. The pastry will always swell a little as it absorbs the moisture from the pork as the pie cooks. I hope this is helpful.
Hello Mr Paul
Happy new Year 2023
Thank you for sharing your pork pie recipe with me. I have made quite a few now, and very tasty they are too. It certainly is worth the effort preparing the meat which probably takes the most time. I love working with the hot water pastry, which I do by hand and kneed it like making bread this saves any cleaning of the food processor!
I have one question regarding the pie crust thickness, I am using
12CM x 4CM round tins with a thickness of dough 1/2CM (which I presume is 5mm thick), but when the pies are cooked the thickness is 10-12mm thick, which I find is a bit stodgy on the inside. I am going to try using a thinner pastry next time, and doing the pastry in the processor, but I thought you may have ideas also.
Hello again Mr. Paul.
I am apt to use possibly more salt than some may like, and I wanted to know that your suggested ingredients work, before commiting. Years ago the salt content of many commercially obtainable products ran to say 1%, After the salt police were engaged by the legislators. salt seems to make up closer to half of a percent. But hey, if it works, it works. I’ll give it a go!
All the best, Alfred.
Good morning Alfred, Thanks for you comment. Tell me, why are you not considering the salt content in the whole pie?, after all you won’t be eating the meat content alone. Total Salt content in the whole pie is approx. 1.7% that includes the salt in the pastry. I’ve made and sold pies to this recipe in my bakery for 60+ years and won many awards in Pork pie competitions.
Hi Mr. Paul, I love the web site, It is brilliant – thanks very much. If I follow your spice recommendations, the salt added is 2.3% of the meat weight. Can you confirm this amount as it seems a little too generous. Cheers from the Yorkshire boy in Oz, down under.
Hello Margaret, Thanks for taking the time to comment, I really do appreciate that.
When I joined the family Pork Butchering business in Leeds back in the 1960’s all our Pork Pies (we made for our other 4 shops) were made by hand using the wooden Pie Dolly you mention. We made around 150 dozen every morning and we were always sold out by 11.00am. Happy days.
Hello, have only found your videos tonight
your explanation of the recipes is so
straightforward, thank you. I remember being taught to make hot water pastry at school (I am almost 80years old) we
had to work it by hand as soon as we
were able to hold it, we made a free
standing pie, though I remember being shown a wooden mould that your pie
could be worked round, we had to
learn the “proper” way no short cuts
allowed.
I still enjoy cooking and baking as I have
done all my life
Regards Margaret
Hello Neil,
Yes you can freeze them. First wrap each one individually tight in cling film. Then you can store them in whatever you wish, bag, box, etc. When you want to eat them, remove from the box but DO NOT remove the cling film, thaw overnight in the fridge and any condensation will form on the outside of the cling film and not on the pastry. This method ensured the pastry is nice and crisp. I hope this helps.
Hi Mr Paul. Made your pork pies again. Made 7 200g ones and one 400g one. For a social event tonight. But the host has tested positive so it has been canceled. So can I freeze them for Xmas and what’s the best way please.
Hi Wayne, saltpetre is used in commercially produced pork pies only as a preservative just like bacon.(longer shelf life in the supermarket). Plus it is a restricted food additive due to it being carcinogenic. You cannot purchase saltpetre alone these days, only in ready made curing products like the Lucas pie seasons and bacon curing salts because it’s only allowed in specific amounts in food by law. Because it’s in a ready made seasoning it’s not possible to add too much saltpetre or it would make the product too salty. A good pork pie meat should not be pink it should look like cooked meat. My family have made pork pies for the past 120 years and never used saltpetre in them.
Hi do you not use salt petre in your pies so they remain pink inside as I have an old recipe which uses lucas five star seasoning which contains it iam worried the meat would be grey thanks
OK THANKS
Hi James, if you mean SUET the answer is no sorry.
Can duet be used in hot water pastry?
I’m sorry Gail, I don’t know what the capacity of your tin is, it may mention on the packaging what weight of pie it produces, that will give me a better idea.
Hi Paul …I’ve ordered an oval ( traditional game pie tin, fluted sides etc) can you tell me please …is the quantity you used for your pork pies ( 3) enough for this large tin ??…… Thankyou so much …
Hi Andrew, I have emailed you.
Hi Paul,
It’s me again! I’m still making the pies on a regular basis and they are coming out nicely.
However, I do sometimes have a problem filling them with the jelly. Sometimes my pastry is a bit porous and the jelly runs out from the base. Am I making the pastry too thin or over-cooking it? Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Andrew
Hello Ken, Thanks for your comment, however, I do not remember saying to keep the pie in the fridge for 48 hours. PLEASE let me know where I said that so I can change it., thanks.
A pork pie will keep crisp in the fridge unwrapped for about a week. Fridges work by drying out the surface moisture so by wrapping it the moisture inside the pie will permeate into the pastry making it soft. I hope this helps.
Hi Ken, I’m not sure where I mentioned leaving the pie in the fridge for 48 hours, please let me know where abouts that is. The pie only needs to be left until the gel has set and this depends on the size of the pie. A pork pie will keep crisp in the fridge for up to a week without wrapping it. Fridges work by drying out the surface moisture, by wrapping it the moisture from inside will permeate to the pastry making is soggy. Hope this helps.
Hi Andrew, Sorry you had a problem leaving a comment, I’ll look into that later today. Many thanks for your feedback regarding the pastry, Strong bread flour makes all the difference due to the extra gluten.
Hi Paul,
Tried leaving comments using my mobile but it wouldn’t load.
Anyway, I just wanted to say the pastry came out excellent and enjoyed the filling too. I used strong bread flour and kneaded it a while, instead of using plain flour like I normally do (did).
Regards,
Andrew
Hello Paul
That’s the best hot watercrust pastry I’ve ever made. Nice and crispy.
It must be the flour – I used strong bread flour and kneaded it like you said. I also did a good boil on the lard/water mix.
Finally I used chopped pork belly rather than minced.
Excellent! Especially good, as I am working in Thailand and the pork pies here are very average. Now I have a solution.
Best regards
Andrew
Hi Paul, We have just finished baking our first pork pies and I understand we are to leave them for between 24 to 48 hours in the fridge… I am thinking the fridge will make the pastry soft so I’m taking a chance and wrapping them in grease-proof paper until I can get advice. Looking good so far. Cheers.
Thank you for your feedback James, it’s always nice to hear comments like this. I wish you a Happy & Healthy New Year.
Dear Paul
Thank you for your brilliant video and recipe on how to make a brilliant pork pie.
Have just been to my local butcher who agrees your pies a really nice as I gave him one to try from my last batch. Of course using your recipe.
Thank you James
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your comment, I’m so pleased you found my recipe ‘flawless’ also a big thank you for sharing my YouTube channel I do appreciate that. I hope you have a great Christmas and a Happy & Healthy 2021.
Mr Paul. I never never never follow a recipe to the letter but I tried to make my own pork pies a while ago and they weren’t great. I then found you and I followed yours religiously (I didn’t have a nice pie dish so used my smallest saucepan, perfect). We are in the middle east but fortunately a country where non Muslims can buy pork. Our supermarket had a 5inch xmas pork pie for £46 the other day so I invested in some belly pork and shoulder and made 6 fist sized and one 7inch big one. Your recipe is flawless. Worked perfectly. Thankyou so much. My neighbour’s were delirious and I’ve shared your YouTube channel with them all. Gonna try your corn beef next. Many many
thanks and happy Xmas.
Hello Elizabeth, yes you can but you`ll have to multiply the recipe because the recipe filling is only 100g. You can always get some smaller disposable aluminium flan tins from the supermarket and use those.
Good morning Paul – I haven’t got a suitable tin to use so could I use a loaf tin as in Gala pie?