Easy English Pork Pies!

 

Ingredients:


2, 9" short crusts - the usual and ordinary kind of pastry used for baking pies
12 to 16 oz. (between approximately .69 lb. and 1 lb.) of lean pork (center-loin meat works perfectly), cut into ¾" cubes
1, 8-oz package bacon, thinly sliced and chopped into bits (see notes below)
1 tsp. sage
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. salt
ground, black pepper, to taste
1 egg (for glazing the pie tops)
½ pint of jellied pork stock or aspic - but it's easy enough instead to use a mixture of commercial, powdered gelatin and pork bouillon (see notes below)!

YOU'LL NEED A SMALL KITCHEN FUNNEL FOR THIS!

You'll also need a pair of small, spring-form baking tins approximately 4" in diameter and 2" in depth.
 
Preparation:Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Rinse off the raw, cubed pork well, then mix it in a bowl with the raw bacon pieces, the sage, allspice, salt & pepper. Cover the meat mixture and set it aside while you prepare the pie tins.

Roll out the pie crusts. Take the bottom out of each spring-form pie tin and cut out a pastry circle to lay down in each tin. Before laying down the bottom circle of pastry in each spring-form tin, reassemble each tin, then grease the insides of them well (at least spray them well with non-stick cooking spray, even if you are using Teflon-coated tins).Cut out two long, wide strips for each spring-form tin, the length and width of the dimensions of the interior wall of the tins (put one of the tins on its side and roll it out along the dough to size the strips accurately); place each strip in the interior of each spring-form tin, and mold the strips down well to the dough on the tin bottoms with your fingers.

Evenly divide the meat mixture in two and carefully fill each spring-form pastry case with half; press the meat down in the tins really well, and you shouldn't have any left over (if you bought up to a whole pound of pork, you might have a small bit leftover, though)! Trim off excess pastry from each tin that is above the level that the meat reaches.Press the remaining pastry into a round to form a lid/top for each pie. Place the lid on each, dampen the edges and crimp to seal.

Using your small funnel tip as a stencil, cut a hole in the center of each pastry lid to allow steam to escape (it's easiest to punch the hole in the center of each pie-top pastry round before actually placing on the pies).Use any excess to decorate (three diamond-shaped lozenges around the vent hole are traditional). Brush with beaten egg (or butter) to provide a glaze.Bake for 2½ hours. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.Remove the pies from the spring-form tins when cool.)
 
Now, this next step might strike some Americans as completely strange, unorthodox and, at the very least, quite odd. But it seems to be central to the Melton-Mowbray style of English recipes for making pork pie (it's as eccentrically English as can be)!If you are actually able to get your hands on eight ounces of jellied pork stock (or aspic) in the U.S., congratulations! Make sure it is cut up into small cubes and heated to the melting point - pour as directed next. Otherwise, use the hot Knox gelatin-bouillon mixture described in my notes below. Pour it into the pies through the steam-vent holes using your funnel (just add a little bit at a time so it doesn't overflow out all over your nice, flaky pastry tops). You'll probably only end up using about three ounces of it in each pie - you'll know you've gone too far if it starts leaking out the bottom of your pastries; just wipe them up nice and dry with a clean paper towel if that happens!
Chill for at least four hours before serving. Makes two lovely, little pork pies!