Pork pies have their origins in the UK and because Zimbabwe was colonized by Britain, we have adopted most of their cooking methods as our own. In Zimbabwe, a company called Colcom, a long established meat processing company , is known especially for their delicious pork pie. I attempt to make a pork pie which comes a little close to theirs.
Traditionally pork pies are made using a hot water pastry ,which in my opinion the easiest pastry to make, ever. It’s a heavy pastry strong enough to hold the pork filling and also easiest to mold while it’s still warm. Unlike the traditional pork pie pastry which calls for lard, I used unsalted butter but the pastry still came out great and had this amazing rich taste.
What makes a pork pie different from other meat pies is the pork jelly which is poured into the pie after it bakes and settles in between the meat filling and the pie pastry. Traditionally this pork jelly is made by boiling pork trotters but my jelly is made by dissolving unflavored granulated Gelatin
in hot beef stock. However, you can do without the jelly. Your pork pie will still be yummy without it.
Pork pie is best served cold or at room temperature. I hope you give this recipe a try. Let me know if you do.
Ingredients
For the pie filling:
- 1lb/450g ground pork (makes 10 mini pies)
- ½ medium sized onion, diced
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ½ tsp. white pepper
- ½ tsp. dried thyme
- ½ tsp. dried sage
For the hot water pastry:
- 3-4 cups flour
- 12 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- ¾ tsp. salt
For the jelly (optional):
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 tbsp. granulated unflavored gelatin
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Instructions
- For the hot water pastry, boil water in a small pot. Remove from heat and stir in the salt and room temperature unsalted butter until it melts. Add the flour a cup at a time and mix thoroughly to form a firm dough. Not too firm and not too soft. You might end up using a little less flour.
- Transfer the pastry onto a slightly floured surface and knead for less than a minute. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- For the pie filling, add all spices and seasonings to the ground pork. Cover and set aside.
- Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Divide the hot water pastry into two parts with one part twice as big as the other. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.
- Dust your worktop with a little flour and roll the larger pastry 1/8 inch thick.
- Use a cookie cutter or small bowl to cut the pastry into ten 6 inch circles.
- Line the muffin pan with the ten circles and shape them against wall of the muffin cups.
- Now shape the pie filling into ten balls about the size of meatballs and place these inside the muffin pan cups.
- Roll the remaining pastry and using a cookie cutter or small bowl cut into ten, 4 inch circles to make the lids for the mini pies. Place on top of the pie filling and use your fingers to seal the pies.
- Using the tips of a fork press the edges of the pies tightly and at the same time making a nice pattern around the pies. Trim off excess dough.
- Make a hole in the middle of each pie to let steam out. Brush the tops of the pies with an egg wash. Put them in the preheated oven for 50 – 55 minutes. Halfway through the baking process, you can brush the tops of the pies with another coating of egg wash.
- Remove from oven when done at let the pies rest for about 10 minutes before removing from the muffin pan.
- Now you can stop here if you want. Your pies will still be delicious without the jelly. The jelly just makes them more delicious of course and more like the traditional authentic British pork pie.
- For the jelly, add the granulated gelatin powder to the hot beef or chicken stock and whisk for about 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Make sure the pies have rested for about 30 minutes before filling them with the jelly. Reopen the holes you made on top of the pies if they closed during the baking process. Pour the jelly mixture into the pies using a small funnel. A little at a time. I actually used a small syringe which made it a whole lot easier. Pour until the jelly is spilling out of the holes.
- Let the pies cool completely for about 5 hours or overnight for the jelly to set. Enjoy the pork pies on their own or served with a salad, cool or at room temperature.
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hie i was wondering if your crust got really crispy ,is there any way i can make it soft like the colcom ones
Hi Pepertua. Try reducing your cook time by about 10 minutes. Also make sure you’re using enough butter. I’ve noticed that after you leave them a while, the crust softens on it’s own.