← Nouns Cooking · British & Irish

Ingredients

• 400 g pork mince (not extra-lean)
• 100 g unsmoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
• ½ Onion, very finely chopped
• 6 sage leaves, finely chopped
• ½ tsp ground mace or nutmeg
• 1 tsp English mustard powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 375 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp Salt
• 100 g Lard
• 150 ml Water
• 1 Eggs, beaten, to glaze
• oil, for the tin

Method

1. Mix all the filling ingredients well with your hands. Fry a little nugget to taste for seasoning: pork pies need to be well seasoned. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F) and oil a 12-hole muffin tin.
2. For the pastry, mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Heat the lard and water in a pan until the lard melts and the water just boils, then pour it into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to a smooth dough.
3. Once cool enough to handle but still warm, knead briefly. Cut off a quarter for the lids and keep it covered. Divide the rest into 12 and press each into a muffin hole, pushing it up the sides to just above the rim.
4. Pack the filling into the cases and level the tops. Roll out the remaining pastry, cut 12 lids, brush the edges with egg and press onto the pies, crimping to seal. Glaze with egg and poke a small hole in the top of each.
5. Bake for 20 min, then lower the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F) and bake for 25–30 min more until deep golden. The filling should reach 72°C (160°F) in the centre.
6. Leave in the tin for 10 min, then lift out onto a rack and cool for at least 1 hour. Serve at room temperature with piccalilli or English mustard.

Tips

• Work with hot-water pastry while it is still warm: once it cools it cracks instead of moulding.
• Keep the pies in the fridge for up to 3 days; the pastry contains gluten.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food BBC Food Great British Chefs