Home › The Principles of Cookery › Pork Pies

Pork Pies

Pork pies are generally made of the trimmings taken from a hog when it is cut up. Make and shape the pies according to the directions given in the following recipe, and remember that the pies must be moulded while the paste is warm, and that they are much more easily made with a mould than without one. As a mould is not always at hand, those who are not particularly experienced in the work (and it requires skill) may mould the pie round a jelly-pot or bottle, which has been made warm by being immersed for some time in warm water. Cut the meat into pieces the size of a small nut, and keep the lean and fat separate. Season the whole with pepper and salt, half a dozen young sage-leaves finely shredded; or a tea-spoonful of dried and powdered sage, one ounce of salt, two and a quarter ounces of pepper, and a pinch of cayenne, may be allowed for a pie containing three pounds of meat. Pack the fat and lean closely into the pie in alternate layers until it is filled. Put on the cover, press and pinch the edges, and ornament according to taste. Brush over with well-beaten egg, and bake in a slow oven, as the meat is solid and requires to be cooked through. Neither water nor bone should be put into pork pies, and the outside pieces will be hard unless they are cut small and pressed closely together. The bones and trimmings of the pork may be stewed to make gravy, which should be boiled until it will jelly when cold, and when this has been nicely flavoured, a little may be poured into the pie after it is baked, through an opening made in the top. When pies are made small they require a quicker oven than large ones. Time to bake, about two hours for a pie containing three pounds. Probable cost, 3s. (See also RAISED PIES.)