Hot Water Crust Pork Pie

Before you start

A raised pork pie is a sturdy, self-supporting pie made with hot water crust: a dough mixed by pouring boiling water and melted lard into flour. It handles like modeling clay while warm, so it can be shaped into tall walls that bake crisp and golden. Inside is coarsely chopped pork seasoned with salt, white pepper, mace and sage. Once baked and cooled, the gap that forms between meat and crust is filled with seasoned stock that sets to a jelly.

The dough has to be worked while it is warm. As the fat cools, it cracks and will not stretch, so shape it quickly and keep the lid portion covered. This recipe uses an 18 cm springform pan as a support, which is easier than hand-raising around a jar. Plan ahead: the pie is served cold, and the jelly needs a night in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• Filling800 g (1¾ lb) boneless pork shoulder — with some fat; half finely diced, half coarsely ground or pulsed
• 150 g (5 oz) unsmoked bacon or pancetta, finely chopped
• 1¼ tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• ½ tsp ground mace
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
• Hot water crust450 g (3¾ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 150 g (⅔ cup) lard
• 25 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 200 ml (¾ cup plus 1 tbsp) water
• 1 large egg beaten with a pinch of salt, for egg wash
• Jelly300 ml (1¼ cups) rich chicken or pork stock — well seasoned
• 7 g (1 envelope, about 2¼ tsp) unflavored powdered gelatin

Method

1. Mix the diced and ground pork, bacon, salt, white pepper, mace, nutmeg and sage with your hands until well combined and slightly sticky. Fry a small patty and taste it to check the seasoning. Refrigerate the filling while you make the crust.
2. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease the springform pan. Whisk the flour and salt in a bowl. Heat the lard, butter and water in a saucepan until the fats melt and the liquid reaches a rolling boil.
3. Pour the hot liquid into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough. When cool enough to handle, knead it briefly until smooth. Cut off a quarter for the lid and keep it wrapped and warm.
4. Working quickly while the dough is warm, roll the larger piece into a round about 5 mm thick and lift it into the pan. Press it over the base and up the sides so it stands 1 cm above the rim, with no thin spots or cracks.
5. Pack the cold filling into the case, pressing it down to remove air pockets and doming it slightly. Roll the reserved dough into an 18 cm round for the lid, brush the rim with egg wash, lay the lid on and pinch the edges together firmly. Cut a 1.5 cm (⅝ in) hole in the center and brush the top with egg wash.
6. Set the pan on a rimmed sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Lower the oven to 160°C (325°F) and bake 60 to 70 minutes more, until a thermometer pushed through the hole into the center reads at least 71°C (160°F).
7. Carefully release and remove the springform ring. Brush the sides with egg wash and bake 15 minutes more, until the walls are deep golden. Cool the pie on a rack for about 1 hour, until warm but no longer hot.
8. Sprinkle the gelatin over 3 tablespoons of the cold stock and leave it 5 minutes, then heat it with the rest of the stock until dissolved; do not boil. Cool until barely warm. Pour it slowly through the hole with a funnel, pausing as it soaks in, until the pie is full. Refrigerate overnight.

Tips for success

• Taste the seasoning by frying a spoonful of the raw mix before filling; cold pork pie needs more salt and pepper than you might expect.
• Keep the lid dough in a warm spot, such as wrapped in a towel near the stove. Cold hot water crust cracks when you try to roll it.
• Patch thin spots or cracks in the case before filling. Any gap lets the jelly leak out later.

Substitutions

Lard

Vegetable shortening works with the same weight and handles similarly. The crust will be paler and a little less savory.

Pork stock jelly

Leave the jelly out if you prefer; the pie will slice and taste fine, with a small gap under the lid. Eat it within 2 days.

Bacon

Replace it with more pork shoulder and an extra ¼ tsp salt. The filling will be paler and less savory.

Variations

Individual pork pies

Divide the dough and filling among 6 small raised cases in a muffin or mini pie tin. Bake 25 minutes at 200°C (400°F), then 30 to 35 minutes at 160°C (325°F).

Gala pie

Lay 3 peeled hard-boiled eggs in a line through the middle of the filling in a loaf-shaped tin.

Troubleshooting

The dough cracks as you shape it

It cooled too much. Work faster, keep it covered, and warm stiff dough briefly in a low oven or microwave for 10 seconds.

The sides slumped after the ring came off

The walls were too thin or the pie was underbaked. Keep the dough 5 mm thick and bake fully before removing the ring.

Jelly leaked out of the base

There was a crack or thin spot in the case. Let a little jelly set in the hole first to seal small leaks, then add the rest slowly.

Storage

Keep the pie refrigerated, wrapped, and eat it within 3 to 4 days. Serve it cold or at cool room temperature, and do not leave it out for more than 2 hours. Freezing damages the jelly and the crust, so it is not recommended.

Safety notes

The filling contains ground pork, which must reach at least 71°C (160°F); check the center with a thermometer. Refrigerate the cooled pie promptly. Contains wheat, egg and milk.