TRADITIONAL RAISED PORK PIE
Serves 10-12
Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup dry sherry or white wine 850g piece deboned rindless
pork neck or shoulder, trimmed 500g pork belly
150g speck or streaky bacon, rind
removed, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped thyme
1 tbsp thinly sliced sage leaves ½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground sea salt
⅓ cup (65g) thinly sliced
dried apricots ⅓ cup (60g) dried cranberries 5 (300g) chicken tenderloins 1 egg, beaten
Hot water pastry
170g lard (see tip, below right) 1⅓ cups water
4 cups plain flour
½ tsp ground sea salt
Jellied stock
10g gelatine leaves 1½ cups chicken stock 1 bay leaf
1. To make filling, heat oil in a medium, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until soft but not brown. Add sherry and simmer until absorbed.
2. Cut pork shoulder or neck into thick slices then into 2cm pieces. Cut pork belly into thick slices, remove and discard rind, then cut into 2cm pieces. Place 300g of pork shoulder and 100g of pork belly pieces in a food processor and process until coarsely minced. Place in a large bowl with remaining shoulder and belly pieces.
Add speck, thyme, sage, pepper, salt, apricots and cranberries. Combine well. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm springform pan. To make pastry, place lard and water in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in salt and make a well in the centre. Pour in hot lard mixture. Stir until combined and mixture forms a ball of dough. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.
4. Cut off and reserve ⅓ of the dough. Roll out larger piece of dough to about 28cm in diameter. Lift into pan. Use your fingers to raise dough up the sides until it hangs over rim slightly. Flour the base and sides of a straight-sided glass to help smooth dough around sides and press into bottom edge.
5. Press half the filling into base. Lay chicken over the top. Spread remaining filling on top and pack down. Brush edge of dough with water. Roll or press out remaining piece of dough to fit over the top, slightly overhanging the edge. Place pastry on top. Press together edges to seal. Trim any long overhanging pastry but leave enough to crimp on top of pie to form a decorative edge.
6. Make a 3cm hole in centre of pie to release the steam and juices. Re-roll and cut any leftover pastry into decorative leaves you can use to decorate the top. Brush top with beaten egg. Place pan on an ovenproof tray to catch juices.
7. Bake for 1 hour, reduce temperature to 160°C, and then bake for a further 1 hour. Remove and brush top of the pie with more egg. Return to oven for 30 minutes more. Remove and then allow to cool in pan on tray for 3 hours.
8. To make jellied stock, soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes until soft. Heat stock and bay leaf in a small saucepan until it comes to a simmer. Remove from heat. Squeeze liquid from gelatine. Add leaves to hot stock and stir until melted.
Place a funnel over pie hole and very slowly pour in enough stock until it can’t take any more (some will seep out). Place pie in fridge overnight to let it set.
9. Leave out of fridge for 1 hour. Undo pan clip. Loosen any sides that have stuck with a thin palette knife. Cut into wedges to serve.
THIS TRADITIONAL RAISED PORK PIE IS A TRUE SHOW STOPPER. IT ELEVATES A SIMPLE PLOUGHMAN'S LUNCH TO THE ULTIMATE GRAZING BOARD