Mini pork pies with quick piccalilli
By:
Troy Willis
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Published: 5 May 21
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Updated: 26 Apr 24
These mini pork and ham pies with hot water crust pastry are perfect for picnics or if you’re on-the-go. Serve with a quick and easy piccalilli.
Complete your outdoor feast with our easy picnic recipes. Or try your hand at our large Gala pork and egg pie to slice and share.
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Makes 6 pies
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Hands-on time 40 min, plus pickling, chilling and cooling
Ingredients
- 300g pork sausagemeat
- 100g cooked ham hock, shredded
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 1 medium free-range egg, beaten
- 250ml chicken stock
- 4 gelatine leaves
For the quick piccalilli
- 500ml cider vinegar
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 4 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp English mustard powder
- ½ cucumber, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 cauliflower (about 600g trimmed weight), broken into small florets
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 400g jar silverskin pickled onions, drained (215g drained weight)
For the hot water crust pastry
- 450g plain flour, plus extra to dust
- 1 tsp salt
- 80g unsalted butter, chopped
- 80g lard, chopped
Method
- To make the quick piccalilli, put the vinegar, sugar and mustard seeds in a saucepan over a high heat, bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Put the turmeric, cornflour and mustard powder in a small bowl and mix to combine. Stir in a little of the heated vinegar and mix to form a smooth paste. Add the paste to the pan of simmering vinegar, stirring constantly as you pour, then turn up the heat and cook for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat, add the chopped vegetables and pickled onions, then leave to pickle while you make the pies.
- For the pastry, mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Put 200ml water in a pan with the butter and lard, then put over a high heat. Once the fats have melted and the liquid is boiling, pour it over the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon as you go. Leave the dough to cool for 2-3 minutes, then wrap and set aside while you make the filling.
- Put the sausagemeat, ham hock and thyme leaves in a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper, then mix well to combine. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 180ºC fan/gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick. Using the 11cm cutter, cut out 6 rounds for the pie bases, then use the 8-9cm cutter to make 6 rounds for the lids. Carefully press the larger circles into the holes of the muffin tin, then fill each with 60-65g of the pork mixture.
- Brush the pastry edges of each filled pie with the beaten egg, then put a lid on top, pressing and crimping together to seal. Make a hole in the centre of each lid with the piping nozzle. Brush the tops with beaten egg to glaze, then bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the pies from oven and allow to cool.
- While the pies are cooling, make a jellied stock. Heat the chicken stock in a pan over a medium heat until warmed. Soak the gelatine leaves in a small bowl of water for 5-10 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water and add them to the stock, whisking to help them dissolve.
- Transfer the jellied stock to a jug and set aside to cool and thicken slightly. Put the piping nozzle in the steam hole of a pie and pour the jellied stock into it to fill. Repeat with all the pies, leave to cool completely, then chill until the jelly is set. Serve the pies with the quick piccalilli on the side.
Recipe from May 2021 Issue
Nutrition
Nutrition: per serving
- Calories
- 673kcals
- Fat
- 36g fat (16.7g saturated)
- Protein
- 22.8g
- Carbohydrates
- 62.3g (1.9g sugars)
- Fibre
- 4.1g fibre
- Salt
- 2g
delicious. tips
Don’t waste it: This makes more piccalilli than you’ll need but it will keep for up to a month in sterilised jars in the fridge. Or, if you like, halve the recipe.
Make the pork and ham pies up to 2 days ahead, then cover and chill until ready to bake.