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Hot Water Pastry

Hot Water Pastry

About 8 years ago I helped out at a butchers in Selby and apart from learning to link Sausages by the mile and some basic butchery skills, I also anded up manning the Pie oven. Initially they were buying their Pork Pies ready filled and just cooking them. I suggested we get a casing former from Dalziels (A national Butchers equipment wholesaler) and make our own. After a few experiments we created our own recipe and pretty soon we were selling 120 pies by mid-morning which was the most we could make using the equipment we had.

We developed quite a reputation – In a good way!

Your traditional Pork Pie has a small amount of Sodium Nitrite added to the meal before cooking. This is a curing salt, but in Pork Pies it’s just added to preserve the pink colour in the cooked meat. We don’t (Yet!) have any curing salts, so my filling isn’t the traditional pink colour – Sorry!

But the filling is up to you really. Hot Water Pastry is actually pretty easy once you’ve forgotten everything you previously knew about pasty making….

Ingredients:-

110g of Lard
280g of Water
500g of Plain Flour (Gluten free in our case)
2 tsp salt
Egg, beaten

Method:-

(1) In a pan add the Water, Salt and Lard and bring to a simmer.
(2) Turn the heat off.
(3) Add the Flour a little at a time and mix thoroughly as you go.
(4) Once all the Flour has been combined transfer your still hot dough to a floured surface and roughly roll out.
(5) Add dough to your pie casing and using your hands press into shape.
(6) Add whatever filling you are using allowing a little space around the sides.
(7) make a lib with remaining dough and press a hole through the middle. You can be arty and decorate the lid with additional pastry decorations if you like. Just make sure you use a fork to press the joint firmly together or your lib is likely to come off when you cook your pie.
(8) Brush generously with beaten Egg.
(9) Cook in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes at 180c. If you have a probe you are looking for an internal temperature of 80c.

My filling was far from traditional, but that’s how we roll here! The Pork mince had sliced pickled Garlic, Chilli flakes and whole grain Mustard added. I also made a Sage and Rosemary Aspic to pour into the hot Pie once it was cooked. When the Pie cools the Aspic sets around the meat. Which is kind of cool!!!
 

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Chilli Pork Hock Casserole recipeA Pork Hock at £2 doesn't in it's own right either sound or look very appealing. But cooked low and slow in a casserole it was taste and very tender The vegetable in the casserole were just what we had in the fridge, any firm root vegetable will do at long as they won't turn to mush.
 
When I worked in the butchers many moons ago we bought Pork Hock in 20Kg boxes, bagged them and broiled them in their own juices over night in the Ham Boiler. They never lasted long in the hot counter..... Customers wandering round town with greasy chops and fingers!
 
Ingredients:-
 
1 Pork Hock
2 small Onions roughly sliced
2 Carrots cut into think batons
¼ of a Celeriac thickly sliced
1 stock cube
1 tin of Kidney Bean
Salt & Pepper
Chilli flake
Oil to rub
 
Method:-
 
(1) Dissolve the stock cube in a pint of boiling water and add a little salt and pepper.
(2) Layer the vegetable and Kidney Beans in a casserole dish.
(3) Mix the Chilli Flakes and oil are rub over the skin.
(4) Lay the meat over the vegetables and beans and pour the stock around. Add a little move hot water if the vegetables aren't submerged.
(5) Place in the oven and cook uncovered at 160c for hours. Hours and hours. Do a couple of wash loads, paint the spare room, write a book. You know, hours and hours!
(6) Once in a while baste the meat with a little of the stock.
 
When the meat is falling off the bone you're good to serve. We had ours with Garlic New Potatoes and deep fried Savoy cabbage to add a little colour.
 

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