Pork Pie

[Nanmeade]

Need a recipe for Pork Pie for tonight. Thanks.

[spqr]

Best pork pie: when I was a child my parents used to take us out for a meal once in a while to a fish and chips shop in Fort Erie, Ontario (we lived in the Buffalo, NY area, across the river). The place was run by an old English couple, and their pork pies were made fresh every day and they were super (with a little HP sauce on the side). I'd like a good recipe too, now that this topic has summoned the memory.

[Nanmeade]

I have a recipe in my old New York Times cookbook (1961) called Tourtiere (pork pie) but it seems kind of bland.

[Nanmeade]

Can I give out this recipe from the cookbook or is that a copyright infringement?

[yvonne johnson]

My understanding is that a list of ingredients is not copyrighted.

(A moderator can no doubt describe better......) But as far as I know, the instructions are protected, so if there is an internet link (which probably does not exist in this case), give link. Failing that, you may summarize the recipe's instructions in your own words and give reference/source which you've already done.

[Nanmeade]

1lb ground pork

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 clove garlic

1/8 tsp mace

1 cup water

Pastry for a 2-crust 8-inch pie

Combine everything (except crust) in a saucepan. Bring to a quick boil and immediately bring down to a simmer. Cook covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for ten more minutes. Remove garlic.

Preheat oven to 425. Make the pie. Prick top crust. Bake pie ten minutes and reduce heat to 350. Bake thirty more minutes. Serve hot.

I am going to make mine like little calzones. As a sauce, I am making a onion mushroom herb cream sauce and a salad on the side. Will let everyone know how it goes.

[Suzanne F]

Nanmeade: remember that a recipe is, at best, only a set of guidelines. If you're referring to the recipe in the NY Times Cookbook, yes, that looks bland. Edit: yup, that's the one you've got! The one in the NY Times International Cookbook is a little better: that one adds 1 finely chopped onion, an extra 1/2 pound of pork, 1/2 tsp each ground cloves, cinnamon and savory, and a bay leaf, and suggests 3/4 cup pork stock instead of the 1 cup of water. And, of course, salt and freshly ground pepper.

If I were doing it, I'd add ALL the spices from both recipes, and probably some HP or Worcestershire or other bottled "sauce." And probably some other stuff, too. But that's just me. I have little respect for the "authority" of a recipe (unless it's for baking ).

[Nanmeade]

I stuck to the recipe because it is an old French Canadian recipe. I will add all the seasonings in the mushroom sauce. I will definately change it if it is really bland.

[spqr]

Tortiere is indeed an old French Canadian recipe, and it has nothing to do with a "pork pie" as known to the Brits. My buddy, who grew up in Vermont just across the border from French Canada, has a soft spot for tortiere. I, however, would really like to get a good British pork pie recipe....

[Nanmeade]

Just posted what the old New York Times cookbook said. Anyway, made the pork recipe as I posted. I had my homemade pastry, cut it into circles and shaped it like dumplings, forked the pastry and brushed with an egg wash. Then made a mushroom cream butter mixture with herbs from my garden. It was delicious! The recipe I posted really needs work. I knew it when I read it. Strange things were going on in 1961 Anyway, the cream sauce made it delicious.