Pork Pie

In keeping with my current obsession with The Great British Bake Off, I decided Pork Pies were needed for dinner, tonight. They’re not exactly a traditional British recipe, but I’m not exactly British, either. I guess they were more along the lines of my interpretation of a British Pork Pie.

It’s been fun, because British cuisine is not something I have ever really studied. I’ve been to London and I’ve eaten some really excellent pub food, and I’ve made some excellent Christmas puddings, but other than an occasional something here or there, that’s about it.

When I bought the ale for the Steak and Ale pies the other day, I bought a 4-pack, so I have British ale in the house. I’m no longer much of a beer drinker, so a few cans of British ale means I should be cooking something with it.

I’m up for the challenge.

I decided to go with a potato topping instead of a pastry crust because we also had little pies this week made with the leftover filling and pastry from the steak and ale pies. The filling was made with stuff in the house – my favorite kind of cooking.

Not Exactly British Pork Pies

For filling

  • 6 oz pork chop, diced
  • 4 oz ham, diced
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 4 oz mushrooms, chopped
  • 4 oz peas
  • 8 oz British Ale
  • 8 oz chicken broth
  • thyme
  • salt
  • pepper

For topping

  • 1 potato, peeled and boiled
  • 1 pat butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 oz grated parmesan cheese
  • garlic powder
  • salt and pepper

Dredge pork chunks in flour. Saute in batches in a medium sauce pan until browned. Set aside.

Add onion and celery to pot and cook until onion begins to get translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute.

Add a bit of the ale to loosen up the fond on the bottom of the pan. Add the rest of the ale, the carrots and mushrooms. Add the diced ham.

Add the seasonings and just enough broth to make sure everything is covered.

Bring to a boil, cover, and then place in a 300°F oven for 2 hours.

At the end of 2 hours, remove from oven and stir in peas.

Place in individual casserole dishes or in a single oven-proof casserole dish.

Make topping.

Mash or rice the potatoes and then add butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix well. Add egg yolk and mix well. Stir in cheese and – you guessed it – mix well.

Pipe or spread on top of filling and place in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes or until browned.

They came out pretty good – lots of rich flavor and they didn’t need any additional thickening.

And I still have two 475ml cans of ale…

I wonder what will be next…..