OT: Chex Mix/Pork Pie redux
RichL
another double batch. The last batch went too quickly.
The pork pie (for the newbs here) is a traditional French-Canadian New
Years Day meal (tourtiere). For the third-generation version of the
celebration, Chex Mix, bread-and-butter pickles, and salad are necessary
accessories.
I've posted my personal recipes for both the Chex Mix and the pork pie
to the group in years past. If you're interested, you may find them in
the archives or let me know...I'll re-post or e-mail.
Bonne annee!
Mack A. Damia
wrote:
What kind of a pork pie is it? Not like the English variety which is
jellied and eaten cold, I presume.
RichL
It's ground pork (actually I use a mixture of different ground meats to
reduce greasiness), potatoes, and onions seasoned with cinnamon, cloves,
and garlic. Not jellied. The filling is cooked, then put in pie crusts
and baked in the oven.
If you're ever in Montreal (or probably anywhere in Quebec province),
you'll find that it's common in restaurants. It's called tourtiere.
The best I've ever had (other than my own, my mom's, and my
grandmother's) was in Quebec City, in the same restaurant where I got
buffalo, antelope, and caribou filets minon.
Mack A. Damia
wrote:
Sounds a bit like Shepherd's Pie. I'd like to try it.
Have you ever had a cold English pork pie?
I
RichL
It is a bit like Shepherd's pie. I bet a lot of cultures have something
like it. I've never had the English pork pie, however.
Interestingly, a little while ago someone who used to post to RMB
regularly ping-d me on Facebook for the Chex mix recipe. I know that
marcus and abe slaney have made it in the past, too.
The tradition spreads...
Mack A. Damia
wrote:
Here's the recipe for the English pork pie - Melton Mowbray to be
exact. It's eaten cold accompanied with cheese, pickled onions, chips
(French fries), mushy peas, Branston pickle or Piccalilli and so
forth.
Mack A. Damia's Pork Pie
This recipe prepares 1 pork pie, which will serve 4-6-8, depending on
the portions. It's quite a heavy pie.
There are three parts to this pie, jelly, crust and filling. Get all
this stuff ready beforehand.
Ingredients:
10 - 12 oz. of jellied stock
1 � lbs. lean pork
Seasoning mixture
1 lb hot water crust pastry
First, the jelly.
If you want to be authentic, then go to the butcher and ask him for
pigs' feet, and have him cut them up into chunks. Either that or you
can go to work on them with a cleaver, like I do. Don't forget to
split the hooves.
Put them in a pan and cover them completely with water; make certain
that you have enough (you may have to add a little while it's
cooking). You just want to make sure that you have enough liquid
(perhaps 10 - 12 ounces is enough) for the pie. Boil this for a couple
of hours or so, skim the fat from the top after it cools and you can
put this aside for later. If you cool it, it will gel, but just put it
on the stove for a couple of minutes to liquify.
The short cut is to use the powdered gelatin (Knox)
Spices:
� oz. salt (original calls for 1 oz., too much!)
� tsp. pepper
� tsp. cayenne
� tsp. ground mace
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of dried sage and marjoram
Mix the spices together.
Meat:
Get 1 � pounds of fairly lean ground pork ; you might ask the butcher
to give you some that's not ground too much; rather "chopped".
Mix the spices thoroughly into the meat, cover and put aside for
later.
Pastry:
This is a hot water crust, and this is what you will need.
1 lb. flour
5oz. lard
�tsp. salt
1� cups water/milk mixture (10 oz.)
Mix flour and salt
Bring lard and water/milk mixture to a boil.
Pour into flour, mixing with wooden spoon
Mix until smooth consitency
When cool enough to handle, knead for ten minutes.
You can add a little flour if too sticky.
You will need a hinged pie pan. I bought a couple of different sizes
and shapes, but about 9 inches in diameter and 3 or 4 inches thick
seems to work.
.
Grease the pan very well with lard
Roll out the dough, saving about 1/3 for the top (roll that out, too)
Line the pan with the dough
Add half the meat; pour in a "little" cold stock (liquid jellied)
Add rest of meat.
Cover with pastry lid; dampen and crimp edges.
Make a hole in the middle; decorate with shapes made from scraps of
pastry.
Brush top with beaten egg
Recipe calls for fastening a piece of wax paper over the top and
baking.
Bake in hot oven (425�F) for 12 minutes Reduce heat to 350�F for 2 to
2 � hours
Maybe 20 minutes before it's finished, remove hinged pie tin, brush
sides of pie with beaten egg, and return to oven for twenty minutes.
Ideally, the pie sould be a nice golden brown, remove from oven, allow
to cool, and add the liquid jellied stock through the hole in the
middle until it overflows. You may want to check back several times,
as the liquid is quickly absorbed and more can be added.
.
Allow to cool and enjoy!
RichL
Thanks, I'll give it a try sometime!
Mack A. Damia
wrote:
It's a lot of work but well worth the effort if you like them. Plan on
half a day, but it will go smoothly if you get everything ready before
hand.
Lots of folks get turned off by the thought of a cold jellied pork
pie, but it's out of this world!
Cheers!