Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
A classic British hand-raised pork pie with crisp hot-water crust, seasoned uncured pork, and savoury jelly.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 120 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Calories
- 580 kcal
Equipment
- •Saucepan
- •Mixing bowl
- •Baking tray
- •Greaseproof paper
- •Wooden pastry dolly or jam jar
- •Small funnel
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 580 kcal
- fat
- 32 g
- carbs
- 44 g
- fibre
- 2 g
- protein
- 28 g
- calories
- 580 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Dice the pork shoulder and pork belly into small cubes and place into a large mixing bowl.
- 2
Mix the chopped pork with salt, ground white pepper, mace, and chopped sage until evenly seasoned.
- 3
Melt the lard with water and half a teaspoon of salt in a saucepan on the hob until boiling.
- 4
Pour the hot liquid immediately into the plain flour in a bowl and stir into a soft, warm dough.
- 5
Knead the dough briefly on a worktop, then cut off one-quarter for the lid and keep warm under a bowl.
- 6
Shape the warm dough over a floured wooden pastry dolly or jar, working upwards to form high, even sides.
- 7
Slide the pastry case gently off the dolly and pack the seasoned pork filling tightly inside.
- 8
Roll out the reserved pastry lid, damp the rim, and crimp (fold and pinch the pastry edge into a rope) to seal.
- 9
Cut a small steam hole in the centre of the lid and brush the entire pie with beaten egg.
- 10
Bake free-standing on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper at 180°C fan for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- 11
Cool the pie completely to room temperature, then chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
- 12
Pour warm liquid pork stock slowly through the steam hole with a small funnel, then chill overnight until set.
Chef's tips
Keep the pastry dough warm whilst hand-raising; if it cools down too much, it becomes brittle and cracks. Always use uncured, grey-brown pork rather than pink cured ham to retain authentic PGI authenticity. Ensure the pie is thoroughly cold before pouring in the liquid stock so the jelly sets cleanly around the meat.
Ingredient substitutions
- lard → vegetable shortening
- pork belly → pork back fat
- ground mace → ground nutmeg
Storage
Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheating
Traditional Melton Mowbray pork pies are meant to be eaten cold; reheating will melt the internal jelly.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Using cured ham or bacon, which ruins the authentic uncured grey pork texture.
- •Baking the pie inside a metal cake tin rather than free-standing.
- •Pouring the stock into a warm pie, which melts the pastry crust and prevents setting.
- •Working with cold hot-water crust pastry, causing the pie sides to tear.
Serving suggestions
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