English Pork Pie

Ingredients

• 4 cups plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200g lard, plus extra for greasing
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1.75 lb pork shoulder, hand-chopped into small pieces
• 3.5 oz pork back fat, diced
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground mace
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 2 cups pork or ham stock, well-chilled and jellied
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Before you cook

• Hand-chop the pork shoulder into small, coarse pieces rather than mincing it.
• Mix the chopped pork with the diced back fat, salt, pepper, mace and cold water.
• Melt the lard in the 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan and bring it just to the boil.
• Pour the hot lard mixture into the flour and salt and mix quickly with a wooden spoon while it's still hot.
• Knead briefly until smooth, then cover and keep warm while you shape the pie.

Steps

1. Reserve a quarter of the warm pastry for the lid and keep it covered.
2. Mold the remaining pastry by hand up the sides of a greased pie tin or into a free-standing case, leaving a deep cavity.
3. Pack the seasoned pork mixture tightly into the pastry case, mounding it slightly above the rim.
4. Roll the reserved pastry into a lid and lay it over the filling.
5. Crimp the edges together to seal and cut a small steam vent in the center of the lid.
6. Brush the whole pie with beaten egg.
7. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes until the crust is set and golden.
8. Lower the oven to 325°F (160°C) and bake for a further 1.5 hours until the filling reaches 165°F (74°C) inside.
9. Let the pie cool completely to room temperature.
10. Warm the jellied stock until just liquid and pour it slowly through the steam vent until the pie won't absorb any more.
11. Refrigerate the pie for at least 6 hours, or overnight, until the jelly is fully set before slicing.