C'est La Cuisine: Pork Meat pies

Prep: 40 minutes Bake: 20-25 minutes

The theme was to pick a decade so I visited the 1550s and looked into Renaissance food and here we are with the meat pie. Eaten by the more affluent class, these are fun little handheld treats that have meat and a bunch of spices inside a pastry dough. A lot of fun to make as well as eat. I used a cupcake tin and was able to get about 5 from this.

Ingredients

Pastry Dough

• 1 1/2 cups flour + more on hand

• 1 egg, separate yolk

• 1/2 stick of butter softened

• Pinch of salt

• 1/4 cup of water

Filling

• 1 Pork chop

• 2 tbls butter

• 2 tbls flour

• Honey to taste

• Cinnamon to taste

• Nutmeg to taste

• Coriander to taste

• Rosemary to taste

• Sage to taste

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C)

2. Start with the pastry dough

3. Mix the 1 1/2 cup flour and salt with the softened butter

4. Add the egg yolk and mix well

5. Add the water and add more flour as needed to make a dough

6. Set to chill in the fridge at least 30 minutes

7. While that is chilling, heat a skillet to medium heat

8. Chop up the pork and add with the butter

9. Add the spices, broth, cider, and honey as the pork is nearing finishing cooking

10. Add the flour slowly to make a roux and thicken all of it together

11. Remove from heat and retrieve the dough

12. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick

13. Take a muffin tin and spray it

14. Measure and cut the dough to be able to form a a cup inside the tin (you do not want to use all the dough as you also need to add more on top to close the pie

15. Add the filling inside

16. Cover and pinch closed the pies in the tins

17. Cut a couple vents in each pie

18. Take the egg whites and brush over the top as a glaze

19. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops start to brown and crisp

Afterthoughts

These were so fun to make and tasted ridiculous. The spices were strong and for having so little inside, it was bursting in flavor and texture. I loved making and eating these. Meat pies are a surviving dish in modern day, but in my experience, not like this. I recommend these hand pies for any meal.