I’ve gradually realized that many people I know have a fondness for pork pies. They’re an iconic part of British culture and a beloved tradition throughout the UK. This Christmas, I decided to try making one myself using a mix of two different recipes. Things went pretty smoothly, so I thought I’d share how my latest pie-making adventure turned out.
At first, I wasn’t sure if it would be successful—honestly, I was a bit intimidated by the idea of making hot water crust pastry. As a result, my expectations were quite low. By combining the best parts of Jamie Oliver’s recipe and Delia Smith’s recipe, I ended up with a pretty decent hybrid pork pie, if I do say so myself. I usually take a relaxed approach to following recipes, so blending different ones tends to work out well for me.
Looking back, I wish I had recorded my efforts from the beginning. This is something I’m planning to focus on in 2015—I hope to create more cooking, baking, and maybe even tasting videos for our YouTube channel. To be honest, I was surprised when four out of the five pies turned out so well that I felt compelled to share photos of them. Admittedly, the fifth pie wasn’t great. It was the last one I made, and it came out with a leaking crust, falling apart right out of the oven. Of course, it was quickly devoured and then never mentioned again. Not bad considering I had a four out of five success rate. I even wrapped them up neatly with bows afterward, so that counts for something, right?
So, what do you think of my pork pie creation? 😊
By the way, for those who may not know, “porky pies” is a term from cockney rhyming slang in London, meaning lies. So if you hear someone say, “Oh, she’s telling you porkie pies,” it means she’s telling lies. Other examples include “dog and bone” for “telephone” and “apple and pears” for “stairs.”
