Reserve Your Table
£0.00 Checkout
Close

Celebrating 25 years at Bettys Cookery School: Pork pies

Celebrating 25 years at Bettys Cookery School: Pork pies

Celebrating 25 years of Bettys Cookery School with Pork Pies

This year, as Bettys Cookery School proudly celebrates 25 wonderful years of sharing skills, stories, and a love of great food, we’re taking a moment to honour the recipes that have brought people together around our tables. Few dishes capture the heart of Yorkshire quite like a traditional pork pie – a timeless classic that speaks of craftsmanship, patience, and simple, honest ingredients.

For the Hot Water Crust Pastry

    Ingredients

  • 225g plain flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 100ml water
  • 50g vegetable shortening
  • 30ml whole milk

Method

  • Step 1:In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, mustard powder and white pepper. Once combined make a well in the centre of the mixture.
  • Step 2:In a small saucepan bring together the water, milk and the shortening and slowly bring to the boil.
  • Step 3:Once the liquid is boiling, pour into the well of the dry ingredients and mix vigorously with a cutlery knife until a dough starts to form.
  • Step 4:Lightly flour the work surface and work the dough together until it is a smooth pastry. Work quickly whilst the dough is still warm and easy to handle. Be careful not to overwork it.
  • Step 5:Once the pastry is formed cut out six discs, approximately 9.5cm in diameter. Line six holes of a muffin tin with the pastry, pressing into the bottom of the tin to form pastry cups. Trim any excess pastry off the tops of the muffin holes.
  • Step 6:Gather up the trimmings and re-roll to be able to cut out two smaller discs to create a lid for two of the pies.
  • Step 7:Using a small piping nozzle, cut a hole in the centre of each pastry lid, to allow steam to escape during cooking.
    • The pastry can be kept warm for a short time by transferring back to the pan used to warm the milk and vegetable shortening.

For the Pork Pie Filling

    Ingredients

  • 100g pork mince
  • 60g pork belly (finely diced)
  • 3 juniper berries (crushed)
  • 4 sage leaves (finely chopped)
  • Sprig of thyme (chopped)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp white pepper

Method

  • Step 1:Combine all the ingredients together into a bowl ensuring everything is well mixed.
  • Step 2:Divide evenly between the six pre-lined muffin moulds.

Pork Pie Assembly

    Ingredients

  • 1 egg (beaten)
  • ¼ apple (sliced)

Method

  • Step 1:Preheat the oven 190°C (fan assisted).
  • Step 2:Brush the exposed rims of each pie with a little egg wash.
  • Step 3:Place the two pastry lids on top of two of the pies. Crimp the edges of the top and base with the end of a wooden spoon to seal the pastry. Brush the beaten egg over the top of the lids.
  • Step 4:Top the remaining four pies with a small disk of parchment paper to prevent the filling from drying out when cooking.
  • Step 5:Bake the pork pies in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the pork pies from the oven.
  • Step 6:Remove the disks of parchment from the top of two pies and replace with sliced apple and bake the whole tray for a further 5-10 minutes.
  • Step 7:You should have two pies with pastry lids, two with parchment and two with sliced apple.
  • Step 8:Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Whilst the pies are still warm, remove them from the tin. Discard the two remaining parchment disks of paper, these two pies will be topped with blue cheese crumble.

    Apple Cider Jelly

      Ingredients

    • 70ml cider
    • 4g leaf gelatine
    • 1-2 bay leaves
    • Sprig of thyme

    Method

    • Step 1:Warm the cider in a small heavy based saucepan, bay leaves and thyme. Be careful not to boil the mixture.
    • Step 2:Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water until softened.
    • Step 3:Once softened, remove the gelatine from the bowl and squeeze out any excess water. Add the gelatine leaves into the warm cider mix, stir until dissolved.
    • Step 4:Once the gelatine has dissolved remove the pan from the heat. Carefully discard the herbs from the mixture and pour the jelly mix into a small measuring jug.
    • Step 5:Taking the two pork pies with pastry lids, carefully pour the cider jelly into the holes on top of the pies. Do this a little at a time, wait for the liquid to soak into the pie after each addition. Repeat until the cider jelly level ceases to absorb into the pies.
    • Step 6:Pour any remaining cider jelly over the apple-topped pies.
    • Step 7:Store in the fridge to set.

    Blue Cheese Crumble

      Ingredients

    • 50g plain flour
    • 30g butter (chilled)
    • ¼ tsp white pepper
    • 40g Harrogate Blue Cheese

    Method

    • Step 1:Preheat the oven 190°C (fan assisted).
    • Step 2:In a bowl mix the flour and white pepper together. Then using your fingertips rub in the butter, until the ingredients resemble breadcrumbs.
    • Step 3:Crumble the blue cheese into the mix until evenly distributed.
    • Step 4:Using a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, evenly distribute the crumble. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
    • Step 5:Just before serving, top the remaining two pork pies with the crumble, this is to retain as much texture as possible.

    We hope you’ve enjoyed trying your hand at some of the recipes we’ve posted here over the last few weeks. If you have, we’d love to see your own showstoppers, or even your heroic failures shared with us on social media. Even if you’re more of an armchair chef, don’t forget to pay a visit to our Café Tea Rooms or shops to see what our Craft Bakery wizards create every day. Or browse our signature treats here online, where the theme of the week is always Bettys deliciousness.