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Wed 5 Sep, 2007 09:14 am
Pork pie joins the upper crust set
Sep 4 2007
By Rhona Ganguly
It may not be considered the most sophisticated of Britain's delicacies but a Midlands-manufactured pork pie has received the highest accolade at the food industry's "Oscars".
On Monday, a pork pie entered by Birmingham butchers Walter Smith beat more than 4,000 other entries at the Great Taste Awards to win the title of Supreme Champion.
Held at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London, the competition saw 490 judges faced with finding the best product on the market out of 4,300 entries. Andrew Ayres, Walter Smith's managing director, said its pork pies were made from free range pork with pastry made to its own recipe and own blend of seasoning.
The recipe was developed at the company's Cannock branch by its regional director Robert Jones.
With 27 branches across the region, the company was established in 1885 and has become the largest privately owned chain of butchers in the country. Mr Ayres said: "Since this is the most prestigious food awards, to win something like this is just incredible.
"It says that ours is the best pork pie in the country and the judges have deemed it to be the best food item in Britain that was entered in the Great Taste Awards.
"We entered some months ago and then we went through various stages of judging."
He said the company's emphasis on using local organic pork had contributed to its win. Our recipe is a secret and the only thing I can tell you is that we only buy free range pigs and it is all locally sourced. They then go a few miles to the abattoir, which is just the other side of Walsall and Cannock.
"It is all free-range pork and is all prepared by hand, filled by hand and it is all our own recipe, with spices for seasoning. Everything is mixed by hand and the meat goes on by hand and then the pie is baked and glazed."
Walter Smith's pork pie win was strongly contested by a balsamic reduction with sherry and fig - which can be poured on deserts or used in a dressing - from En-Place Foods in Ireland and a handmade traditional velvet fudge by Hi-T's in London.
To choose between the three finalists, Guild of Fine Food director and leading industry figure Bob Farrand's panel of judges asked producers questions on sustainability, production values and food ethics.
"After this, it was quite clear who our winner was," he said. "The global food processing industry can con the public with fabulous packaging but you cannot fool the taste buds.
"Once again simple ingredients made with passion win hands down. Even supermarkets are now realising this but not, I hope, at the expense of the small independents." Now in its 14th year, the awards were created by the Guild of Fine Food and judges included journalist Charles Campion, musician, farmer and journalist Alex James, chef and TV star Sophie Michell and Tom Barker-Bowles.
It was described by Alex James, former band member of the group Blur, as "the David versus Goliath of the food world."
In addition to the competition, it is also an accreditation scheme, with products bearing its logo having proven to be of origin, quality and excellence.
Staffordshire
If you're ready for a delightful surprise then you're ready to discover Staffordshire. Stafford, the County Town, is one of England's most fascinating and beautiful towns and does perfect justice to its splendid setting. Staffordshire is the county just to the north of Birmingham in the heart of England. Nestling on the edge of Cannock Chase, an area of outstanding natural beauty, Stafford is a wonderful place to visit.
The world-renowned potteries lie to the north, in and around the city of Stoke-on-Trent, where you will find Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, and Spode among many others. To the west of Stafford is Lichfield, with its magnificent Cathedral. Also to the west is the town of Burton-on-Trent, the home of Brewing.
Stafford is a town brimming with traditional civic pride and a magnificent array of architectural, cultural and historic attractions. The Victoria Park is the perfect place for a stroll. In the heart of the town there is the tranquil Norman church of St Chad's and the beautiful collegiate church of St Mary's. Picturesque Church Lane is a delight with its timbered buildings. The splendid Shire Hall Gallery is also in the centre with its constantly changing art exhibitions and superb balcony café.
One of the best historical buildings in Stafford is the Ancient High House, one of the finest Tudor buildings in England. Once dominating the skyline of Stafford, it is the largest remaining timber-framed town house in England. Built in 1595 and later the civil war refuge of Charles I, the house retains a fantastic collection of period furniture and architectural features. It also houses the Tourist Information Centre.
One of Staffordshire's most famous culinary treats is ?'Staffordshire Oatcakes'. These are like pancakes made from oatmeal and yeast and are nothing like the Scottish oatcakes, which are more like a biscuit. They are cooked on a hot griddle. Staffordshire oatcakes are a versatile food, beloved of many a potter of the ?'Potteries' (also known as Stoke-on-Trent or the ?'Five Towns'. They can be eaten hot or cold, for breakfast with eggs and bacon or spread with butter and a sweet preserve for tea. They can also be used to wrap a savoury filling and then placed in the oven to bake.
Documents speak of difficult working and living conditions in Staffordshire towns such as Longton and Stoke in the mid-nineteenth century, when the potters and their families subsisted on such foods as lobby (probably related to Liverpool's lobscouse), hasty pudding (often a mixture of oats or barley, water, suet and treacle, eaten hot or cold), pobs (breadcrusts merely soaked in water or milk and sprinkled with sugar and tea), frumenty (a special treat made from soaked wheat, fruit and spices) and chicklings (chitterlings).
Farmers in Staffordshire have never been averse to bagging the odd rabbit or hare they happened to come across on a weekend's rough shooting. Often these will end up in a pie or a stew.
Another Staffordshire town, Tamworth, has a famous ancient breed of pig named after it.
The Tamworth pig is somewhat smaller than many modern British breeds of pig and is famous for its bright ginger-haired coat. Pork is popular in Staffordshire and there are many places with ?'hot pork baps' for sale. Baps are soft bread rolls and these are filled with hot roasted pork.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Mrs. Maria Rundell's best-selling book ?'A New System of Domestic Cookery' was published. It contained a number of regional recipes including ?'Staffordshire Beef Steaks'. Another recipe from the county is for a rich fruitcake containing black treacle and brandy called ?'Staffordshire Fruit Cake'.
Brewing is also a major activity in Staffordshire. Burton-upon-Trent is a town famous for brewing. There are only a few breweries left nowadays. One of them is Bass which has a working museum of brewing. IPA (India Pale Ale), found on draught in pubs everywhere, derives from the pale ales once brewed at Burton-on-Trent. Burton pale ales were prized for their brightness and clarity, which came from the natural spring water used in their production. In the 1820s Burton brewed an even hoppier ale for export to India; India Pale Ale was so popular that it has been made ever since. Bottled bitters are usually called pale or light ales. Other famous brewers in Burton-upon Trent include Marston's whose 'Pedigree' bitter is one of the finest available anywhere
So next time you get a chance to visit this lovely part of England's Midlands you'll find plenty of delicious food and drink, as well as lots of wonderful historic and natural sites to visit!
Chef Talleyrand's Pork Pie recipe
PORK PIE
By Chef Talleyrand
The humble British 'toad in the hole' generated many, many emails from around the world requesting similar dishes. So continuing with this theme and tying in with the previous month's pastry recipes, we are going to make the quintessential British pie; made famous by the Melton Mowbray's pork pies . . . or is it?
France can quite easily lay claim to this dish, because in the Provence region, there is a small village called 'Pezanas', here they have "les petite pate de Pezanas" or the small pastry of Pezanas; which are a small (two bites) pork pies. They were created in 1790 by the personal chef of Lord Clive of India; who stayed there while briefly in exile. Suffering from homesickness and a dislike of the local foods heavily laced with garlic, his chef created them for him and when they left as a show of thanks and appreciation, he presented the village with the recipe. It is now held in such high esteem, they have a culinary society dedicated to it, where on initiation (in blue graduation gowns) candidates must swear to uphold five rules and swear to it on a rolling pin. They are then presented with a medallion in the shape of the miniature pie on a purple ribbon.
Most commercial pork pies however these days should really be termed 'bacon or ham pies' as they are made from cured meats and not true pork. There are many recipes for pork pies and mine is just one of them. But from this basic recipe try adjusting it to suit your own taste, leave out the cheese, omit, reduce or increase the sage etc. The pie can be made as one large pie in a casserole dish, as individual ones in deep muffin moulds or similar or made free form like the French version.
For those non British out there, the term 'pork pie' has another meaning also. People born in London call themselves Cockney's. To be a true Cockney you have to have been born within earshot of the sound of the bells of the Bow Church. Over the years, the Cockneys developed their own language, called Cockney rhyming slang. Where words or phrases are replaced by others that sound or rhyme with the original. So telling lies is known as telling 'pork pies'!
So with these pork pies in the sky rockets of your new whistle and flute, you could get on the dog and bone to your friends, go down the frog and toad using your plates of meat, to the rub-a-dub, for a pigs ear, tell a few pork pies of your own and no one would be any the wiser!
Email me if you can't work it out and would like a full translation!
I am more than happy to share with you my personal favourites, but prefer to hear from readers as to what recipes you would like to see appear each week. So don't be shy . . . email me and let me know.
Ingredients for Pork Pie
hot water paste 1 kg
onion 1 pc
pork shoulder meat 700 gm
chopped sage 2 tbs
pork sausage meat 300 gm
eggs 3 pc
milk 100 ml
Wensleydale cheese 100 gm
light chicken stock 1 lt
powdered gelatine
How to make Pork Pie
Basic preparation
Preheat the oven to 190ºC
Finely chop the onion
Cut the pork shoulder into 1/2 - 1cm dice or roughly mince
Lightly grease mould(s)
Heat chicken stock to a simmer and sprinkle in the gelatine while stirring until thoroughly dissolved, set aside
Pie mixture
Cook the finely chopped onion in a little oil without colour.
Add the pork and sage, cook quickly for 5minutes.
Allow to cool and add the sausage meat, combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
Add the beaten eggs and milk and combine.
Creating the pie
Line mould(s) with the hot water paste* (keeping 1/4 of it for the tops).
Spoon in the mixture to 3/4's from the top. Sprinkle with the Wensleydale cheese (or combine this with the pie mixture). Moisten edges of pastry case with water, place a pastry lid on top and crimp sides to seal. Brush pastry lid with some beaten egg.
Put mould(s) on a baking tray and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to go cold in the moulds.
Cut a small hole in the tops of the pastry. Insert a piping tube into the each hole and pour in the stock until it starts to overflow. Place in the refrigerator until set.
Chef's Tip for Pork Pie
Serve chilled with 'Branston' or Ploughman's pickle, crusty bread, a thick slice of English Cheddar, a tossed side salad and a glass of beer for a true English Ploughman's lunch!
Or you can oder the authentic Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
Or you can oder the authentic Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
http://www.meltonmowbrayporkpies.com/themeltonmowbrayporkpie.html
Re: Chef Talleyrand's Pork Pie recipe
PORK PIE .......South East London styleee....
So with these pork pies[pork pie=singular(lie),porky pies=plural](lies)in the sky rockets(pockets) of your new whistle and flute(suit), you could get on the dog and bone(phone) to your friends, go down the frog and toad(road) using your plates of meat(feet), to the rub-a-dub(pub), for a pigs ear(beer), tell a few pork(y) pies(lies) of your own and no one would "(be any the wiser!)" =(twig)
.
Re: Chef Talleyrand's Pork Pie recipe
barrythemod wrote:PORK PIE .......South East London styleee....
So with these pork pies[pork pie=singular(lie),porky pies=plural](lies)in the sky rockets(pockets) of your new whistle and flute(suit), you could get on the dog and bone(phone) to your friends, go down the frog and toad(road) using your plates of meat(feet), to the rub-a-dub(pub), for a pigs ear(beer), tell a few pork(y) pies(lies) of your own and no one would "(be any the wiser!)" =(twig)
.
BBB,
I don't know how much of the UK you are familiar with, but no Brit that I know would go out of their way to visit Stafford (pies or no pies) !
If its pies and ambience you want I can heartily recommend the Yorkshire town of Skipton in the Dales (Bill Bryson and Patrick Stewart [Star Trek's Picard] territory). "The Famous Pie Shop" is just by Skipton Castle, and there's a thriving market three days a week where you buy anything from local cheese to Chinese pyjamas. If you are over 50 you can even crash out in the "Drop In Centre" on the main street where you can get a mug of Yorkshire tea and a toasted teacake for £1.00 !
fresco
fresco wrote:BBB, I don't know how much of the UK you are familiar with, but no Brit that I know would go out of their way to visit Stafford (pies or no pies) ! If its pies and ambience you want I can heartily recommend the Yorkshire town of Skipton in the Dales (Bill Bryson and Patrick Stewart [Star Trek's Picard] territory). "The Famous Pie Shop" is just by Skipton Castle, and there's a thriving market three days a week where you buy anything from local cheese to Chinese pyjamas. If you are over 50 you can even crash out in the "Drop In Centre" on the main street where you can get a mug of Yorkshire tea and a toasted teacake for £1.00 !
I'm most familiar with "The Lake District" of the UK.
Are you going to send me a box of pies?
BBB :wink:
BBB.
No point....best eaten hot from the shop (watch out for the juice !)
The Lakes are pretty, but full of tourists. Try the Dales, or the Derbyshire Peak District as less crowded alternatives.
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