Pork pie recipe forges a new path to a delicious tradition
My folks always had an open house on New Year's Day.
My mom would set up an antipasto bar — lettuce, tomato, onions, black olives, little cubes of mozzarella, slices of genoa salami, anchovies and a tart Italian dressing. Then there would be pork pie, served with an array of pickles and a handful of potato chips. Ketchup was optional.
My grandmother made pork pie — tourtière — but I remember hers only vaguely as quite solid, dense with meat and mashed potato. The filling in my mother's was looser, more crumbly and more flavorful.
By my mother was never quite happy with her version. Whenever we'd ask for the recipe, she'd say there wasn't one. In her mind, I think, her pork pies were different every time as she tried to get closer and closer to some ideal she had in mind.
This quest was passed to my brothers who, in turn, tried their hands at creating that most elusive, perfect meat pie, the one from our childhood, the one to which all others would forever be compared.
I never joined the hunt. For some reason, it seemed too difficult a task, an impossible goal. I don't make my own pie crust, ever, so that was the first hurdle. And I don't recall the flavors of those childhood pies. They're muddled with all the pies I've sampled since.
In the end, I think it was my brother Brian who came the closest to perfecting the recipe. He based his on one we'd received from my cousin. It calls for a mixture of ground meats. I know my mother used only ground pork in her pies. It also calls for cracker crumbs and potatoes where hers relied solely on cubes of fresh bread. And it calls for Bell's Seasoning when I know my mom used summer savory as the major spice.
Even so, Brian's pie tastes so much like hers.
I think there's a lesson here somewhere, one that seems appropriate for the New Year. When an old path, like an old recipe, becomes faded, worn and obscured with mess, try a new one. There isn't just one road to the perfect outcome.
Enjoy and Happy New Year!
Jill Blanchette is the multiplatform production editor at The Day. Share comments and recipes with her at j.blanchette@theday.com.
Pork Pie
Makes enough for two 9-inch pies or one 9-inch deep dish pie with some leftover for a few hand pies.
Enough pie dough of your choice for two two-crust pies
1 pound grocery store meatloaf mix (beef, pork and veal) or 1 pound ground beef
1 onion, finely diced
2-3 heaping teaspoons Bell's Seasoning (buy a fresh box if yours is from last year)
2 sleeves Saltine crackers, crushed into a powdery crumb
1 large or 2 small potatoes, finely diced
About 1 cup chicken broth (or water)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
If not using store-bought, prepare your pie crust and set aside.
Crumble all the ground meat into a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion, the diced potato and about half the chicken broth and mix. Add more chicken broth until you can see the liquid begin to emerged from beneath the meat. Stir occasionally as you gently heat the mixture. It should barely simmer, and you should stir it frequently enough so the meat does not clump together.
Cook for about 30 minutes until all the pink disappears and the meat is thoroughly cooked.
Add about half the cracker crumbs, 2 heaping teaspoons of Bell's Seasoning and combine thoroughly. Add more cracker crumbs until all the liquid is absorbed. Taste and add more Bell's Seasoning, salt and pepper as desired.
Let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, roll out your pie dough and line the bottom of two 9-inch pie plates (or one 9-inch deep dish pie pan).
When the filling is cool, divide the filling between the two pies (or fill the one deep-dish) and spread evenly. Top each pie with the top crust, crimping the edges and cutting generous slits in the top to let out the steam as the pie heats.
Cut some strips of aluminum foil and gently cover the edges of the crust. Set the pies on baking sheets and put the sheets into the oven. If baking room temperature pies, it should take them about 30 minutes at 425 degrees to become golden brown and hot all the way through. Bake longer if cooking a refrigerated or frozen pie.
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