Porkie Pasties

This is a version of my pasty recipe that I made using pork shoulder.

I braised the pork shoulder for three hours in a little water adding onions, garlic and carrot. Then it was allowed to get cold before putting it into the pastry and forming the pasties.

To prepare the meat, wash the joint in cold water then add salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce and a touch of sweet sherry.

Chop a large onion, three cloves of garlic, a large potato and one carrot and add them to the meat in an oven proof casserole dish. Pour in about an inch of cold water. Set the oven at maximum and when it’s hot put the covered casserole dish on the middle shelf. After 20 minutes reduce the oven to gas mark 2, or 90C. Cook for 3 hours then remove the dish and allow to get cold. When the dish is cold you can scrape off any unwanted fat from the top layer and shred the pork, onion, potato, carrot and garlic to make the filling for the pasties.

To make the pastry I used hot water and lard and mixed it with flour and salt. Heat 100 mls of water with 75 grams of lard until the lard melts. Pour it into 200 grams of flour and a teaspoon of salt. Beat with a fork and allow the dough to get cold in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Then roll it out flat and cut around a small plate or a bowl for a nice, round shape. Place your mixture of pork and veg in the centre . Wet the edges of the pastry with milk and fold the circle in half. Crimp the edges down tight to avoid leaks and pierce the top with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.

Bake in the centre of the oven set at gas mark 6, 200C for 20 to 30 minutes until golden.