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Lately I have played with medieval cooking and this weekend I deiced to cook this beautiful and tasty medieval pork and chicken pie for my family. A succulent medieval pie is a perfect introduction to medieval cooking to modern dinners. The filling is minced pork with fried chicken pieces and fruits dotted throughout.
The evening of pies
My sister visited my parents’ summer house this week with her new baby and I of course had to come as well. On Tuesday a lot of the family came to visit so we were eight grownups for dinner and a three weeks old baby (who is adorable). I offered to cook for everyone because hey test subjects!
I had had my eyes on trying out more meat pies or postej1 recipes. After looking in my recipes books and my time frame I set my eyes on a pork and chicken postej2, which is a 1300’s recipe. I also decided to make my game pie as it uses the same doughs for the crust – and I had made it before and it was good. This time I made it with beef and more grapes which worked really well.
Making the pie
After some poorly timed shopping my aunt and I got to work on the pies – it had gotten really late so I need a bit of help if we were to eat in a timely manner (it still got really late). I had mad the dough for the crusts earlier and she rolled out the dough and fixed the tins. I made all the fillings and assembling the pies – it is her lovely decorations. The family loved it. My father was particularly surprised that it was as good as it was. He had expected really christmasy meat but the spices are rather subtle – though re-heated the flavours stand out more. So it was a great hit.
The recipes
To make the pie you need can just use an oven proof dish and cover it with shortcrust and add the filling, but seriously where is the fun it that? So as with the game pie I made both a dough for the casing and one for the pie lid.
If you choose to reheat the pie, know that it takes quite some time and that the flavours will intensify.
Let the dough rest for at least an hour in a bag in the fridge. While that rest or you prep the chicken and perhaps have a cup of tea or great the guests. Once the filling is done you can assemble the postej itself. It takes 35-45 minutes in the oven to bake. Remember to serve it with period side dishes and bread. I served it with some cooked spinach and fresh steamed pies.
Pork and chicken pie
Ingredients
The pork filling
- 500 grams pork minced
- 100 milliliters wheat flour mixed with salt and peber
- 2 1/2 teaspoons powder douce see recipe notes
- 10 prunes diced or 1 apple, diced
- 50 grams raisin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon safran
- salt
Other ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons cooking oil
- 1 portion Short crust
- 1 portion pie crust
- 1 egg brushing the dough to make it shine
Instructions
The filling
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Add the safran to 1 tablespoon of boiling water to soak for 2-3 minutes.
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Mix egg, raisin, spices and the minced pork together in a bowl. Remember to add the safran.
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Core and dice the apple and add it to the pork mixture
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You want the consistency like meat ball mixture. You might need to add a little bit of flour
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Slice the chicken into bite size pieces. Coat them with the flour mix.
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Brown them quickly in some oil and perhaps a bit of Powder douce.
Assemble and bake the pie
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Grease cake tin with a removable bottom .
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Roll out the pie crust and cover the cake tin in it so it fits over the inside. Let the exeses dough hang over the edges for now.
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Add half the pork mixture to the tin and spread it out over the bottom.
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Add the browned chicken pieces so it covers up the pork.
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Layer the rest of the pork mixture over the top of the chicken.
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Roll out a lid of shortcrust to the tin.
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Fold over the edges of the pie crust so folds over the edges of the short crust.
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Decorate the pie if you like with bits of short crust. Brush with a mixed egg.
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Bake at 225 C for about 35 min until golden. Serve hot or warm.
Recipe Notes
Find a recipe for Powder douce at medievalcookery.com – I suggest to mix a glass full to have some future medieval recipes. Used in moderation it adds a wonderfully complex taste to dishes.
Source: “Forme of Cury” 1390. As found in middelaldermad af Bi Skaarup & Henrik Jacobsen
Renaissance Game pie
Ingredients
- 500 grams game meat in small dices or alternatively beef
- 1 tablespoon Butter for frying
- 100 grams grapes roughly chopped
- 100 grams raisins
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 onion small peeled and diced
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme fresh or dry
- 1/2 teaspoon basil fresh or dry
- nutmeg to taste
- 1 batch Short crust see the recipe notes
- 1 batch pie crust for meat pies see the recipe notes
- 1 egg for brushing the lid with
Instructions
The filling
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We start by preparing the meat by frying in a pan with spices. (using a technique that is called "indpassering" in danish)
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So, add all the spices to the meat (you can use many more if you want).
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Melt the butter in a pot, add the onion and meat and brown it.
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Mix the raisins and grapes together
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Roll out the base crust and place it in a cake tin with a loose bottom. Let it hang over the edges for now.
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Put in half the grape and raisin mix.
Assembling and baking
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Roll out the shortcrust (it don't have to be all that thin) and cut out a circle that fits the size of your tin and place it over the filling.
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Add the meat mix and cover it with the rest of the grapes/raisins
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Fold over the base crust over, so there is an overlap. You can now decorate the top of the lid with pretty shapes of shortcrust if you feel creative.
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Brush the lid and the edges with a mixed egg.
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Bake at 200 C (375 F) for about 35-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Recipe Notes
You need a batch of short crust for the lid and a batch of pie crust fro the rest of the pie crurst.
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