First Pie Review - Tesco's Finest. Melton Mowbray

When buying a supermarket Pork Pie, you can never be quite sure what you’re putting in your basket. Even once unwrapped and segmented, can’t even be certain of what you’re putting in your mouth. But there are signs, certain small traits, of the supermarket Pork Pie, which will help. I like to pick the pie up and see if the wrapper is clinging firmly to the Pie’s base – a good thing in my book. A little tap with a finger tip or knock with a knuckle should also reveal whether the pie has a moist hard base (saturated by the delicious pork fat and juices), or if it has a soft, dry or crumbly base. With the packaging still on, there is little else you can do in the aisle.
The Tesco’s Finest Pork Pie – A Melton Mowbray, no less, does not come enclosed in the usual thin wax paper. No, the Tesco’s Finest has its own cardboard home, complete with skylight. So although you may get a fair view of the pie from above, my usual tests of man-handling were rendered redundant.
Still, once undressed and on the plate, it was quite a princely looking pie. A little on the large side of the supermarket pie scale, I sliced myself an intrepid fifth, and sat down to eat.
It did not disappoint. The meat perhaps lacked a little character. Moist and smooth in texture, grey in colour, flavoursome pork certainly but it was asking for a touch more tang. Here, was the base level kind of pie meat that you would expect, not just hope for, from a gourmet Butchers or Deli. This was fine, more than satisfactory; a great standard of meat for a supermarket pork pie, in fact.
A soft thin jelly was present in the cavity of the lower half of the pie. It did not add much in the way of taste, but the fact that a supermarket pie had any discernable amount of jelly was one to be truly savoured.
The casing, a firm dark brown piece of pastry, capped this jack-of-all-trades pie. Soft on top and fairly crisp at the bottom, the flavour and bite were pleasant enough.
As far as supermarkets go, this was a highly acceptable pie. Nothing exciting but in the Guide’s experience, about as good a pie as you can put in your trolley with the weekly shopping.
It comes in a box though, so Tesco’s high-end range must care little for the environment. Watch this space for response from Tesco about packaging.

Welcome to The Pork Pie Guide

With this post, the ceremonial ribbon is cut in two and the pie debate can begin. The aim of the Pork Pie Guide is to identify and review traditional Pork Pies from up and down England. Whether the pies come from delicatessens, artisan butchers or department store food halls, the guide's aim is to offer a fair critique and provide details on how fellow pork pie lovers can get their mits on England's finest pies.

Naturally, we all have our own ideas as to what makes the perfect pork pie. Some people like to see a pink meat inside, others would turn their nose up at anything other than grey. Crumbly pastry is a necessity for some pie lovers, for others nothing but a crisp bite from the crust will do.

Here is a cross section of what the Guide considers to be the Holy Trinity of the Pork Pie.

Firstly we have the crust. The perfect casing should have more of a bite on the the base of the pie than on top due to it absorbing all the delicious juices and fats from the pie meat. The crust varies so greatly from pie to pie, but we, personally, like to see a knife go through the pie without it falling apart.

Then comes the Jelly. Often neglected in many production line pies, the jelly should have a character of its own. Clear with a faint colouring, we want to taste a jelly full of sweet pork flavours. We like to see plenty of it, firm and juicy. You should be able to peel it off the meat without it melting in your hands.

Finally, the meat. Tastes differ widely throughout the country and whether you prefer cured or uncured meat, one thing most people can agree on is this: the meat must be soft and well seasoned. To be fishing splinters of bone or lumps of gristle out of your mouth from even the most rustic of pies, is unforgivable.

Obviously, a great many things can influence a pie's quality and fingers crossed the guide will be able to point them out when encounter them. Until then, enjoy the blog and let us know if you discover any perfect pie.