Who needs a birthday cake anyway?!

While there may be a stewards enquiry if a Pierateer were to review a fellow Pierateer's homemade birthday pie, it is safe to say that SJL's homemade mini "Turkey and trimmings" pies were lovely and a great addition to the birthday winter picnic experience. Happy Birthday!

(For the record, I did also have some birthday cake, but only after at least 3 pies!)

I’m dreaming of an Urban Pie this Christmas...

Well you certainly know when it’s heading towards Christmas in Birmingham when the German Market rolls into town (one of the largest in Europe, I’m told) and, more importantly, the Legends at Urban Pie roll out their Christmas Pie selection! Good times!

                               

The principle is simple. I’d like to enjoy all the Christmas trimmings of meat, potato, stuffing veg and more – but encased in pastry so that I can potentially eat my Christmas dinner on the go! Is that too much to ask for? After all, the sweet mince pie dominates the Christmas pudding market (bar Christmas puddings themselves), so why can’t a Christmas dinner pie cater for the main meal?! Great point - well made. Well done me!

So...what does the Christmas pie taste like?! Well, as you can see from the picture the stuffing lid adds a crisp layer to the top of the pie, jam-packed with meat and veg inside. While we would ideally have liked the lid of the pie to be made of pastry too, the problem with a Christmas roast dinner is that it is way too much to fit in one pie! This is the only real downside, along with the surprise inclusion of chicken – rather than the more normal Christmas favouring of Turkey – that makes up the meat content of the pie. However this aside, the pie tastes fantastic! It’s what you’d expect from the pie experts. How they pack in such meaty goodness is beyond me! The flavours work well with the pastry and the price is very reasonable. And you can now even go upmarket and have your pie on a plate – how fancy is that?!

So while others may be delving into their standard Roast Turkey Christmas dinner, why not consider a Christmas Dinner pie next year! Guaranteed to please! (And for the vegetarians out there, there is also a seasonal veggie pie alternative. And I've not even mentioned the Mince Pies! These Urban Pie-ers have got Christmas covered!)

Score: 6/7

Rudolf with your nose so bright, won’t you be in my pie tonight?!

I realise the timing of this post – on Christmas Eve of all days – is slightly on the controversial side. Here’s just hoping that there are clear skies tonight, so that Rudolph’s red nose isn’t required for directing Santa’s sleigh... and that Father Christmas forgives me enough to still provide me with at least a few presents...

For a few days ago, I found to my surprise (and couldn’t resist purchasing) a Reindeer Pie from a farmers market in Birmingham! Now, as you can see from the photo this is definitely a pie of the “pork pie” variety i.e. it has been made using cured meat rather than tender meaty chunks and gravy. While this was not ideally what the pierateer would have preferred, the lure of the Reindeer pie was too strong and he was right to give it a go, as while the meat was not as tender and moist as he would have liked, the pastry was very nice and crisp and the meat certainly had a twist to it. Definately tasted more deer like but quite rich. Not your average steak and ale!

The capacity was good, however you couldn’t help feel it was slightly padded out with fat, rather than 100% meaty goodness. This meant that while the meat wasn’t chewy, it wasn’t as flavoursome as the reviewer had hoped. However, the pie was in good condition, especially as one would presume the reindeer had flown in to the UK especially to be in this pie! While the price was a bit off putting for its size, the intrigue more than made up for that! While I would have preferred a moister pie centre and proper chunks of meat, it was certainly worth a go. Probably won’t head over to Lapland for another one anytime soon though!

Score: 4.2/7