Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe Pie Reviews - The Shambles, York

On a recent visit to the Viking city of York I was pleased to find a proper, traditional pie shop in the heart of the city. The narrow street called The Shambles is rich in history. Some of the timber framed buildings date back to the 14th century. It is also rich in pie history with the street having previously been packed with butcher's shops. There is a high kerb running down the street. I heard was so the blood and gore could flow away down the centre of the street.... a bit different to your modern supermarket meat aisle! The street is now primarily focused on tourists with gift shops and quaint cafes. Fortunately one shop is tapping into the street's heritage, they don't even have a sign, just a picture of a pie hanging from the side of the shop. Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe has a lovely display of pies sitting proudly in the window. They also had some interesting flavours so I couldn't restrict myself to only trying one. Many of them were in the style of a pork pie and could be eaten cold but they also had pies that they could heat up for you to eat straight away. I grabbed a Scotch Pie to have hot for £1.50 then to have later I got a Pork & Black Pudding and a Wild Boar pie at £1.70 and £2.00 respectively.

Some of the pies they had made themselves and some of them were brought in. This really showed as I have never had such a mixed experience from one shop.


Pork & Black Pudding

The pork and black pudding pies and the wild boar were both clearly premium, hand-made products in excellent Condition. As you can see from the picture, the rustic appearance fit in perfectly in the Viking banquet reconstructed in the Yorkshire Museum (which was well worth a visit by the way). They had ample golden glaze giving a delicious Colour. Something I always look for in a good pork pie is a bit of a crunch to the pastry unlike the soggy fare from mass produced pies. This pie did not disappoint being incredibly crunchy. This must have been made for strong Viking jaws. At one point I wondered if I had accidentally picked up one of the fake loaves of bread from the banqueting table.

The Content certainly a bit different to your average pork pie. Instead of jelly the pie relied on the black pudding to give keep it moist. It had quiet a pungent aroma which reminded me of charcuterie and was slightly over powering. I did enjoy the black pudding which added a bit of variety which is normally lacking for a pork pie. It was let down by some of the pig meat being a bit Chewy. It had a decent sized capacity and for a premium product at a premium location, £1.70 seemed relatively Cheap.

Pork & Black Pudding (Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe [YO1 7LX])
4.87/7


Wild Boar

The Wild Boar pie looked like it had the same pastry that the Pork & Black Pudding but if anything it was even more crunchy! The pastry actually squeaked against my teeth in a very peculiar way and bordered on being a bit dry. It was a bit softer on the inside and somehow it just about worked. This pie was helped by having an excellent Content. The wild boar was cured in big, salty pink chunks that tasted a bit like gammon. The pieces of meat were firm which gave plenty to get your teeth into. There was a lot of jelly in all the gaps which kept it moist and held the fragmented filling together like a delicious glue. As you can see from the photo, it was very greasy, turning the bag translucent, like all good pork pies should! It was a bit different to your average pork pie but overall the unique Consistency worked. Another Pierate Recommended Wild Boar pie to add to a surprisingly long list. 

Wild Boar (Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe [YO1 7LX])
5.23/7




Scotch Pie

Last and definitely least was the Scotch pie. It was by far the worst Scotch pie I have ever had. You may be aware that I am quite a fan of Scotch pies, having reviewed a fair few in my search for what makes the best Scotch pie. It is relatively rare to find one in England so I thought I had to go for it but soon regretted it. There was nothing too it really. I bit into it and the lid sunk down to the base because there was barely any filling. The pastry was too dry and not enjoyable to eat. Whilst the filling was very moist, there just wasn't enough of it to soften the pastry. The filling wasn't unpleasant to eat but seemed quite watery and runny. I think it was probably beef but it was hard to say for sure. I couldn't really find anything good to say about this pie so it unfortunately goes to the bottom of our Scotch pie rankings. The only saving grace for Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe is that they didn't actually make this one, having bought it in from catering giants Bako.

Beef Scotch Pie (Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe [YO1 7LX])
2.87/7

The Scotch pie was one blip on an otherwise very enjoyable trip to York. It is a fine city with lots of interesting history, particularly Roman and Viking. Sadly the Jorvick viking museum was closed due to the terrible flooding they experienced in 2015. Due to reopen in 2017, they are trying to meet some of the cost via crowd funding, I might have to pay another visit when they reopen but will know to avoid the Scotch pie next time.



SJL

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Crusty Pie Company - Wild Boar & Mushroom Pie Review

I can't believe how long it has taken me to write a review of the Crusty Pie Company. I would say they were one of the first gourmet pie companies I ever came across due to regularly attending Henley Show where they normally seem to have a stall. They stood out to me due to marketing their pies with modern, upmarket branding rather than promoting the pie simply as a traditional product. Nowadays there are plenty of gourmet pies to choose from so how would Crusty Pies fare against the new competition?

Some of my family attended the most recent show and I was lucky enough to be brought back a Wild Boar & Mushroom pie. I was looking forward to it having had a few wild boar pies over the years including some very good ones. (With a great version by Plenty reviewed just last week!) This pie was £3.50 so about average for a good sized, individual pie.... as long as it is a top quality one!

This pie stood out in that it was more like a traditional pork pie but I think it was designed to have hot (or at least that's what I did). It had a classic pork pie appearance, nothing special but it looked pleasingly robust and also promised to hold quite a lot of filling.


I couldn't wait to get started, digging my knife in I found it was hot-water crust pastry so it was crusty by name and crusty by nature. It had the thick crunchy pasty that you would expect a pork pie to have. Having been heated the pastry was nice and soft in the middle which provided a great contrast in texture to the crunchy outside. So far so good, but would they be able to fill the pie with delicious content or would they need to cut corners given that wild boar is a more expensive meat choice? I need not have doubted, the content was delicious despite the choice of ground meat. It was very well seasoned and was moist even though there wasn't any gravy (similar to a good Scotch Pie). What really stood out with this pie was that it was extremely satisfying, it normally takes a lot of pie to satisfy me but this one managed it on it's own. I didn't find many downsides with this pie but one criticism I would give was that some of the meat was chewy despite it being in very small pieces. This did make me think that it might not have been the finest cuts of meat used, but hey, if it tastes good and is well filled I can't complain too much!


Overall I can see why the Crusty Pie Company have been going for a while now. They really earn their crust with services to pie! Now their work is finally being recognised with the 'Pierate Recommended' award that they deserve.

Wild Boar (Crusty Pie Company)
Score: 5.92/7
[Condition 5.75, Colour 6.00, Cheapness 5.50, Capacity 6.50, Chewiness 5.40, Content 6.60, Consistency 5.70]

SJL

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Plenty Pies - Pie Reviews

Since moving to Gloucestershire a couple of years ago I have been trying to build up my knowledge of where the best local pies can be found. It has been a bit remiss of me to only just review Plenty Pies now. The company, based near Nailsworth, have done well at the British Pie Awards the last couple of years including winning the award for best chicken pie in 2014. Now, having tried a few of their pies I am going to summarise my thoughts with help from our vegetarian Pierateer ARL who will give the veggie version a fair review.

Plenty was started by Marc and Kate Birch in 2010 and they have adopted a policy of baking six different flavours each week from a repertoire which is said to have include 150 different recipes. It allows them to tailor their fillings based on the seasons with creamier, lighter fillings for the summer and stock based recipes for the winter. This method of varying the pie fillings has been adopted by a few top pie producers recently (MyPie and Great North Pie Company spring to mind) and works well. It keeps the pies interesting for their regular customers as well as allowing them to use the tasty, seasonal produce available. They are also committed to making things themselves by hand. All this adds up to a unique pie experience.

Their pies are popular locally and are widely available in markets and farm shops. I have picked up their pies in various places in Gloucestershire including Gloucester Christmas Market, Over Farm Market and Burford Garden Centre.

All of these pies came in the same kind of pastry case. They were all very well presented with sprinklings of herbs or seeds which signified the flavours. The appearance was subtle but effective. I thought that the size of each pie was good for an individual pie but it is about the size you would expect in this price range (approx £3.99). Whilst in general I enjoyed the flavour of the pastry, it was a bit more crumbly that I would ideally like, some of them did start to break after a trip home in a bag but perhaps I should have been more careful! The Squab pie in particular suffered from the journey home on my bike (sorry about that Plenty). The crumbly texture of the pastry certainly helped prevent it from being stodgy.

Gloucestershire Squab Pie

First up I am going to review the interesting Gloucestershire Squab pie I picked up at Over Farm Market (who incidentally have a great range of Plenty pies as well as their own). It is nice to see this traditional local flavour being used. Although a squab is a baby pigeon, in the South West this pie usually contains mutton and apple. It is thought that this unusual combination may recreate the flavour of the baby pigeon which is said to be slightly fruity. I was very pleased that Plenty were willing to try something a bit different with this pie as I really enjoyed it. It was delightfully different with a wonderful spicy/fruity taste complementing the rich meaty flavours very well. I was surprised that I enjoyed this pie so much as I am normally not so keen on mixing my sweet and savoury flavours, but the balance in this pie worked so well. Given that I eat a lot of regular pie flavours, such as steak and ale, it was really nice to have something different. The pie was well filled with plenty of meat. Overall it does enough to gain a Pierate 'Highly Recommended' award by scoring over 6 out of 7. It was £3.99 which is around the upper end I think I would want to pay for a gourmet pie but it justified the price.

Gloucestershire Squab (Plenty)
Score: 6.04/7
[Condition 6.25, Colour 6.50, Cheapness 5.50, Capacity 6.00, Chewiness 5.75, Content 6.25, Consistency 6.00]

SJL

Next up, I got 3 pies for £10 from Gloucester Christmas Market. It was a great market, with plenty of pies on offer (including Brockleby's who we have previously reviewed) but the display of pies on the Plenty stall stood out to me. I got a Wild Boar pie, a Venison pie and a vegetarian 'Veggiestan' pie. The Wild Boar was my favourite. It had a meaty flavour but also the addition of vegetables made it a little different to most wild boar pies. Something was adding nicely to the flavour of the boar and I wasn't sure what it was, I thought the pepper helped and also I wondered if there was a bit of a tomato. There seemed to be a fair bit of tasty onion. Whatever they had added, the flavour was distinctive and worked really well for me. The wild boar was minced but there was still enough to get your teeth into. The potato was quite firm rather than mushy (as it often is in a pie). One downside was that the pastry was a bit overly thick at the base of this pie but it didn't stop it scoring highly and just about edging it over the Squab pie as my favourite of all the Plenty pies that I have tried.

Wild Boar (Plenty)
Score: 6.15/7
[Condition 6.25, Colour 6.50, Cheapness 5.50, Capacity 6.00, Chewiness 5.80, Content 6.60, Consistency 6.40]

SJL

Despite looking superficially similar when I cut these pies open, for me the venison didn't work anywhere near as well as the wild boar. It went down more of the standard route you would expect for a pie containing game meat. It had a really rich, meaty sauce. I am not sure what it was but the flavours were a little too strong for me. There was quite a powerful onion-type taste which I thought was shallot. It also seemed to have a slightly fruity flavour competing with everything else. I also got a very slight sour note to the filling, somewhat like vinegar or alcohol. Overall none of these were bad flavours and I did enjoy the pie, but it didn't quite do it for me for some reason. It contained big chunks of tasty meat which gave it some bite. In that respect it was probably better than the wild boar. It was a shame for this pie that I was eating it at the same time as the wild boar which slightly overshadowed it. On it's own it is still a great pie.

Venison (Plenty)
Score: 5.52/7
[Condition 6.25, Colour 6.50, Cheapness 5.50, Capacity 6.00, Chewiness 5.80, Content 4.20, Consistency 4.40]

SJL

Venison (left) and Boar (right) pies

Just to demonstrate the full breadth of their repertoire, plenty have also got a Salmon pie which I picked up from Burford Garden Centre (another place that tends to have an excellent range of pies, sometimes stocking our number 1 ranked pie by Paul's pies). The colour on this pie looks a bit paler but I think this was primarily down to the lighting, it still had an attractive appearance and I managed to squash this one less than the others! Again this was a well filled pie with no air gap. As is usual for a fish pie there was plenty of filler in there as well as the fish. As you might expect, there was some potato but I was pleased to see the interesting addition of beans. It was nice to find that the filling was moist and slipped down very well. If anything, it slipped down a little too well. As is common with fish pies they don't have as much bite. The flavours were quite delicate, especially compared to the other Plenty pies. On balance I think it could have used a bit more salmon to give it enough of a fishy taste. Overall though this was a tasty pie and it can be tricky to get a 'proper' fish pie to work (by proper I mean encased in pastry rather than topped with mash). I commend Plenty for trying and this is a nice, lighter pie to have in the summer. Another high score.

Salmon (Plenty)
Score: 5.44/7
[Condition 6.25, Colour 6.25, Cheapness 5.50, Capacity 6.00, Chewiness 4.80, Content 4.80, Consistency 4.50]

SJL

Salmon pie

Last but not least we have the 'Veggiestan' pie review by vegetarian Pierateer ARL;

I overcooked this pie a little which created a dry pastry, but it still had a good colour. It was completely packed full of filling (chickpea and vegetable), with a slightly spicy flavour- almost a sweet and sour tang. It was a very nice blend. The content was unusual- it was sort of like a fajita in pie form or some other Mexican inspired dish, which I really liked. Many vegetarian pies can be a bit bland so this was a great plus point for it. As for its condition, early in the oven the pastry slit open, however no content spilled out, luckily. This could have been because I was cooking it in an aga so the temperature was too hot, or because it came all the way from Gloucester Christmas Market (I live in Buckinghamshire!), but regardless, it loses points for this. Although the gravy/sauce was nice, it was quite thick so didn’t soften up the pastry. Despite it’s prolonged time in the oven the carrot was still crunchy. This was fab as I HATE soggy carrot, and I don’t know anyone who does. It is one of the things that makes the traditional cottage/shepherds ‘pie’ a disappointment. The chickpeas were also on the crunchier side, which while ok, were a little bit too hard for my taste. Overall, the pie contained a good selection of vegetables including peas, onion, green pepper, carrot and tomato.


Veggiestan (Plenty)
Score: 4.86/7
[Condition 4.00, Colour 6.00, Cheapness 4.00, Capacity 5.00, Chewiness 3.00, Content 6.00, Consistency 6.00]

ARL

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Wild Boar Pork Pie

Wild boar? In a pork pie? I know what you’re thinking. That’s got to be the most exceptional pork pie ever, right?! It’s certainly the most intriguing pork pie I’ve ever eaten, that’s for sure.

This pie is the masterful creation of those wonderful people over at Nice Pie, who just don't seem content with making regular pies. Just take a look at their exotic pie range. Their kitchens must be like one crazy safari ride - "There's some buffalo. And that? That's crocodile. And here's some elk."

Wild Boar Pork Pie cross-sectional view

Overall score: 6.2/7

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Phil Vickery & Mad About Pies - Wild Boar & Cider Pie Review

Phil Vickery was a character that confused me for a long time. It gives away my interests but to me Phil Vickery is a Rugby player. A few years ago I discovered that there was another Phil Vickery that was a chef. However, then I realised that these were both the same person, Phil Vickery the Rugby player having won Celebrity Masterchef in 2011. I was then pleased to find out that Phil Vickery loves pies which led to him being a judge at the British Pie Awards. After the British Pie Awards I saw the photos, quickly realising it clearly was not the Rugby player Phil Vickery, there must be two after all! As if this wasn't already confusing enough, it turns out that Phil Vickery the Rugby player turned chef also has a love of pies, in fact you could say he was Mad About Pies. The Rugby legend has teamed up with Gloucestershire's own Mad About Pies. They have produced a range of gourmet pies which claim to have been recipients of the aforementioned mentioned British Pie Awards. The confusion was enough to drive me mad...

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Farmers' Markets are a delight for the pie lover. A great selection of unique, home cooked pies that offer something different from the standard mass produced fare. I work near to the Bloomsbury farmers' market in London so when we feel like a treat on a Thursday we head over there. There is one pie stall there called 'The Parsons Nose' which is entirely an enigma to me. They sell absolutely huge pies, sometimes with premium fillings like wild boar, plus mash, gravy and salad for £5, easily scoring a 7 out of 7 for Cheapness.

Beware, they often sell out of many of the pie flavours so get there early.

Anyone who knows London knows that is just too cheap! Normally farmers' markets have a premium cost if anything. I have tried a couple of these pies to investigate the situation. The first I tried was the wild boar. It was a ridiculous pie, it was almost solidly filled with some kind of swine meat (can it really be wild boar at that price?!) with no gravy. The meat is minced and stuck together and it looks somewhat like a pork pie but with lighter pastry. To start with I thought this is fantastic, what a great value pie. The lack of gravy however soon began to take it's toll, it was just too dry and became hard work. I also started to wonder how well the filling had been cooked. It certainly was still very pink. Combine this with the huge huge size and consequently I didn't actually finish this pie. I think is the only time this has happened in all my time spent on the pierate ship. Disappointing, however this pie still came in high on the calories to pound ratio.

The wild boar pie, perhaps it is possible to be packed too full of Content!

Next time I changed to a chicken and ham pie which was again far too big for one person to comfortably eat. However this time the pie had much more gravy and was much easier to eat. However the chicken was clearly low quality and there was a lot of gristle. It was also far too salty and led to a maddening thirst. I did finish it but many of my colleagues didn't manage to. The general consensus was that despite being great value and good to start with by the end none of us enjoyed these pies as much as we thought we would. I also felt so sleepy after these pies it killed my productivity for the afternoon at work! However at that price I would get the chicken again and I think this is reflected in the scores.

Served upside down, the chicken and ham pie explodes with ample filling.

 
Wild Boar (The Parsons Nose) 
3.70/7 

Chicken and Ham (The Parsons Nose) 
5.00/7 

SJL

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