Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Reci-pie Review: The Great British Steak Pie Bake Off

#TeamMary Pie

I am currently very VERY excited, and you should be too.


Why? Because the new series of Great British Bake Off is nearly here! To keep myself occupied while I wait impatiently, I’ve been conducting a reci-pie review in honour of the two great baking deities that are Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.


Yes, you read that correctly, I tested out two pies at once this time. It was the battle of the baking legends… Mary Berry vs Paul Hollywood in the GREAT BRITISH STEAK PIE BAKE OFF!



Re-live the pielights of British Bake Off 2013's finale with their Picnic Pie Challenge! See all the pies and our Pierate analysis in our article "Great British Bake Off - The Final: Pie Review Tweets"

Winner Frances Quinn's Picnic Pie - Screenshot from BBC



#TeamPaul Pie

The recipes:
It was difficult to choose which pies I wanted to bake because between them Mary and Paul have a pretty extensive baking repertoire. For a fair comparison I chose two steak pies – Mary Berry’s steak and mushroom and Paul Hollywood’s meat and potato.




Mary Berry’s steak and mushroom pie – from Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook, p. 224

The filling:
I large onion, chopped
750g stewing steak, cut into 1 inch pieces
30g plain flour
½ pint beef stock
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
500g mushrooms

The pastry:
Shortcrust pastry, brushed with beaten egg

The method:
Fry the onions and brown the steak, then add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Then add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and simmer for 2 hours. Add the mushrooms and simmer for a further 30 minutes before leaving the filling to cool. Meanwhile, make the shortcrust pastry. Use a thin strip around the edge of the pie dish, then top the pie with the rest –(use a pie bird in the middle). Cut off the excess pastry and crimp the edges, make sure there’s a hole in the top for the steam to come out and then brush the pastry with beaten egg. Cook at 200 degrees C for 30 minutes. 

Paul Hollywood’s meat and potato pie – from Paul Hollywood’s Pies and Puds, p.92

The filling:
2 large onions, chopped
700g chuck steak (braising steak), cut into 1 inch pieces
400g waxy potatoes, cut into small chunks
400g floury potatoes, cut into small chunks
Salt and pepper



The pastry:
Suet pastry 

The method:
Put the onions, steak, salt and pepper in a pan, with just enough water to cover them. Simmer for 1 ½ hours, then add the potatoes and simmer for another ½ hour or until the potatoes are cooked. Pour off some of the liquid to use as gravy (leave enough so that the mixture still has some sauce) then leave the filling to cool while you make the pastry. Use a thin strip around the edge of the pie dish, then top the pie with the rest, cutting off the excess pastry and crimping the edges. Make a hole in the top for the steam to come out then cook at 200 degrees C for 30-40 minutes then rest for 10 minutes before serving.

The Seven Cs:

Colour:
Both pies scored very highly in this category, with Mary’s pie turning golden brown and Paul’s a slightly darker brown. Both kinds of pastry looked crispy and appetising.

Consistency:
Mary’s pie scored slightly higher here, as the gravy in this pie was a little bit thicker than Paul’s, and the Worcestershire sauce made it taste just that little bit nicer. However Paul’s does give you extra gravy to pour all over your pie/mash/chips/peas/beans/whatever, which is a bonus, so again it was pretty close.

Capacity:
I hate to say it, but neither Paul nor Mary scored very highly here because both recipes call for a top crust only. Technically there was plenty of filling in the pie dish, but I’m writing for pie purists here so I’m going to have to deduct some points for the lack of pastry bottom and sides. 

Chewiness:
Luckily, Paul and Mary have redeemed themselves here with top marks. The beef in both pies is deliciously soft and melts in your mouth, the mushrooms in Mary’s pie and the potatoes in Paul’s pie add an interesting texture and the onions in both are soft and melty and delicious. I kept eating both fillings while I was waiting for them to cool because they were so tasty.

Cheapness:
There really isn’t much in this. Both pies are very reasonable, with only a few ingredients that aren’t store-cupboard staples (in fact as I usually have mushrooms, onions and potatoes for other recipes the only things I needed to buy were beef and suet). You also get massive pies so you can either feed all your friends and family or hang onto the leftovers for future meals, so you’re going to get good value either way.

Content:
I’ll be honest, neither of these scores points for originality, but the classics are classics for a reason. Both pies are delicious. In our house Mary Berry won (but only just) because we liked the gravy in her pie better, but no self-respecting pie fan is going to turn their nose up at either of these.

Condition:
Both pies came out of the oven looking beautiful, and they held together really well when we served them. Top marks for both.

And the winner is…
I’m just not sure I can choose – it’s going to have to be one of those rare Bake Off weeks where no contestants are sent home. When I tasted the fillings I was pretty sure Mary had won this one – I cannot oversell that delicious gravy. Unfortunately the competition was made more complicated when I tried the pastry…don’t get me wrong, I love shortcrust pastry on a pie, but Paul’s suet pastry was just so golden and crispy, with such a lovely flavour from the beef suet, that I kept going back to both pies for more!

I’d definitely encourage you to try these pies and see which you think is best, though I bet you won’t be able to choose either! To be honest, I think the ultimate pie would use Mary’s filling with Paul’s pastry – which just goes to prove that they make as good a partnership when it comes to pie as they do when it comes to Bake Off judging!

The Ship's Cook




Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

Or why not check out the growing list of all the Ship's Cook Pie Recipe Reviews?

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continue reading "Reci-pie Review: The Great British Steak Pie Bake Off"

Monday, 4 August 2014

The world’s first piecnic – we just added pie!

Just over a week ago, the pie review experts at Pierate started their latest campaign, inviting you to add pie to your picnic and:

#MakeAPicnicAPiecnic


Yes, it’s as simple as it sounds! As the strapline goes – “Just add pie!”

And if you're still not convinced, see our video at the bottom of the article!


So on Sunday 3rd August, around 40 members of City Church joined Pierateer RAS as he organised the world’s first ever Piecnic. The visitors to the park were all strongly encouraged to bring a pie or – even better – to bake a homemade pie and bring it to share! So with the rugs set out, the sun shining and pies a plenty on offer – and believe me, there were plenty of pies on offer – the scene was set for a piefect afternoon!

Make a Picnic a Piecnic Review
Pies at the World's first ever Piecnic!

Amongst the pie offerings was a Bray’s Cottage Pork Pie, very kindly brought all the way from Norfolk by Rach, which we have pie rated recently and tasted great! This was in fine company with a number of Pat Gorman pork pies from Aldi, a pie from Morrisons, pork pies from Sainsbury’s and one from Higgidy’s!
Higgidy Pie Review
Higgidy's Chicken and Smoky Spanish Chorizo Pie

But one of the pielights was the Real Pie Company’s Steak and Mushroom pie, which I decided to try cold. With a whole selection sent for us to rate and the label mentioning they could be eaten hot or cold, I decided one of them should be tried at the world’s first ever piecnic. And what a great decision! Packed to capacity, just as it mentioned it would be on the wrapper, it was a delightful pie and I look forward to eating the others this week.

Finally, a huge thank you should be made to Gill and Helen, who both brought along homemade pies to share! In particular Gill made this delightful looking pie, made following the Hairy Biker’s reciPIE for ham, potato and apple pie!

Hairy Biker's Ham Pie
The Hairy Biker's Ham, Potato and Apple Pie

Thanks to everyone who came along, including our first ever Honourary Pierateer Toby, and – while I may be a little pie-ased – it seemed a roaring success well worth repeating! And with a fair bit of filming done while we were at the park, here is our very own #MakeAPicnicAPiecnic promotional video!




RAS

Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

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Friday, 1 August 2014

In the Red Corner We Have Piebury

Piebury Corner - Steak and Ale and Chicken Balti Pie Reviews


There is a corner of Highbury and Islington devoted to pies, one that you may have heard of before because they are loved by our very own Pierateer RAS, who has reviewed a number of their pies, putting a couple of them right near the top of our pie rankings. I was delighted to finally get my hands on some of these pies which come so highly regarded, so of course I had to get a few!

I got a Lamb and Veg ("Ian Wright") because this had been reviewed highly by Mr RAS. I also got a couple of pies not yet in our pie rankings, a Steak and Ale ("Tony Adams") and a Chicken Balti ("Lee Dixon"). After refusing gravy on my pie (as I wanted to experience it in the purest form) they kindly gave me a separate pot of gravy. Sadly this backfired as I suffered a gravy explosion all over my take away pies and the bag, a bit of a nightmare, but my fault for taking the pies away on my bike. That aside, Piebury Corner seemed like a lovely little place and I was very impressed by the large array of pies on offer.

Piebury Corner Chicken Balti Pie

These pies were all the same shape and had the same pastry so I have some general comments which apply to them all. I can see why RAS likes them so much, the pastry in particular was the kind of pastry that exemplifies what I look for in pie pastry. It was crisp on the outside but soft and gooey in the middle. It also held together really well because it was fairly thick which meant it could be eaten with your hands if desired. The pastry also tasted very nice on its own. They were all well presented with some decorative pastry features and a nice colour. The pies were completely packed with filling but with only a small amount of boil out. I think this was achieved because there wasn’t much sauce in general. However, for me there was a downside, these pies were just too shallow for my liking. They didn’t look like what I imagine the perfect pie to look like. They were quite shallow and this combined with the thick pastry meant I thought they were a bit ‘pastry heavy’ and missed the ideal pastry to filling ratio. They were also a little bit small and I could have quite easily eaten more than one in one meal (but I do really love pies). But don’t let this put you off trying these pies, they are great, I would much rather have a pie which has a smaller capacity which is packed with content than one with an airgap. It is also nice to have a smaller pie of better quality, more isn’t always more fulfilling as I have found before… They were £3.50 cold or £4.80 hot, although the prices do vary with some of the other pies. The addition of roasties for a couple of quid more was welcome.



Lamb and Veg - The "Ian Wright"


There was a great lamb flavour from this pie and plenty of pieces of meat. The veg seemed to mainly just be carrot but it was very nice and it wasn’t overcooked, which is difficult in a pie. Overall this really was delicious. See the full review by RAS.

Piebury Corner Lamb Pie

Steak and Ale - The "Tony Adams"


Condition – 5.8 out of 7 – Nicely presented although some boil out.

Colour – 6.5 out of 7 – A pretty darn good golden brown.

Cheapness – 4.5 out of 7 – The price was comparable to other gourmet pie companies in London such as Battersea Pie Station and Square Pie. I couldn’t help feeling though that these pies were a little small.

Capacity – 4.5 out of 7 – Quite a small capacity but it was well filled.

Chewiness – 6.9 out of 7 – A fabulous texture throughout the pie.

Content – 6.7 out of 7 – It didn’t do anything special with the flavours but it did capture the Steak and Ale taste perfectly. There were nice meaty chunks to sink my teeth into. Some great seasoning.

Consistency – 6.5 out of 7 – This pie was very, very easy to eat (although it was all gone too soon, I forgot to take a photo until I had nearly eaten it all). A little more gravy would have been nice but it was still lovely and moist.

Piebury Corner Steak and Ale "Tony Adams" Pie
Score: 5.91/7

Piebury Corner Steak Ale Pie

Chicken Balti - The "Lee Dixon"


Condition – 6.0 out of 7 – Nicely presented.

Colour – 6.5 out of 7 – A pretty darn good golden brown.

Cheapness – 4.5 out of 7 – Same as Steak & Guinness

Capacity – 4.5 out of 7 – Quite a small capacity but it was well filled.

Chewiness – 5.8 out of 7 – A fabulous texture throughout the pie. The chicken was chunky and fibrous.

Content – 3.5 out of 7 – On my first bite I thought this was going to be really nice, the flavours were proper curry spices, not generic curry sauce as many curry pies have. However, after eating a bit more I found the whole thing very bland, there wasn’t enough spice for me, it wasn’t hot at all. I am not sure whether my pie was just lacking any sauce as it was almost entirely taken up by pieces of chicken. This may have been where the problem was.

Consistency – 3.5 out of 7 – This pie was again very easy to eat but didn’t really quite work holistically, there needed to be a bit of sauce to give it the consistency I would expect from a Balti pie which normally have plenty of sauce, like a Balti curry does.

Piebury Corner Chicken Balti "Lee Dixon" Pie
Score: 4.90/7

Piebury Corner Chicken Balti Pie

SJL 


Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

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Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Goat Pie – Two Tickets to The Gun Show!

The Gun (Docklands) Goat and Paprika Pie Review


Having been invited down to The Gun pub in the Docklands, on the River Thames overlooking the O2 Arena (ex-Millennium Dome), we couldn’t have arrived on a nicer day! The sun was blazing and I had the pleasure of once again meeting up with friends and Pierateers in Training Ashleigh and Olivia. It was pie time!
The Gun Docklands Pie Review
The Gun, Docklands

But yes, okay, so the eagle eyed of you will have spotted that’s three people and the title says “Two tickets to the gun show”… well, let’s just say I was hardly going to call it “Three tickets to the gun show”, was I! I may not have a degree in marketing but we know how to have plenty of pun and games on the web’s leading pie review blog! And with an arsenal of gun puns ready to fire, let’s get on with the pie review!

So… time to judge this pie then! In the dock(lands) is…

“Pie of Devonshire Kid, sautéed onions and carrots, smoked paprika topped with homemade puff pastry (served with garlic mashed potato, parsley and oregano liquor with kid gravy”

What a mouthful – and I’m not just talking about the name! This pie had a delicious flavour to it, something I was intrigued by as I had never had goat pie – or goat full stop! Naturally this makes it the best rated goat pie we’ve eaten! But how would it rate on the 7 Cs?

The Gun Docklands Goat Pie Review
The Gun Docklands Goat Pie Review

Colour: 6.5 out of 7 – Nice golden coloured lid, with quite a unique orange coloured filling

Consistency: 5.5 out of 7 – While the filling of the pie was quite runny, it was a very flavoursome filling, with the meat and veg well distributed throughout the pie

Capacity: 5 out of 7 – It has to be noted that this was a top crust and thus do not meet our high standards of piefection, which require a fully encased in pastry pie. However it was noted that the capacity of the dish was well filled, with lots of meat.

Condition: 6.75 out of 7 – This was a delightfully presented meal; lovely and golden pastry with dishes of pie and potato, plus liquor and gravy on the side. It certainly felt like dining in luxury.

Chewiness: 6 out of 7 – Apart from being a top crust, the other slight negative of this pie was that the meat was rather fatty. While the actual meat itself was nice and tender, and very flavoursome, there was a fair bit of fat on it. While this may well be a common feature of goat in general, I’d have hoped for more lean meat in a pie costing £14.50.

Cheapness: 5 out of 7 – For a fancy pie meal in the heart of London, I think £14.50 was a very reasonable price to pay for a pie. Unfortunately as a top crust this did feel a bit overpriced, comparing to other pies in the London area.

Content: 5.5 out of 7 – Really good flavours in the pie, with a real meaty focus throughout and delightfully cooked veg inside the pie. The fat on the meat did unfortunately detract slightly from the content though.

The Gun Docklands Goat Pie Review
The Gun Docklands Goat Pie Review

Overall, I really enjoyed this pie meal and, while disappointed it was just a top crust, I would love to try another flavour in the future. The pie of the day is different each day, depending on what the cook decides to prepare, so I look forward to seeing what pie I eat next time! Thanks again to Barbara and Barny, who hosted us so well - a great pub to visit! And thanks to Sean and Anna for their help arranging the visit.

This is a Pierate Recommended pie and they will be pleased to know no one needs to be “fired” at The Gun after this delicious pie!


“The Gun” Goat and Paprika Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 6.5, Capacity 5, Consistency 5.5, Condition 6.75, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 5, Content 5.5, Total: 5.75/7]
RAS


Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

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continue reading "Goat Pie – Two Tickets to The Gun Show!"

Saturday, 26 July 2014

Make a Picnic a Piecnic - Just add pie!

Friends of the Pierate blog will know that we will piemote pretty much anything that involves pie (as long as that pie isn’t wasted!) But sometimes we would rather be trend setters, rather than trend followers, which is why we’re starting a new campaign:

#MakeAPicnicAPiecnic


Yes, it’s as simple as it sounds! As the strapline goes – “Just add pie!”


The World's first ever Piecnic took place on Sunday 3rd August! Read the review of it and watch the campaign video in our article "The world’s first piecnic – we just added pie!"



The Pierateers enjoying an ASDA apple pie at a Piecnic

Bray's Cottage Pork Pie Review
Bray's Cottage Pork Pie - a great piecnic option!
So when you’re reaching into the fridge for some picnic goodies, just add a pork pie to your hamper. Or if you’d rather something sweet than containing meat, just grab a box of fruit pies to sweeten the meal. It really is that simple! So simple in fact that we’ve boiled it down to two, easy-to-follow steps:

1) Add pie to your picnic
2) You now have a piecnic

All that leaves me to say is – why wouldn’t you?! Enjoy the sunshine this summer and make your picnic a piecnic. Just add pie!


How to rate a pie
Why not rate your pie at the Piecnic?!




Here’s some pie companies that have got on board:

The Real Pie Company are encouraging you to have a fruit pie as part of your piecnic:


Sarah from Bray's Cottage regularly tweets about piecnics (or "pignics" - but let's face it, we'd rather have pie in the title ;-) )


Here's Chunk of Devon PIEmoting their pies for your picnic!


RAS

Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

Make sure you 
and let us know your thoughts!
continue reading "Make a Picnic a Piecnic - Just add pie!"

Thursday, 24 July 2014

Delving into Dulverton Pies

Exclusive Cake Company - Game Pie Review

On a trip to Exmoor my Pie-dy senses had been alterted to the small town of Dulverton as a place where I might locate a good pie. Okay, this isn't quite true, I can't sense where good pies are, this was a recommendation, just like many of our visits. We are very lucky to be inundated with so many recommendations we just don't have the time or money to follow them all up. See our 'suggest a pie' page.

Pie Counter

Dulverton is a lovely little town nestled in the beautiful Exmoor National Park. With a number of independent cafes and shops it seemed that there were plenty of pie options but there was only one place for me. I was quickly impressed by the Exclusive Cake Company. Despite the name indicating their passion for cakes, it was clear that the Exclusive Cake Company are also passionate about pies. Just have a look at the huge range of pies they have on their website. It was a difficult decision, I really could only eat one pie without leading to the sinful act of wasting pie, what type of meat should I go for? I decided to go all out with the triple meat combo of Venison, Rabbit and Pheasant, known as the Game Pie. This seemed appropriate while on Exmoor which is known for it's hunting pursuits.

Despite being one of the more expensive options this pie was worth the money and receives a much coveted 'Pierate Highly Recommended' award. It was meaty and delicious. Do check it out if you are in the area! See the score breakdown below.

Dulverton Exclusive Cake Pie Cross section

Condition - 6.0 out of 7 - This pie was ruggedly handsome. The pie didn't look perfect but had a pleasing handmade appearance with a pastry shape on top to indicate the flavour.
Colour - 6.2 out of 7 - A pretty mix of different tones of golden brown. A little burnt boil out to indicate the pie is packed with content.
Cheapness - 5.8 out of 7 - At £3.20 this is pretty average for a gourmet pie, but often they can be quite small. Not this one, it was really quite big for an individual pie. When you consider that you are also getting more expensive meats and that it is full of content it certainly seemed worth it.
Capacity - 6.3 out of 7 - The capacity seemed about as big as possible and there was no air gap. However, there was a little bit of extra pastry on the join between the lid and sides so I felt there was slightly too much pastry. Also the sauce seemed to take up quite a lot of the space, but there was enough meat.
Chewiness - 5.5 out of 7 - The chunks of meat provided plenty to get your teeth into without being chewy. The pastry was nice and flaky on the outside without being puff pastry. (This reminded me of my favourite pies from Kings Farm.) It was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, a great combination. However, it was a little bit dry at the edge which meant my teeth had to do more work than I would have liked. But this was only a small proportion of the pie. There was a bit of a strange texture to the sauce, it was so thick it was almost like jelly (as we have found elsewhere). Whilst not chewy as such, the texture was not what I would have chosen, I like thick sauce, but prefer it not quite this thick. I would note this did only have a small impact on my enjoyment.
Content - 6.9 out of 7 - Pure and simple, this was a great tasting pie. Very meaty and no nonsense. The game meat added plenty of flavour, with the venison being particularly apparent. Even the pastry tasted nice. If I had to criticise the taste of the filling I would say it seemed a little too salty to me which reminded me of a Pukka Pie.
Consistency - 5.8 out of 7 - Despite not being consistently perfect, overall the taste of both the filling and the pastry made this pie stand out and they worked well together.


Mixed Game (The Exclusive Cake Company [TA22 9HB])
6.07/7

SJL

Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

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continue reading "Delving into Dulverton Pies"

Commonwealth Games: Scotch Pies Review Special for Glasgow 2014

Commonwealth Games: Scotch Pies trumped by Tunnock’s Tea Cakes


After all the fun, fundraising and fireworks of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which I must add was entertaining and quite unique, one major question remains unanswered. In such a showpiece event, beamed out across the globe to an estimated 1.5 billion people…

WHERE WERE THE PIES???

Yes, we may be accused of being a tad pie-ased but let’s face it – Haggis aside – is there anything more Scottish than a Scotch pie? Really??? And yet it pains me to say that the Tunnock’s Tea Cakes dancing all over the stage of the opening ceremony grabbed all the newspaper headlines, when surely – surely – we should have been reading headlines about dancing scotch pies!!!

World Scotch Pie Champion 2014 - The Kandy Bar in Saltcoats

So to address this, as the Commonwealth Games kicks off, Pierate are giving Scotch Pies the pie-de of place they deserve as the most important food export Scotland has – yes, aside from Haggis!!!

The Scotch Pie

For a beginners guide to the Scotch Pie look no further than our article “What Makes The Best Scotch Pie?” featuring an answer to the million dollar question “What is a Scotch Pie?” and our Scotch Pie Rankings Table.

Scotch Pie Club Awards 2014

You won’t be surPIEsed to hear the Piefessionals at Pierate got invited to judge at the Scotch Pie Club Awards – see our review of the day at the Scotch Pie Club Awards 2014, held in November 2013 (yes, that’s not a typo – see the article for why!)

Scotch Pie Club Awards Pie Review
Scotch Pie Club Awards Pies

Scotch Pie Awards Champion 2013

While in Scotland for the Scotch Pie Club awards 2014 we took the opPIEtunity to rate the World Scotch Pie Champion 2013 from JB Christie – and boy did it rate well! Read our pie review of this Pierate Highly Recommended Scotch pie.

Scotch Pie in London?

You don’t have to go to Scotland to eat a proper Scotch Pie – Paul the owner of Piebury Corner on Holloway Road, London travels 500 miles (and then 500 more, on the way back) to pick up Scotch Pies from Scotland and sell them in his pie shop. Pierate Recommended – read the pie review here.

Make your own Scotch Pie

Our Ship’s Cook has made a Scotch Pie using McSingh’s recipe – find out how the recipe rated and what she thought.

RAS

Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

Make sure you 
and let us know your thoughts!
continue reading "Commonwealth Games: Scotch Pies Review Special for Glasgow 2014"

Monday, 21 July 2014

Official Statement regarding "The Pies" Graffiti

Pierateers confirm they are not behind "The Pies" Road Graffiti


With a number of photos like below doing the rounds on twitter, the Pierateers felt they should clarify that they are NOT behind a "The Pies" bit of graffiti on a road bridge near Chester.

Having been queried by a colleague at work (yes, sadly Pierateering is not quite a full time profession just yet!)  who had taken the following photo on the motorway towards Chester:

"The Pies" sign - Photo credit: Jas

Pierate can officially confirm we were not doing a Banksy and adding pie signage to road bridges up and down the country. If we'd been thinking of doing such a thing, we would certainly have put either "Pierate" or "We rate all the Pies" - our policy summed up brilliantly in our article "Who rate all the Pies?" which was produced just prior to British Pie Week this year.

Due to overwhelming views of this article we have decided to do some research on this piece of graffiti and it appears there is a history to it! Find out more in our latest article on pie graffiti.

RAS

Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.

Make sure you 
and let us know your thoughts!
continue reading "Official Statement regarding "The Pies" Graffiti"

Sunday, 20 July 2014

Steaking out at Robinsons Bakery

Robinsons Bakery Steak and Guinness, Steak and Kidney and Pork and Apple Pie Reviews


We recently had the pie-leasure of visiting Robinsons Bakery in Failsworth, north Manchester, as part of their 150 year celebrations. Yes, that’s right – one hundred and fifty years of pie making in Manchester’s oldest craft bakery. It’s still family run and – having rated their mince pies very highly in their 149th year – I was delighted to get a tour round the bakery and try a few more of their pies.
Robinsons Bakery Pie Review
Robinsons Bakery Pies - 150 years old!

Having already tried their mince pies, I wanted to give their meat pies a rating. You won’t be surprised to see I went for their steak pies, given how strongly they feature at the top of our pie rankings. The pies in question were the Steak and Guinness Pie and the Steak and Kidney Pie, while I was also kindly given an apple-topped pork pie to rate as well.

You can find out more about Robinsons Bakery and their 150 year anniversary in our “150 Years of Pie Making: Celebrating with Robinsons Bakery” article, so I’m going to get cracking with the pie reviews here:

Overall opinion

The pies were all decent value at just £1.50 each – could have been slightly bigger though with a bit more content to make them a meal. We ended up eating 2 meat pies each for dinner, indicating they are more snack size than meal size. Mind you, we are piefessionals. Both the Steak and Guinness and Steak and Kidney pies were reasonably well filled, though they could have had a slightly stronger capacity. The pies did vary slightly in capacity between the pies we got – as we had bought 5 of each flavour – which indicates a slight inconsistency in the filling levels but is not surprising when they are all handmade, rather than industrially filled.

The colour was quite golden on them all and they held together well, despite quite a bit of travelling being done by the pies! The bases of the pies were a little softer than the crisp lid and sides but this did not detract from the taste of the pie too much, with the pastry lid on the steak pies being particularly nice.

Robinsons Bakery Steak and Guinness Pie Review
Robinsons Bakery Steak and Guinness Pie Review

Steak and Guinness Pie Review
Robinsons Bakery Steak and Guinness Pie Review

The Steak and Guinness pie was the first to be eaten and was quite well filled with tender chunks of steak. There could have ideally been a bit more steak in the pie and the pie was overly peppery, but in general the Guinness gravy complimented the steak well and at just £1.50, this was a good value pie. The pastry was quite crisp and the pie held together well, so with a bit more steak and bit less pepper inside it would be a very well rated pie.

Robinson’s Steak and Guinness Pie
Score: 5.21/7
[Colour 5, Capacity 5, Consistency 5, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 5.5, Content 5, Total: 5.21/7]


Robinsons Bakery Steak and Kidney Pie Review
Robinsons Bakery Steak and Kidney Pie Review

Steak and Kidney Pie Review

The Steak and Kidney pie was reasonably well balanced between the steak and kidney, with a nice gravy. The pie I rated was nicely seasoned – not overly peppery like the Steak and Guinness – so was a lot more enjoyable in flavour. I would have preferred a bit more of a weighting towards the steak but the flavour was good. £1.50 was a decent price for this pie and it was a bit better filled than the Steak and Guinness, but a bit more filling to maximise the capacity would have been ideal and bumped up the score by improving the pastry:filling ratio.

Robinson’s Steak and Kidney Pie
Score: 5.36/7
[Colour 5, Capacity 5, Consistency 5.5, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 5.5, Content 5.5, Total: 5.36/7]


Robinsons Bakery Apple Topped Pork Pie Review
Robinsons Bakery Apple Topped Pork Pie Review

Apple Topped Pork Pie

Unfortunately as this pork pie was topped with apple, not pastry, it was not a fully encased pie. The apple layer was reasonably thick, giving a strong tang to the pie and in my opinion was a little too strong. The pork was reasonable quality, though for a top rated pork pie I would expect a bit better. The condition wasn’t perfect on this pie – most notably because it wasn’t fully encased - but the pastry was quite nice, crisp and held the filling in well. In summary I could see why this was a strong seller from the bakery but it loses marks with us as it’s not fully encased. I would say it was a bit too sweet for my pallet and the meat could have been a bit more flavoursome.

Robinson’s Apple Topped Pork Pie
Score: 4.21/7
[Colour 4, Capacity 4, Consistency 4.5, Condition 3.5, Chewiness 5, Cheapness 4.5, Content 4, Total: 4.21/7]



With such a strong score for their mince pies (who even featured in our Christmas pie music video!), it was always going to be a hard act to follow for their meat pies. But at just £1.50 each for a hot pie, this is excellent value and I would happily eat again. Both steak pies are Pierate Recommended. While their apple-topped pork pie wasn’t quite for me, I’d look to try a traditional pork pie from them on my next visit. All in all, the hard craft of pie making is in safe hands 150 years on from the first Robinsons Bakery pies!

RAS

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Monday, 14 July 2014

Reci-pie Review: Brazilian Pies


Well there we have it. The World Cup is over for another four years. But if you’re already suffering from World Cup withdrawal, never fear – I’ve got a pie recipe to remind you of all those good times in Brazil. I made these for a family barbecue and can strongly recommend eating them outside with a nice cold beer, but the leftovers also made a pretty good snack during the World Cup final.


WARNING: These pies contain turmeric which can be pretty hard to get out of clothes/cushions etc. so you’re probably best not giving them to anyone who’s likely to jump out of their seat with excitement while watching the match and fling their pie across the room. 

The recipe:
Pierateer RAS suggested I give this recipe a go, and I’m glad I did because it’s certainly an interesting one, with unusual pastry and a pretty unique choice of pie filling. The chicken mixture is pretty close to an Afro-Brazilian dish called Chicken Xim-Xim, which is a chicken stew with peanuts, shrimp and peanuts. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients – it’s not as complicated as it looks and the finished product is well worth the effort. 

The recipe is from Andy Bates and you can find it here:
http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/brazillian-pies.html

The Seven Cs:

Colour:
I really liked the colour of these pies – I baked them until they were golden brown but the turmeric in the filling leaked out a little bit and added a lovely yellowy colour to the edges of the pastry, which made these pies look very appealing.

Consistency:
The liquid in these pies is a mixture of coconut and chicken stock, so it’s more of a creamy sauce than gravy. The consistency of the filling reminded me of a creamy curry only thickened for longer – it went very well with the crispy pastry.

Capacity:
As with all homemade pies, you can stuff the pastry as full of delicious filling as you’d like. This meant that my pies scored pretty highly for capacity, but I did make a small error - the original recipe suggests that you bake your pies in muffin tins, but I decided to use jam tart tins and make lots of smaller pies. They were still tasty, but I think the Crust:Filling ratio would actually be slightly better in a bigger pie. That’ll teach me to think about quality rather than quantity next time I’m baking!

Chewiness:
The pastry in this recipe, which is made with lard, eggs and egg whites, is very crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The filling isn’t chewy at all, just lovely and creamy with the occasional crunch from the peanuts. Yum.

Cheapness:
When I first saw the long list of ingredients for this pie, I thought it was going to be pretty expensive. However, I was pleasantly surprised – thighs are a cheap cut when it comes to buying chicken, and ingredients like ginger and chillies can be bought in small packets or individually to keep your costs down. You also get quite a few pies for your money – I made 24 with pastry and filling to spare, so if you stick to using a muffin tin I think this recipe would easily make 12-16 pies.

If you’re feeling particularly thrifty you could make a really big batch of the filling and freeze it for future use, or even eat it with for dinner with something other than pastry (but why would you?)

Content:
This recipe is definitely a high scorer when it comes to content. It’s unusual and very, very tasty. Even better, the filling is already a meal in itself, so it’s a meal that’s been improved with a pastry case. Perfect.

Condition:
These pies come out of the oven in great condition. The have a lovely rounded shape because you press them into the tin rather than cutting out the pastry, and they also have a nice solid feel to them. To make sure they’re absolutely perfect, take them out of the tin while they’re still slightly warm, otherwise the pastry sticks a little bit.   

The Ship's Cook

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Sunday, 13 July 2014

The not-so-glorious return of the shapeshifting steak pie

You may recall that in May 2013 (blimey, was it that long ago?!), I reviewed a microwaveable Kershaws Luxury Steak Pie. Needless to say, the pie didn't score well on our criteria. In my opinion, not only did the top-crust pie look terrible but it also failed to live up to its "luxury" status in any sense of the word. I finished the pie, and thought that would be the end of it.

But the Kershaws steak pie has reared its head again, for I spotted this item in the freezer section of a small superstore. The ready meal pie is back, and with a vengeance.
steak pie
It's back, in a new form. And 9p more expensive.
I know what you're thinking. It's a steak pie and chips, with carrots and peas - same as before - so what's the difference? Well, this pie is billed as a classic steak pie, in contrast to the luxury pie I reviewed before. Other than that small difference, though, the pie looks virtually identical.

But my Pierate colleagues (thanks guys) assured me that I really needed to try this pie, just to be certain there was no difference. Unsurprisingly, this filled me with fear. If the luxury pie lurks down near the bottom of the pie rankings, what on earth is this classic pie going to score?

kershaws steak pie

 Opening up the cardboard packaging, the pie looks much the same in its plastic ready meal packaging.

kershaws steak pie
:(
Once blasted for 11 minutes (11 minutes!) in the microwave, the pie is ready on the plate. And wow, what a sorry sight. Even for £1.59 (note: 9p dearer than the luxury offering), in my opinion this is a depressing plate of food. I just don't know how you can call that a pie. And why does the rectangular slab of "lid" have weird machined dimples in it?

kershaws steak pie

Yep, I'd recognise those scary cubes of meat from a mile off. This has got to be the same pie as the luxury one I ate last year. Even the chips and veg are the same.

So what's happened? Has Kershaws possibly, potentially, just perhaps, maybe taken our comments on board, and changed the name? It's unlikely, but we can dream.

I won't give it a new rating, as I'm really rather sure that it is the same pie as before (although you can never be 100% certain). But I will say I still think this pie is just as bad as when I first tried it - with a rating of 1.2/7.

TJP
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