Pie fans ahoy! With over 600 pie reviews, Pierate is surely the web's premier pie resource. We've been eating and rating pies according to the 'Seven Cs' since 2009. Follow us on @pierateers. pierateship@yahoo.co.uk
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Stick that Ember Inn your pie and smoke it!
Chimney Chicken Pie Review at Ember Inn (Green Man, Harborne)
The concept of a chimney pie bewildered me as I glanced over what pie to eat on the Green Man pub menu in Harborne, part of the Embers Inn pub chain. Various interpretations of a chimney were in my mind, but I have to admit the thought of a gaping big hole in the middle of my pie crust was not one of them.
But unfortunately that is exactly what I was presented with. In a flashback to the 'open pie' sold to me at the Slug and Lettuce pub, it was an immediate downer. The lack of fully encased puff pastry pie lid was a real shame, as the lid that was present was very nice. Golden, light and crispy it was very good and far more enjoyable than the slightly thick and dry short crust pastry sides and base. However it was good that the pie was surrounded by pastry, barring the gaping hole.
The filling was generally very nice. The chicken pieces were tender and very nicely complemented the leek with a nice creamy sauce. The main downside was that the sauce filing was a bit thick and congealed on the top layer due to the open lid, meaning the filling was not as moist and tasty as it could have been.
All in all, while it still tasted nice, I don't think the concept of a chimney pie really worked. There is a reason why pies are normally fully encased and while it can be good to experiment with food, they need to brush up on their chimney ideas and soot out a better variation of chimney if they want to stack up a winning pie.
Ember Inn Chicken Chimney Pie (at Green Man, Harborne)
Score: 5/7
RAS
continue reading "Stick that Ember Inn your pie and smoke it!"
The concept of a chimney pie bewildered me as I glanced over what pie to eat on the Green Man pub menu in Harborne, part of the Embers Inn pub chain. Various interpretations of a chimney were in my mind, but I have to admit the thought of a gaping big hole in the middle of my pie crust was not one of them.
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| Ember Inn Chimney Chicken Pie |
But unfortunately that is exactly what I was presented with. In a flashback to the 'open pie' sold to me at the Slug and Lettuce pub, it was an immediate downer. The lack of fully encased puff pastry pie lid was a real shame, as the lid that was present was very nice. Golden, light and crispy it was very good and far more enjoyable than the slightly thick and dry short crust pastry sides and base. However it was good that the pie was surrounded by pastry, barring the gaping hole.
The filling was generally very nice. The chicken pieces were tender and very nicely complemented the leek with a nice creamy sauce. The main downside was that the sauce filing was a bit thick and congealed on the top layer due to the open lid, meaning the filling was not as moist and tasty as it could have been.
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| Inside the Chimney... Pie |
All in all, while it still tasted nice, I don't think the concept of a chimney pie really worked. There is a reason why pies are normally fully encased and while it can be good to experiment with food, they need to brush up on their chimney ideas and soot out a better variation of chimney if they want to stack up a winning pie.
Ember Inn Chicken Chimney Pie (at Green Man, Harborne)
Score: 5/7
RAS
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
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Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Welcome Pie Break
Welcome Break - Chicken, Ham & Mushroom Pie Review
Imagine the scene, it is the British Pie Awards 2013. The judges are scoring pies in the Best Pub Pie category. Imagine the fantastic pies available in the nation's pubs and what a sight it must be to get them all together. No doubt it would be awe inspiring.
Now imagine the pie that won, it must be from some gourmet pub chain and look fantastic. You would be right on one count it does look fantastic, just look at the picture below. However, you might be surprised to find that this pie is actually served up in Welcome Break service stations!
Service stations are not renown for award winning food so how did Welcome Break come up with something that scoops the top prize? Part of the secret, if you look at the list of BPA 2013 winners, is that this pie is made by Dunkleys, perennial achievers at the British Pie Awards, walking away with no less than six awards this year! However, because they make their pies for other people you may not be familiar with them. Upon a recent trip to South Mimms Welcome Break off the M25 I was delighted to have the chance to get acquainted with Dunkleys. Unfortunately they would not let me buy the pie by itself so I had to get a meal at £7.50.
Delving into the pie I could see why it is a premium product. It didn't just look good on the outside, but the inside exploded with an appealing content. It was well filled and the height meant it had a good capacity. The meat was tender, there was plenty of mushroom and the ham added a nice flavour. The chicken was in nice big, satisfying chunks. It was flavoursome although, I would have liked it to have packed a bit more of a punch. It was slightly let down by some very thick pieces of pastry, especially with the crinkled pattern on top, leaving it dry in places. Overall though, this was a pie which I enjoyed eating.
However, when you look at the £7.50 cost of the meal and what I actually got I don't think it is one which I would recommend for purchase. Perhaps it was because I ordered to take away but my portion of chips looked quite meagre for the money. I can count about 16 at best. The peas were pretty awful, they look like something served at a school canteen and completely out of place next to an up-market pie. At least Welcome Break had their pie-orities right with this meal but it almost seems pointless to have such a good pie without the rest of the meal to go with it. I was left feeling like this was not a very good value meal despite the pie being well above average.
So despite this pie claiming a top prize at the British Pie Awards it doesn't challenge the top of our pie rankings. But then at the British Pie Awards they don't take the cost of the pies into account. This only goes to show that there is one place you can rely on to tell you which pies to spend your hard earned cash on! Keep your eyes on the pies with pierate.co.uk, we try the pie before you buy!
Chicken, Ham & Mushroom (Welcome Break by Dunkleys)
3.87/7
SJL
P.S. How can this count as a pub pie??? It was a cafeteria!
continue reading "Welcome Pie Break"
Imagine the scene, it is the British Pie Awards 2013. The judges are scoring pies in the Best Pub Pie category. Imagine the fantastic pies available in the nation's pubs and what a sight it must be to get them all together. No doubt it would be awe inspiring.
Now imagine the pie that won, it must be from some gourmet pub chain and look fantastic. You would be right on one count it does look fantastic, just look at the picture below. However, you might be surprised to find that this pie is actually served up in Welcome Break service stations!
Service stations are not renown for award winning food so how did Welcome Break come up with something that scoops the top prize? Part of the secret, if you look at the list of BPA 2013 winners, is that this pie is made by Dunkleys, perennial achievers at the British Pie Awards, walking away with no less than six awards this year! However, because they make their pies for other people you may not be familiar with them. Upon a recent trip to South Mimms Welcome Break off the M25 I was delighted to have the chance to get acquainted with Dunkleys. Unfortunately they would not let me buy the pie by itself so I had to get a meal at £7.50.
Delving into the pie I could see why it is a premium product. It didn't just look good on the outside, but the inside exploded with an appealing content. It was well filled and the height meant it had a good capacity. The meat was tender, there was plenty of mushroom and the ham added a nice flavour. The chicken was in nice big, satisfying chunks. It was flavoursome although, I would have liked it to have packed a bit more of a punch. It was slightly let down by some very thick pieces of pastry, especially with the crinkled pattern on top, leaving it dry in places. Overall though, this was a pie which I enjoyed eating.
However, when you look at the £7.50 cost of the meal and what I actually got I don't think it is one which I would recommend for purchase. Perhaps it was because I ordered to take away but my portion of chips looked quite meagre for the money. I can count about 16 at best. The peas were pretty awful, they look like something served at a school canteen and completely out of place next to an up-market pie. At least Welcome Break had their pie-orities right with this meal but it almost seems pointless to have such a good pie without the rest of the meal to go with it. I was left feeling like this was not a very good value meal despite the pie being well above average.
So despite this pie claiming a top prize at the British Pie Awards it doesn't challenge the top of our pie rankings. But then at the British Pie Awards they don't take the cost of the pies into account. This only goes to show that there is one place you can rely on to tell you which pies to spend your hard earned cash on! Keep your eyes on the pies with pierate.co.uk, we try the pie before you buy!
Chicken, Ham & Mushroom (Welcome Break by Dunkleys)
3.87/7
SJL
P.S. How can this count as a pub pie??? It was a cafeteria!
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
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and let us know your thoughts!
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Monday, 14 October 2013
Oh my cherry pie!
Cherry Pie Review from Mother Mash
Having been invited in to Mother Mash – a pie and mash shop in London – to try out their new dinner pies
(reviewed earlier in the week), Pierateer RAS wasn’t about to stop there!
Despite already feeling quite full from the delicious Chicken, Leek and Ham pie
he had already eaten, the lure of the first ever Cherry Pie review was too much
to hold back from! Before you knew it, and with little more than a glance over
the dessert pies on the menu, the cherry pie and custard had been ordered.
Pierateer TJP and ACT looked on, already filled from their main course pies, as the reasonably sized cherry pie was brought to the table under a decent layer of custard. The custard layer was quite quickly pushed off the top of the pie in order to both prevent the lid from going too soggy and also so that the pastry lid could be seen for the photo below! Full encasement here – don’t you worry about that!
Already in this photo I hope you can see the cherry bursting out of the pie pastry, giving great capacity. The pie was filled with quite large whole cherries, which filled the pie from base to pie lid. They were nice and sweet, a bit chewy but what you would expect from this fruit. The large cherries did mean the filling to pastry ratio wasn’t quite right, as there was slightly too much filling to go with the pastry in my view. A bit more pastry would have been good (or slightly less filling), however I wouldn’t have wanted the pastry to be much thicker.
The pie was sweet, but complemented the light, flaky pastry well. It was a simple but sweet fruity cherry flavour. The custard had made the pastry slightly soggier in parts on top, but it was still quite firm and flaky and this didn’t detract much from the pie flavour. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this pie, but to improve it I would probably say slightly less cherry would better improve the filling:pastry ratio. Quite expensive for a dessert pie at £4.50 but certainly one to have again!
Mother Mash Cherry Pie
Score: 5.57/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 5/7; Cheapness 5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 5.5/7; Content 5.5/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 5.57/7]
RAS
p.s. In case you were wondering about the reason for the post title - in response to @MotherMash's twitter loving the use of our #ohmyapplepie, we decided to officially launch our own Pierate Dictionary during this Mother Mash Pie Review! Over time we'll record pie puns, pie related quotes and pie jokes. So if you have any you'd like to suggest, then leave a comment below or tweet us @pierateers! The best ones will get a mention in our Pierate Dictionary!
continue reading "Oh my cherry pie!"
Having been invited in to Mother Mash – a pie and mash shop in London – to try out their new dinner pies
(reviewed earlier in the week), Pierateer RAS wasn’t about to stop there!
Despite already feeling quite full from the delicious Chicken, Leek and Ham pie
he had already eaten, the lure of the first ever Cherry Pie review was too much
to hold back from! Before you knew it, and with little more than a glance over
the dessert pies on the menu, the cherry pie and custard had been ordered.Pierateer TJP and ACT looked on, already filled from their main course pies, as the reasonably sized cherry pie was brought to the table under a decent layer of custard. The custard layer was quite quickly pushed off the top of the pie in order to both prevent the lid from going too soggy and also so that the pastry lid could be seen for the photo below! Full encasement here – don’t you worry about that!
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| Mother Mash Cherry Pie |
Already in this photo I hope you can see the cherry bursting out of the pie pastry, giving great capacity. The pie was filled with quite large whole cherries, which filled the pie from base to pie lid. They were nice and sweet, a bit chewy but what you would expect from this fruit. The large cherries did mean the filling to pastry ratio wasn’t quite right, as there was slightly too much filling to go with the pastry in my view. A bit more pastry would have been good (or slightly less filling), however I wouldn’t have wanted the pastry to be much thicker.
The pie was sweet, but complemented the light, flaky pastry well. It was a simple but sweet fruity cherry flavour. The custard had made the pastry slightly soggier in parts on top, but it was still quite firm and flaky and this didn’t detract much from the pie flavour. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this pie, but to improve it I would probably say slightly less cherry would better improve the filling:pastry ratio. Quite expensive for a dessert pie at £4.50 but certainly one to have again!
Mother Mash Cherry Pie
Score: 5.57/7
[Colour 6/7; Consistency 5/7; Cheapness 5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 5.5/7; Content 5.5/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 5.57/7]
RAS
p.s. In case you were wondering about the reason for the post title - in response to @MotherMash's twitter loving the use of our #ohmyapplepie, we decided to officially launch our own Pierate Dictionary during this Mother Mash Pie Review! Over time we'll record pie puns, pie related quotes and pie jokes. So if you have any you'd like to suggest, then leave a comment below or tweet us @pierateers! The best ones will get a mention in our Pierate Dictionary!
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
|
Sunday, 13 October 2013
Sainsbury's Spot the Difference
Spot the Difference (not Taste the Difference) with Sainsbury's Chicken and White Wine Pie
So imagine my disappointment as a Pierateer when I thought I was eating a new Sainsbury's pie the other day, only to find out that their marketing department were just playing tricks on me... Check out the two photos and see if you can (apart from the slight damage to the box) spot the difference, rather than taste the difference, between the two pies below:
So... did you spot it?
Well one of those pies is apparently "deep filled"... the other... well, it doesn't say either way. But there is very little different in the box, the depth of the filling on the box or the actual pie itself! I certainly couldn't describe this as deeper filled than the pie was 18 months ago!
What made it worse was that my good friends the Senei had especially checked the Pierate Pie Rankings to pick a pie I hadn't tried - not realising that this was essentially the same pie I had already reviewed in March 2012! Very disappointed to find out I've basically fallen foul of the marketing gimmicks of Sainsbury's but hopefully next time I'll find a genuinely new pie!
RAS
continue reading "Sainsbury's Spot the Difference"
So imagine my disappointment as a Pierateer when I thought I was eating a new Sainsbury's pie the other day, only to find out that their marketing department were just playing tricks on me... Check out the two photos and see if you can (apart from the slight damage to the box) spot the difference, rather than taste the difference, between the two pies below:
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| Sainsbury's Classic Chicken and White Wine Pie - reviewed 5/3/2012 |
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| Sainsbury's Classic Chicken and White Wine Pie - eaten 10/10/2013 |
So... did you spot it?
Well one of those pies is apparently "deep filled"... the other... well, it doesn't say either way. But there is very little different in the box, the depth of the filling on the box or the actual pie itself! I certainly couldn't describe this as deeper filled than the pie was 18 months ago!
What made it worse was that my good friends the Senei had especially checked the Pierate Pie Rankings to pick a pie I hadn't tried - not realising that this was essentially the same pie I had already reviewed in March 2012! Very disappointed to find out I've basically fallen foul of the marketing gimmicks of Sainsbury's but hopefully next time I'll find a genuinely new pie!
RAS
See where the actual original pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
|
Best Pies In Suffolk
Review of Suffolk's Best Pies
The land of quintessentially English castles and beautiful Constable countryside scenes; Suffolk already has a lot going for it. But did you know it also has some the best pies in the country? This has been recognised by The Pie Kitchen scooping the title of supreme champion at the British Pie Awards 2013. Like The Pie Kitchen, it is good to see that many of the producers are making ‘craft’ pies on a small scale. This means there is a lot of variety. We have scoured this picturesque county for the best pies on offer and our current leaderboard is below. While it is no surprise that The Pie Kitchen come out on top with their offering (which never compromised on quality) there are plenty of other pies which come highly commended. Many of the local butchers and bakers are serving up excellent pies especially C.A. Palmer’s butcher in Halesworth.
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| Constable's Painting of Ye Olde Suffolk Pie Wagon |
Suffolk-ate In Pie Leaderboard
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| The Pie Kitchen are currently best rated in Suffolk |
Pierate is a pie review website searching for 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 Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
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Sam's Pie Review
Yoxford Antiques Centre - Apple Pie Review
Home made pie. Those few words will invariably bring a smile to my face and I don’t think I am alone in this. There are some people who will say that a mass produced pie cannot taste the same. Take The Pie Kitchen who we reviewed recently, they refuse to stop making their pies at home in the kitchen because they don’t think they can taste the same. I have been looking for pies to add to our list of the best pies in Suffolk. Hence I was delighted to find a chalk board advertising home made ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ at the Flying Goose Café which is part of Yoxford Antiques Centre in Suffolk. Why they called it ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ I have no idea and the sign hooked me in by promising free pie if you could guess the cultural reference in the name. Sadly my knowledge of pie didn’t help me out, I had no clue as to the answer, but I decided that pie was worth paying the £3.00 for.
Upon arrival I could tell this was a home made pie straight away. It arrived in good condition but had a slightly irregular shape. The top of the pie seemed to be supported by the apple underneath. This certainly didn’t detract from the taste. The pastry was soft, crumbly shortcrust, just what I like to see with a sweet pie. The apple was firm which gave the pie a wonderful texture. The apple tasted nice on its own but the additional cinnamon and cloves complemented it nicely, if perhaps the clove taste was boardering on too much. All in all the pie slipped down well as a before lunch snack and it was nice to sit outside amongst the random assortment of antiques, it certainly was different to the usual places I eat pies.
Once I finished the pie I went back inside and asked to take a picture of the whole pie. I then learnt that it had been made by the owner of the antique centre, Mr Goose which explained the name of the café. He was pleased to have his photo taken with the pie and explain the local ingredients he had used in it. I certainly hope he doesn’t get too busy running the centre to make the pies himself. The only feedback I would give is that the shape of this pie was somewhat unusual. While the pie certainly had a clear base and lid, the sides weren’t very well defined and it got worryingly thin towards the edge. However, on this occasion I overlooked it (as I hadn’t even realised when eating the pie). My complements go to Mr Goose who proved that you can find great pies in completely unexpected places! Keep your eyes out for pies!
Sam’s Apple Pie (Yoxford Antique Centre, Suffolk, IP17 3JW)
5.16/7
SJL
continue reading "Sam's Pie Review"
Home made pie. Those few words will invariably bring a smile to my face and I don’t think I am alone in this. There are some people who will say that a mass produced pie cannot taste the same. Take The Pie Kitchen who we reviewed recently, they refuse to stop making their pies at home in the kitchen because they don’t think they can taste the same. I have been looking for pies to add to our list of the best pies in Suffolk. Hence I was delighted to find a chalk board advertising home made ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ at the Flying Goose Café which is part of Yoxford Antiques Centre in Suffolk. Why they called it ‘Sam’s Apple Pie’ I have no idea and the sign hooked me in by promising free pie if you could guess the cultural reference in the name. Sadly my knowledge of pie didn’t help me out, I had no clue as to the answer, but I decided that pie was worth paying the £3.00 for.
Upon arrival I could tell this was a home made pie straight away. It arrived in good condition but had a slightly irregular shape. The top of the pie seemed to be supported by the apple underneath. This certainly didn’t detract from the taste. The pastry was soft, crumbly shortcrust, just what I like to see with a sweet pie. The apple was firm which gave the pie a wonderful texture. The apple tasted nice on its own but the additional cinnamon and cloves complemented it nicely, if perhaps the clove taste was boardering on too much. All in all the pie slipped down well as a before lunch snack and it was nice to sit outside amongst the random assortment of antiques, it certainly was different to the usual places I eat pies.
Once I finished the pie I went back inside and asked to take a picture of the whole pie. I then learnt that it had been made by the owner of the antique centre, Mr Goose which explained the name of the café. He was pleased to have his photo taken with the pie and explain the local ingredients he had used in it. I certainly hope he doesn’t get too busy running the centre to make the pies himself. The only feedback I would give is that the shape of this pie was somewhat unusual. While the pie certainly had a clear base and lid, the sides weren’t very well defined and it got worryingly thin towards the edge. However, on this occasion I overlooked it (as I hadn’t even realised when eating the pie). My complements go to Mr Goose who proved that you can find great pies in completely unexpected places! Keep your eyes out for pies!
Sam’s Apple Pie (Yoxford Antique Centre, Suffolk, IP17 3JW)
5.16/7
SJL
See where this pie ended up in the our Suffolk Pie Leaderboard and our overall Pie Rankings.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
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Friday, 11 October 2013
An Urban Pie TRAINing exercise
Angus Steak and Lamb, Potato and Mint Pie Reviews from Urban Pie
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| Staff - and pies! - at Urban Pie, Birmingham |
However there was no time to waste, as the Pierateers had trains to catch!
They were therefore fully capitalising on the take-away option of these pies.
Sealing up their pie boxes, they travelled to the train station and ate their
pies on the respective trains they were catching – not the easiest way to eat
pie smothered in gravy but sometimes you need to eat pie on the go! Both pies passed
their TRAINing exercise with flying colours! Pierateer RAS actually finished
his pie off at home – eating the remainder of his pie from the box in front of
the Box!
But enough of that – let’s dig into the pies!
Here are SJL's thoughts on the Angus Steak:
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| Urban Pie Angus Steak Pie |
I am a big fan of the Urban Pie pastry because it does hold its structure well.
The pies look fantastic and what I consider proper pies to look like. It also
maintains some crispiness on the outside while being gooey on the inside.
Unfortunately this time I also had some very thick pieces of pastry on the
sides. These were a bit too doughy and hence the pie lost score. I am sure that
this isn't representative though as I have had a number of Urban Pies before.
The meat and gravy was classic steak pie fare. The taste of beef was intense
and while it didn't do anything unique, everything it did do it did very well.
Coming as a good value meal it was another Urban Pie experience I really
enjoyed. It was just a shame it had been so long between visits! |
| Urban Pie Lamb, Potato and Mint Pie |
Angus Steak Pie from Urban Pie
Score: 4.78/7 (SJL)
Score: 5.45/7 (RAS)
See where these pies ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
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Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Eric, I’m not Lyon about these top Birmingham Pies!
Chicken Pie Review and Steak and Onion Pie Review for Eric Lyons Ltd
The steak and onion was also full to the brim with tender meat, although sadly the content was overly onion-heavy for my liking. Sure, it's a steak AND onion pie, but I would always want to see the ratio more heavily weighted towards the steak! That said, the gravy was very good to and complimented the steak well. All in all the pie was one I would eat again (though an all steak would be more my cup of tea!)
[Colour 6.5/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6.5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 6.14/7]
[Colour 6.5/7; Consistency 5.5/7; Cheapness 6.5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 5.75/7; Content 5.5/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 5.96/7]
continue reading "Eric, I’m not Lyon about these top Birmingham Pies!"
I have to admit that handmade pies from local butchers have been a bit of a rarity on www.pierate.co.uk but not for want of trying. It's just there are so many other pies that leap out at you from a supermarket shelf that finding a local pie selling butcher can be a challenge. So when Roger, a friend of mine who lives in neighbouring Solihull, asked if I'd had an Eric Lyons I have to admit it drew a blank with me.
Turns out though that the local butcher on Knowle High Street sells a range of pies, which Roger has been commending for years without me realising! And he very kindly picked some up for me. So I give you the Eric Lyons Ltd Chicken and Steak & Onion pies, at a very precise £1.68 each (another sign of a local handmade delicacy).
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| Eric Lyons Pies |
How though did they rate? Well it's clear to see that the colour of both pies were wonderfully golden! The capacity was strong in both pies and the pastry crisp and crunchy. There were no soggy bottoms here! The chicken pie had good meatilicous chunks of tender chicken in a light, not overly creamy sauce. Unlike some chicken pies that get very stodgy quite quickly, this was a delight to eat from start to finish. The meat wasn't chewy and the chicken was quite consistently spread throughout the pie. (No padding out the filling with other things here!) Nothing overly exciting had been done with the flavour, which might disappoint some, but the meat itself was succulent and tasty enough in my opinion.
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| Eric Lyons Chicken and Steak and Onion Pies |
So if you fancy a butchers at a homemade pie in the Solihull area, you can't go far wrong with Eric. And I'm not lyon about that either.
Eric Lyons Ltd Chicken Pie
Score: 6.14/7[Colour 6.5/7; Consistency 6/7; Cheapness 6.5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 6/7; Content 6/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 6.14/7]
Eric Lyons Ltd Steak and Onion Pie
Score: 5.96/7[Colour 6.5/7; Consistency 5.5/7; Cheapness 6.5/7; Chewiness 6/7; Condition 5.75/7; Content 5.5/7; Capacity 6/7; Total: 5.96/7]
RAS
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
|
Monday, 7 October 2013
The Mother of all pies?
Mother Mash Pie Reviews for Chicken, Leek and Ham and Steak Pies
So having been informed of Mother Mash's new pies, that were apparently even better than our last visit by Pierateer SJL, it sounded like a great excuse for Pierateers RAS and TJP - along with a faithful pie comrade known only as ACT - to rate their pies!
So having made their way to Ganton Street in central London, the lads were ready to taste the new additions to the kitchen. For those unfamiliar with the Mother Mash format, you select your mash, your pie (or sausages) and your gravy, though the Pierateers bucked this trend by naturally starting with their pie choice first. With three new pies on the menu, there will little time spent on the small talk! The friendly staff Iona helped us through the mash and gravy options and the lads eagerly awaited their pie and mash experience. It didn't disappoint!
Pierateer RAS went for the Chicken, Leek and Ham pie. Packed full of meaty goodness, the filling oozed out nicely as the cutlery made a very appealing crunch while slicing through the pastry lid. Despite being doused in delicious gravy, the pastry lid was still crisp and had a really nice crunch to it. But it wasn't just the lid that was crisp, for the sides and base of this pie were delicious and crisp too! I was glad this pie didn't fall foul of having a crisp lid but overly thick/solid base and sides, which have downgraded many a pie before! In fact, in terms of condition there was very little I could fault! The colour was also pretty much spot on.
Onto the content and the chicken pieces were both large and tender. I couldn't really have wished for better chicken, with the only query I had being the distinct lack of leek and ham in this chicken, leek and ham pie. I only spotted one piece of leek and little ham. Sure, those who know me well won't be surprised I thoroughly enjoyed the heavy bias to chicken (I'd go as far as to say a 90-10 split in favour of chicken) but I’m just saying that I was expecting the mix of flavours in my pie. Capacity was very strong though and thoroughly enjoyable.
Mother Mash Chicken, Leek and Ham Pie
Score: 6.36/7 (RAS)
Pierateer TJP - who also incidentally brought his own Pierate mug to the occasion - opted for the steak and ale pie, with a creamy mustard mash and farmers gravy. When the pie arrived, I couldn't help but admire its beauty for a few minutes. The colour was practically faultless, and the condition that the pie arrived in could not be bettered. It charmed us all with its rustic authenticity. Diving in to the pie with a knife and fork, I could truly recognise the quality of the pastry, the crunchiness of which was impervious to the onslaught of bacon-flavoured gravy.
Capacity wise, this pie packed a punch. Perhaps the Mother Mash chefs had been shoving extra steak in to the pie for the Pierateers (hence we all try to keep a very low profile to avoid recognised...apart from the T-shirts of course), but either way it was jam-packed to the rafters with big, quality chunks of steak. My initial reaction on opening the pie was that the content looked a little dry - but then I remembered the enormous pool of gravy around it! It seems that the pie is used as a vehicle on which you can eat the mash and gravy. Had I eaten the pie alone, I perhaps would have complained that it was a little dry and needed more gravy. But as a dish here at Mother Mash, where the pie is complemented by heaps of mash and gravy, the pie is not at all dry. The steak was melt-in-the-mouth and not chewy. The cheapness of the pie was another 'plus point', although you can get cheaper pie, mash and gravy elsewhere in London. The ale-ness of the pie was lost a bit among the mash and gravy, so I didn't really notice as much richness of the ale as I have in other steak and ale pies. However, this pie was delicious and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending that you try one as soon as you can.
Mother Mash Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 6.40/7 (TJP)
At £8.95 this is a very reasonably priced pie for top quality pie and mash in central London. While they specialise in mash (hence the name), we highly commend the pies! They fully deserve their place in the Best Pies in London Restaurants list and here's hoping they open a Birmingham branch in the near future!
p.s. We had our just desserts at Mother Mash to! Check out our pie review of the Mother Mash Cherry Pie.
continue reading "The Mother of all pies?"
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| Mother Mash Pies |
So having made their way to Ganton Street in central London, the lads were ready to taste the new additions to the kitchen. For those unfamiliar with the Mother Mash format, you select your mash, your pie (or sausages) and your gravy, though the Pierateers bucked this trend by naturally starting with their pie choice first. With three new pies on the menu, there will little time spent on the small talk! The friendly staff Iona helped us through the mash and gravy options and the lads eagerly awaited their pie and mash experience. It didn't disappoint!
Pierateer RAS went for the Chicken, Leek and Ham pie. Packed full of meaty goodness, the filling oozed out nicely as the cutlery made a very appealing crunch while slicing through the pastry lid. Despite being doused in delicious gravy, the pastry lid was still crisp and had a really nice crunch to it. But it wasn't just the lid that was crisp, for the sides and base of this pie were delicious and crisp too! I was glad this pie didn't fall foul of having a crisp lid but overly thick/solid base and sides, which have downgraded many a pie before! In fact, in terms of condition there was very little I could fault! The colour was also pretty much spot on.
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Mother Mash Chicken, Leek and Ham Pie |
Mother Mash Chicken, Leek and Ham Pie
Score: 6.36/7 (RAS)
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| Mother Mash Steak and Ale Pie |
Capacity wise, this pie packed a punch. Perhaps the Mother Mash chefs had been shoving extra steak in to the pie for the Pierateers (hence we all try to keep a very low profile to avoid recognised...apart from the T-shirts of course), but either way it was jam-packed to the rafters with big, quality chunks of steak. My initial reaction on opening the pie was that the content looked a little dry - but then I remembered the enormous pool of gravy around it! It seems that the pie is used as a vehicle on which you can eat the mash and gravy. Had I eaten the pie alone, I perhaps would have complained that it was a little dry and needed more gravy. But as a dish here at Mother Mash, where the pie is complemented by heaps of mash and gravy, the pie is not at all dry. The steak was melt-in-the-mouth and not chewy. The cheapness of the pie was another 'plus point', although you can get cheaper pie, mash and gravy elsewhere in London. The ale-ness of the pie was lost a bit among the mash and gravy, so I didn't really notice as much richness of the ale as I have in other steak and ale pies. However, this pie was delicious and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending that you try one as soon as you can.
Mother Mash Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 6.40/7 (TJP)
At £8.95 this is a very reasonably priced pie for top quality pie and mash in central London. While they specialise in mash (hence the name), we highly commend the pies! They fully deserve their place in the Best Pies in London Restaurants list and here's hoping they open a Birmingham branch in the near future!
p.s. We had our just desserts at Mother Mash to! Check out our pie review of the Mother Mash Cherry Pie.
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
|
Saturday, 5 October 2013
Joe's blog about Hungry Joe's pies
Hungry Joe's pie review for Steak and Ale and Chilli Beef Pies
Joe 1 and Joe 2 (aka Pierateer RAS and Pierateer TJP respectively) had the pleasure of trying two Hungry Joe's pies, which were a new addition to the ASDA pie section.
Joe 1 (aka Pierateer RAS) opted for the Hungry Joe's Steak and Ale pie, while Joe 2 (aka Pierateer TJP) slammed a Hungry Joe's Chilli Beef pie in the oven.
Watch the video below to see what happened when the two Pierateers sat down to rate their pies!
First of all, let's start with the objective facts. The pies cost £2.48 each, slotting these pies in at the mid-range price point. While they were clearly aimed to serve one person, these pies are still quite large - weighing in at 320g.
Joe 1 (Steak and Ale): The puff pastry lid was nice and golden, and it was a pleasure to be able to pick up the pie without cutlery (see video for evidence). There are a growing number of pies for which picking up and taking a bit is not possible, so were were glad to see that Hungry Joe's was going back to basics with a pie that you can pick up and munch on. This was a very strong positive. The filling was relatively good, with tender meat but slightly gristly and chewy at points. The ale gravy was very apparent and complemented the pie well, with a good capacity.
Joe 2 (Chilli Beef): Hungry Joe's had me hungry for pie. I was nearly as hungry as Joe after watching my pie cook (from frozen) for 50 minutes in the oven. But boy, I was glad to finally pick that pie up with my hands and start eating. As you can see from the video, it was quite hard to tear myself away. Definite plus points are scored by ability of the pie to hold itself together despite me picking it up and mauling it with my hands. The pastry was a lovely golden brown colour after it came out of the oven, with a nice caramelisation to the lid. This is a decent sized pie, although £2.48 is still fairly pricey compared to other supermarket options. The filling wasn't anything particularly impressive. Although the box promised that the chilli would be "fiery hot" and used an icon of three chillis to really strengthen this point, the pie was actually not that hot at all. Overall, it felt a bit as if someone had taken some reasonable chilli con carne and encased it in pastry. The end result was a bit wet and sloppy. However, it did taste fairly nice, and the puff pastry was of good quality. There was not much air in the pie, giving a very pleasing air:filling ratio. The pie was large and the capacity was very generous.
And the scores?...
Hungry Joe's Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 5.33/7
RAS
Hungry Joe's Chilli Beef Pie
Score: 5.09/7
TJP
continue reading "Joe's blog about Hungry Joe's pies"
Joe 1 and Joe 2 (aka Pierateer RAS and Pierateer TJP respectively) had the pleasure of trying two Hungry Joe's pies, which were a new addition to the ASDA pie section.
Joe 1 (aka Pierateer RAS) opted for the Hungry Joe's Steak and Ale pie, while Joe 2 (aka Pierateer TJP) slammed a Hungry Joe's Chilli Beef pie in the oven.
Watch the video below to see what happened when the two Pierateers sat down to rate their pies!
First of all, let's start with the objective facts. The pies cost £2.48 each, slotting these pies in at the mid-range price point. While they were clearly aimed to serve one person, these pies are still quite large - weighing in at 320g.
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| Hungry Joe's ready for eating |
Joe 2 (Chilli Beef): Hungry Joe's had me hungry for pie. I was nearly as hungry as Joe after watching my pie cook (from frozen) for 50 minutes in the oven. But boy, I was glad to finally pick that pie up with my hands and start eating. As you can see from the video, it was quite hard to tear myself away. Definite plus points are scored by ability of the pie to hold itself together despite me picking it up and mauling it with my hands. The pastry was a lovely golden brown colour after it came out of the oven, with a nice caramelisation to the lid. This is a decent sized pie, although £2.48 is still fairly pricey compared to other supermarket options. The filling wasn't anything particularly impressive. Although the box promised that the chilli would be "fiery hot" and used an icon of three chillis to really strengthen this point, the pie was actually not that hot at all. Overall, it felt a bit as if someone had taken some reasonable chilli con carne and encased it in pastry. The end result was a bit wet and sloppy. However, it did taste fairly nice, and the puff pastry was of good quality. There was not much air in the pie, giving a very pleasing air:filling ratio. The pie was large and the capacity was very generous.
And the scores?...
Hungry Joe's Steak and Ale Pie
Score: 5.33/7
RAS
Hungry Joe's Chilli Beef Pie
Score: 5.09/7
TJP
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
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Friday, 4 October 2013
A GLUTEN FREE pie thats worth eating - yes honestly!!
When I was invited to review a gluten free pie for the pierateers I was shocked but very excited! I had never tried a gluten free apple pie before!! So my review is based on a comparisson between what I remember apple pies to taste like before I was diagnosed as a coeliac four years ago. Just seeing the box of gluten free pies put a big smile on my face (with the exception of the supermarket name).
Prior to opening the box, I was expecting a crumbly mess of broken pieces of apple pie - because gluten free pastry does NOT hold together. To my surprise, this was not how I found the four gleaming pies. Not even a crumble had dislodged. See picture below!!
The colour was great, and the top was sprinkled with a little sugar - just the right amount. My first bite filled me with joy and yet slight shock of the slightly fake apple taste, which I had forgotten is an element of the classic apple pie. I quickly got over this and was blown away by the amazing pastry. There was no air gap beneath the lid (which is the classic sign of a cheap pie). I think that the filling, could have had a higher proportion of apple pieces to apple syrup and the syrup was slightly rubbery. None the less, I would definitely buy this pie again and recommend to fellow coeliacs. Coming in at around £2.00 for four pies, this is a competitive price given that gluten free foodstuffs are normally twice the price of a branded product.
Colour = 6
Consistency = 6
Content = 4.5
Capacity = 6
Cheapness = 5.5
Chewiness = 6
Condition = 7
Tesco Gluten Free Apple
Score: 5.86/7
ALE
continue reading "A GLUTEN FREE pie thats worth eating - yes honestly!!"
Prior to opening the box, I was expecting a crumbly mess of broken pieces of apple pie - because gluten free pastry does NOT hold together. To my surprise, this was not how I found the four gleaming pies. Not even a crumble had dislodged. See picture below!!
Consistency = 6
Content = 4.5
Capacity = 6
Cheapness = 5.5
Chewiness = 6
Condition = 7
Tesco Gluten Free Apple
Score: 5.86/7
ALE
See where these pies ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
|
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
Why Can't All Pies Be Paul's Pies?
Paul's Pies - Chicken and Mushroom Pie Review
I was quite excited to finally get my hands on one of Paul's Pies. My fellow Pierateers TJP and RAS have both been impressed by the Oxfordshire based team. TJP went as far as to send Paul's Steak and Guinness pie to the top of our Pie Rankings. With over 225 pie reviews pierate.co.uk is surely the world's leading pie review website and we have in fact reviewed pies all over the world. So I hope that you understand what being top of our pie rankings really means for Paul's Pies. It means that Paul is producing some of the best pies in the world. Hence I was pretty darned excited to get hold of a couple of these colourfully boxed beauties myself. One Chicken and Mushroom and one Steak and Guinness at just £3.50 each, similar in price to a premium supermarket pie. But would they really be as good as I was told or would they not quite satisfy my taste buds in the same way?
These pies look fantastic, the crimped pastry edge and the letter denoting the flavour are nice touches. However, I thought that this might have meant excess pastry which can often lead to dry pie syndrome. I was wrong though, Paul uses suet crust pastry which is so delicious and moist that I could eat it by itself. The pastry had a fantastically homely and satisfying taste because of the use of suet instead of the more traditional butter or lard. I put this down to the fact that suet has more saturated fat than any other common cooking fat. This pastry did however make the pies taste akin to a steak & kidney pudding which use suet pastry whereas pies usually do not. Paul has shown that this twist on a traditional idea is a stroke of genius, the pastry was gooey on the inside with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside.
Onto the filling, the cross-section of the Chicken & Mushroom pie shows that the content really did fill the whole capacity. There were great chunks of 'slow-growing free range chicken' and wonderfully tasty pieces of mushroom (I don't even really like mushroom much!). I was surprised to see that the chicken and mushroom were also joined by some crispy bacon, certainly a good thing in my book as it really developed the flavour, however, I would have expected this to have been advertised on the box.
The chicken wasn't just breast meat as is traditionally the staple in this country but also used dark chicken too. I think this has much more flavour and contributed to a wonderful taste to the filling. When combined with the suet (which reminded me of dumplings) I got such a nostalgic feeling eating this pie. I had a bit of a 'Ratatouille' moment when the food critic is reminded of his childhood by the perfect ratatouille. This was a pie which really did bring a smile to my face.
So in summary, Paul won me over, the Chicken & Mushroom pie was one of the best I have ever had. You can be sure that Paul makes some incredible pies when so many of us aboard the Pierate Ship love his pies. If only all pies were like Paul's pies.
Paul's Pies Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Score: 6.55/7
SJL
P.S. For me this pie raised the question of whether 'puddings' which are a filling enclosed in suet pastry could be pies. If it had discernible sides, base and lid I find it hard to deny that a traditional steak and kidney pudding would actually be a pie (while not denying its right to also be a pudding). Potentially a controversial statement?
P.P.S. So what did I think to the Steak and Guinness pie? Well that has already been reviewed by TJP, I can't rock the Pierate Ship, you will need to ask me to find out!
continue reading "Why Can't All Pies Be Paul's Pies?"
I was quite excited to finally get my hands on one of Paul's Pies. My fellow Pierateers TJP and RAS have both been impressed by the Oxfordshire based team. TJP went as far as to send Paul's Steak and Guinness pie to the top of our Pie Rankings. With over 225 pie reviews pierate.co.uk is surely the world's leading pie review website and we have in fact reviewed pies all over the world. So I hope that you understand what being top of our pie rankings really means for Paul's Pies. It means that Paul is producing some of the best pies in the world. Hence I was pretty darned excited to get hold of a couple of these colourfully boxed beauties myself. One Chicken and Mushroom and one Steak and Guinness at just £3.50 each, similar in price to a premium supermarket pie. But would they really be as good as I was told or would they not quite satisfy my taste buds in the same way?
These pies look fantastic, the crimped pastry edge and the letter denoting the flavour are nice touches. However, I thought that this might have meant excess pastry which can often lead to dry pie syndrome. I was wrong though, Paul uses suet crust pastry which is so delicious and moist that I could eat it by itself. The pastry had a fantastically homely and satisfying taste because of the use of suet instead of the more traditional butter or lard. I put this down to the fact that suet has more saturated fat than any other common cooking fat. This pastry did however make the pies taste akin to a steak & kidney pudding which use suet pastry whereas pies usually do not. Paul has shown that this twist on a traditional idea is a stroke of genius, the pastry was gooey on the inside with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside.
Onto the filling, the cross-section of the Chicken & Mushroom pie shows that the content really did fill the whole capacity. There were great chunks of 'slow-growing free range chicken' and wonderfully tasty pieces of mushroom (I don't even really like mushroom much!). I was surprised to see that the chicken and mushroom were also joined by some crispy bacon, certainly a good thing in my book as it really developed the flavour, however, I would have expected this to have been advertised on the box.
The chicken wasn't just breast meat as is traditionally the staple in this country but also used dark chicken too. I think this has much more flavour and contributed to a wonderful taste to the filling. When combined with the suet (which reminded me of dumplings) I got such a nostalgic feeling eating this pie. I had a bit of a 'Ratatouille' moment when the food critic is reminded of his childhood by the perfect ratatouille. This was a pie which really did bring a smile to my face.
So in summary, Paul won me over, the Chicken & Mushroom pie was one of the best I have ever had. You can be sure that Paul makes some incredible pies when so many of us aboard the Pierate Ship love his pies. If only all pies were like Paul's pies.
Paul's Pies Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Score: 6.55/7
SJL
P.S. For me this pie raised the question of whether 'puddings' which are a filling enclosed in suet pastry could be pies. If it had discernible sides, base and lid I find it hard to deny that a traditional steak and kidney pudding would actually be a pie (while not denying its right to also be a pudding). Potentially a controversial statement?
P.P.S. So what did I think to the Steak and Guinness pie? Well that has already been reviewed by TJP, I can't rock the Pierate Ship, you will need to ask me to find out!
See where these pies ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
|
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