For your money, you also get a small blob of green pea-y mush, and some bland mash. But let's not dwell on the accompaniments - this is a review about the pie.


The pie does not look in very good condition. The bake is very uneven, with uneven glaze and what appears to be pretty bad boil-out on the lid. The colour ranges from very pale to very dark, covering the full range of the brown rainbow.

Slicing open the review reveals a mediocre amount of pie filling that spills limply out onto my plate. The beef and onion filling is edible but doesn't make me smile. The puff pastry is unremarkable.

Yes, this is a low-cost pie, but I wouldn't rate it very good value for money. It barely filled me up, and didn't look like the attractive 'oozing' pie that adorned the box. They must have found the world's smallest plate for that photo.

To me, this was not a 'pub classic'. Disappointing, with few merits - this 'Chosen By You' pie won't be chosen by me in the future.


ASDA Pub Classics Pie & Mash
Score: 2.2/7
TJP

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Morrisons Pie Reivews

I love this time of year. I love the Christmas trees, the twinkling lights, spending time with family, turkey, etc, etc. But what really make me excited are the special limited edition festive pies. Sometimes these are bizarre flavour which wouldn't stand a chance of being served on The Pierate Ship dinner table at any other time of year. But at Christmas the rules of the game seem to change slightly. It provides a great chance to tear open the familiar pastry wrapping paper to find the present of a never before tasted flavour. For a Pierateer there seem to have been particularly rich pickings this year. Whilst I feel Morissons have perhaps had more than their fair share of pie reviews (see our list of Morrisons pie reviews), I just couldn't resist when I found no less than FIVE festive pies. But will they leave me wishing it could be Christmas everyday or just a bah humbug? Let's see if Morissons think I have been good this year with a range of mini pork pies, mini meat pies and a winter fruit pie.

Apple and Winterberry (Morrisons Pie Counter)
6.03/7
I don't often review lattice topped pies. I have been known to comment that the filling seems a bit 'naked', but hey, it's the season of good will to all pies. Especially when they taste this good. Similar to the individual apple pie reviewed before.
Condition - 5.0 out of 7 - A great looking pie, I forgive and forget the lattice top lid but it fell apart when going for the cross-section which was disappointing.
Colour - 6.5 out of 7 - Vibrant reds, a crispy golden brown, dusted with icing sugar like the first snow fall of winter.
Cheapness - 5.0 out of 7 - At 65p this is a reasonable price for a desert or snack for one person. Twin pack is cheaper.
Capacity - 6.0 out of 7 - Even a flea wouldn't survive very long if it was left to breath only the air in this pie. It was jam packed.
Chewiness - 6.5 out of 7 - A triumph of texture. A mix of a crunchy biscuity top crust and soft bottom crust. The fruit was soft but had a bit of bite. The berries had some crunchy seeds which I enjoyed.
Content - 6.5 out of 7 - In terms of taste, this is one of the best fruit pies I have eaten. The sweetness of the sugar and apple was counter balanced by the rich and sour flavour of the unidentifiable Winterberries. It didn't get full marks as there could have been more chunks of fruit rather than the fruity jelly padding it out slightly.
Consistency - 6.7 out of 7 - Worked well as a pastry package, the sweet pastry complementing the filling.

Mini Pork & Cranberry (Morrisons)
5.33/7
Condition - 4.8 out of 7 - Again an unnecessary lattice top which was sneakily hidden behind the packaging. It looked decent despite the unnecessary holes in the top.

Left to Right - Stilton, Apple and Cranberry

Colour - 6.1 out of 7 - Amazing glossy brown colours. Filling seemed slightly too pink to me.
Cheapness - 5.1 out of 7 - £1.89 for a pack of six ain't bad even for mini pies.
Capacity - 5.5 out of 7 - For a small pie it fit in a lot. Small gaps for a bit of jelly.
Chewiness - 5.1 out of 7 - Not any chewy bits to the filling but it could have been less mushy. There was a good crunch to the pastry.
Content - 5.3 out of 7 - For me I found this ideal as there was a subtle amount of the festive berry. If you are a big fan of cranberry you might find it lacking. The tang of the berries made this stand out from the average pork pie.
Consistency - 5.4 out of 7 - Different and would work well as part of a Christmas buffet.

Mini Pork & Apple (Morrisons)
4.87/7
Condition - 5.5 out of 7 - Topped with poppy seeds, this made it look a little bit better than standard versions.
Colour - 5.0 out of 7 - Again, some wonderful hues to the outside but the inside didn't look great...
Cheapness - 5.1 out of 7 - Same as cranberry.
Capacity - 2.5 out of 7 - Not sure what Morrisons had done here, terrible cross section, it seemed like a species of termite had burrowed holes in the filling leaving lots of gaps.
Chewiness - 4.5 out of 7 - Slipped down pretty well. It wasn't dry, like it looked.
Content - 6.0 out of 7 - The flavour of this pie blew my mind. Not just a standard pork and apple, it was actually flavoured with CINNAMON! Somehow it worked, in this small dose it wasn't overpowering and gave the pie a refined taste.
Consistency - 5.5 out of 7 - Whilst the amount of filling let this pie down it tasted great and would get the guests talking at a Christmas party as it was delightfully different. Just don't let them look at the filling...

Mini Pork & Stilton (Morrisons Deli)
5.07/7
Condition - 5.1 out of 7 - Dusted with a crumb topping this pie again stood out on appearances.
Colour - 4.8 out of 7 - Not quite such a perfect golden brown like the other pork pies.
Cheapness - 5.5 out of 7 - At £1.29 it is similar price to the others and good value as Stilton isn't cheap.
Capacity - 4.8 out of 7 - The photo looks decent but I found some of the pack had dodgy air gaps.
Chewiness - 3.8 out of 7 - Decent performance from the filling although it was a little mushy. The pastry was unfortunately dry and crumbly in places.
Content - 6.0 out of 7 - For me this was wonderful, the very small amount of Stilton gave it a rich aroma. The mouldy cheese can often be overpowering, but not here. It may disappoint if you like cheese so much you get tempted to steal it from mouse traps.
Consistency - 5.5 out of 7 - Again, whilst this wasn't consistently great, I would get some for a festive feast as it is worth trying.

Mini Beef & Onion (Morrisons)
3.13/7
I was very happy to see these mini meat pies which could be eaten hot. There really is a gap in the market for small hot pies. I would say it was a shame these aren't available all year but they are barely worth eating given the lack of filling.
Condition - 5.0 out of 7 - These critters actually looked half decent, I might even go as far as to say they looked cute, I don't think I have seen a smaller pie.
Colour - 4.8 out of 7 - Good but not special.
Cheapness - 2.7 out of 7 - £2.49 for 6, you don't get much for your 41.5p here. These are tiny and lack the value of the pork pies. You could almost get one of the pie counter pies for how much these tiny things cost!
Capacity - 1.4 out of 7 - Abysmal, these reminded me of the air pie. They were quite tall so could have got a morsel inside but they were all largely empty. Just a smear of filling at the bottom.
Content - 4.5 out of 7 - What there was of the filling tasted nice. Pretty standard meat and onion with a bit of carrot.
Consistency - 3.5 out of 7 - These didn't taste bad but didn't really work. It was just like eating a fairly average and slightly dry shortcrust on it's own.

A mixture of presents in the Morrisons christmas stocking. Most of them I would recommend to try but not necessarily pies I would buy regularly. Perhaps the fact that they are temporary makes them all the more desirable and special.

SJL

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At Pierate we are generally quite confused and annoyed by Greggs the Baker. National chain, they are everywhere but why don't they sell more pies! What a waste of shelf space giving it to pasties and slices! But, interestingly we have managed to find a Greggs pie being sold frozen in Iceland. Now we know why Greggs don't normally sell pies, it was pretty poor, not good value at all. This pie was eaten for breakfast on Day Six of British Pie Week as part of SJL's pie for every meal challenge. See the video below for the review.



More than meats the pie? Not really, it was as bad as it looked. The bits of meat were small but still somehow managed to be chewy. It was far too shallow, perhaps because Greggs only know how to make slices. At £2.50 for a 250g (small) pie this is best avoided. Unless of course you are interested in the high calorie count (800 kcal) or the undisclosed high salt content.



Condition - 4.5 out of 7
Colour - 4 out of 7
Cheapness - 1 out of 7
Capacity - 2 out of 7
Chewiness - 1 out of 7
Content - 2 out of 7
Consistency - 1 out of 7

Minced Beef & Onion (Greggs)
2.21/7

SJL

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Maxi Brand Beef and Onion pie review.

I was out in Bethnal Green, London, the other day, and was feeling a little peckish. So I thought, you know what, I really fancy finding myself a nice Cornish pasty to eat…

Or did I?

Of course I didn’t! This is Pierate, and I’m a Pierateer, so the only thing on my mind was getting some pies to eat. And pronto.

I happened upon the Regal Fish Bar on Bethnal Green Road. They sold pies, so I was sold. From a choice of what one might call the ‘classic trio’ of pies (Chicken and Mushroom, Vegetable, and Beef and Onion), I opted for the Beef and Onion. Here it is in all its glory:

Note that this pie looks rather unfamiliar. Have you seen this kind before? Is it a Pukka Pie? No. Is it a Holland’s Pie? No. After asking the staff, I was informed that it was a ‘Maxi Brand’ pie. After a lot of searching, I think I’ve managed to track down this mysterious brand here. Down the bottom you’ll see a ‘Maxi Halal Beef and Onions pie’ – although the adjacent picture has the pie in a silver casing rather than red. The same colour red in my casing is used in the casing for the picture for the chicken and mushroom pie, so I have to assume that they have got the pictures mixed up. Apart from that link, however, I can’t seem to find anything else about Maxi Brand.

How does the pie rate? It was quite cheap – I can’t remember how much exactly, but in the region of £2. The pastry was a nice golden brown colour, but I found it to be a bit chewy and difficult to cut with my plastic knife and fork. I found myself having to tear into it with my teeth, looking like a vicious wolf tearing apart its food. The filling was averagely pleasant for a beef and onion pie. It was filled to a good capacity with only a minor air gap. Where this pie really loses points for me though is how chewy I found the pastry lid to be.

Maxi Brand Beef and Onion pie
Score: 3.0/7
TJP

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ASDA Beef and Mushy Pea pie review

Beef and mushy peas in a pie? Pies and peas traditionally go together in the UK, and more traditionally in the North of England.

But rather than at a football match, I found this pie in my local ASDA in London – and it was sporting a blue badge of just £1 (trial price). But is £1 even too much to pay for this hearty treat? Let’s find out.

That is quite an impressive cross-section there. The two layers of the pie are perfectly delineated, although the thinness of the pastry sides has meant this pie has collapsed somewhat when I cut through it. The puff pastry lid, however, has a decent flakiness to it, and is a lovely golden brown colour. The pie is filled near enough to full capacity, although there is a slight air gap if you look closely enough.

However, it is rather pea-heavy, with there seemingly being more pea in this pie than actual beef. The beef and onion mince also looks pretty standard and what I’d expect of a cheaper supermarket pie. I can’t help but think that the excess of peas simply bulks out the pie, at the expense of putting mince beef in there. That’s more than the “good dollop of mushy peas” which the description promotes – it’s a very good dollop!

So this review really goes down the same lines as other supermarket beef and onion pies, except with the addition of mushy peas. Cheap, but nothing special in my mind.

Plus I know that beef pies and mushy peas are a traditional mix, but it’s certainly not one that I am a personal fan of. I found both the mushy peas and the mince to be rather tasteless. On top of this, the mushiness of the beef mince combined with the mushiness of the peas meant that this pie was altogether very mushy indeed. It left me clamouring for something to bite onto – thankfully the edges of the pastry lid had a bit of crunch amongst the general mush. I’m not elderly quite yet, so while I still have my teeth I don’t want my food to come ready-mushed.

ASDA Beef and Mushy Pea pie
Score: 3.26/7
TJP

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Alen's Fish and Chips Beef and Onion Pie Review

Sometimes getting lost can be quite fortuitous. I got lost leaving the office the other day. Slightly bizarre given the amount of times I'd left the office and walked the same route, but the mind does do some strange things sometimes (I suppose you could say writing for a pie review blog is also one of those strange things). Anyway, after I'd come round from my temporary stupor and realised I was walking toward Holborn rather than Kings Cross, I found myself outside Alen's Fish and Chip shop. Not that amazing, you might say, given the abundance of fish and chip shops in London, but this one was different - it sold pies that didn't look like Pukka Pies. What's more, once inside, the man behind the counter told me they were handmade. Great!

Beef and Onion Pie

I have to admit, it's been a little while since I actually ate this pie (there have been several other pie-related commitments I've had to attend to since then), so I can't totally remember the price, but I believe it was around the £2-£2.50 mark. Yes, let's say £2.25 - but don't quote me on that. Anyway, it was a reasonable price and what you'd expect for a chip shop pie. Let's open up the pie!



Pretty standard contents here again for a beef and onion pie. If it weren't for the original-looking pastry, I'd have doubts as to whether this was actually a handmade pie. It tastes pretty much like every other beef and onion pie I've ever eaten. There really nothing special here. It's a plain, standard beef and onion pie if you ever saw one. If an alien came to Earth and you wanted to show it the most typical beef and onion pie, you could show it this and be happy. The pastry was a little thin and a bit papery. I was uninspired, but I left Alen's happy and content with this reasonably priced, but more-than-a-bit boring, pie.

Alen's Fish and Chips Beef and Onion Pie
Score 4.7/7
TJP

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What better way to celebrate British Pie Week than to enjoy not one, but two pies in a week from the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham? The clever staff at the NIA cafe clearly knew how to give a morale booster to all the volunteers who were hitting the Arena that week for what was a quality week of high class Badminton. For the Yonex All England Badminton Championship was in town from 7th-13th March 2011 and in order to keep happy the army of volunteers kindly giving up their week to help support the event, the NIA staff knew what pastry based meatylicious product to whack on the menu. The only disappointment was that the British players did not last long in the tournament, to back up the great British dinner on offer almost every day of the week! (I had to rub my eyes at sheer disbelief seeing pie after pie after pie on the menu all week – although sadly a few of these pies were potato covered “pies” of the cottage and fish variety, which we connoisseurs at pierate.co.uk would definitely not define as real pies.)

So once the pies were served up, did they taste smashing? Or was I left with only backhanded comments rather than feeling the pie had hit the back of the net? Would I need to drop shot these pies into the nearest bin or was I onto a real winner? Well I consumed a Steak pie on one evening and a Beef and Onion pie on another evening. And the good news is that they were both pretty reasonable pies. While I personally wouldn’t have recommended spending the £7.50 to have this level of pie, chips and veg at the NIA cafe – after all, this wasn’t the number one pie in the world – I was certainly happy enough to enjoy the whole pie in the comfort of having an £7.50 meal voucher to cover my food. The pie was covered in nice pastry and the fillings were good. Portion wise, the pie could have been a bit bigger and the base pastry a bit less soggy, but all in all the pie was very pleasant. If I was in the NIA again sometime, I certainly wouldn’t stop myself making a big racquet in requesting another NIA pie.

Score: 4.5/7

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A quick lunch stop at the Half Moon Cafe, West London, and a selection of three pies are on the menu: chicken and mushroom; steak and kidney; and beef and onion. This beef and onion pie was tasty but unfortunately a little soggy, and the pastry had to be ripped as you cut it with the knife - sort of felt a little microwaved. While they were not astronomical, it was great to see pies on the menu.

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The health-giving benefits of pies have long since been known, not least by the National Health Service. It is particularly pleasing to note this Beef and Onion pie, spotted in the patient canteen at Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, London. Who needs an orthopaedic surgeon when you can indulge in some orthopiedics right here right now?

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So I was happening to be in the main Aston University cafe – CafeTierra to you and me – and stumbled across “Beef and Onion pie” on the menu, reasonably priced at £3.20 as offering chips and veg as part of the meal. The outer crust looked so golden and appealing that I thought “hey, why not?!” and gave it a go, even though I’m certainly no Onion-lover (and therefore, sad to say, that does tend to put me off this flavour pie).

But what I ate turned out to be one of the most unusual and quite flavoursome pies I’ve come across, and believe me, I’ve come across a fair few in my time! Let me explain:

When you imagine a beef and onion pie, you often think of either chunks of tender beef or, if a cheaper alternative, minced beef, in a rich beef gravy and with varying levels of onion but not a lot else in your pie. But that’s where you’d be wrong with the Aston Experience! For what you found having dug under the golden crisp coating was actually what can be best described as a minced beef tomato bolognaise inside a pie! What a shock!

This certainly made the beef and onion pie pretty unique, in my view, and potentially had the highest vegetable content of any meat-based pie I’d ever eaten! (Not that I’d ever eat a vegetarian pie...for (a) fear of them actually being a slice and (b) the clear lack of meaty-licious content!)

The tomato based sauce, with carrots and onion and a few other pieces of vegetable unknown to the untrained vegetable eater, certainly weren’t what the doctor ordered, but this pierateer was certainly highly impressed by the taste and how well it all went with the lovely golden pastry (by the way, did I mention the top of the pie was golden?) In fact, so much so that I will be trying to frequent this eating establishment again to see if there are any other pies on offer soon! And defo worth a try if you’re a D-I-Y pie maker – make a spagbol and then whack it in fine, crispy pastry and have it as a pie!

Score (for randomness and great taste): 5.5/7

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Today's review is of a "Tesco Beef and Onion Pie". It is important to review these supermarket own-brand items, because you may be pleasantly surprised by their quality and relatively low prices. This review is of the normal Tesco pie, as opposed to the Tesco Value Beef and Onion pie which may have to be saved for another day.



I'm sure you'll agree, this pie looks fantastic with a golden brown colour. The pastry looks wonderfully crispy and not too stodgy.



A close-up of the content. Looks great! Filled with tender beef and generous amounts of gravy. The filling:pastry ratio is excellent. I go in for a taste - the filling is succulent and melts on the tongue. I particularly like the pastry too, it does not taste fatty and stodgy but rather light and crunchy. Tesco really have done themselves proud with this beef and onion pie. Just look how great it looks on a plate with some chips! (Please note, this plate does not belong to me and so am not responsible for the spottiness of it!). Would purchase again, if only there weren't so many more pies to try.

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