The tradition behind hot water crust pastry is for use in making game pies without a mold. The lord of the house and the hunting party would go out, tackle the skies (and forests) with their weapons and with the assistance of their pups, bring game meat home for supper. Keep in mind there were points in history where it was illegal for anyone but the nobility or aristocrats (in France) to hunt in this manner. These pies would not have been a pauper’s delight.
Today, other meats have been embraced, typically fatty and flavorful pork or beef, and are made in tins. If you want the real experience, use pigeon or other such poultry and skip the mold. If you choose not to use a mold, there are 2 options: shape your crust about 3 days in advance, and allow to harden before adding the filling and baking; alternatively use twine and parchment paper to wrap around the pies (mini pies, don’t try this on a 9″) and blind bake well before filling. To help shape, I still recommend using a mold or the outside of a 1-2 cup Pyrex bowl dusted in flour, separate dough from bowl and allow to sit in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. Then fill, and wrap in parchment paper and tie with twine. Use a fresh dough for the lid (roll thinner) of the pie and dust with a coarse flour.
Melting the shortening (the fat) into the hot water lends strength to the crust as well as giving it that tender, flaky texture.
Take-Home Tips: It is possible to tear off a piece of dough to help press the bases into the ramekin if using your fingers is causing trouble (long nails?). The pie lid should be tucked below the crust’s edge, rather than doming above it. Flute the rim and cut the excess dough into shapes to decorate. Dust the finished product with a coarse flour (rice flour) for texture and biting apart. If you do not have a funnel, you can pipe (with a baster) the jelly into the pie.
Scoring: 6 of 10. The actual hot water crust, deserves a 10 of 10. It is the perfect amount of crisp yet melts in your mouth crumble. It held together really well, taking the pressure of its contents and maintaining its shape and decorative topping. However, because we over worked the meat, rolling it into balls and mushing it together, the filling became a stiff meatball-like consistency. This can be avoided by not overworking the meat, not pressing it into its mold, and keeping a loser middle. Yet, it was eaten and I did enjoy it. I would recommend eating it as you would at a sporting event, pick it up and bite into it.
Food of the Month 