Good-quality ingredients are the key to the most authentic British flavor when making these muffin-sized mini pork pies.
Instructions
1
Make the gravy
2
Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a small saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch and chicken broth until they're blended. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Keep cooking and whisking for one to two minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside.
3
Cook the pork with the spices
4
In a large skillet, cook the ground pork, garlic, cloves, nutmeg and cayenne pepper over medium heat until the pork is no longer pink, six to eight minutes, breaking the pork into crumbles as it cooks. Drain any excess liquid. Add the broth mixture to the pot and cook while stirring for one to two minutes or until the sauce is thickened. Take the pot off the heat and let the mixture cool slightly at room temperature.
5
Cut the pie dough
6
Unroll each pie crust from the packaging. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each pie dough out into a 12-inch circle. Using floured round cookie cutters, cut twenty 4-inch circles and twenty 2-3/4-inch circles, rerolling the scraps as needed. Editor’s Tip: Be sure to reroll and use the scraps, or else you won’t have enough to make all 20 mini pork pies.
7
Shape into muffin tins
8
Place the large circles in ungreased muffin cups, pressing the crust onto the bottoms and up the sides.
9
Assemble the mini pies
10
Fill each bottom crust with 3 tablespoons of the cooked pork mixture. Place the small pie dough circles over the filling. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal the pie dough. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Brush the egg wash over the tops. Cuts slits in the top crusts so steam can escape during baking.
11
Bake the mini pies
12
Bake the mini pork pies for 15 to 20 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Carefully transfer the mini pork pies to wire racks to cool at room temperature. Serve the mini pork pies while they’re still warm.
