Pork belly and Bramley apple pie features a rich dry cider, crème fraîche and wholegrain mustard sauce, topped with a golden puff pastry lid.
This dish takes a while to cook (~3½ hours) but that includes a long cooling time, you can make the filling in advance and then top the pie and bake it in 25 minutes!
Fruity Pork Pot Pie
Some people will tell you that a pie with a puff pastry lid ain’t a pie, but life is way too short for that negativity!
Most often my pies are fully encased in pastry, and they are superb… I have everything from cornish pasties, to a classic pork pie and a meat and potato plate pie to a hearty beef and ale pie.
But sometimes, chucking some puff pastry on a stew like this recipe and my chicken and leek pie scratches an itch in a very satisfying way.
This recipe rocks pork belly and Bramley apple in a rich cider and crème fraîche sauce.
It’s wonderfully simple too, the long cooking time masks the fact that you spend very little time actively cooking.
You will only spend around 30 minutes in the kitchen cooking this dish!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use homemade puff pastry?
I usually use store-bought puff pastry as my lid for this pie, I think that life is too short for making puff pastry at home.
But you can make it at home and use it in this recipe. This puff pastry recipe from my mate Jo is the best I have made.
What cider should I use?
Any dry cider will see you well in this recipe, I use Aspall Premier Cru in most of my recipes that call for cider.
If you are in the US be sure to use a dry hard cider, cider in this instance means booze!
Do I have to use Bramley apple?
If you can yes, they are irreplaceable when it comes to flavour and texture.
I am aware that they are difficult (impossible?) to find outside of the UK. If you are from other shores then you could add Granny Smiths.
They will add a similar sharpness to the dish, but they will not give the same texture or flavour.
What can I do with the leftover puff pastry?
I would usually make some small sausage rolls with any leftover puff pastry, but if you like sweet stuff, then these nutella and banana pinwheels are fun.
Can I make this in advance?
I would usually make the filling for these pies a day or two in advance, then cooking them just means adding a lid and chucking them in the oven.
The stew will be fine in the fridge for a couple of days. Be sure not to add the crème fraîche until the day of cooking.
Serving Suggestions
I’ve served my hearty pork and apple pies with some simply boiled buttered new potatoes and peas with a big handful of fresh parsley.
Pie and chips are always a wonderful combination, and you could serve these with either air fryer chips or some proper chip shop style chips.
Likewise, mash and pie is a very popular combination. Although I have to confess I find it all a bit “big” as a meal as I have got a little older. Everything from mashed potato to celeriac mash would be great options.
But I do like some greens with my pies, and probably the side I cook most often is roasted tenderstem broccoli. It’s simple and you can chuck it in the oven with the pies and dinner is served.
I’m also rather fond of asparagus and my air fryer garlic asparagus works wonderfully with this recipe.
Equipment Used
I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But, if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob or stovetop.
- 15cm or 6″ saucepan.
- 28cm or 11″ saucepan.
- Oven.
- Stirring spoons.
- 2 x 375ml (1½ Cups) pie or a single pie dish with a capacity of 750ml (3 Cups).
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Apple corer and peeler or a paring knife.
- A combination of weighing scales and or a measuring jug, cups and spoons.
- Mixing bowl.
- Pastry brush.
Pork and Apple Pie Recipe
Savoury pies really are comfort food heaven for us Brits, this pork and apple pie has the most delicious cider, crème fraîche and mustard sauce!
Ingredients
- 500ml (2 Cups) Dry Cider
- 1 Medium (150g) Onion
- 25g (2 Tbsp) Butter
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 350g (12oz) Pork Belly
- ¼-½ Tsp Salt
- 125ml (½ Cup) Chicken Stock
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 Tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
- 1 Medium-Large (275g) Bramley Apple
- 150g (½ Cup) Crème Fraîche
- 10g (⅔ Cup) Fresh Parsley
- 1 Beaten Egg (to glaze the pastry)
- Sheet of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry (You will not need all of this)
- Pinch of Flaky Sea (Optional)
Instructions
- Heat a 15cm or 6" saucepan over a very high heat and pour in the cider, then reduce it by ⅔rds. This will take around 10-15 minutes.
- Cut the onion in half, peel it and then cut it into a 1cm (½") dice.
- Heat a 28cm or 11" frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter, when it begins to foam throw in the diced onion and sweat them down for 10 minutes (stirring occasionally).
- Peel the garlic cloves and dice them as finely as you can.
- If your pork belly has the rind on cut it off, remove and gristle and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
- Turn the heat under the onions to high and add the pork belly, season with the salt and cook it until it is nicely golden. This will take 3-4 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, then saute for a minute or two.
- Pour in the chicken stock, and the reduced cider and add the bay leaf, thyme and wholegrain mustard.
- Core, peel and roughly dice the Bramley apple and throw it into the pan, add a lid and simmer for 45 minutes. Don't worry too much about the size of the chunks, this will break down in the sauce. When the filling has cooked, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Chop the parsley as finely as you can and when the pie filling has cooled add it to the pan.
- Stir through the crème fraîche then divide the filling between two 375ml (1½ Cups) pie dishes. You can make it in a pie dish with a capacity of 750ml (3 Cups).
- Cut two circles of puff pastry a little larger than the pie dishes, dip your index finger in a little water, then moisten the edge of the bowl and add the pastry lid. Press around the edges with a fork and then trim off any excess pastry.
- Brush the pie lids with beaten egg and then pop them in the oven for 25 minutes at 200°C or 390°F. I like to add a few flakes of sea salt to the top of the pie before it goes into the oven, this is optional.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1512Total Fat: 105gSaturated Fat: 44gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 55gCholesterol: 271mgSodium: 1825mgCarbohydrates: 74gFiber: 6gSugar: 34gProtein: 50g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.
thomas rosser
Sunday 18th of February 2024
down in the west country cider is the norm. this pork pie looks awesome will be trying it with real west country cider [scrumpy] many thanks for the recipe regards tom
Brian Jones
Sunday 17th of March 2024
I have very hazy and sketchy memories of scrumpy fuelled trips to footie matches in that part of the world over the last 30 years!
Enjoy
Brian
Keith
Friday 23rd of December 2016
Normally (more as a rule) when I run across a recipe on foodgawker that looks great in pictures and sounds interesting, it's a bit of a lunch bag letdown upon trying it.
You Sir were an exception to the rule with this post. Nice shots and the pork pie turned out great! Thank you, the recipe is now in our "keepers" list of go to recipes.
Brian Jones
Saturday 24th of December 2016
Cheers, Keith... I hate it when recipes prove not to work, stoked that you like the recipe... I hope it provides a load of happy bellies in the future.
John J. Camilleri
Wednesday 16th of December 2015
You didn't mention in the recipe when to use the apple!
Brian Jones
Thursday 17th of December 2015
Quite an oversight... Thanks for taking the time to let me know John, I am a terrible proof reader!
Diane
Wednesday 11th of November 2015
Gotta say I love that pork pie. We are pork lovers here. I have never attempted pork pie. But dang Brian, this looks so amazing I'm going to have to! That crust is to die for. I went over to Every Nook and Cranny and took a look at that superior recipe. I've been thinking about making my own puff pastry. Really don't want to buy it so I may be trying that myself someday! And,so you know... I have a pie bird like that! When you see mine, I didn't copy. It came from my mom long ago:)
Brian Jones
Friday 13th of November 2015
Haha, those pie funnels have been around for a great many years, I can't remember where mine came from and am never surprised to see them in pie recipes... Purk is fairly unusual to make a pie out of but cooking it just right works wonderfully.
I had to give real puff pastry a go once and I know that Jo over at Every Nook and Cranny and she is a wizard of a baker, it worked wonderfully for me but it did look like a hurricane had swept through our kitchen :D
Patricia
Wednesday 4th of November 2015
I am in awe of your photos, your food and your blog. So much so that I want to lick my laptop screen.
Brian Jones
Thursday 5th of November 2015
Thank you so much for your kind words Patricia, glad you like my stuff... You should definitely be careful with your screen though ;)