Morrison's Large Pork Pie with Egg

Before we start let's be clear - this pie made me late for work. That's right. Precious time was lost getting this pie from the fridge in the morning, time that cost me my train connection.

On another, more serious, note it has to be said, this was the pie that broke all the rules.

We have tended to stick to small pies in this blog. We like to maintain a high crust-to-filling ratio, and a small pie is guaranteed to deliver on this score. This pie was large and was taking us into new territory.

The pie had been refrigerated during the day and someone had pushed it to the back of the fridge, meaning part of it was over-chilled when we retrieved it for eating. We left the pie to approach room temperature before unwrapping.

Cutting the pie was a firm experience, but lacking some of the biscuity crispness we like. The base was a good consistency and clear of any lard. The lid was similarly clean. The first cut caused the pie to collapse. Once this initial incision had been made normal cutting service was resumed.

The egg was offset from the centre and the yoke, needless to say, was offset in the egg. This is where the pie delivered a completely unexpected personality never before experienced by the eaters of this blog.

The revelation was that this pie was dominated by meat. The lower crust-to-filling ratio brought the meat to the fore. The egg, despite expectations, acted as a texture and seasoning agent by bringing a salty flavour and lighter texture to the meat.

We have had some pies that are over-seasoned, particularly with pepper. This pie, without the egg, would have been acceptable but meaty. Potentially too meaty. The egg balanced the meat perfectly and introduced a personality to each bite that would not have been there had this been meat all the way through.

Flavour balance: meat 45%, pastry 40%, egg 10%, gelatine 5%.

Overall score: 8/10