Sainsbury's basics 4 Pork Pies

Our first budget pie review. Four classic 110g pies in a cheap plastic film with a bonus flimsy plastic tray, this tasting session wasn't starting off too well. Going on first impressions these pies frankly looked dull. Glaze was very minimal and they looked tough and unappetising.

Now trying not to judge pie by it's crust we ploughed on with this tasting session and the cutting took place. This pie was one tough cookie slicing with a firm resistance to the knife during pork penetration although with minimal breakage the outer crusty protection.

Once cut-up and splayed open like a cheap hooker on Friday night this pie revealed a grey mass of lacklustre pork meat packed hard inside with no room to breath. The meat was firmly pushing against the dry walls of the crust. Disappointingly there was no jelly to help the pork slip down more easily and was definitely missing from the taste.

This pie did have a meaty taste but was distinctly lacking any lingering flavour from seasoning or quality meat, maybe that is explained by the 47% meat content. Another expert taster noted the "bland after-crust" which developed following mastication.

On the plus side it was very morish and disappeared pretty quickly with one of our directors salivating for a second helping. Sadly another one opted for ketchup as a complimentary condiment. Sacrilege!

All this sounds very negative however remember this pie is a budget pie. Now here's the killer point. This pack of pies cost 98p! YES! That's a whopping 24.5p of pie. 

Flavour balance: Pastry 52%, Pork 47%, Seasoning 1%

Overall Score: 7/10