BBQ Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Pie
This BBQ pulled pork mac & cheese pie is a great way to use up leftover barbecue! There's crisp pastry, creamy macaroni & tender, smoked meat
Servings: 4 Portions
Equipment
- 2 7" Pie Tins
- Mixing Bowl
- Saucepans
- Colander
- Cheese Grater
- Baking Tray
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 500 g Plain Flour
- ¾ tsp Table Salt
- 215 g Unsalted Butter Chilled & Cut Into Small Pieces
- 90 g Lard Chilled & Cut Into Small Pieces
- Ice Cold Water
Mac & Cheese
- 150 g Dried Macaroni
- 25 g Unsalted Butter
- 25 g Plain Flour
- 300 g Whole Milk
- 200 g Chicken Stock
- 1 tsp French's Mustard
- 60 g Red Leicester
- 60 g Low Moisture Mozzarella
- 50 g Mature Cheddar
Pulled Pork
- 300 g Pulled Pork See Notes
- 4 tbsp Barbecue Sauce
Egg Wash
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Whole Milk
- A Pinch Of Table Salt
Instructions
Pie Crusts
- Place the flour, salt, butter & lard into a large mixing bowl then rub together by hand until the mix resembles breadcrumbs but with some slightly larger chunks of fat still visible.
- Add in the egg yolks then mix, adding in enough ice cold water* to make a rough dough. *Start off by adding in 2 tbsp of cold water then add in more if necessary.
- Tip the dough out onto a clean worksurface & knead gently until smooth (be careful not to overwork the pastry) then cut into quarters, flatten into discs & wrap in clingfilm. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Mac & Cheese
- Place a large saucepan of salted water over a high heat & bring to the boil. Once boiling, add in the macaroni then cook to al dente. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Refresh the macaroni under cold water then drain in a colander. Coat the pasta in a small amount of olive oil then set aside.You can cook the macaroni in advance & store in the fridge until needed!
- Next, grate the cheddar & red Leicester and cut the mozzarella into small pieces. Set aside for now.
- Add the butter into another large saucepan then set over a medium heat & cook until melted. Stir the flour into the melted butter then cook out for a minute, stirring constantly.
- Add in half the milk then whisk until smooth. Cook out until thick, whisking/stirring regularly. This will take 2-3 minutes over a medium heat.
- Pour in the remaining milk & keep cooking until thickened again.
- Now add in half the chicken stock & reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring/whisking regularly until the sauce has thickened back up.
- Pour in the rest of the stock then keep cooking until the flour has been cooked out & the sauce has thickened for a final time. It should be slightly thicker than double cream.
- Add the mustard & all of the cheese into the sauce then stir to melt. Season with salt & pepper then take off the heat & stir in the macaroni.
- Tip the mac & cheese into a baking tin, cover the surface with a piece of clingfilm or baking parchment (this stops a skin forming) then leave to cool completely.
Assembly
- Take your pastry out of the fridge then leave to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or so - this makes it more pliable & easier to roll out.
- Take one of the pieces of pastry & roll out on a lightly floured surface into a circle that's 4-5 mm thick & roughly 2 inches wider than your pie tin.
- Grease a pie tin with butter then carefully line with the rolled out pastry, leaving any overhanging pastry untrimmed for the time being. Repeat the rolling out process with another piece of pastry then use to line another greased pie tin.
- Next, place the pulled pork into a mixing bowl with the barbecue sauce then mix together. Add half of the pork into the bottom of each pie then top with the cool mac & cheese.
- Now, roll one of the remaining pieces of pastry out on a lightly floured surface, into a 4-5mm thick disc, that's big enough to completely cover the top of a pie (plus a bit extra).
- Brush a small amount of water around the edge of the pie then lay the disc of pastry on top, pressing lightly around the edge, to seal. Crimp around the edge of the tin with a fork, trim off the overhanging pastry with a sharp knife then cut a small cross in the top of the pie.
- Repeat this process with the remaining pastry & pie then chill both pies in the fridge until you're ready to cook them or for at least an hour.
Cooking
- Preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f). Place a large baking tray in the oven at the same time.
- In the meantime, whisk together the egg, milk & salt for the egg wash then brush a light layer on top of each pie. Return them to the fridge, whilst your oven heats up (for 20 minutes or so).
- Brush another light layer of egg wash onto the pies then bake in the preheated oven, on the hot baking tray for 40-45 minutes, until the pastry is crisp & golden and the filling is piping hot. Lightly cover the pies with foil if they start to brown too much.The temperature of the filling should be at least 75°c/167°f. You can use a digital food probe to check this.
- Once cooked, let the pies sit for 15 minutes then cut both in half & serve immediately.
Notes
1. To Cook In An Aga - Use the boiling plate to cook the macaroni & the simmering plate for the sauce. Bake the pies in the roasting oven, on the bottom set of runners. If they start to brown too much, slide a cold plain shelf a couple of runners above.
2. Pulled Pork - I used leftovers from making my smoked pulled pork recipe but feel free to use oven cooked or shop bought instead. You could also use another meat like chicken, instead.
3. BBQ Sauce - I used my cherry cola bbq sauce which works great with pork but any bbq sauce will work.
4. Pastry – For the best results, make sure to chill the pastry before rolling it out & before baking. If you don’t have any lard, feel free to replace it with extra butter.
5. Reheating – This pie is best served immediately but any leftovers can be stored in the fridge (for up to 2 days) & reheated. To reheat, either microwave or cook in the oven until piping hot.