Can You Freeze Pork Pies?

The good news is that frozen correctly pork pies freeze well and should be just as delicious as freshly made ones. Frozen fresh, home freezing pork pies is straightforward, as pork pies freeze without any trouble.

You just need to follow a few simple steps to ensure you freeze and defrost them in the correct way, so they will be just as good once you thaw them out.

How long can you  freeze pork pies is partly down to the star rating of your freezer. However, as a general rule freezing pork pies works well for up to three months in the freezer and there is little change in texture or flavour to frozen pork pies. You do need to adhere to the rules above when freezing pork pies to maintain the quality.

However, thawing them out afterwards needs a little care and attention to make sure you have great tasting pork pies.

To defrost pork pies, take them from the freezer but leave them in their original freezer bag and wrapping, and lay the frozen pork pie on a tray.

Ideally, defrost pork pies in the fridge for 24 hours at least, until fully defrosted. Defrosting in the fridge is always the safest way to thaw any food.

If you take the pork pie from the freezer and unwrap it, the moisture in the kitchen air will condense on the pastry and quickly make the pie crust soggy. Keeping pork pies wrapped means no moisture can access the surface of the crust and it can defrost safely.

The quality of a pork pie is very much down to the crunch of the crust, so it’s important they are defrosted correctly in the fridge.

Freezing pork pies that have already been frozen and thawed once before is never a good idea.

If a pork pie is defrosting in the fridge at too high a temperature, then pathogenic bacteria will start to grow. Freezing it again will only compound the situation, so that when you thaw the pork pie for the second time it may have dangerous amounts of bacteria growing in it.

In the United Kingdom, there is a strong tradition with pork pies in the Midlands and Yorkshire particularly. The Melton Mowbray pork pie has long been regarded as some of the best cooked in the country. It is actually still regarded as the best pie.

Melton Mowbray pork pies were first baked there in the late 18^th century and as the story goes visiting riders from a foxhunt saw local servants eating a pork pie and wanted to try them. They went down a storm and so the fame of Melton Mowbray pork pies quickly spread far and wide.

Pie and a Pint

The tradition of going to the pub for a ‘pie and a pint’ has been making a recovery in recent years. More and more pubs opt to produce quality, local food, serving a dish such as traditional pork pie, where they find it a perfect match with their locally brewed beer.

Ploughman's Lunch variation

 As a variation on the traditional cheese Ploughman’s lunch, a wedge of pork pie is often now substituted. Served with salad, pickled onions, chutney, and relish it is one meal that's a light and healthy lunchtime favourite.

Picnics

Research has suggested that at least 50% of Brits would be disappointed if they didn’t see pork pies included in their picnic. It is ideal picnic food from pies to a large pork pie. They are easily transported and served, along with your favourite salad and chutney or relish.

Pie and Mushy Peas

The Yorkshire delicacy ‘pie and mushy peas’ has taken on a new slant, where the pork pie is served hot and mushy peas are ladled over the top. It's one of Yorkshire's favourite dishes!

Most foreigners, when asked about typical English food, will most likely reply with ‘meat pies’ and ‘fish and chips’ - they both make up part of the English identity.

Pies first appeared in England during the 12^th century, influenced by the cooking of Northern Europe.

The colder climate meant butter and lard were more readily at hand rather than olive oil. When mixed with flour, lard and butter formed into an easily moulded dough, which when filled with meat baked well and tasted great.

The crust on meat pies or pyes, as they were, was as a container for the filling, like an airtight container, rather than something to be eaten.

In the same way, the Cornish pasty was originally designed as a pastry case with a crust handle, which miners could easily eat when their hands were filthy from the mine.

For ships on long voyages, meat pies became a preservation method for food, whereas before they were forced to take livestock on the ships to eat throughout the journey.

Similarly, the first North American colonies used meat pies to preserve food and see them through the long, hard American winters. Over time, however, meat pies fell out of fashion, to be taken over by sweet pastry with fruit fillings. Check out this Cherry Crumble Pie!

Pork pies also have a long history back to the courts of Richard II in 1390. The chopped pork and herb was encased in a hot water crust pastry into one large pie, which with its high lard content baked in the oven to a delicious taste and crunch.

The pastry is made by boiling pork fat and water, adding this to flour, and mixing well. When put in the oven to bake it creates a short, crunchy texture and a golden brown colour.

Pork pies are a meal on their own or slices can be cut off a large pie, such as gala pies. Pork pies are great as a snack, on picnics or as part of a larger buffet.

Once unwrapped they keep well in the fridge for a few days but if you have several left over, after a party, for example, they are suitable to freeze.