As soon as it gets cold we crave pies.

Actually, that's a lie.
We crave pies most of the time... it's just that it's more acceptable to eat pies when it's chilly outside!

And there's no pie that we like more than Billy's Piggy Pie. Invented while half-cut and with a whole load of pork to cook up the recipe below is our refined version... it's delicious and well worth the effort. Trust us, we literally have eaten all of the pies.

BILLY'S PIGGY PIE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Pork belly

1kg pork belly
1 litre chicken stock
1 litre cider
2 leeks, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 head of garlic ,cut horizontally
2 bay leaves
2 sage leaves
10 peppercorns

For the pie filling

80g butter
300g chestnut mushrooms, stalks removed and diced
Vegetable oil, for cooking
2 onions, thinly sliced
30g plain flour
500ml cider reduction (see pork belly)
150ml double cream
100ml milk
1 tablespoons English mustard
3 leeks, finely sliced
250g smoked streaky bacon, cut into medium dice
2 tablespoons parsley leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sage leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon roasted garlic (see pork belly)
Pork belly (see above)

For the pastry

600g plain flour, plus a little more for dusting
400g lard, chilled and cut into small cubes
200ml cold water
Lard, for greasing the pie dish

To glaze the pie

2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons flaky, smoked sea salt

METHOD

First, cook the pork belly. Season the belly, add all the remaining ingredients to a roasting tin then nestle the belly on top, cover with cling film and foil and slow roast in a preheated oven at 150 degrees for 3 hours or until tender.
Once done allow to cool and pick the meat into strands, discard the fat and set the meat aside.
Sieve the braising liquid and reduce until approx. 500ml remains. Set aside. Remove the roasted garlic and squeeze the softened cloves from the head into a small bowl and stir to create a puree. Set aside.
To make the pastry in the food processor, blitz half the lard and flour together until there are no lumps. Add the remaining lard and continue to mix until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the cold water gradually and keep mixing until you start to get a dough. Remove and wrap tightly in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least an hour, preferrably overnight.
To make the filling melt 50g of the butter in a large frying pan over a high heat. When the butter is foaming, add the mushrooms, season, and fry quickly until coloured. Set aside in a bowl.
Without cleaning the pan, drizzle in a little oil. Add the onion, season, and sweat gently for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, until soft. Remove the onions from the pan and add to the bowl of mushrooms. Then add the bacon to the pan you cooked the onions in and fry until the fat has rendered and is starting to brown. Add the leeks to the bacon, season, and saute until soft or for approx. 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan and add to the onions and mushrooms.
In a saucepan over a medium heat, melt the remaining 30g of butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring continuously for a couple of minutes. Gradually add the cider reduction, followed by the milk and finally the cream, continuing to stir until thickened. Cook for a further 4–5 minutes, stirring, then add the mustard. Check for seasoning and turn off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes. If you're making a pouring sauce, remove three heaped tablespoons of the mixture and add milk to loosen to a sauce consistency.
Add the pork belly, followed by the herbs and roasted garlic to the mushroom, bacon, leek and onion mixture, then stir the mixture into the sauce. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry and cut into circles big enough to line a 6 cup, 7cm muffin tin, depending on the depth of the tin, you may have some pastry left over. Using kitchen towel, rub lard around the muffin cups, and push the rolled-out pastry into the dish, trimming any excess left at the top. Spoon in the chilled pie filling, pushing it right into the edges. Egg wash the top of the pastry.
Roll out the remaining pastry into 8cm circles large enough to form the lid, then drape it over the top of the pie, pushing down around the edge with your finger to form an initial seal, then follow with a small fork to leave a neat print around the edge and finish the seal.
To glaze the pies, mix together the eggs and milk and brush onto the top of the pie. Sprinkle over the flaky, smoked sea salt.
Place the tin into the preheated oven and cook for 45–50 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10–15 minutes before turning out and serving.