One of the traditions in our family is pork pie for breakfast on Christmas Day. Odd, I know, but there you are. As they say in the north – there’s nowt so queer as folk!
(Actually, I come from the Midlands, where pork pie for Christmas breakfast was not uncommon.) A further tradition is that I make the pork pie, something I've been doing
for over 30 years or more, I've lost count. There are plenty of recipes around for this, but basically I make it by lining a deep loose-bottomed (or spring-form) tin with
hot water crust pastry and filling this with pork shoulder ground up with some smoked streaky bacon in a food processor, seasoned with plenty of black pepper and dried sage.
Put a pastry lid on top, seal the edges, make a hole for the steam to escape, and bake in a 160°C oven for about 90 minutes. When cool, remove from the tin and use a funnel
in the steam hole to pour chicken stock mixed with gelatine (the meat shrinks when cooked, leaving a gap inside next to the pastry). Chill for several hours to set the jelly.