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Pork & Apple Pie with Cheddar Curd & Sage

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Makes 4 5-inch pies

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 1/2-pound pork shoulder
  • 3 apples, peeled, shredded
  • 1 cup crumbled cheddar curd
  • 1/4 cup minced sage
  • 2 cups hard cider
  • 2 cups stock

Dough

  • 8 cups flour
  • 1 pound butter, cubed
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups ice water

Egg wash

  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons milk

Method

Filling

Preheat oven to 350˚F

  1. In an oven-proof pot, brown pork on all sides over medium to low heat; transfer browned meat to a plate.
  2. Add cider and stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
  3. Return pork to the pot, cover with a tight-fitting lid and braise in 350˚F oven until very tender, about 1½ to 2 hours.
  4. When the pork is done, remove from the pot and shred using two forks. Reserve the liquid.
  5. In a bowl, toss together pork, shredded apple, curd, sage and 1 to 2 cups of the cooking liquid (to taste).

Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Dough

  1. Put flour in bowl of a food processor; add the salt and butter.
  2. Pulse until butter forms into pea-size pieces.
  3. Slowly drizzle in ice water while pulsing just until mixture comes together into a ball.
  4. Turn out dough onto a floured work surface, gently knead. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Pie

  1. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Take one quarter of the dough and roll it out to about 1/8-inch thick.
  2. Cut the rolled-out dough into 2 pieces. Line the bottom of a 5-inch pie tin with one piece, pushing it to fit.
  3. Add pork-apple filling, then top with the second piece of dough. Trim, crimp edges and cut a small air vent in the top. Repeat the steps for 3 more pies.
  4. Whisk together eggs and milk to make egg wash. Brush it over the tops of the pies.
  5. Place pies on baking sheet and bake at 350˚F until golden, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Tender pork, cheddar cheese curd and sweet apples–Chef Sean Corcoran at Peekskill Brewery may have discovered the ultimate flavor trifecta with his pork-and-apple pie. Each individual pie is stuffed with pork shoulder mixed with a reduction of apple cider and sage. The cheese curd melts slightly in the heat of the pie, but the cheese retains enough structure to offer noticeable bites of sharp cheddar that compliment both the sweet apple and savory pork. The vessel for this meaty apple goodness is a crust of buttery pate brisée brushed with egg-wash and baked golden. “The pie would pair great with an IPA like our Eastern Standard,” says Corcoran, who spent years working for the highly acclaimed Chef April Bloomfield in New York City. The bitter hops of an IPA hold up to the buttery crust and cut through its richness.

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week is back this October 28 to November 10!