We always said we’ll try and do some local stuff on our blog and never really got round to it so I’m starting afresh with a little plug and review for a local business (well 2 actually) hear in North Norfolk called Brays Cottage Pork Pies.

Now I’ve always been a big fan of the humble Melton Mowbray (boo hiss I hear) so when I heard about a local baker of pork pies and read lots of rave reviews I had to give them a go. I managed to buy one from Back To The Garden (second plug) on the other side of Holt, a localish organic food shop that grows all their own veg and whilst I was there picked up a cracking bottle of BBQ sauce from TipTree.

There’s a choice of pies but after pondering for 5 I got the chilli pie. I’m always cautious with chilli varieties of anything because as a lover all capsicums spicy chillies are fairly new to this country and most people are not quite ofay with their usage. You either get a single flake or it blows your head off and you can’t taste anything.

So the proof of the pudding is in the eating, what was it like?
The pastry was really nice, a perfect pie pastry that is in no doubt really short and crunchy, just the way I like it. The texture of the filling was light and crumbly, very unusual for a pie so delicately constructed but then I guess that’s what makes it a perfect pie, not compressed like a supermarket pie likened to a powerball wrapped in cardboard. The taste was kind of indescribable, the home-reared Saddleback rare breed pork was very nice indeed and the pie filling had this kind of citrus taste that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, nor my wife but we both noticed it and liked it, maybe that’s the onion marmalade?

So the chillies. Well I think probably a little understated, can afford to turn up the heat just a bit without alienating any customers. Most people who buy chilli variety products expect a little bite and you wouldn’t loose any of that wonderful flavour with a 1000 more scoviles or so, but this is probably nit picking.

By the way the price was nigh on £6 (not sure if that’s RRP or not) which maybe seems high but it was undoubtedly a whole lot of pie, it lasted well and was filling and it’s one of those semi luxuries that you go ‘wow’ at and forget about the price, bit like the cheesecakes from cheesecake.co.uk that cost £25 a shot but are absolutely gorgeous. Not something I’d buy every day but as a treat definitely and when perhaps we were doing a posh buffet for guests as it’s a thing that people would talk about and ask ‘where did you get this pie?’, no doubt about it.

So a Norfolk business plug and a product thumbs up too!

More info www.perfectpie.co.uk

PS: If your something to do with Norfolk and want a plug and link then give us a shout and we’ll sort something out, if you write the article then even better!

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 10:43 am and is filed under Norfolk.
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