Pork and chicken picnic pie

A light summer take on the traditional hand-raised pie, our recipe for this richly flavoured, chicken and pork picnic pie is perfect for any outdoor feast, from garden BBQs to picnics in the wild.

40 minutes prep. time
1 hour 10 minutes–1 hour 30 minutes cooking time
Serves 1 pie, 10 portions
Pies & savoury treats

Chicken and pork picnic pie recipe from the National Trust Cookbook — Chicken and pork picnic pie from the National Trust Cookbook | © National Trust/William Shaw

500g plain flour
125g lard
125g butter
3 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper
150g sage and onion stuffing mix
2 chicken breast fillets, thinly sliced
1kg sausage meat
250g onions, finely chopped
250g apples, cored and sliced
250g onion chutney or relish
15g fresh thyme, chopped

Step 1

For the pastry

Place the flour, lard and butter in a food processor with the blade attached and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Step 2

Add the eggs and a pinch of salt and pepper, pulse a few times to bring the pastry together, turn out onto a floured worktop and knead a couple of times to bring together – add more water if too dry.

Step 3

Reserve a third of the pastry and roll the two-thirds piece out on a floured worktop and use to line a 23cm springform tin. Leave an overhang around the edges.

Step 4

Place the stuffing mix in a bowl and add enough boiling water to make a thick stuffing. Add the onions and mix well, then leave to stand.

Step 5

Place the sausage meat in a bowl and add half the chopped thyme, salt and pepper to season. Mix well to combine.

Step 6

Place the stuffing mix in the bottom of the pie, press gently so you cover the bottom pastry with an even layer. Place half of the sausage meat mix on top of the stuffing.

Step 7

Add the apple in a layer over the top of the sausage meat and sprinkle over the remaining thyme. Layer the thinly sliced chicken breasts over the top of the apple and thyme, followed by a layer of the chutney.

Step 8

Place the remaining sausage meat over the chutney layer and press gently.

Step 9

Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid and brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash, place the top on and fold over the overhang. Crimp to seal the edges and make a hole in the middle.

Step 10

Brush with the egg wash and bake at 190°C (170°C fan/gas mark 5) for the first 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160°C (140°C fan/gas mark 3) and cook for a further 90 minutes or until the filling is piping hot. Remove from the oven.