| During the colonial period, pie was often served with dinner as a savory meal rather than as an after-dinner treat. Across the nation, each region introduced their own pie flavors, including Key Lime and Pecan Pies in the South, Sugar and Maple Pies in Vermont (which was also known for adding a piece of cheese to their apple pies!), and meat and fruit pies across the rest of New England. This week, we are sharing a 1747 Cheshire Pie recipe that has become a favorite from the Nathan Hale Homestead Hearth, and we hope it becomes a favorite for you, too!
Cheshire Pie
Take a loin of pork, skin it, cut it into steaks, season it with salt, nutmeg, and pepper; make a good crust, lay a layer of pork, then a large layer of pippins pared and cored, a little sugar, enough to sweeten the pie, then another layer of pork; put in half a pint of white wine, lay some butter on the top, and close your pie: if your pie be large, it will take a pint of white wine.
— Glasse, Hannah. “The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy”, 1747
21st-Century Recipe
Ingredients
• 1 lb. pork tenderloin, cooked
• 2 tbsp. butter
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 large Granny Smith apples
• 2 large MacIntosh apples
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• ½ cup wine
• Pastry, homemade or store bought
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer into a 9-inch pie pan. Allow the dough to overhang the lip of the pan. Return pie pan with dough to the refrigerator until it is needed.
- Slice the tenderloin into round slices that are ¼ inch thick. Season with salt, nutmeg and pepper.
- Peel, core and quarter the apples. Cut the quarters into slices that are ¼ inch thick.
- Fill the pie by alternating layers of pork, apples and sugar. When the pie is filled, lay the butter over the filling. Pour in wine.
- Roll the second piece of pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. Place top layer of the pie shell over filling. Trim the dough so it is flush with the edge of the pie pan. Flute.
- Place a rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Place the pie in the middle of the sheet. Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes.
- Enjoy!
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