Ingredient: dried sage, crumbled

The Bedfordshire Clanger is a very unique and little-known meat pie recipe from England, specifically (not surprisingly) from the county of Bedfordshire, a small, low-lying and predominantly agricultural county nestled in the east of England.

In centuries past many of the working husbands of the area used to toil in the fields there. Their wives, knowing their husbands would need lots of protein and carbohydrate sustenance, came up with the brilliant idea of a doubled, loaf-shaped pie. One end contained a savory filling that used the famed pork of the area while the other end was filled with stewed apples (made from the famed local apples) as dessert. So, the two fillings didn’t combine, there was a ‘pastry wall’ in between blocking any flavors from mixing. A ‘secret code’ denoted which end was meat and which was dessert: two knife slits on one end of the pastry top means meat, three small holes on the other shows the sweet. This was brilliant, an entire meal for the hard-working man – handheld, portable and delicious

I guess you could say, the Bedfordshire clanger is not only a tasty treat but also a piece of culinary history that has stood the test of time!

Print Recipe

Pork & Apple Bedfordshire Clanger w/ Cheddar-Sage Pastry

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Course

Lunch

Cuisine

European

Keyword

pork & apple Bedfordshire clanger w/ cheddar-sage crust

Servings

CLANGERS MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

Cheddar-Sage Pastry

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1-2 tsp dried sage, crumbled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 227 gm (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
• 85 gm white, extra old cheddar cheese, grated
• 6-8 Tbsp ice water
• 1 egg + 1 Tbsp water for egg wash

Pork Filling

• 1 Tbsp veg oil
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 250 gm ground pork
• 1 medium potato, peeled & cooked, cut in small cubes
• 1 stalk celery, diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp summer savory
• 1/2 tsp veg salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 40 gm white, extra old cheddar, grated

Apple Filling

• 2 cooking apples, peeled & cored, diced small
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp butter,
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Course Lunch Cuisine European Keyword pork & apple Bedfordshire clanger w/ cheddar-sage crust Servings CLANGERS MetricUS Imperial Ingredients Cheddar-Sage Pastry 2 1/2 cups flour 1-2 tsp dried sage, crumbled 1/2 tsp salt 227 gm (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes 85 gm white, extra old cheddar cheese, grated 6-8 Tbsp ice water 1 egg + 1 Tbsp water for egg wash Pork Filling 1 Tbsp veg oil 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 3 slices bacon, chopped 250 gm ground pork 1 medium potato, peeled & cooked, cut in small cubes 1 stalk celery, diced small 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp summer savory 1/2 tsp veg salt 1/4 tsp pepper 40 gm white, extra old cheddar, grated Apple Filling 2 cooking apples, peeled & cored, diced small 1/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp water 1 Tbsp butter, 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp lemon zest 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Votes: 1 Rating: 5 You: Rate this recipe!

Instructions

Pastry

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sage & salt. Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour mixture & use your fingers to work them in. Alternately you could use a pastry cutter to do this.
2. When the mixture resembles cornmeal with pea-sized bits of butter remaining, stir in cheese with a fork until evenly distributed. Sprinkle 6 Tbsp ice water over mixture & stir with a fork until dough begins to come together. If needed, add an additional Tbsp or two of ice water.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface & knead for about three times. Gather the dough into a disk & wrap in plastic wrap. refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Pork Filling

1. Bake potato in microwave, peel & cut into small cubes. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet & sauté celery, onion, garlic & bacon together on medium heat until veggies are soft & bacon is cooked. Add ground pork, breaking it up well. Stir in dried herbs & spices. Cover & simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat & stir in cooked potato & cheese. Set aside to cool.

Apple Filling

1. In a small saucepan, combine butter, water, cinnamon & brown sugar. Bring to a simmer then add diced apples, raisins, lemon zest & juice. Gently simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat & allow to cool.

Assembly/Baking

1. Divide pastry into 5 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface (or dry wax paper) roll out each piece of pastry into 7 x 7 1/2-inches. The excess trimmed from the sides will be used for little pastry ‘walls’ dividing the sweet & savory fillings. Roll the excess into a 3-inch length.
2. From the top of each piece, LIGHTLY make a line across your pastry 4-inches from outside edge. This will help to place your fillings properly.
3. On the 3-inch wide section of the pastry, place savory filling to cover 2/3 of the area. Place one of the rolled strips after that then place sweet filling on the remaining 1/3 to complete the 'clanger'. The little rolled piece of pastry divides the savory & sweet filling.
4. On the sweet side make 3 holes for vents & on the savory side make 2 slashes. This is the 'code' to let the person eating the clanger which was savory or sweet.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F.
6. Brush the edges of each pastry with egg wash. Lift the pastry from the opposite side over the fillings & seal the edges with a fork.
7. Brush clangers with remaining egg wash & bake for about 30-35 minutes or until golden.