Hairy Bikers Turkey and Ham Pie

Hairy Bikers turkey and ham pie turns Boxing Day leftovers into a creamy double-crust pie, with leeks softened in wine and 200g of stuffing. And from BBC Food it feeds 6 in about 3 hours 20 minutes at 955 calories each, both by my reckoning.

About their One Pot Wonders casserole, they write “many of us think the stuffing is the best part of Christmas dinner”. But this pie bakes the stuffing inside, with the meat in a béchamel of stock, milk, single cream and the leeks’ wine rather than gravy.

Mix the turkey, ham and stuffing into the sauce with a light hand, because the recipe warns against breaking up the meat or the leeks. So I fold it through with a large spoon rather than beating it, and the pieces stay chunky under the lid.

Hairy Bikers Turkey and Ham Pie

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 45 minutesCook time:1 hour 5 minutesRest time:1 hour 30 minutesTotal time:3 hours 20 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:955 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Two-thirds of a butter and lard pastry lines a large dish, around 25cm, before the cooled filling goes in, slightly domed. Once the lid is crimped and glazed with egg, it bakes for 35 to 40 minutes on a hot baking tray.

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 125g butter, chilled and diced
• 75g lard, chilled and diced
• iced water, to bind
• salt
• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

For the filling

• 15g butter
• 3 leeks, thickly sliced
• 100ml dry white wine
• 500g leftover turkey, diced
• 200g cooked ham, diced
• 200g leftover stuffing, broken up
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 400ml turkey or chicken stock
• 200ml full-fat milk
• 100ml single cream
• a few tarragon leaves, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Make the pastry: Rub the flour, butter and lard together until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, then add a good pinch of salt. Add just enough iced water to bind it without being crumbly, then shape into a ball, wrap and chill.
2. Soften the leeks: Heat the butter in a casserole, add the leeks, season with salt and pepper and pour in the wine. Cover and cook on a low heat until the leeks are just tender, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and keep the liquid.
3. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a separate pan and stir in the flour to make a thick roux. Add the stock, milk and cream a little at a time, stirring well after each addition, and finish with the reserved leek liquid.
4. Fill and cool: Gently stir the turkey, ham, stuffing and leeks into the sauce, taking care not to break them up. Then add the tarragon, which is my placement since the recipe never says when, and leave the filling to cool completely.
5. Line the dish: Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 with a baking tray inside to heat up. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry to line a large pie dish, around 25cm, then add the filling, which should sit slightly domed.
6. Lid and bake: Roll out the rest of the pastry, brush the edge of the base with beaten egg and lay the lid on top. Trim, crimp, brush all over with egg and cut two small holes in the centre. Bake on the hot tray for 35 to 40 minutes, until rich golden brown and piping hot.

FAQs

Is this the turkey and ham pie with cranberry topping?

No, that’s a different pie, which they put in their Christmas book and again in Perfect Pies as a cold turkey and ham pie. Instead, it’s baked open in a 23cm springclip tin, with 500g of turkey and 350g of gammon in a creamy, mustardy sauce.

On top goes a set cranberry and kumquat jelly, made with port, allspice, cinnamon and 2 gelatine leaves, and it’s served cold. While they call it “a brilliant pie for summer picnics”, much like their cold game pie, this one is a hot Boxing Day dish.

When does the tarragon go in?

The recipe lists a few finely chopped tarragon leaves for the sauce, but no step ever adds them. So I stir them in with the turkey and ham, because that’s exactly where the tarragon goes in their turkey and ham Christmas casserole.

That casserole in One Pot Wonders uses the same leftovers another way, serving 4 with peas and spinach in a wine and cream sauce. Instead of pastry, it gets a crunchy crust of breadcrumbs, grated chestnuts, grated onion, dried sage and parsley.

Which stuffing should I use?

Any stuffing left from Christmas dinner works, since the recipe simply asks for 200g of it, broken up. But to make your own, their roast turkey stuffing in British Classics is 600g sausage meat with chestnuts, grated apple, allspice and lemon zest.

That batch is made to go inside the bird, so you’d only need part of it here. For the ham, their glazed Christmas ham in the same book simmers a 2.5kg joint for 2½ hours before glazing.

Can I use chicken instead of turkey?

Yes, since in One Pot Wonders they say chicken can stand in for the turkey in their Christmas casserole at any other time of year. Or there’s their chicken, ham and leek pie in Chicken and Egg, which poaches the chicken and uses the liquid for its sauce.

In Perfect Pies, their creamy chicken, ham and leek pie poaches 3 breasts for 10 minutes in 450ml of water with a stock cube. That pie also shares this one’s 350g of flour to 200g of fat, their double-crust standard, though it’s all butter bound with egg.

Is it a BBC Good Food recipe, and can I make it ahead?

It’s on BBC Food rather than BBC Good Food, tagged to their Home for Christmas series. But the turkey, leek and ham pie on BBC Food is Angela Hartnett’s, while the leftover turkey and ham pie with sherry is Paul Hollywood’s.

Since the filling has to cool completely anyway, I make it the day before and keep it covered in the fridge, my own habit. In Perfect Pies they add a few minutes for any pie baked straight from the fridge, so allow that for an easy Boxing Day.