A real pork pie is British lunch food at its best: a small, firm pie with a golden crust, coarsely chopped, seasoned pork and a layer of clear jelly between the filling and the pastry. It is eaten cold, cut into quarters and served with pickles and strong mustard. It sounds like something you can only buy from an English butcher, but pork pies in the air fryer are actually quite doable.
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The secret is the pastry. A hot water crust is made by stirring flour, melted lard and boiling water together and is shaped while it is still warm. Here it is pressed into four small ramekins that fit in the basket, and then the hot air does the rest.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Why I Love Pork Pies in the Air Fryer
I am fond of dishes where you can taste the craftsmanship, and this is one of them. The filling is not minced meat but pork neck fillet cut into cubes of about 5 mm and mixed with finely chopped bacon, sage, thyme, white pepper and nutmeg. That gives bite and a clean, spiced flavour. After baking, stock with gelatine is poured through a hole in the lid, and as it chills it sets into a clear jelly that keeps the filling juicy.
The air fryer is a good fit for the format. The small pies are baked in ramekins directly in the basket, you avoid heating up a whole oven, and the circulating air gives the crust colour all the way round once the ramekins come off at the end.
Hot Water Crust – The Pastry You Shape While It Is Warm
Most pie pastry has to be kept cold. Hot water crust is the opposite: lard and water are heated until the liquid is only just boiling and then poured straight into the flour. The warm pastry is smooth and pliable and can be pressed up the sides of the ramekin. As it cools, it becomes firm and strong enough to carry both meat and jelly. That is why it has to be shaped straight away.
My Kitchen Test of Pork Pies
I tested the recipe in my Cosori Dual Blaze, where the four ramekins of about 2 dl fit in the basket at the same time. The prep took me about 45 minutes. The pies first got 35 minutes in the ramekins at 160 °C, and halfway through I swapped them around. Then I lifted them out of the ramekins using the strips of parchment paper, brushed them with egg and gave them 10 more minutes directly in the basket at 180 °C. In the Dual Blaze the heat comes from both above and below, and the base turned out just as golden and crisp as the lid.
Finally, I measured the core temperature through the hole in the lid. It should be at least 75 °C, and after a total of 45 minutes it was. Then came the test of patience: 30 minutes on a cooling rack, the jelly poured in through the hole and at least 4 hours in the fridge. From start to finish it takes about 6 hours, but most of it is waiting time.
Keep the pastry for the lids warm under an upturned bowl while you line the ramekins. If it still becomes too firm, give it 10 seconds in the microwave, and it can be rolled out without cracking.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The first mistake is letting the pastry go cold. A cooled hot water crust turns stiff and cracks, so have the ramekins greased and the filling ready before you heat the lard and water. The second mistake is skipping the last 10 minutes out of the ramekins because the pies already look done. It is only directly in the basket that the sides and base turn crisp. The third mistake is rushing the jelly. Let the stock cool for about 10 minutes, so that it is liquid but not hot, and pour in a little at a time with a short pause in between. If you pour it all in one quick splash, it runs over instead of down into the pie.
How to Serve Pork Pies
Pork pies are served cold, cut into halves or quarters. This is how I like to serve them:
- With pickles – the acidity and the crisp bite balance the rich filling
- With pickled onions
- With a strong English mustard
- With a green salad and a tangy dressing
- In the picnic basket – the pies are firm enough to survive the trip
Storage and Reheating
Pork pies are ideal to make the day before, because the jelly benefits from a night in the fridge. Store them covered in the fridge, where they keep for up to 3 days. They should not be reheated, because the jelly melts in the heat. You can freeze the pies for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight, and expect the crust to be slightly softer after thawing.
Pork pies in the air fryer take patience, but the actual work is manageable, and the result looks like something from a British butcher’s counter. Make them in good time, and let the fridge do the rest.
FAQ
The meat shrinks during baking, which leaves a gap between the filling and the crust. The jelly fills the gap, keeps the filling juicy and makes the pie easy to slice.
You can replace half of the lard with butter if you want a milder flavour in the crust. The pastry is made and shaped in the same way while it is warm.
The recipe uses 4 ramekins of about 2 dl, greased with lard and lined with two strips of parchment paper placed crosswise, so the pies can be lifted out. If all four cannot fit in the basket at once, bake them in two batches and keep the waiting pies chilled.
Recipe
Pork Pies in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 4 Ramekins - 8 cm, 2 dl
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Chefs knife
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Large bowl
- 1 Small pot
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Brush
- 1 Meat thermometer
- 1 Cooling rack
- 1 Measuring cup
Shopping list
Ingredients
- 400 g pork neck fillet (Pork, without rind and bones)
- 100 g bacon (Sliced, preferably smoked)
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp white pepper (Ground)
- 0.5 tsp nutmeg (Grated)
- 6 leaves fresh sage (Finely chopped)
- 0.5 tsp dried thyme
Hot water crust pastry
For brushing
- 1 pcs egg (Beaten)
Jelly
- 2 dl chicken stock (Strong)
- 4 leaves gelatine
To serve
- 150 g pickles
How to make it
Preparation
- Cut 400 g pork neck fillet into very small cubes of about 5 mm, and finely chop 100 g bacon. The meat should be coarsely chopped with a knife – not minced.
- Mix the meat in a bowl with 1 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp white pepper, 0.5 tsp nutmeg, 6 leaves fresh sage and 0.5 tsp dried thyme. Put the filling in the fridge to chill while you make the pastry.
- Grease 4 ramekins of about 2 dl with a little lard, and lay two strips of parchment paper crosswise in each ramekin so that the ends stick up over the rim. Check that all four ramekins fit in the air fryer basket at once.
Pastry and assembly
- Heat 100 g lard and 125 ml water in a small pot until the fat has melted and the liquid is just boiling.
- Immediately pour the boiling liquid into the flour, and stir with a ladle until the pastry comes together. Knead it briefly on the worktop as soon as you can touch it – it should be smooth, pliable and still warm.
- Take a quarter of the pastry off for the lids, and keep it warm under the upturned bowl. Divide the rest into 4 equal pieces, and press each piece into the base and up the sides of a ramekin to a thickness of about 4 mm, so that the pastry reaches half a centimetre above the rim. Work quickly – the pastry turns stiff and cracks as it cools.
- Divide the filling between the 4 pastry cases, and press it down firmly so that there are no air pockets. Leave it in a small mound in the middle.
- Roll out the pastry for the lids with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 3 mm, and cut out 4 round lids that are slightly larger than the opening of the ramekins. Beat 1 pcs egg, brush the edges of the pastry with a little of the egg, place the lids on top, and pinch the edges tightly together all the way round.
- Poke a hole of about 1 cm in the middle of each lid with the handle of a spoon, so that the steam can escape and the jelly can be poured in later. Save the rest of the egg for brushing.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 160 °C fan.
- Place the ramekins in the basket, and bake the pies at 160 °C for 35 minutes. Swap the ramekins around halfway so they bake evenly, and open the hole in the lid again with the spoon handle if it closes up.
- Carefully lift the hot pies out of the ramekins using the paper strips, remove the paper, and brush the sides and lids with the rest of the egg.
- Turn the temperature up to 180 °C, place the pies directly in the basket, and bake them for 10 more minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp all the way round.
- Measure the core temperature through the hole in the lid with a meat thermometer – it should be at least 75 °C. If not, give the pies another 3-5 minutes at 160 °C.
- Let the pies cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes, until they are only lukewarm.
Jelly and serving
- Soak 4 leaves gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes. Heat 2 dl chicken stock in the small pot until just below boiling point, take the pot off the heat, and stir in the drained gelatine until completely dissolved.
- Let the stock cool for about 10 minutes, and pour it into a measuring cup with a spout. Pour it slowly through the hole in each lid in several rounds, until the pies cannot hold any more – it is easiest with a small funnel.
- Put the pies in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until the jelly has set completely.
- Serve the pies cold, cut into halves or quarters, with 150 g pickles on the side.
Our notes for the recipe
Shape the pastry while it is warm – cooled hot water crust pastry turns stiff and cracks. If the pastry for the lids becomes too firm, it can be warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds. The last 10 minutes without the ramekins make the sides and base crisp, so don’t skip them. The jelly should be liquid but not hot when it is poured in; pour a little at a time, and wait a moment between each round. Variation:
Swap the nutmeg for ground mace, which is the classic spice in a pork pie, or add a pinch of allspice. Half of the lard can be replaced with butter if you want a milder flavour in the crust. Serving suggestion:
Serve the pies cold with pickles, pickled onions and a strong English mustard. They are perfect for the lunch table and the picnic basket. Portion size:
The recipe makes 4 small pies – one per serving. If your air fryer is smaller, you can bake them in two batches; keep the waiting pies chilled in the meantime.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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