Pork and Apple Pie with Biscuit Crust

THE SOUTH’S LOVE OF CRUSTED SAVORY PIES CAN MOST likely be traced back to the dramatic “raised” pies baked by the first English settlers all along the East Coast. Prepared with suet crusts, short pastry, puff pastry, and various batters, those hefty meat and fish pies must have been a sight to behold. Today the only vestiges of the tradition in this country are chicken and beef potpies, lobster and clam pies, and the Southern meat, fowl, and game pies prepared with the same distinctive biscuit crusts often used also to make fruit cobblers. For this particular recipe, leftover beef, chicken, or turkey could be substituted for the pork, minus the apples, which might be replaced with green peas and perhaps a few chopped pimentos. Actually, the filling lends itself to endless experimentation.

MAKES: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

THE PIE FILLING

• 3 slices bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 pounds lean cooked pork, cut into small cubes
• 2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

THE BISCUIT CRUST

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• 1 large egg, beaten

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. To make the pie filling, fry the bacon in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat till almost crisp and drain on paper towels.
3. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes.
4. Crumble the cooked bacon over the vegetables, then add the remaining ingredients, stirring.
5. Reduce the heat to low, simmer, stirring from time to time, about 30 minutes, then transfer to a 2-quart baking dish or casserole.
6. To make the crust, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening in a mixing bowl and work mixture with fingers till mealy.
7. Add the milk and egg and stir till well blended and smooth.
8. Spoon the batter over the top of the pork-and-apple mixture and bake till golden, 40 minutes.