BACON AND EGG PIES

Thanks to the recommendation made by one of our most loyal followers THE FOOD CURMUDGEON has investigated and researched the bacon and egg pie situation in New Zealand and has the following to report.

So what is a bacon and egg pie?
Sure it sounds self explanatory but there are many variants out there in cafes, bakeries and those made at home.
Here's a simple version as promoted by Genius Kitchen:



shop.countdown.co.nz
Directions

leave the pastry out for 20 minutes at least to stop it from tearing when using.
Cut the rinds of the bacon and chop bacon.
Whisk eggs putting one yolk to the side.
Whisk in the milk or cream.
Chop onion.
Lay one sheet of pastry in a casserole dish and make sure it comes just over the sides of the dish.
More items...

Famous New Zealand Bacon And Egg Pie Recipe - Genius Kitchen
www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/famous-new-zealand-bacon-egg-pie-201918

Thank you Genius Kitchen.

This is a good standard recipe ideal for children, geriatrics and for people unused to more flavoursome foods. It most likely was generated in The Hutt Valley where the demographic is an  older, less adventurous population.

Bacon and egg pies there are likely to look like:

Home cooked

or,

From a bakery or pie shop


or,

From service station food counters



Straightforward, safe but ultimately boring.

***************

Further north the offerings are a little more adventurous:

Home cooking

Cafe

Bakery

It is important at this point to remind you that a bacon and egg pie is not a quiche like this one:

Quiche

Please remember that and take note that real men do not eat quiche - they eat bacon and egg pies.

******************

I make a particularly good bacon and egg pie myself. Broadly it is kind of like the base recipe as seen above from Genius Kitchen but with some variations. Sometimes I don't whisk the eggs but simply tip them whole out of the shell. I add some interesting bits and pieces of vegetable like capsicum, peas or potato and spice it up a bit with some chilli and herbs.

*********************

In Whangarei the best bacon and egg pie I've had was in a cafe at 'The Basin' (Whangarei's marina area). This was superb and had all the extra spices and ingredients that I like but the addition of mushrooms is annoying. The Curmudgeon wrote a post on this some time ago see here:

THE BEST BACON AND EGG PIE IN THE WORLD

In Auckland the Wimmin's Cooperative Mamata bakery make some decent pies including a nice bacon and egg one. The balance between pastry and filling is just right and the bacon and egg  filling is moist. I hate those dried out versions that are to be found in cheap bakeries, the kind that you only take one bite out of:

I remember when working as a 'seagull' on Wellington's waterfront as a holiday job in the 1970s, in one of the work cafeterias someone had taken a bite out of a meat pie and put it back in the pie-warmer. Gross but funny.

**************************

I have to run now as I'm off to play some golf but I trust that this was useful. Remember that we of CURMUDGEONS INCⓒ will always go the extra kilometer to bring you, the reader, what you want. Please feel free to submit requests for foods and eating experiences that you wish to know about.