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1
For the hot water crust pastry: put the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl.
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2
Place lard in a large saucepan and heat until it just melts.
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3
Do not overheat the lard - it should not be heated to more than 30-40C (if you are in any doubt about the temperature of the lard at this stage put it to one side and let it cool, but not harden.)
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4
Take the pan off the heat.
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5
Carefully pour 125ml boiling water into the lard and stir.
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6
Pour this over the flour and mix quickly to a dough.
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7
Work it with a knife to begin with, then, as soon as it is cool enough to dig your hands in without scalding them, work the dough well with your fingers until it is mixed evenly and shape into a ball.
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8
Press the dough into a disc, place in a plastic bag and leave in a fridge until room temperature.
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9
Lightly flour the work surface, roll the dough to about 3/4 cm thick.
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10
Cut out large and small circles (the latter for lids) of pastry, then line a foil pie mould (available in supermarkets) or non-stick muffin tin with the larger pastry circles.
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11
When lining the tin, make sure there are no holes or tears in the pastry.
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12
For the pie: preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
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13
Combine all the meat and plenty of seasoning in a large bowl until well mixed.
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14
Use whatever herbs you like to flavour the meat.
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15
It's a good idea to fry a bit of the meat mixture off to taste it, and then adjust the seasoning levels accordingly.
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16
Place this mixture in the pie case, but don't squash it in.
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17
Brush the edges of the dough with water and place the dough lid on top, using a fork to seal the edges together, or 'crimp' it if you know how.
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18
Brush the top with egg yolk or milk.
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19
For these medium pies, bake for two hours until the pastry is completely brown and cooked.
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20
Small pies will take one hour.
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21
If in doubt use a temperature probe and check that the internal temperature is over 80C.
