Binging with Babish: Meat Pies from Sweeney Todd

There you'll sample Mrs. Leavitt's meat pies, savory and sweet pies, as you'll see. You who eat pies, Mrs. Leavitt's meat pies, can't you wrap the treat pies used to be? Hey, what's up, guys? Welcome back to Binging with Babish, where this week we're taking a look at the morbid meat pies made of man from Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street. As you can see, I've got a nice pile of viscera here to celebrate the Halloween season, but it does serve a purpose. What I have here is lamb kidney fat, which has a rich, sweet, gamey flavor that I think is going to be perfect for emulating the human elements of our pie. So I've got about two pounds of lamb fat here that I'm going to cut into chunks and render out over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't burn until it's yielded about two cups of liquid fat, maybe about half an hour, which we're going to strain through a cheesecloth and a fine mesh sieve so as to catch any particulate, discard the solids, and set aside. Now we're going to use it to make hot water crust pastry. Combining 280 grams of water and 110 grams of rendered lamb fat in a small lidded saucepan that we're going to bring to a simmer over medium heat. While that's doing its thing, I'm going to tiny-whisk together a pinch of salt with 500 grams of all-purpose flour before pouring the hot fat and water over top, which I'm going to mix together with a wooden spoon until all the flour is hydrated. Once no dry patches remain, I'm going to cover it up and let it rest until it's cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Now the pies in the movie looked like freestanding hot water crust pastry, which means that we need some pretty thoroughly developed gluten, so I'm going to knead this thing for about five to seven minutes, until it's firm but not tough, like a loving father. Then we're placing it into a bowl and covering it, once again letting it rest at room temperature for this time about an hour, during which time we can contend with our meat. I tried my absolute darndest to get human meat, but the cops said no go. But the Smithsonian describes human meat as tasting like chuck roast, so I have a grass-fed one here. I think that between this and our lamb fat pastry, we should have a close approximation of what a human pie tastes like. So I'm breaking it down into bite-sized pieces and trimming off any sinew or connective tissue, sprinkling some fresh-picked thyme over top, along with a hefty pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, and scattering some onions in there as well. This to me feels like the spices and aromatics they'd use in the 18th century London kitchen. Now that we've got our meat filling ready, it's time to start forming our pastry. I'm starting with maybe a third of my dough, then I'm gonna roll out to an 8 to 10 inch round, about two inches wider than I want my resultant pie to be. Then using a bowl or a crock like this one as a sort of mold, we're gonna shape the pie up around the sides, pressing and forming it together until it holds its shape. Then we're slicing off any uneven excess so we have a nice flat top, to which we can more easily adhere a pastry lid. So go ahead and pop the pastry shell off the mold, and now's the time to fill it with the ill-gotten entrails of the former customers of the barbershop upstairs, pressing as much as we possibly can in there because it is going to shrink during cooking. Now we're rolling out another smaller piece of pastry about an inch wider than the pie, brushing down the edges of the pie with a beaten egg, and draping the pastry lid over top. Now I'm gonna chop off any tattered excess and use the rest to crimp down, being sure to seal shut as thoroughly as possible so we don't spring any leaks in the oven. Hot water crust is very forgiving, so don't be afraid to patch any spots you feel might be weak points. Now we're gonna cut a steam vent in the center so the thing doesn't explode, and optionally garnish with what looked like some little decorative pastry leaves. The pies in the movie didn't look super artisanal or anything, so I'm not gonna go too crazy here. Just gonna cut out four leaves of varying sizes and adhere them to the top of the pie with a little bit of egg wash. Now this guy's headed into a 350°F oven for anywhere from one to two hours, until the pastry is beginning to lightly brown and the beef registers around 160°F. Then we are thoroughly brushing down every nook and or cranny with a beaten egg before returning to a slightly hotter oven, 375 or 400, for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and burnished. Wait 10-15 minutes until this guy's cool enough to handle, place him on a wire rack, no soggy bottoms here at Paul Hollywood, and ideally you want to let this guy cool completely about two hours. But I've got a hungry sawyer in the house, so I thought I'd dig in early. Now my original plan was for this to be the base movie version, then I was gonna make an improved Babish version, but it was so good we ended up eating every bite, so instead I took him upstairs to practice shaving with a straight razor.