Black Cat Pie Company (Final Chapter & Scores)

The British Pie Association has been out and about recently given the good weather and have been able to re-sample the pies at The Commercial at Slaithwaite.  More of which in another post, but for now we’ll finish off our mini-series on The Black Cat Pie Company ( https://www.facebook.com/blackcatpies/ ), that was established and owned by Lucy in 2017.

So far we have discussed the Mince and Onion (“potential to be a bit messy if eaten on the go was very tasty “) and the Steak and Ale Pie (“enjoy the flavours – a little on the dry side”) . Today we are going to look the remaining three pie offerings that Lucy produces and promotes at Farmers Markets around the region (Rawtenstall, Ramsbottom and Cholton Green as examples). These being the Cheese and Onion, The Chicken and Mushroom and the Black Cats speciality The Pulled Pork Chilli.

The Cheese and Onion.

“Don’t normally do Cheese and Onion Pies, but this could convert me” was the predominate theme as we sampled this. As with the other offerings (already mentioned ), the pastry is the same – a very thin golden brown colour. It held together nicely when bitten into – a thing you can’t always say about Cheese and Onion pies. But most importantly – it was Cheese and Onion (advertised as “Locally sourced mature cheddar cheese and diced onion, with the tiniest hint of cayenne pepper and mustard to add extra flavour”), and definitely not a filling of ‘gloop’ – like semi-liquidised cheese puree which we at the British Pie Association tend to dislike. The very tasty diced onion was clearly visible and the flavours from the Cheese could clearly be distinguished.  So overall … “A pretty good Cheese and Onion”

The Chicken and Mushroom

The Chicken and Mushroom Pie is sometimes regarded as ‘the safe bet’ – and with that, any Chicken and Mushroom pie has to perform outstandingly to catch attention. This one used the same Black Cat Pie Company Pastry – so had the same golden look as the others and the filling, as you will have come to expect by now was tasty and full. The chicken was well flavoured and in solid chunks and the chestnut mushrooms were tasty and distinguishable from the chicken. The rich, creamy tarragon sauce was perhaps a little lacking and a little ‘mouth clogging’ but any more may have led the pie to crumble on biting into it. This is an above average pie with a good look and flavours and one that I would go back to in the crowded market of Chicken and Mushroom Pies.

The Pulled Pork Chilli

Lucy advertises this offering as “A Black Cat Speciality – Pulled Pork shoulder, slow cooked in Dandelion and Burdock in order to create a delicious chilli, fragrant with delicate herbs, subtle spices and a smattering of kidney beans”.  So was it the speciality for us ? In a nutshell (or a pie-case ) – the answer is an emphatic yes. Take it as said that pastry is golden brown, nicely thin and the completely filled with the succulent pulled pork and kidney beans. Mouth Watering! It was commented that kidney beans in the filling made all the difference, a really nice pie and definitely worthy of many more tastings!

Summary           

So after sampling each of five of the Black Cat Pie Company’s offerings, firstly – let’s be honest – they are all very good pies and I certainly wouldn’t refuse a re-sample of any of them and the next time I pass a farmers market where Lucy has a stall I’ll be making a few purchases.  And finally after totally random questions like.. Does it look appetising? Is it well formed? What is the thickness of the pastry? How does the filling look? What is it’s bite-ability factor? Overall taste of pastry and filling? Too much, or little gravy? Mouth-watering or mouth clogging? And the all-important eat again factor? The scores are finally in and it is no surprise that they all fared well.  The Black Cat Pie Company is a great business producing very good quality pies!

MH.