Asda Steak & Stilton Puff Pastry Pie

Description: Tender chunks of British Beef smothered in our Long Clawson Stilton Sauce with Puff Pastry lid.

Cost: On offer, 2 pies for £2.50

Cooking: 25 minutes on number 4 from fresh.

Verdict: First impressions? I havent had a steak & stilton pie in a very long time and have to say its one of my favourites. They are also quite difficult to get correct when you make them, the Stilton sauce is either too weak so you cant taste it, or too over powering.

So I was very much looking forward to this pie. In the oven it goes, 25 minutes whilst I cook some fresh potatoes off my very own garden.

Cutting open the pie and the pastry lid was perfect, not too flakey and just the right depth. The filling smelt lovely. I could see nice big lumps of beef, which was indeed very tender. The sauce was perfect. Just the right amount of of stilton, nice, creamy and the right ratio of sauce to meat. The meat was really tasty, no grissle or fat and just the right tenderness.

All in all, I was very impressed, certainly a new favourite for me and will be buying again!


Calorie count is 602 calories per pie.

Rating?   9 out of 10.

Pie in the Sky Flamenco Chick Chicken & Chorizo Pie

Description: Succulent chicken, spicy chorizo and mixed peppers in a rich tomato based sauce topped with golden puff pasty.

Cost: £1 for single pie.

Cooking: 50minutes on number 6 from frozen

Verdict: First impressions? Id tried the Tesco chicken & chorizo pie in the past, but this one has a mediterranean twist to it with peppers and a tomato sauce.

Out of the box the pie looked good, typical single portion sized pie. In the oven for 50minutes gave me plenty of time to get my potatoes ready. Instead of peas i thought id have some home grown courgettes off my garden. They are growing like mad this time of year.

Cooked for the recommended time and pies cooked a treat. So whats it like?

Well, there was plenty of filling, nice chunks of peppers and chicken. The sauce was very tasty, very mediterranean flavour to it. And I think there was just the right filling for the size of the pie. I think it was very much an acquired taste, so some people might not like it. Personally I felt it would be better eaten over winter - a nice warming, filling pie and a nice change from the normal steak & onion or chicken & mushroom type.

Calorie count is 503 calories per pie.

Rating?   6 out of 10.

Tesco Chicken, Ham Hock and Leek Puff Pastry Pie

Description: British chicken and ham hock in creamy sauce wrapped in a puff pastry lattice top

Cost: £2.49 for family sized pie.

Cooking: 40 minutes on number 6.

Verdict: First impressions? This is a nice deep fill looking pie. The blurb on the back of the packet talks about how they make their fresh pies using "master bakers" and really makes you work up an appetite ready to tuck into the pie. Ive had Tesco pies before and had mixed opinions of them, so im keen to see how this pie compares.

Verdict: As you know already, I'm not a big chicken pie fan, I do prefer the meaty steak, but I think the combination of chicken, ham and leek do work good together so im keen to see how things pie shapes up.

In the oven it goes and as per instructions, 40mins later its ready and waiting. I decided to push the boat out with this one and rather than have plain potatoes made some lovely home made chips. I hope this doesnt affect my verdict!

Cutting the pie open and the first thing I noticed was the filling. There was loads of it. Nice big chunks of chicken, just the perfect amount of creamy sauce. Upon eating you can really taste all the flavours. Perfect combination of ham, creamy leek and chicken all hitting your taste buds. Each flavour not being too over powering unlike one of the previous Tesco Chicken & Leek pies ive had.

The pastry was just the right amount too, not too little and not too stodgy. And the 1/3rd of the pie portion was just the right size.

All in all what a pleasant surprise, this is certainly one of the best pies ive had and certainly has just become one of my favourites. I will have to send Mrs Pieman out to buy some more!!!

Calorie count for this pie is 480 calories for a 1/3rd which is about the right size for an individual portion.

Would I buy it again? Definitely, easily the best chicken & leek pie ive had, and id rate this on a par with my "holy grail" of chicken pies, the Waitrose roast chicken pie.

Rating?  10 out of 10.

Heinz Chicken & Bacon Big Pie

Description: Tender chicken, chunky potatoes, smoke flavoured sweetcure bacon, leeks and onions covered in a delicious creamy sauce, encased in a shortcrust pastry base and topped with a light puff pasty lid.

Cost: £1 for single pie as special offer. Normally £1.65 per pie which isn't bad.

Cooking: Number 5 for 30minutes.

Verdict: Mrs Pieman bought me a couple of Heinz pies a few weeks back. Id already tried the Steak & Potato pie which was incredible, so I was looking forward to their Chicken & Bacon Big Pie to see how that compared.

In the oven the pie went, one pie is a single serving. It looked really substantial out of the box, living up to its "Big Pie" name. It took 30minutes which was just the right amount of time for me to prepare some potatoes & some veg.

On the plate and it looked the part, nice and big. And as with the previous steak & potato pie there was no leakage of the filling which is always good.

Cutting the pie open, the crust & pastry was perfect. Inside there were nice big chunks of chicken & potato and loads of creamy sauce. The sauce was really nice, creamy and just the right texture. Unfortunately I couldn't taste any of the bacon, leeks or onions which was a disappointment, as that would have really worked well with the chicken & creamy sauce.

All in all, the pie was really nice, and id certainly recommend it if you fancied a chicken pie. But for me, it didn't quite taste as good as their steak & potato version.

Calorie wise, 539 calories per pie.

Rating? 7.5 out of 10.

Birds Eye Steak & Kidney Pies

Description: Prime steak pieces and kidney, within rich gravy and delicious shortcrust pastry.

Cooking: Number 6 for 35 minutes from frozen.

Verdict: Having tried a few steak and kidney pies in my time I was really looking forward to this one. 35 minutes in the oven isn't bad from frozen and I had this one with new potatoes and carrots to make a nice change. The shortcrust pastry was lovely, really tasty and crumbly in the mouth. Inside, loads of gravy came flooding out once cut, nice, tasty and just the right thickness. The downside I found was whilst there were nice small chunks of kidney there was literally no mince. I honestly didn't find a bit anywhere. It was like having a lovely thick beef/onion soup with some kidney. Still, it was very tasty and if Birdseye just added some lumps of beef this would be an awesome pie.

Calorie wise, each pie is 505calories.

Rating? 5 out of 10.

Pukka Pies Shortcrust Minced Steak & Onion Pie

Description: Minced steak, chopped onions and dark gravy in a shortcrust pastry case.

Cooking: 45 minutes number 4

Verdict: Pukka Pies need no introduction, and as regular readers of my blog know I am a big fan. The last one I had I gave a beefy 9 out of 10. Cracking pies.

To my surprise, I found these lurking in the back of my freezer which was a lovely surprise. As a special treat I also let Mrs Pieman have one, so I put 2 in the oven and set the timer.
 
Out of the oven and on the plate, they looked great, along side some mash and peas. Cutting them open I dived in and was immediately disappointed. I had to double check to make sure I was actually eating a Pukka Pie. The filling was bland, no taste and not much mince at all. In case my pie was faulty I had to check Mrs Piemans one on her plate, and it was unfortunately the same. She confirmed my opinion and expressed her disappointment too. I don't know what Pukka Pies are playing at, so I am hoping this was a one off and the next pie from them I try is back up to their usual standards.

Sadly I cant recommend this pie. If you want a minced steak & onion pie, id reach for the Tesco own brand ones instead.

Calorie wise its 414 calories per pie.

Rating? 2.5 out of 10.

Ginsters Peppered Steak Pie

Description: British steak with onion in a creamy pepper sauce in a shortcrust pastry base topped with light puff pastry.

Cost: £1.89 for an individual pie.

Cooking: Number 6 for 25minutes from fresh. Add 10minutes if frozen.

Verdict: I didn't realise Ginsters did pies like this, I normally associate the brand more with slices and pasties which you might get from your local garage. Still, I do enjoy a nice steak pie and since this is a peppered steak I thought it would give the pie a nice twist.

In the oven the pie went, one pie is a single serving. Its a typical sized pie, ideal for one person. I had it with my usual peas and potatoes. Cutting the pie open, it started to disappoint. There were only a few very small pieces of steak. At one point I did wonder if it was minced beef instead of steak as I couldn't find any, but eventually I did find a couple of small pieces. The gravy for me was the biggest disappointment. There was plenty of it, but it was like water. You could taste the onion & peppers in all fairness, but it was just too watery. If they put 4 times the meat in the pie and made the gravy a bit thicker then it would be much better. All in all it was quite a let down, especially after the last steak pie I tried. I wouldn't buy again.

Calorie wise, 534 calories per pie.

Rating? 1 out of 10.