A Working Guide to Bacon And Egg Pie Recipe Jamie Oliver
I found myself needing a proper Sunday thing last year and went down the Jamie Oliver bacon and egg pie route. The core idea is sound, but the devil is in the pastry and moisture control, so I will walk through the real steps and where most people go wrong. You start with a shortcrust or, if you are feeling lazy, a good puff pastry sheet. Line a pie dish, blind bake it for about 15 minutes at 200C with baking beans, then set it aside. The filling is roughly the base that holds everything together. Fry smoked streaky bacon until it is rendered but not shrivelled. That fat is what flavours the whole dish. Remove it, leaving the splutter behind, and soften some onions or shallots in it. Make a roux with a little of that bacon fat and flour, then whisk in milk. Season hard at this stage because the eggs and cheese will mellow it out. The custard ratio matters more than any cookbook admits. For a standard 23cm pie, I use three large eggs to about 300ml of milk and cream split roughly 50/50. Whisk it until it is completely smooth, strain it through a sieve, and that takes away any chance of rubbery bits. Fold the bacon and onions back in. Pour it into the blind-baked shell, then crack four raw eggs straight on top. Do not beat them. Just drop them in.
Bake at 180C for about 25 to 30 minutes. The custard should be just set with a slight wobble in the centre, and the egg whites should be opaque while the yolks stay soft. Leave it to rest for ten minutes before cutting, otherwise the filling runs out like soup. That resting time is non-negotiable. I learned the hard way about moisture issues with one batch. The bacon released enough fat and water to make the bottom pastry soggy within half an hour of assembling. I had rebuilt the pie from scratch after it sat out too long. The fix is simple and slightly fiddly. Brush the blind-baked base with a thin layer of Dijon mustard, then add a sparse layer of grated mature Cheddar or even a light dusting of dried breadcrumbs before pouring in the custard. That creates a barrier. It also means using well-rinded, thick-cut bacon that has been patted dry and not over-fried. Any excess liquid from the pan needs to go. One thing that surprises people is that the bacon should be undercooked before it goes in. Since it bakes again inside the pie, if you render it fully upfront it ends up dry and salty by the time the custard sets. Slightly pink in the middle is fine and better. The mustard barrier trick is a real one, though it does add a sharp tang that not every palate expects. If that is not your thing, skip it and rely on the cheese or breadcrumb layer instead.
Another practical note. This recipe works best when you serve it the same day. The pastry degrades noticeably after about twelve hours, even if you wrap it properly. It is still edible the next day, but the crust loses its snap and the filling firms up rather than staying silky. Reheating gently in a low oven at 160C works better than a microwave, which turns the custard rubbery in minutes. The whole process, from frying the bacon to pulling the pie out of the oven, takes about an hour and twenty minutes including blind baking and resting. If you use pre-made puff pastry and a shorter blind bake, you can get it closer to forty-five minutes, but the base will never be quite as crisp. If you want a simpler alternative that skips the custard entirely, a proper savoury crumble with bacon, scrambled eggs folded into a basic white sauce, and a buttery breadcrumb topping does the job in less time and with far fewer variables to mess up. It is not the same texture, but it is more forgiving and reheats better.
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