Can you Microwave a Pukka Pie?

I’m a big fan of Pukka pies and being without an oven for the last couple of years it’s been one of the foods I miss the most – I’ve now “fixed” that as I’ve just bought a new toaster oven as I couldn’t bear to live without Pukka pies any more!

If you’re wondering can you microwave a Pukka pie – or any regular pie – then there is good news.  You can microwave pies, if you’re prepared to accept that they won’t be quite the same.  You will lose some of that crisp bite of the pastry.

Some of you might point out that Pukka were selling microwave pies a while back – and I’d say that yes they did, although they seem to be discontinued now – and I even excitedly bought a pack once, only to be thoroughly disappointed.  Those Pukka microwave pies I found to be nothing like the originals. My method gives me something much closer to the original Pukka pie.  I found the Pukka microwave pies to be MUCH smaller, not as tasty and the pastry was just weird.

Does pastry go soggy in the microwave? Well, yes, which is why it’s important to microwave the top part for the minimum amount of time, but the rest of the pie will need longer.  If you use my method of microwaving pie then the pie lid is being microwaved for the minimum amount of time, to keep it as crisp/dry as possible.

So here’s my way to microwave a pie to get the best results, I did this in an 800 watt microwave:

• Carefully slice the lid off the pie and set it aside.
• Spoon out the Pukka pie contents into a mug
• Microwave the Pukka pie contents in the microwave for a minute, then stir and microwave for 30 seconds.
• Remove the pastry pie base from the foil case. NEVER put a foil case in a microwave!
• Place the empty/base part of the pie crust in the microwave alongside the mug of filling.  Microwave both for ~30 seconds.
• Place the pie lid alongside the filling and base parts – and microwave for 20 seconds or so.
• Remove all three from the microwave, fill the pie base with the filling, plonk the lid on top!

That’s it.  So, to clarify and summarise: Put the filling in the microwave first and microwave; add the base (without the foil dish) and microwave both items together; add the lid and microwave all three items together. Remove all three items from the microwave and reassemble! Eat.

I got distracted when I made mine the other day and accidentally microwaved the lid part for nearly a minute, so it did go a bit soggy. 

But, the end result is as best as you can hope to get using just a microwave – and it’s streets ahead of Pukka pie’s microwave pie versions.  You’re also not paying a “premium” price just because a product’s called a Microwave Pie.

Microwaving any product of this type is a balance between how much you desire the item -v- knowing you will lose some of its qualities. For me, for a Pukka pie, it was worth it.

I served my Pukka Pie with some rough cut cheesy mash 🙂