1-1a Brown St, Newtown, New South Wales
thepietin.com.au
After my first review of The Pie Tin, I try to get back there as often as I’m in the area (which is not all that often). Their range of pies is ever-changing, and it turns out they also rotate their sausage rolls!
One day (a while back, as I’m still clearing out old tasting notes that I neglected to write up fully at the time), I wandered in and found in the warmer: Caramelised apple and pork roll with fennel and cayenne pepper!
Oh my! Taking one to a table on its individual aluminium plate, I inspect the goods.
The pastry looks decent, though perhaps slightly underbaked, with a pale golden yellow shading to white in places. It could have been a deeper shade of golden brown. It’s glazed and topped with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. The filling visible on the ends is intriguing, and not altogether appetising looking, it must be said. The meat seems to have a sticky, slimy sort of coating – although I presume this is the caramelised apple and nothing to be worried about. here’s also a giant fennel seed clearly visible, which promises a huge hit of aniseedy goodness to offset the sweetness of the apple.
The roll is very juicy, with a bit of sticky sweetness to it. The pastry almost slips right off the filling because it’s so juicy, giving it little to hold onto, but I manage to manoeuvre it into a position where I can still use the pastry as a shield against the searing insides. The meat contains visible fennel seeds and small chunks of apple. There is a hint of the promised cayenne pepper, but not any serious heat to write home about, nor to worry anyone of a milder palate. The pastry is decent but a little soggy on the inside surface due to the juiciness of the filling. The outside is firm but has no real crunch to it. A bit of crunchy flake would definitely improve the texture balance. But in the taste department, this roll is a big hit – it’s absolutely delicious. Another smash hit by The Pie Tin!
Caramelised apple and pork roll with fennel and cayenne pepper: 9/10