This week I, Bald Foodie Guy, decided to do something a little different.

I went to Farmfoods and bought four Hollands Steak and Kidney Pies.

I've done Holland's Pies before but I've not had these yet; Holland’s pies are what I grew up on so they mean a lot to me.

Now, the packaging says that you can microwave or oven bake - so what I decided to do was cook them THREE different ways - one in the microwave, one in the air fryer and lastly in the oven.

Looking at the ingredients, it's surprising what they put in these things.

And I’ll tell you what – 19% beef and only 6% kidney, look at all these naughty ingredients they put in here.

We’ve got palm oil in here – that’s pretty naughty too, isn’t it?

We've got to save the trees.

In an ideal world, it would be fantastic – we’d all be running around naked and eating off the fat of the land – that would be great, wouldn’t it?

Before I did these reviews, I never looked at the packaging, but since I’ve been doing this I look at the ingredients.

Anyway, I digress. Let's see what they're like.

First, the oven.

The oven one has a nice crisp crust – it’s just starting to tan on the top.

You don’t have to worry about this one – you can put it on on the required temperature and time and go and do some hoovering or whatever housework needs to be done.

The pastry is firm and it looks like the oven has cooked it best.

Next, let's take a look at the air fryer.

The bottom has remained intact, but the problem with the air fryer is that you can never tell whether it’s properly done.

It’s cooked on the top but doesn’t look fully done on the bottom.

After putting it in for another five minutes, it's similar to the oven.

Finally, the microwave.

Remember, do not put the pie in the microwave with the foil on unless you want a personal firework display

This one is all soggy. That’s the difference, it’s not nice and crisp like the others.

But it’s tasty; I certainly wouldn't refuse to eat it.

The only benefit is the convenience really – 2 minutes 45 if you want to get a pie and go.

Conclusion

If you want to sit down, choose the oven or the air fryer. If you're in a hurry, use the microwave.

To be honest, you have to babysit the air fryer and if you use the oven, you can stick a load of oven chips on too.

But that’s three different ways of cooking a pie!

You can find more reviews by me, Bald Foodie Guy, at: www.youtube.com/c/BaldFoodieGuy