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meat and potato pie

14/10/2012

35 Comments

 
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I find it hard to believe that I've not posted a recipe for this before now. Nothing, I mean nothing, speaks to me of comfort on a cold, rainy evening like the words 'meat and potato pie'. Maybe it's a northern thing.

At it's simplest, this would be made with only beef, onions, potatoes and water, topped off with a pastry of flour and lard, and accompanied by pickled red cabbage (and/or beetroot, and/or onions), mushy peas or simply malt vinegar.

In this version however, I've included, because I love it, a splash of Henderson's Relish (the balsamic of the North), a few mushrooms, some thyme and beef stock instead of the water. And that's probably about as far as you want to stray from the basic version - simplicity being part of this pie's charm.

I tend to serve it with ketchup, buttered cabbage and some crusty bread.

In an ideal world, of course, Al Read or The Clitheroe Kid would be on the radio, but you can't have everything.
serves two
a sprig of thyme
a splash of oil
250g shin of beef, cubed
1 onion, thickly sliced
75g button mushrooms, quartered
a good splash of Henderson's Relish (or Worcestershire sauce)
400ml beef stock

300g peeled potatoes, cubed
salt + black pepper

125g self-raising flour
a good pinch of salt
80g beef suet
75ml water

a little milk


Place the thyme in a small casserole dish. Heat a large frying pan and add a splash of oil. When it's smoking, add the beef and brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat into the casserole. Lower the heat a bit and add the onions to the frying pan and fry until softened. Add the mushrooms, stir and fry for a few minutes. Transfer the onions and mushrooms to the casserole. Add a good splash of Henderson's (about a desertspoonful) to the frying pan together with 300ml of the stock (leaving 100ml for later). Stir and let bubble for a minute then pour into the casserole. Season with black pepper. Cover the casserole and simmer gently for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, make your pastry: in a bowl, rub together the flour, salt and suet. Add the water and mix everything together. On a floured surface, knead the pastry briefly, form into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge.

When the beef is tender, remove the thyme from the casserole, add the potatoes and, if necessary, pour in the remaining stock so the potatoes are fully submerged. Simmer for 30 more minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Check for seasoning (if you've used stock cubes or similar you may not need to add much, if any, salt). Spoon the meat, vegetables and gravy into your pie dish (or individual dishes as I did).
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Remove the pastry from the fridge and leave for 30 minutes. Now roll it out to about 5mm thick, by which time it should be about the right size to top your pie dish(es). Crimp the edges of the pastry, cut the excess off with a sharp knife and prick the top with the tines of a fork several times.
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You can, if you want, brush the pastry with beaten egg, but I always think that's a waste of an egg so I brush the pastry with a little milk.

Bake the pie(s) for 30-40 minutes (or until the pastry is golden) in a 180C/160C fan oven.


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35 Comments
Jane Marsden link
14/10/2012 13:13:12

Rochdale Town Hall was famed for its Meat and Potato Pies as well as its Victorian Gothic architecture. Unfortunately, Cyril Smith ate them all in the seventies

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The Skint Foodie
17/10/2012 11:19:43

But Rochdale forgave the Big Man, I'll wager.

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Drew SW London
8/1/2014 10:58:17

Erm... No, don't think so...

sue merli
14/10/2012 13:20:13

looks delicious! the beauty of 'spud pie' is you can do what you want with it! Don't think I'd ever include mushrooms tho (too posh!), but carrots, leeks, lentils and even pearl barley have found their way into mine! the skinter you are, the more imagination in what you throw in!

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The Skint Foodie
17/10/2012 11:18:52

You're right there Sue!

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mrsdanvers63
14/10/2012 13:29:18

A thing of beauty.

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The Skint Foodie
17/10/2012 11:20:14

Ta!

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@inclusivecook
14/10/2012 14:18:14

My grandmother swore by a little custard powder mixed with the milk to give an eggy effect without wasting an egg....

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The Skint Foodie
14/10/2012 14:24:20

Now that sounds like a wonderful tip!

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The Skint Foodie
15/10/2012 12:24:40

And someone told me today that a paste of soya flour and water works as well.

sue merli
14/10/2012 14:26:57

i'm liking the custard powder idea - a lot! grandmas rock!

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Maite Ryall-Harvey
14/10/2012 15:05:30

I love the filling. It sounds nice and rich however being exceedingly Northern, I must ask - why just a pastry lid? Why not proper encasing of the pie?

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sue merli
14/10/2012 15:13:34

it just wouldn't work! too soggy! a proper spud pie has to flow when cut open!

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The Skint Foodie
15/10/2012 12:32:53

Proper? OED: A baked dish of fruit, meat, fish, or vegetables, covered with pastry (or a similar substance) and freq. also having a base and sides of pastry. Top only is just as proper as fully encased. And, crucially, it provides the right proportion of pastry to filling.

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sue merli
15/10/2012 12:52:33

with the potatoes you don't want loads of pastry, but do need extra gravy!

Maite Ryall-Harvey
17/10/2012 06:09:30

I did say exceedingly Northern as the caveat for expecting a fully encased pie! I'd put a bacon butty in pastry if I could get away with it.
Mostly I didn't know if it was because the pastry wouldn't be great as a lining - I have memories of my nan making two different types of pastry for pies, one for the bottom and a really flaky one for the top because she preferred them that way.

Caroline Oliver
14/10/2012 15:14:39

Looks great but lid only is a poor pie!

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Corinna link
14/10/2012 15:43:15

Oh perfect - especially with the "weather turning"!

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Robert
14/10/2012 15:50:16

Mmm I want pie!

I have the Henderson. As I bought some when I was up in Sheffields :-)

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Robin Betts
15/10/2012 07:24:48

What *is* Henderson's? (Apart from being secret) I mean, is it like Worcester? Basically tamarind and anchovy?

Yours, a nebbish southener.

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The Skint Foodie
15/10/2012 12:34:50

There's no anchovy Robin. Here's their site: http://www.hendersonsrelish.com/

PaulT
15/10/2012 05:14:21

Whoah - just checked the site after a couple of weeks away and you're on fire mate ! - some great recipes added. I'm waiting for the weekend now just to make me a m+p pie, (shame it's only monday....). I hope you had your pie with the traditional mushy peas and mint sauce.

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The Skint Foodie
15/10/2012 12:36:04

Thanks Paul. I'm very ashamed to say I didn't have it with mushy peas.

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Lizzie link
15/10/2012 10:52:02

Now I really, really want pie. I don't think I'd be able to refrain from a little onion or garlic in there!

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Sheddles
15/10/2012 13:26:40

Well proper!

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Susan
16/10/2012 15:41:54

The Clitheroe Kid! You have just dragged me unexpectedly back to my childhood. And the pie looks lovely - it is just getting to pie weather, and I have some shin of beef waiting in the freezer.

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The Skint Foodie
17/10/2012 11:17:59

It's definitely pie weather Susan. Definitely.

I think I'm right in saying that you can still hear the Kid on Radio 4 Extra.

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Arabella
24/10/2012 22:34:01

Just like my mother used to make, even the dish. Marvelous.

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PaulT
9/11/2012 05:23:08

Finally got around to making a couple of these, one for bonfire night and one for a few days later. Very nice indeed. Will definitely make again sometime. Mushy peas and pickled onions for the win though !!Good autumn comfort food.

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The Skint Foodie
2/12/2012 11:22:55

Glad you enjoyed it Paul!

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John Cowburn
2/2/2013 00:08:54

Great recipe. When I was travelling in Europe and Asia in the 70's I used to dream of Meat and Potato Pie!! It's a wonderful thing, I'm surprised the Gastro Pubs et al don't serve it. I think that Bachelors Processed peas are better than mushy peas for this, the combined taste is awesome! Real meat and potato pies in a big dish served for a family of say eight don't have bottoms, just wouldn't work.

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H C
9/11/2013 13:26:14

I haven't had a meat & potato pie since I left home (Manchester) and moved to the south some 50yrs ago! To-day I decided to make one. Having looked through several cookery books for a recipe, amazingly, without success, I tried the web and was pleased to find your site made reference to the north. I have now had my very enjoyable pie, but with an overhanging crust - like mum always did, but was a little disappointed that I didn't have a funnel to use - like mum! Your reference to Al Read and The Clitheroe Kid also brought back some pleasant memories. Thank You.

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The Skint Foodie
14/11/2013 03:25:42

Glad you liked it!

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The Yorkshire Foodie
22/11/2013 00:03:17

Re m+pp: I'm surprised that none of your correspondents have noted that it should be made, not in an enamelled tin, but in a thick and straight- (but sloping)-sided earthenware Lancashire crockpot (if you can still find one). That's how my grandmother made them in Manchester sixty years ago. Also, my mother (another Lancashire lass) told me long ago that her grandmother (this must have been 90 years since) told her that the potatoes used should not be cut with a knife but what she called "snibbed", i.e. using (say) a broken kitchen knife, chipped out in little uneven bits about the size of a hazel-nut. It does indeed improve the flavour. And -- finally -- only ever use a pastry "lid". And -- yes -- pickled red cabbage goes best with.

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Loved the pie ,but loved your information and comments even more so funny, will be using more of your recipes in future x
7/11/2015 13:16:14

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  • blog
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