Traditional Scotch Pies

How to make deep and delicious Scotch pies, using hot water crust pastry, easy step by step instructions from start to finish.

Ingredients

Method

Hot Water Crust Pastry:
300g / 11oz Plain / All-purpose Flour
130g / 130ml Water
70g / 2½ oz Butter
70g / 2½ oz Lard or solid Vegetable fat
4g / ½ tsp Salt
1 large Egg (egg wash)
Pie Filling:
500g / 18oz Minced/ground Mutton / Lamb / or Beef
1 Medium-size Onion, finely diced
2tbls Olive oil
4g / 1tsp Ground Mace or Nutmeg
1g / 1tsp Mixed herbs
Salt and White Pepper
570mls / 1 Pint Beef or Lamb stock

Making the hot water crust pastry:
Place the water on a low heat, add the butter and lard to the pan, heat it until all the fats have melted.
Mix the salt and flour together, form a well in the middle of the flour.
Soon as the fats have melted, pour the hot liquid onto the plain flour in the bowl, and using a spatula bring it all together.
Tip the contents of the bowl out onto a non-floured surface.
Gently knead the dough by hand until it all comes together.
Cut the pastry onto 2 equal pieces.
Cover them in plastic wrap or food bags and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using.
Making the filling:
Add the olive oil to a frying pan on a high heat.
Once hot, add the diced onion and stir-fry until soft.
When the onion is cooked add the minced meat to the pan and stir-fry until it has some colour.

Season with salt and white pepper.
Add the mixed herbs and mace or nutmeg to meat and mix it in.
Ladle off any fat and meat juices that release from the meat and set it aside for now.
Add the beef stock to the pan, bring to a slow boil and place the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes.
Once done, stain off the stock in a small saucepan, add the cooked mince to a separate bowl, cover it and allow it to cool.
Assembling the pies:
Grease 2 deep springform pie tins with lard or butter, see the link for the tins that I use below.
Get you pastry from the fridge, divide each pastry into two pieces, one large and one small.
Roll out all 4 pieces into 3mm thick circles, 2 large for the bases of the pies and 2 small for the lids.
Place the pastry bases in the pie tins, manipulate the pastry right down into the corners of the pie tins, make sure to leave some pastry sticking over the rim of the pie tin.
Fill the cases with the now cold filling, lightly compact it down, leaving it slightly shy of the top.
Spoon in some of the fatty meat juices that we took off the meat in the pan, but not too much.
At this point, preheat your oven to, 170°C / 340°F / Gas mark 3.
Cut a 10mm hole in each of the pastry lids.
Brush egg wash all around the edge of the pastry in the tin.
Brush egg wash on the underside of the lids and place the lids on the top of the pie bases, and gently press it down,
Now using your thumbs and forefingers crimp the 2 pastries together.
Using a dull knife, trim off the excess pastry, then crimp again to tidy it up.
Place both pies on a baking tray.
Give each pie a good coat of the egg wash.
Place the tray on the lowest part of the preheated oven and use the bottom element if you have one.
Now set your timer for 50 minutes.
Making the gravy:
Get the heat on under the saucepan with the stock in and add one or 2 small knobs of butter.
Once simmering thicken the gravy to your preference using a little corn flour and water, you may know that as corn starch, simmer for 5 minutes.
And that’s all this amazing gravy needs.
Once done allow the pies to settle for a few moments on a wire rack.
Remove them from tins and serve piping hot, with mashed potatoes or chips, peas and lashings of the delicious gravy.
Enjoy.