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The Traditional Cornish-Style Pasty (Oggie)

This recipe is based upon the one we use at London Calling which is made in the fashion of the Cornish pasty. I add a little extra rutabaga as I think it helps balance all the flavors nicely. These will take some time to make but they will be well worth the effort.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine British, Cornish
Servings 5

Equipment

  • 1 Cookie Sheet To Cook the Pasties On
  • 1 Medium Bowl To Mix the Pasty Dough
  • 1 Rolling Pin To roll the dough into rounds. Fondant Rollers and great for pasties
  • 1 Whisk or Fork To whisk the egg wash
  • 1 Large Sieve To sift the flour
  • 1 Pastry Brush To brush the egg wash onto the tops of the pasties for a golden brown
  • 1 9" cake pan To use as a guide for rolling out the dough
  • 1 Fork To use to seal the pasty if you don't crimp the edge
  • 6 Small Bowls To make the egg wash, hold the ice water and for the ingredient assembly line
  • 1 Set Measuring Cups
  • 1 Set Measuring Spoons
  • Plastic Wrap To wrap the dough and chill
  • 1 Butter Knife

Ingredients
  

Shortcrust

  • 3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour, Sifted. Plus 1/4 cup extra for rolling out dough. All purpose flour will also work.
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 8 Tablespoons Butter, chilled, cut into small chunks (1/2 cup or 1 Stick butter)
  • 1/2 Cup leaf lard or shortening, cut into small chunks
  • 1 Cup Water (prepare but only used what is needed). Add ice to the water to chill

Filling

  • 3/4 Pound Raw beef skirt or chuck steak, cut into small pieces Leaner meats can be used but will lack the flavor and juices needed for a proper pasty
  • 1/2 Pound Raw Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced small These can be diced ahead of time and covered with water to prevent browning.
  • 3/4 Pound Raw Rutabaga, Peeled and Diced small (11 oz) Raw
  • 1 Small Raw White or Yellow Onion, finely diced (5 oz) Raw
  • 3 Tablespoons Butter, cut into 5 equal pieces
  • Salt & Pepper

Egg Wash

  • 1 Egg, whole
  • 2 Tablespoons Milk You can also use water if you don't have milk

Instructions
 

Shortcrust

  • Place the large sieve over the medium bowl, measure 3 1/2 cups flour with a spoon into the measuring cup. Level off each measure using the backside of a butter knife. Pour into the sieve. Add the 1 tsp salt. Gently tap the side of the sieve over the bowl until the flour and salt are sifted. Add the 8 Tablespoons of butter in small chunks and the 1/2 cup of leaf lard or shortening. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the fat into the flour. With your fingers rub the butter/shortening between the thumb and the rest of the fingers. It should eventually look like sand. It's okay to have some pieces a little bigger than sand. Sprinkle the iced water 4 Tablespoons at a time over the flour/butter mixture. You will use roughly 16 Tablespoons but humidity can make a big difference so judge by sight and feel. Using your hands, pull from the bottom and lightly toss until the dough starts to clump into larger pieces. Gently press with your hands until the dough just comes together. It should not be sticky, nor should it be crumbly. Press the dough flat, fold it over, turn it, press it flat, fold it over, turn it and do this 1 more time. (This is a light knead). Make the dough ball into 5 equally sized smaller balls. Flatten with the palm of your hand into a puck shape and wrap the dough pucks individually in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. This dough can be held for up to 3 days. Have a glass of wine.

Egg Wash

  • Whisk the egg and milk together in a small bowl until fully combined.

Filling and Crimping

  • After the dough has been in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Dice the rutabaga, potato, onion and steak into a small dice. You can chip or slice the vegetables if you prefer. I prefer the dice as I think it allows more flavor.
  • Pull the dough pucks from the refrigerator and use the rolling pin to roll out a round circle about 1/8th inch thick. If you stack the dough rounds, add a little flour between each one or use parchment paper to separate. Do this with each puck. You want about a 9" diameter. You can use a 9" cake pan as a guide.
  • Clear your counter and set up an assembly line of dough rounds, diced beef, vegetables, butter, salt and pepper and egg wash. Lay out a dough round. With your pastry brush, brush egg wash onto the outer edge of the pasty. Layer all the veggies and the beef in this order for a nice balance: Onion Rutabaga, Steak, Potato, Rutabaga. Top with the 1/5th of the butter (1 butter piece for each pasty). You should end up with roughly 1 cup of veggies and meat per pasty. Lightly salt and pepper. (Use a couple of pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper as a guide)
  • Fold the round in half over the veggies and meat, pushing the veggies and meat back into the pasty if they fall out of the sides. Using your hands in a half moon shape, shape and seal the ingredients inside the pasty so that it looks like a mounded half circle or rising sun shape. Where the sides of the dough circle meet, seal the edges (pick out any veggies or meat that get trapped) with the rolling pin or your fingers and then crimp that edge or you can decorate the edge with a fork for an easier seal. Use the butter knife or a fork to make a vent hole in the top of your pasties so that steam can escape during the cooking process.
  • Place each pasty onto the cookie sheet leaving room for some expansion in size and brush with the egg wash. This creates a golden brown pasty. Wherever you paint, you will have a beautiful brown. Whereever you miss, you will have a pasty pasty!
  • Bake the pasties for about 55 minutes. Watch for the bubbling from the vent hole. At this time the insides will be soft and tender but go for a nice golden brown on the outside before you pull it from the oven.

Notes

Raw Ingredients:  All the ingredients go into the pasty raw and create their own juices as they cook inside the crust.  It's part of the magic of the Cornish-style pasty.  Dicing the ingredients ahead of time can make this process easier.  Cover your potatoes with water to prevent browning.  
Lard:  We will address lard in another Halfway to London post and I will teach you to make your own.  For now, use shortening unless you can find Leaf Lard in your health food store in the freezer or refrigerator.  That shelf stable stuff in the baking section of your grocery store is no bueno.  I am not pretending shortening is much better, just better until you learn to make your own lard.  
Crimping:  We will address crimping in another Halfway to London post and I will teach you how to crimp a traditional Cornish style pasty.   Decorating the edge by using a fork works just as well for now.  
Dough:  This is a short crust version of the dough and what we use at London Calling.  We will experiment at a later time with a laminated version of the dough also known as a rough puff  (think croissant like dough) which is what you see in Cornwall these days.   Making the dough a day ahead can help a lot with time.  
Keyword Cornish Pasty, British Pasty, Traditional Pasty, Hand Pies