A good Cornish pasty should be packed with meat and vegetables, encased in a crispy, buttery pastry. This recipe shows you how to make Cornish pasties that (I think) give the traditional Cornish pasties a run for their money!
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What is a Cornish pasty?
A Cornish pastry is a hand pie filled with meat and vegetables, encased in a thick buttery pastry, with a distinctive crimped edge.
Traditional Cornish pasties are filled with beef, and pieces of potato, swede and onion. And nothing else apart from a sprinkling of salt and black pepper. The beef and vegetables are chopped up quite finely and are not cooked before being added to the pasty. Instead, the long cooking time (almost an hour) is enough to tenderise the meat and vegetables, making them soft and melt-in-the-mouth luscious.
The pastry is made with half lard and half butter, which results in a crispy pastry that is strong enough to encase the copious amount of filling.
There is also no gravy in a Cornish pasty. Some people like to dot a little butter on top of the filling before sealing the pasty, but I don't bother with this. I think the buttery pastry combined with the tender meat and vegetables makes the pasties more than juicy enough.
A bit of Cornish history
Before we get on with the actual recipe, I'd like to share a bit of trivia that I found quite interesting.
Who of you remember the chant 'oggie oggie oggie' and the response 'oi oi oi' normally associated with rugby matches and other sporting events? Well, did you know that this actually originated in Cornwall in the 1800s?
Apparently, the Cornish wives would make Cornish pasties for their husbands who worked in the tin mines, 'oggie' being the Cornish word for pasty.
At lunch time the wives would all turn up at the minehead and shout 'oggie oggie oggie' to let their husbands know that their pasties were ready. And the husbands would respond with 'oi oi oi' to let their wives know they were coming up to fetch them.
Another interesting fact is the reason for the crimped edge on the pastry. A by-product of tin mining was arsenic which contaminated the Cornish tin miners' hands. The crimped edge of the pastry gave the tin workers something to hold onto so they could eat their lunch without having to worry about contaminating their food with arsenic, and the thick crimped edge was discarded uneaten.
And sometimes, the enterprising wives would put beef and vegetables in one half of the pasty, and some sort of stewed fruit in the other half so that their husbands got a meal and a dessert in one!
But enough of that - let's get on with the recipe.
What you will need
Equipment
For mixing the pastry and the filling you will need a couple of mixing bowls.
To roll out the pastry you will need a rolling pin. And for baking the pasties you will need one or two baking trays. I like to line my baking tray with baking parchment to catch any drips that might cook out of the pasties. It makes cleaning up afterwards a whole lot easier.
You will also need a 20-centimeter diameter side plate to use as a template for cutting the pastry to size.
Ingredients
This recipe will make 7 large Cornish pasties.
**You can find the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making Cornish pasties on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Please don't tell anyone from Cornwall, but today I've taken the liberty of making my Cornish pasties with carrots instead of swedes because I forgot to buy a swede! I'll end up in the stocks if I ever dare to show my face in Cornwall 🙂 .
Beef - use good quality beef (not chuck or stewing steak for example as that will end up tough). You could use skirt steak, topside (as I've done here), flank or sirloin. The meat should be cut into small cubes, about 1 centimeter in size.
Vegetables - these are potatoes, onions and swedes (unless you forget to buy a swede, in which case you can use a carrot, but don't tell anyone!). The vegetables should also be cut into very small dice.
Salt and black pepper - this is all you will need as far as seasoning goes.
Flour - this is for the pastry, and if possible you should use bread flour as this contains more gluten than all-purpose or plain flour and makes for a pastry that holds up well.
Butter and lard - for the pastry for the Cornish pasties we use a mixture of butter and lard. The butter adds flavour, while the lard makes the pastry crispier than using butter on its own.
Water - this is used to bind the pastry. The water should be added gradually to the pastry until the pastry just comes together in a soft ball. You may not need all the water stated in the recipe.
Egg - the pasties will be brushed with lightly beaten egg before being baked.
What to do
Start off by making the pastry as this has to rest for half an hour, and you can use that time to peel and chop the vegetables.
Place the flour, salt, cubed butter and lard into a large mixing bowl.
Using your fingertips, rub the fats into the flour until you get something resembling breadcrumbs.
Add three-quarters of the water and mix with a flat-bladed knife until the mixture comes together in a shaggy ball. Only add the remaining water if needed, a tablespoon at a time.
Tip the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and press it together into a smooth ball. This is a sturdy dough so if you have to knead it a few times that's fine.
Note - because we are using bread flour, which contains more gluten than plain or all-purpose flour, you can handle this pastry a lot more than you would for a normal short-crust pastry. Don't go overboard and knead it for five minutes though - 30 seconds to one minute will be fine.
Cover the ball of pastry with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for half an hour to rest.
Now get on with the filling.
Cut the meat and vegetables into approximately 1-centimeter pieces and mix them in a bowl with the salt and pepper. Set the bowl aside until the pastry has rested.
Divide the rested pastry in half and roll it out to about one-eighth of an inch in thickness. Use a side plate as a guide to help you cut large circles from the pastry.
I got 2 circles from each half of the pastry and combined and re-rolled the trimmings to get another 2 circles, making 6 in total. I then combined the last trimming and had enough pastry to make a 7th circle.
Place a large mound of the beef and vegetables on half of one side of a pastry circle, leaving at least 2 centimetres free at the edge.
Brush the edges of the pastry with water to help it seal.
Fold the pastry over to form a semi-circle and press down gently on the edges to stick them together.
The next step is to crimp the edges of the pastry. Start at one side and hold the pastry with your thumb and index finger. Fold the pastry over to form a crimp and repeat this movement around the entire edge.
This is a case of practice makes perfect (and I haven't perfected it yet 🙂 ). Here is a video that you may like to take a look at from someone who really knows how to do it. How to properly crimp a Cornish pasty. I like to describe mine as 'rustic'!
Place the pasties on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and make 2 slits in the top of each one with a knife, to allow the steam to escape (ignore my shoddy crimping).
Brush the top and sides of each pasty with beaten egg.
Bake the pasties in a preheated oven (180C / 360F) for 50 to 55 minutes until the pasties are golden brown.
I like to serve these pasties fresh from the oven as a main meal with some homemade gravy and freshly steamed vegetables However, you could also serve them as a light lunch on their own, with perhaps a bowl of tomato sauce as a dipping sauce.
Tomato sauce and a cold Cornish pasty is (in my opinion and don't judge me) a match made in heaven.
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How to make Cornish pasties FAQ
Yes, you can freeze these pasties either before or after baking.
To freeze the unbaked pasties - assemble the pasties up to the point before they are brushed with beaten egg and freeze them on the baking tray. When they are solid, transfer the pasties to a suitable freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Bake from frozen (brush with beaten egg first) but add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
To freeze baked pasties - allow the pasties to cook and then wrap them individually in tin foil and place them into a large plastic freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To use, allow the pasties to defrost and then reheat them in a hot oven for 10 minutes.
Baked Cornish pasties can be kept in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They are ideal for packing into lunch boxes, or just enjoying cold as a quick and easy lunch (with a bowl of tomato sauce for dipping 🙂 )
Save for later
If you would like to make your own Cornish pasties why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related recipes
You can find lots of other pies on my dinner pie recipes page. Here are a few you may enjoy:
📋The recipe
How to make Cornish pasties
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- Rolling Pin
- 2 Baking trays
- Baking parchment optional
Ingredients
Pastry
- 3½ cups / 500 grams bread flour or strong flour
- ½ cup / 115 grams butter cubed
- ½ cup / 115 grams lard cubed
- 1 teaspoon salt optional
- ½ cup / 120 ml ice cold water you may not need it all
- 1 small egg for egg-wash
Cornish pasty filling
- 14 ounces / 400 grams beef topside (cubed) or skirt, flank or sirloin
- 8 ounces / 225 grams potatoes (cubed)| 2 - 3 medium potatoes
- 4 ounces / 110 grams carrots or swede (cubed) 1 large carrot
- 4 ounces / 110 grams onions (cubed) 1 large onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Pastry
- Place the flour, salt, cubed butter and lard into a large mixing bowl.3½ cups / 500 grams bread flour, ½ cup / 115 grams butter, ½ cup / 115 grams lard, 1 teaspoon salt
- Using your fingertips, rub the fats into the flour until you get something resembling breadcrumbs.
- Add three-quarters of the water and mix with a flat-bladed knife until the mixture comes together in a shaggy ball. Only add the remaining water if needed, a tablespoon at a time.½ cup / 120 ml ice cold water
- Tip the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and press it together into a smooth ball. This is a sturdy dough so if you have to knead it a few times that's fine.
- Note - because we are using bread flour, which contains more gluten than plain or all-purpose flour, you can handle this pastry a lot more than you would for a normal short-crust pastry. Don't go overboard and knead it for five minutes though - 30 seconds to one minute will be fine.
- Cover the ball of pastry with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for half an hour to rest.
Cornish pasty filling
- Cut the meat and vegetables into approximately 1-centimeter pieces and mix them in a bowl with the salt and pepper. Set the bowl aside until the pastry has rested.14 ounces / 400 grams beef topside (cubed), 8 ounces / 225 grams potatoes (cubed)|, 4 ounces / 110 grams carrots or swede (cubed), 4 ounces / 110 grams onions (cubed), 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Assemble and bake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F
- Divide the rested pastry in half and roll it out to about one-eighth of an inch in thickness. Use a side plate as a guide to help you cut large circles from the pastry.
- Here's how I did it - I got 2 circles from each half of pastry and combined and re-rolled the trimmings to get another 2 circles, making 6 in total. I then combined the last trimming and had enough pastry to make a 7th circle.
- Place a large mound of the beef and vegetables on half of one side of a pastry circle, leaving at least 2 centimeters free at the edge.
- Brush the edges of the pastry with water to help it seal.
- Fold the pastry over to form a semi-circle and press down gently on the edges to stick them together.
- The next step is to crimp the edges of the pastry. Start at one side and hold the pastry with your thumb and index finger. Fold the pastry over to form a crimp and repeat this movement around the entire edge.
- Place the pasties on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and make 2 slits in the top of each one with a knife, to allow the steam to escape.
- Brush the top and sides of each pasty with beaten egg.1 small egg
- Bake the pasties in a preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes until the pasties are golden brown.
Notes
Bake from frozen (brush with beaten egg first) but add a few extra minutes onto the baking time.
To freeze baked pasties - allow the pasties to cook and then wrap them individually in tin foil and place them into a large plastic freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To use, allow the pasties to defrost and then reheat them in a hot oven for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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