My great-grandmother Johns altered this recipe, which was originally from Cornwall, England. It was originally created of butcher paper and given to coal miners. Until the miners were ready to eat, the firm pastry casing would preserve the delicious contents. Coca-Cola and relishes were served with food by my grandmother. Instead of using the pastry recipe, you may prepare these more quickly by using chilled pie crusts.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shortening
- ¼ cup cold water
- ¾ pound boneless beef sirloin, cubed
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup water, or as needed
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in cold water with a fork until the mixture is able to come together in a ball. Knead a couple of times then divide pastry into two pieces. Pastry may be refrigerated for later use at this time.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half of the pastry into a 10-inch circle.
- Place half of the potato slices in a line down the center of each circle, leaving at least 1 inch at each end uncovered. Arrange onion slices over the potatoes, and season with salt, pepper and some of the dried parsley. Place half of the beef cubes over each onion layer, then season again with salt, pepper and dried parsley. Fold the edges over the pastry over the filling, and tuck in the ends.
- Transfer the two pastries to a greased baking sheet, and cut a few slits in the top of each one for ventilation.
- Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven, and reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spoon 1 teaspoon of water into each slit on the tops of the pasties. Return to the oven, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve whole, or cut into halves.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 621 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 57 g |
| Cholesterol | 45 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 186 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 34 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this with pork and frozen pie pastry. It is very yummy
The filling was really tasty..I used the Pillsbury pie crusts because they are made with lard and I don’t care for them with a sweet pie filling. I used some Susie-Q Santa Maria Tri-tip Seasoning instead of salt and pepper.. and I put some butter bits on top of the meat. I used part of a carrot and a stalk of celery and mixed them with the potato cubes..then layered the onion, then the meat on top. Wow..it was nice and moist and so tasty.. My DH said keep this recipe..he really liked it. Thanks for sharing this.
The pastie turned out great. I was short time so used a Pillsbury pie crust and also added rutabagas to the mixture. This made two pasties!
My great grandma use to make these but I never got the recipe from her. Made these and they are exactly like her old recipe, so good!
I will be making changes to this recipe that is why I’m only giving 3 stars. The flavors were good but the amount of dough was not enough for the inside ingredients. I will try it again doubling the dough. I made for 4 servings which would be plenty of inside ingredients but definitely not enough dough to wrap it all in. I will re-rate after I try again.
I am giving it 5 stars even though I didn’t taste it! My husbands family makes a version of this he loves & since it was his birthday I thought I would give it a try. I don’t eat red meat but according to my husband it matched his moms. It was pretty easy and the only changes I made where to make it into one giant pie instead of two little ones and I beat an egg for the top of it just for pretty.
Looks great. I’m making them tonight. Years ago we started freezing gravy in an ice cube tray and added one cube to each large pasty before closing them up and baking them. Although this would not have been good for the original miners who kept them in their pockets until lunch and needed them “tough”, they are so flavorful with the added gravy! There were stories on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota of miners from the past who judged the best pasty as one that could withstand a drop from the walkway of the mine to the floor below!!
Just used Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits and turned out great. For filling, I chopped all the veggies quite small, pre-boiled the potatoes and carrots, and added onions and ground beef (pre-cooked the meat as well). Used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley. Was good but pretty mild. Maybe try more spices or a little gravy or something to make it more moist. Quite good though.
This is almost exactly like my Scottish mother makes with one exception. On top of the meat layer she dots the pasties with little butter cubes. Love the look of the pasties made by caustic_soda. They look exactly like my Mom’s!
What a wonderful recipe! We loved they way that the thin slices of potato melted into the pie crust and the kids didn’t even notice they were in there! I sliced the the top sirloin really thin, Philly style. Next time I’ll make the crust instead of using a store made one;it ripped a little and spilled out the juices. I think adding peppers and mushrooms might be nice too next time.
Just made this recipe yesterday and did the pastry from scratch as per the recipe. I also added carrots. I would have given this 5 stars if the recipe included gravy. For those of us not eating this dish in a coal mine, I think gravy would have really helped enhance the recipe as the inside was really moist, but the outer crust could use something to dip in. I will make it again!
Too Dry . . . crust was sticky and didn’t cover the dish well. Won’t be serving again.
Love this. Being South African I had these growing up made by my Nana then my mother and I now make it for my family. The only thing I add is a huge teaspoon of butter before I fold the pastry over the meat, onion and potato
This is a great recipe. I have looked for this for years. My grandparents use to make this for me as a child and i loved them. They also came to Canada for Cornwall. For a special treat they would put my initial on the top with the extra pastry. Thanks you brought back many great memories. I will be making this for my children and grandkids.
These were awesome. Thanks.
very easy to make, and quick, I added leftover fried rice to mine and it came out delish!.
Simple to make, and very satisfying. I made this as is to see what it tasted like, but I think I may jazz it up in the future with some spices.
I really enjoy making these. Very filling and fun to make. Not everytime, but once in awhile 1 or 2 of them will be so moist that when they are done and I take them off the cooking sheet the filling comes out of the bottom. Still good eating. 🙂
I use ground beef in mine, and I tend to make a HUGE batch of these every fall because they freeze so well and are great throughout the colder months. Grew up eating these covered in ketchup and even now that is still my favorite way to eat ’em.
Overall, very good. Not keen on the crust though. It’s bland and somewhat dry. I read previous reviews and took many suggestions into consideration when putting the pastie together. I used beef tips which were incredibly tender. Made a cheese and onion for myself. Will look for another pastry crust recipe or like others…get the store bought one! I LOVE pasty’s from the West Cornwall Pasty Company in the U.K.
This is what my husband grew up eating. I used what I had leftover roast. Next time, I’ll season each layer with salt and pepper. I made it in a 10″ pie plate since I didn’t need to carry it anywhere. I figured coal miner’s wives wouldn’t have made extra work for themselves if it wasn’t required. Adding the water in the end seemed to steam the pasty. Great idea.