Pie Mash and Liquor

[ Home ]

Serves 4

Ingredients - Pie Filling

500g ground mince
1 red onion finely chopped
Salt and Black Pepper
50ml of Beef Stock
Dash Worcester sauce
100ml red wine or beer
4 tsp cornflour

Ingredients - Shortcrust Pastry

8oz plain flour
2oz butter
2oz Lard
4 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients - Suet Pastry

12oz self raising flour
8oz Beef suet (Atora is fine)
Salt and black pepper
4 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients - Liquor

400ml Chicken stock
2 tbsp Arrow root
4 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 Tbsp potato water

Method

Filling

Fry the onion in a little oil until softened, add the mince and cook through. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir in well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to cool.

Pie Bottom

The pie bottom is suet based. Sift the the flour and mix with the suet in a big bowl, season and stir in with a knife ( a fish knife works very well ) then mix in the water till moist but still a solid mass. Roll out to about 2mm thickness.

Pastry top

For the pastry top make the shortcrust pastry. Combine all ingredients in a food processor add enough water to allow the pastry to roll without splitting. Roll out to 2mm thick.

Assemble pies

Ideally you will serve individual pies but you will be constrained by the utensils you have. I use a muffin tray which doesn't produce pie and mash shop shaped pies but work very well. butter the dishes well, line with the suet pastry. Fill with the mince meat and top with the shortcrust pastry. Cover with a damp cloth and leave until ready to bake. Bake in a Water bath or bain marie in the oven so the suet base is steamed and the top is crisply baked. The cooking time will depend on the pie sizes somewhat but around 20-30 minutes should be enough at 180 degrees. Cook your mash as you like, traditional pie and mash shop mash is pure potato, no butter or milk but remember this is traditional East and South London working class food so it was made cheaply, it can be improved on (though diehard fans wills insist on making it like it was!). The liquor is made by melting the butter in a pan, add the arrowroot, stir in the stock, the water from the boiled potatoes, parsley and vinegar, if it goes lumpy use a hand processor to blend smooth. You can use cornflour instead of arrowroot but arrowroot thickens with a clearer finish and is more authentic. Serve with Malt vinegar as an accompaniment and hot jellied eels if you can find them, if you do, add the jelly to to the liquor for a final authentic touch.

[ Home ]