This Cornish pasty recipe will allow you to recreate the famous pasty that coal miners used to take to lunch back in the early days. In those days, coal miners had to travel a long distance to and from their workplace. They chose Cornish pasties for their lunch and dinner as it was easy to eat in one hand and small enough to be transported in a pocket.
Cornish pasties are still tasty and convenient. Many would argue they are the best pasty to make for a friend. If your new to the world of pasties, you can try quality pasties by Cornwall & Hamper are sturdy and do not crumble easily. This will give you a good idea of how you want your homemade pasties to turn out.
Cornish Pasty Recipe Guide
Beef
Usually, the wives of the coal miners would use cheaper cuts of beef, for example, skirt steak. The skirt is the meat below the diaphragm of the cow. If you want to use more expensive meat, you can choose a rump or ground wagyu. Calves’ liver is also used in the filling. The skirt will be tender when it is cooked slowly.
The beef can be swapped for lamb or chicken, and the traditional vegetables can be swapped for peas and leeks. However, you need to always keep potatoes in the mixture.
You can also use sweet fruits like apples and dried fruits for the filling. The fillings have to be seasoned with ground black pepper. You can taste the seasoned fillings to make sure they taste right before sealing them. The fillings must be evenly chopped and minced before including them in the pasty.
Vegetables
Swede (also known as rutabaga) is an important ingredient that you should never exclude from the pasty. It may be hard to find swede in your country. In this case, you can replace them with carrots. The swede needs to be boiled until tender before it is mashed with the potato, butter, and chives. The swede is the main vegetable ingredient that makes the dish sweet.
As the Cornish Pasty Association has pointed out, the potato that is used to make the Cornish pasty must be waxy. You don’t have to precook the potato. You just need to make sure that the potato is cut into equal sizes. The potato will be cooked thoroughly in the oven and caramelized with sauteed onions. The authentic Cornish pasty has a hint of the onion flavor.
What If the Recipe is Too Dry?
The meat and vegetables in the pasty will cook in their juices. However, sometimes, the recipe can end up dry. To fix the problem, you can add a drop of water (up to 3 tbsp) to the filling.
It is recommended that you reduce the temperature as soon as you observe a healthy glow in the pasty. Before eating, you should wait for it to cool down otherwise it might burn your tongue.