What is a Scotch Pie?
Traditionally a mutton filling, spiced highly with pepper, and other ingredients, placed inside of a hot water crust pastry. It is baked in a round tin, with the top crust placed lower, to allow room for additional toppings, such as gravy or mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
Pastry
2 cup flour
1/2 cup lard
1/2 cup water
Filling
300g lamb mince
1 small onion
1 tsp mixed herbs (typically basil, marjoram, and oregano. You could use rosemary as well).
1/2 heaped tsp mace
Beef stock, lamb stock, or lamb gravy – Mix up and use about 4 tbsp or until the mixture is just wet.
A liberal amount of salt and pepper throughout the recipe
Directions
Start by oiling the pie tins with a little vegetable oil, or put cling film over the end of the glasses/jars you intend to use.
Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
Cut the lard into cubes and add to a small pot of hot water, stirring until it's melted. Don't allow the water to boil.
Pour the mixture into the flour well, and mix together with a wooden spoon, until it’s mostly combined. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead a little to make sure it's fully combined. As the hot water pastry cools, it becomes harder to manage, so you need to work reasonably quickly.
Divide the pastry into 4 balls, and then take a little from each ball to save for the pie lid. Between a quarter to a third, depending on the size of the pies you're making.
Roll out the pastry balls to about 5mm thickness one by one, and put them into the pie tins, ensuring there is a flat even edge to the top of the sides of the pie. We rolled to approximately 20cm each for our 10cm tins. If you’re using a jar or glass, drape the pastry over and cut around it to ensure it has a flat edge where the top of the pie casing will be.
Roll out the lids and put them on cling film or baking paper on a tray. The lids will need to fit inside the pie casing, so you’ll want to make sure they are not the exact size of the tins/cases, but slightly smaller.
Put all the pastry in the fridge to harden.
In the meantime, finely chop one small onion and fry in a pan. Add the mace and mixed herbs, and then put in a bowl with the minimum amount of stock/gravy.
Once cooled, add to the lamb and mix through. Add additional stock/gravy if the mixture isn't too wet. You don’t want too much liquid, as it will leak out of the pie while cooking and make the pastry soggy.
Divide the lamb mixture up and fill the pie cases about 3/4 full.
Push the pie lids down into the pie casing, so they are around 1cm from the top of the pie.
Cut a small hole in the top of the pies to let the air escape.
Put the pies in the oven for around 45 minutes at 180°C or 356°F. Check at 35/40 minutes, as you want the pastry to be golden-brown.
You can remove from the tins as soon as they’re cool enough to handle.