The Amazing World of Meat Pies

How we love a pie! Not the dessert-y ones (which are ok, though we’d usually prefer chocolate) but the savoury meat pies so justifiably beloved in this bounteous land. When we got to the UK this time around, we thought we might try our hand at making pies. We love trying out local recipes, and John has been baking for several years now. Plus, we’re retired, so spending the day with pastry and beef seems more reasonable than ever before. The only thing is, there are so many fantastic options, readily available a mere few minutes’ walk away. So we’ve been excellent at the eating but lazy about the cooking. Instead of a pie recipe (but we’ve got our eye on this one, Mary Berry’s steak and ale pie with a puff pastry crust), here are our considered opinions on this magical dish.

The Basics

In Britain, meat pies are traditionally just that, meat-based. Mushrooms sometimes and onions often appear, in a rich gravy that is also served on the side. Speaking of sides, thick-cut chips (=French fries, where we come from) or mashed potatoes are traditional. We prefer the latter, not least because of all that gravy action. And many we’ve had recently also come with sautéed greens on the side, a delicious mix of kale and cabbage. The pub variety is usually a single-person pie, about 10 cm (=4”) in diameter. See our top pubs in Oxford post for some places that offer them. Sometimes they are bigger, and not always shaped in a circle. But there are also larger pies, to be shared by two (or more), and you can’t go wrong with one of these either if you have a friend or a prodigious appetite.

Variations

Steak and ale is the classic (also steak and kidney). But even in Britain meat eating is down and vegetarianism is up. So most pie purveyors establishments offer a chicken and mushroom pie or a mushroom pie or both. We’ve tried both of these and they are also eminently satisfactory. But don’t go thinking the veggie version will be a light or healthy meal. The fish pie is another brilliant option, as is game pie (more typically, in our experience, in a multi-person version). Both of these are less widely available, so get ‘em where you can! And we have a lot to say about the old London dish, eel pie, which dates to the 16th century.

Suet is the traditional fat in the pastry, but butter is a perfectly acceptable substitute. Usually the menu will let you know if there’s a suet crust, and this will correspondingly elevate the richness of the dish. (Incidentally, many British pubs tell you the calorie count for menu items, which is something we advise you to avoid looking at, especially if you are having a pie.) A puff pastry top makes a nice change if you eat as many pies as we do, but we usually stick to the traditional (heavier) version.

Pasties

These are a smaller version of the pie, usually graspable in a single hand (hence their occasional denotation as ‘hand pies’). These are excellent for eating on the go and because you can try more than one. Delightfully, the traditional Italian calzone and South American/Spanish empanada have made substantial inroads in the UK, and this is a development we applaud – the more things baked in dough the merrier. These have a few differences in crust and, of course, filling, but when we want a ‘lighter’ meal we eat them too!

Final thoughts

This is food designed for people working at manual tasks for very long days. While meat pies are good any time of day, we recommend eating them for lunch rather than dinner, and ideally taking a long walk home, whereupon you will certainly find yourself needing a nap. Most particularly if you have had a pint with lunch. (As you should.)