These traditional flaky Cornish beef pasties are made with beef, potatoes, and vegetables and are utterly delicious!
You won't believe how good the recipe for these beef pasties is! That flaky pastry, slightly crispy and crumbly around the edges, the tender beef pieces, the sweetness from the rutabaga, and those comforting potatoes.
And if you would like to try some sweet pasties, have a look at these pumpkin pasties or these cheese and onion pasties.
What are Cornish pasties?
Cornish pasties, from Cornwall in Great Britain, were a miner's meal, designed with a thick, crimped edge to keep the filling clean. Miners would hold the edge, eat the filling, and toss the crust to avoid arsenic contamination. Originally filled with beef, pasties often had just vegetables like onions, rutabaga, and potatoes, while carrots were seen as a sign of a cheaper version.
Recipe ingredients
Shortcrust pastry: Strong white flour, which holds its shape better than all-purpose flour.
A mix of unsalted butter and lard is best for the pasties. Butter alone would make them too soft, and only lard would make them a bit dry. The combination creates a shortcrust pastry that's flaky, slightly crumbly, and crispy at the edges - so delicious!
- If you'd rather not use lard (though I highly recommend it), you can swap it for shortening.
Beef: I used a thin slice of rump steak. An alternative to rump steak would be skirt steak, another flavorful cut of beef.
Potatoes: All-purpose potatoes have a medium starch content.
Vegetables: Swede (Britain) or rutabaga (North America), which is a root vegetable, a member of the cabbage family, a cross between a turnip and a cabbage.
- I used the rest to make Swede Soup, a typical German soup. If you like this vegetable, try creamy carrot and swede mash.
How to make beef pasties?
There is no need to precook the vegetables or beef for the pasties. If you cut them properly, they'll cook perfectly inside the pastry.
- Step #1: Place the flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.
- Step #2: Add the cold cubed butter and lard. Process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add water; use just enough water to bring it together, stopping before it gets too wet.
- Step #3: Quickly shape the dough into a disc without kneading, then wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Step #4: Divide the dough into 4 equal parts.
- Step #5: Roll each piece of dough into rounds.
- Step #6: Divide the vegetable meat mixture between the four rounds, placing it on one side of the dough circle.
- Step #7: Brush the edges with egg. Fold the dough over the filling and press lightly. Crimp the edges of the dough circle to seal the pasty. Repeat this with the remaining dough and and brush all over with the beaten egg. Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown.
Good to know!
Use a digital kitchen scale (the Amazon link opens in a new tab) to measure the ingredients, especially when making the pastry.
Always chill the pastry before rolling and filling it. The chilled pastry is easier and quicker to roll out, ensuring a flakier pastry that holds its shape better during baking. I chill the pastry for about 1-2 hours, but you can leave it longer or overnight as well.
Cut the vegetables into small, even pieces - I measured mine to be about 5 mm (0.2 inches). Cutting them this size makes sure they cook well inside the pasty. Larger pieces might not soften enough during baking. Do the same for the beef, cutting it into small, regular cubes.
Leave the beef pasties cool slightly on a wire rack before serving, or you risk burning your fingers and tongue with the hot filling.
Make ahead and store
Dough: You can make it in advance and refrigerate it wrapped in plastic wrap for 2-3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
Beef pasties: You can shape and fill them and refrigerate them for 1-2 days before baking. You can also bake them and reheat them in the oven or microwave just before serving.
Freeze: Wrap each pasty individually in plastic wrap, then place them in airtight containers before freezing. They'll keep well for up to 3 months.
Beef Pasties
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 225 g strong white flour 8 oz/ 1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons, Note 1
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 50 g unsalted butter very cold, 1.7 oz/ scant ¼ cup
- 50 g lard very cold, 1.7 oz/ scant ¼ cup, Note 2
- 75 ml water very cold, ⅓ cup
Filling:
- 1 onion 3 oz/ 80 g
- 100 g potatoes 3.5 oz
- 100 g swede (rutabaga) 3.5 oz
- 150 g rump steak 5.5 oz
- 1 small egg
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
Pastry:
- Pulse dough ingredients: Place the flour and salt into a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the cold cubed butter and lard. Process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.225 g strong white flour/ 8 oz/ 1 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt + 50 g unsalted butter/ 1.7 oz/ scant ¼ cup + 50 g lard/ 1.7 oz/ scant ¼ cup
- Make dough: Slowly, add the water through the funnel until the dough comes together in a ball but it is not sticky. Add only enough water to let the dough come together and stop before it gets too wet and sticky.75 ml water/ ⅓ cup
- Chill dough: Form a disc of dough very quickly and without kneading it, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.
Pasty filling:
- Chop beef and vegetables: While the dough rests in the fridge, chop the onion very finely and dice the potatoes and the swede. The potato and swede cubes should have a size of about 5 mm/ 0.2 inches. Cut the rump steak into very small cubes as well. Mix everything in a bowl and season generously with salt and pepper.1 onion + 100 g potatoes/ 3.5 oz + 100 g swede/ 3.5 oz + 150 g rump steak/ 5.5 oz + fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough: Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. On a floured surface and using a floured rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into rounds of about 18-20 cm/ 7-8 inches.
- Fill pasties: Divide the vegetable meat mixture between the four rounds, placing it on one side of the dough circle.
- Close pasties: Brush the edges of the circle with the lightly beaten egg. Fold the dough over the filling and press lightly. Crimp the edges of the dough circle to seal the pasty.1 small egg
- Repeat this with the remaining dough and place the beef pasties on the prepared tray. Brush all over with the beaten egg.
- Bake the beef pasties for about 45 minutes until golden brown. Leave them cool slightly on a wire rack before serving, or you risk burning your fingers and tongue with the hot filling.
Notes
- Measurements: I recommend measuring the ingredients using a digital kitchen scale (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab); it guarantees the best results.
- Substitute lard with shortening if necessary.
Phil Sandercock says
I'm a cornishman born and bred as be all me familly a little bit bout the knockers
Miners wives were said to mark their husbands’ Cornish pasties with their initials. Not only was this for ease of identification, it was also so that when the crust was discarded, the Knockers would know which miner had given them the food. Why would a miner want to be identified by these sprites? They had a reputation for causing mischief and bringing misfortune, so staying on their good side was seen as highly beneficial. In fact, missing tools were often blamed on Knockers and woe betide any miner that took to whistling a tune, the sprites had an intense dislike of the sound.
However, the presence of Knockers was taken to be a good sign, for if they worked in a mine, it was seen to be safe from collapse. It was also said that their knocking could lead a miner to rich seams of ore, and so the relationship between the faery and mining folk in the distant past was one of mutual benefit. These days, it’s the seagulls that are likely to take any discarded crusts, the Knockers left to their own devices in the darkness of the mines, where the groaning of their bellies has likely been added to the sounds of their activity
Adina says
Thank you, Phil. I've enjoyed reading this.
angiesrecipes says
They look authentic and so good 🙂