Scotch pie
Photo: Delta-NC (talk) · Public domain

History

The mutton pie was the working-man's lunch of nineteenth-century Edinburgh, made cheap by the offcuts and the hot-water-crust pastry that holds shape without a tin. The double-crust round, eight centimetres across, became the Scottish standard through the early 1900s and survived as the football-ground default into the present. The World Scotch Pie Championships have run since 1999; Edinburgh bakeries place reliably each year. The Royal Mile bakeries still sell them by the tray-load to office-lunch trade.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 45 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the hot-water-crust: 400g plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 100g lard, 100ml boiling water
  • For the filling: 500g minced mutton or lamb shoulder (20 percent fat)
  • 1 small onion, very finely chopped
  • 60g day-old breadcrumbs
  • 100ml lamb or beef stock
  • 1 tsp ground white pepper
  • 0.5 tsp ground mace
  • 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, beaten, for glaze

Method

  1. Mix the mince, onion, breadcrumbs, stock, white pepper, mace, nutmeg and salt in a bowl. Cover and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  2. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Melt the lard in the boiling water in a pan. Pour the hot liquid into the flour and mix quickly with a wooden spoon to a smooth dough.
  3. While the pastry is still warm and pliable, divide it into 6 portions plus 6 smaller lids.
  4. Form each portion around a small jam jar or pie mould, building walls about 8cm wide and 6cm tall. Remove the mould. Chill for 10 minutes to firm up.
  5. Heat the oven to 200C. Spoon the filling into each pastry case, packing firmly. Roll out the lids and crimp on top, leaving a 1cm steam hole in the centre.
  6. Brush the lids with beaten egg. Sit pies on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
  7. Bake for 50 minutes until the pastry is deep golden and the filling is bubbling through the hole at 75C internal.
  8. Rest 10 minutes before eating. The filling sets slightly and the pie holds shape when bitten.

Tip from the editors. Hot-water-crust is unforgiving once cool; work fast while it is still warm to the touch. Lard, not butter, gives the right crisp shatter.

Where to eat scotch pie

Scotch pie in Edinburgh

Howies ★ 4.0

££ Modern ScottishOld Town

Howies on Victoria Street in Edinburgh, the Old Town flagship of David Howie Scott's Scottish-bistro mini-chain opened in 1990, the city's everyday Scottish.

OrderHaggis bonbons with whisky cream as a starter and the Aberdeen Angus steak with peppercorn sauce.

TipPre-theatre two-course menu from 17:30-19:00 is the value play. The Waterloo Place branch is the second-best room.

Directions Book

The Scran and Scallie ★ 4.5

££ Scottish GastropubStockbridge

Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack's Stockbridge gastropub in Edinburgh, opened in 2013, the casual sibling to The Kitchin running British classics in a Comely.

OrderFish and chips with mushy peas, or the Sunday roast that books out a week ahead.

TipChildren's menu is taken seriously here; meatballs and mash is a proper plate.

Directions Book

Oink ★ 4.6

£ ScottishOld Town

Oink hog roast counter on Victoria Street in Edinburgh Old Town, carving a whole suckling pig from 11:00 daily, the city's best £8 lunch in a roll.

TryHog roast roll with haggis stuffing

TipCloses when the pig runs out, often before 15:00 on busy days. The haggis-stuffed version is the authentic Edinburgh choice.

Directions

The Dome ★ 4.1

£££ ScottishNew Town

The Dome on George Street in Edinburgh's New Town, opened in 1996 inside the former Commercial Bank building, a glass-domed grand brasserie room running.

OrderSmoked salmon platter at lunch and the roast beef Wellington at dinner under the central dome.

TipThe Georgian Tea Room at the back is a quieter alternative if the main hall feels too touristy at peak hours.

Directions Book

Edinburgh Larder Bakehouse ★ 4.4

£ BakeryBread and piesOld TownWalk-in only

Edinburgh Larder's bake counter on Blackfriars Street in the Old Town of Edinburgh, opened 2009, baking Scotch pies, sausage rolls, sourdough loaves.

Worth the queueScotch pie

TipPies are at the counter from 11:00 to lunch; loaves sell through the morning. Friday list runs on the website.

Directions

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Scotch pie in Glasgow

University Cafe ★ 4.2

£ British gastropubWest End

Why locals goA century-old, fourth-generation Italian-Scots cafe on busy Byres Road that most passers-by walk straight past for the nearby chains.

TipSit in one of the original wooden booths and finish with the double-cream ice cream made on-site.

Directions

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