Beef Pasty is a traditional British recipe, based on Robert Kemp Philp's recipe of 1859, for a classic dish of marinated beef sirloin that's placed in a baking dish with butter, covered with pastry and oven baked before being served with a gravy made from the beef bones. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Beef Pasty.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Beef Pasty that's derived from Robert Kemp Philp's 1859 volume, The Dictionary of Daily Wants. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
BEEF PASTY.—Bone a small rump or part of a sirloin of beef, after it has hung several days. Beat it well with a rolling-pin; then rub in sugar, and pour over it a glassful of port wine and a glassful of vinegar; let it lie five days and nights : wash the meat and wipe it very dry, and season it with pepper and salt. Lay it in a dish, and to every ten pounds of meat add one pound of butter, spreading it uniformly over the surface. Put a light crust round the edges, and cover with a thick one; bake in a sow oven. Set the bones in a pan in the oven, with water sufficient to cover them, a glassful of port wine, a little pepper and salt; bake to a light brown, and serve the gravy with the pastry.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
5kg beef sirloin, boned (reserve the bones)
100g caster sugar
150ml port wine
150ml malt vinegar
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
100g butter per 1kg of meat savoury pastry
For the Gravy:
beef bones
150ml Port wine
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
2 tbsp butter mixed to a paste with 2 tbsp plain flour
Method:
Bone the beef (reserve the bones) then butterfly the meat open and pound flat and even with a rolling pin. Rub in the sugar then place in a non-reactive shallow dish and pour over the port wine and vinegar. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for two days, turning twice a day to marinate evenly.
After this time wash and dry the meat then season liberally with salt and black pepper. Place in a baking dish then for every 1kg of meat take 100g of butter and soften. Place the butter on top of the meat an spread out evenly. Prepare your pastry and put an edge of the dough all the way around the edge of the dish. Now top with a thick crust and prick with a fork to make steam holes. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 160°C and cook for about 2 hours, or until the meat is done and the pastry is golden.
In the meantime, combine the beef bones in a pan with enough water to cover them, the port wine and seasonings. Bake the bones until they are light brown then pour off the liquid, thicken with a butter and flour mix and serve to accompany the beef pie.
