The Cornish Pasty

[peter]

Having my first go at making these today under E's critical eye. They're in the oven as we speak and beginning to brown. I suspect my inate skill in the kitchen will carry the day and the brutes will metamorphose from stodgy lumps of angular dough into golden mountains of gravy oozing delight.

[wayfriend]

[Savor Dam]

The proof of the pasty will be in the eating, rather than dropping or throwing. How did they turn out?

[peter]

The gravy and veg were top notch. The meat good but a bit more tough than I'd hoped. The pastry a trifle too dry ....... However!, E. Was mightily impressed and ate an extra half when offered, and though I say it myself they made damn good eating!

[Avatar]

I do love a good Cornish pasty.

Of course, I cover mine in tomato and Worcestershire sauce...

--A

[peter]

Ever tried Patum Peperium: The Gentleman's Relish Av? The ultimate anchovy hit (Worcester sauce being a fermented anchovy brew with additional ingredients). If not I recommend it as the most pure umami taste one can experience. Spread thinly on hot buttered toast it is addictive in the extreme.

[Avatar]

Ah, I don't do any kind of seafood. In fact, the particular Worcestershire sauce that I buy is one without any anchovy essence.

(I know, I know, but it still tastes good.)

--A

[peter]

My step-daughter also won't do anything out of the sea. As you know I struggle to understand it - but fall back on the catch-all explanation ' there's now't so queer as folk'.

[Avatar]

Now't indeed.

From my point of view, anything that makes me vomit is not something I particularly want to put in my mouth.

--A

[peter]

And that is about as fair a perspective as you can get!

[Avatar]

--A

[Vader]

I'm planing to do Cornish pasty this week as well, inspired by you, Sir Peter. I have a few questions, though.

The beef - it has to be skirt steak, innit?

Swedes or carrots? I intend to use the first as I heard the latter is a sacrilege.

Ridge on top or at the side? I heard on top is Devon style, at the side true Cornish.

Do you eat the ridge or put it aside - I know you're no tin miner running the danger of posining yourself. I guess you probably use cutlery to eat it?

[Avatar]

Vader! Nice to see you around.

--A

[peter]

Hey Vader!
Skirt is good, but absolutely no gristle: trim any out ruthlessly because nothing kills a Pasty faster than a mouthful of cartilage.
Swedes, onions, potatoes. Seasoning, a bit of chopped parsley (optional) and a small knob of butter to add a bit of gravy.
Crimping on the side traditionally - but I've known good Cornish farmers wives who do it on top ( let that go....) so as it comes really, and yes - unless it is so thick as to be unpleasant, the crust is definitely edible. Note: crimping the crust on a Pasty is a thing that takes time to learn, and skilled practitioners get a beautifully 'roped' effect down the side. For most of us this is hard to achieve, but the key is to not make the crimp to thick or it will not cook properly in the middle. Also, remember to poke a couple of small cuts into the pastry with a sharp knife before cooking.
Brush with milk or beaten egg as a glaze prior to putting in the oven and I think it's a good idea to loosely rest some cooking foil over the Pasty for the first half of the cooking time.

Good cooking Vader!

[Vader]

Tomorrow is going to be the day! Actually wanted to do it tonight, but I underestimate dthe time the dough needs to rest.

I read in several oldes recipes that you should use a somewhat heavier flour. So I'll take German flour Type 550 (10-12% proteine). That would be between plain and strong in GB or all purpose and bread in the US. To make it even stronger, I replaced 10% of it with rye flour.

I wtached several videos on how to crimp the pastry and I think I understand how it is done. Theoretically. Lets see how I'll do in real life.

As for the filling I'm keeping it simple and classic. Beef, potatoes, swedes, onions and since I'm sometimes daring, parsley. I'll post pictures of the finished product, no matter how it turns out. May I hi-jack your thread for this purpose?

[peter]

I would be upset if you didn't Vader!

One thing that is pretty much beyond the cooks control is the quality of the skirt. It will be tougher or more tender in the final product according to the meat you use and not much you can do will alter this: unfortunately it's also very hard to tell from the raw meat unless (I guess) you are a butcher handling these cuts of meat on a daily basis. One needs to source meat from good beef breeds if possible (hard, I know) from a butcher one trusts. Using a higher end cut such as rump steak is a possibility in order to overcome this risk - but I'm not sure the end result would be the same. In Cornwall it's pretty much skirt or nothing!

[Vader]

the

[Vader]

Far from being perfect, but since a few days ago I didn't even know Cornish pasty existed, I can live with that. The crimp sadly melted together a bit while baking, so the rope effect was almost gone.

For the beef I used a Germn cut from the upper parts of what you call rump, silverside and topside. The filling was juicy and tasteful, considering you only have a few ingredients and almost no spices apart from salt and lots of black pepper.

The crust was crispy and delicious, like something between puff and shortcrust.

[peter]

Damn, those are fine looking pasties Vader. I'm interested to hear that you used a higher end steak cut - I've been toying with the idea of giving it a try myself, but have not done so chiefly for the fear that the final product would be too dry because of the lower fat content. I'd buy yours in a shop window any day of the week. Your pastry looks great, thin and delicious. I can tell just by looking they would make good eating! I hereby dub you an honourary Cornishman and give you free pass across the Tamar without let or hindrance.