1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. shortening
3 Tbsp. cold water

  • Mix flour and salt
  • Blend butter and shortening into flour with a pastry blender (or food processor) until the fats are broken up into pea-sized lumps
  • Add water and mix until a dough forms

1 lb. ground beef
8 oz. potatoes, peeled and diced
8 oz. carrots, diced
8 oz. onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 egg, beaten

  • Mix beef and vegetables in a medium bowl, season with salt and pepper
  • Quarter crust dough and roll out each quarter into a 6-7” circle
  • Top each crust with a quarter of the filling, top with pats of butter and dust with flour
  • Brush crust edges with egg wash, fold crust over top of filling, and crimp to seal
  • Brush with remaining egg wash
  • Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes, then rest 10 minutes before eating

Source: https://www.thespruceeats.com/traditional-cornish-pasty-recipe-435042 and https://www.daringgourmet.com/authentic-cornish-pasty-recipe/

Note: apparently steak and rutabaga are traditional, but all the pasties I’ve had were ground beef and carrots, so that’s what I’m using.

2020-10-27 22:07:35: 7” is very small (about 1/4 cup of filling), and the filling recipe makes at least three times as much filling as four pasties need. Next time I think I’ll triple the crust recipe and make 6-8 larger pasties.

These were also pretty dry. The recipe called for dusting with flour and topping with pats of butter (I did the flour and skipped the butter). So I could just follow the recipe next time, or add some chicken stock to make the filling more moist. I also think that adding more salt, and some herbs could go a long way to make the flavor richer.

01/02/2023: tried some modifications to address the issues from 10/27/2020:

  • made 1.5x the dough
  • reduced onion and carrot to 6 oz.
  • used 90/10 ground beef, but forgot the butter again
  • used 2 tsp. salt, 3/4 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 tsp. white pepper, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. thyme, and 1/4 tsp. coriander
  • the dough was an even multiple of 3, so i made three large pasties, rolled out to about 9-10”, and used 1 1/3 cups filling
  • i shaped the filling into a log in the middle of the dough disc, and folded the sides up like a taco, and sealed on top (squishing filling in to be able to close the top, which let me get a lot more filling in)

the resulting pasties were better, but still had some issues:

  • they were much too large, should make at least 4, and 6 would probably be best
  • they leaked juices, so adding another Tbsp. of flour would probably help, and the butter is definitely not needed (unless using super lowfat beef or lean steak)
  • the nutmeg was too much, and the salt level was a little low, so i would do one tbsp. of salt, and no nutmeg