A Scottish Favourite, Teviotdale Pie is a really hearty meal that satisfies the soul.
A Youtube subscriber suggested that I might like to make Teviotdale Pie. This is a pie that I had never heard of before. But I searched and read about it and thought it sounded very good indeed. Originating from the Borders region of Scotland around Hawick, this pie is thought to have been created to make a hearty meal from only a little meat. The meat is usually minced beef and has onions in too, though some people also use some other veg. The meat is supplemented by a thick and hearty suet crust, sometimes flavoured with some herbs.
All the recipes I looked at used self raising flour. I don’t have that but it is easy to create your own, using plain flour and baking powder, which is what I detail in the ingredients below.
The pie is actually very easy to make, simply cooking the minced beef and onions with some stock and seasonings. Then that is placed into a pie dish and a thick batter of flour, cornflour, milk and shredded suet it placed on the top before baking.
The resultant pie is simply wonderful. I used a very easy stock, using Oxo cubes with a little Worcestershire sauce, which imparted a rich flavour to the beef and onions. The suet crust, with some dried thyme, was thick, light and very tasty indeed. This is a filling pie and I can easily understand how it would be perfect for families in days gone by when low incomes meant that filling meals, made cheaply would be required.
I made a test pie, since I had never seen or heard of this before. I was so delighted with it that I had to make it again within a couple of days, though I gave most of the pie to my niece and her husband who both messaged me to say how much they enjoyed it.
Other pies on this blog include Shepherd’s Pie, a big favourite in the UK.
- 500g(17 1/2 ounces) minced beef(ground beef)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 300ml(1 1/4 cups) beef stock
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 225g(1 1/2 cups) plain flour (or self raising flour)
- 300ml(1 1/4 cups) milk
- 3 tsp baking powder(only if not using self raising flour)
- 25g (3 tbsp) cornflour
- 75g(2/3 cup) shredded suet
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp oil
Method:
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the minced beef
- Gently fry the beef, breaking it up in the process, until it begins to brown.
- Add the onions and continue to fry for about 5 minutes, until the onions have softened.
- Add the stock and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 20 minutes, seaoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
- Place a rimmed baking tray in the oven.
- Pour the meat and onion mixture into a 1.1 litre pie dish(about 9 inches in diameter).
- Press to level across the base.
- In a large bowl place the flour, cornflour, baking powder and thyme and mix together, thoroughly.
- Add the suet and mix again.
- Slowly add the milk, stirring vigorously until the mixture has turned into a thick batter.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon the batter onto the meat, levelling it off too, covering the meat completely.
- Place the pie dish onto the baking tray and bake for 35 minutes, until the suet crust has risen and has turned a light golden colour.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes before serving.
[…] I could have used a nice thick suet pastry for the top. But I rather liked the suet crust on my Teviotdale Pie. That had a lovely, thick, cake-like crust with a wonderful flavour imparted by the suet. So I […]