The national dish of Cornwall, England, this authentic Cornish Pasty recipe features savory flaky pastry pockets filled with beef and vegetables. It’s English comfort food at its very best!
One of the most famous of all British dishes, Cornish pasties enjoy a long and rich heritage. This authentic Cornish pasty recipe showcases English comfort food at its very best!
I love Great Britain. I lived in Cambridgeshire, England for 6 wonderful years and my husband spent 2 years in Liverpool and north Wales. We’re both Anglophiles through and through and try to go back every year for a visit with our kids. We love every area of Great Britain and it’s hard to pinpoint a favorite area. But Cornwall, England holds a particularly special place in our hearts.
A Brief Family History
We love Cornwall not only because of its striking natural beauty, rustic charm and rich culture, but also because it’s home to my husband’s namesake ancestors, the Killigrew family (later changed to Killebrew when his great+ grandfather immigrated to the U.S.). The Killigrews were landed gentry and one of the most prominent families in Cornwall. They founded the port town of Falmouth, built and lived in Arwenack Manor, and were the royally appointed de facto captains of Pendennis Castle. We always look forward to a return visit to these family sites including St. Budock church where the Killigrew family held front row seats, are buried beneath the floor in front of the altar, and where a well-known painted wall edifice stands depicting Todd’s great+ grandparents kneeling in prayer towards each other.
I can’t claim as close (or as impressive) of an association to Cornwall as Todd, unfortunately. But I do have a great+ grandmother from Scotland (wife to an admiral who regularly sailed down to Cornwall on business) who died and is buried in Cornwall. And it’s like I always say, if you’re going to die (as most people tend to do), there’s no better place to do it than in Cornwall.
With our close connection with and love for Cornwall, we also feel a close kinship with its traditional foods, the most famous of which is the Cornish pasty, considered the national dish of Cornwall.
What are Cornish Pasties?
A Cornish pasty is a turnover-shaped baked shortcrust pastry filled with beef and vegetables. The edges are sealed by crimping them in characteristic Cornish fashion.
In 2011, Cornish pasties were given both a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, which means that in order for these pasties to be made commercially and bear the name “Cornish pasty”, they have to meet very specific requirements. These requirements are as follows:
- They have to be made in Cornwall.
- They can only contain beef, potato, Swede (rutabaga), onion, salt and pepper. No other meat, no other vegetables, no other seasonings allowed.
- The ingredients must be raw when the pasties are assembled and then slowly baked to produce the traditional Cornish pasty flavor and texture.
- The edges of the pasties must be sealed by crimping them in traditional Cornish fashion.
No culinary license allowed here and any deviations from these parameters will land you in stocks at the market square for public shaming. Well, that may be a stretch. But you will incur a fine.
The Origin of the Cornish Pasty
The Cornish pasty has a unique and interesting history that goes back centuries. Cornwall had the biggest tin mining and one of the biggest copper mining industries in the world and the pasties were originally developed for Cornish miners. These men worked deep underground and needed a lunch that would meet the demands of their work environment. The thick shortcrust dough and dense filling would stay warm for several hours until lunchtime or could be easily reheated over the flame of an oil lamp.
The pasties were sealed with a thick crimp to hold in the contents and to provide something the miner’s could hold onto while eating the pasty. In this way their dirtied fingers, which could often contain traces of arsenic, wouldn’t contaminate the rest of the pasty. The crimped edge was sometimes extended out to form a little dough handle they could hold onto and then discard when they were done eating.
The filling was a hearty one that provided needed sustenance and the pasty was compact enough that it could easily be carried in a small lunchbox down the mine and eaten without utensils. Some historians also believe that the miner’s initials would sometimes be engraved in the dough at one end of the pasty so that if the miner didn’t finish it in one sitting they could easily identify it as their own.
Thoughtful wives would even take their ingenuity a step further and make pasties that were divided in two sections: One half would contain the savory filling and the other half a sweet filling for dessert. In this way the ingenious Cornish pasty was a complete meal for Cornwall’s hard-working miners.
A Few Pics of Cornwall’s Historic Mines From Our Most Recent Trip
Tips for Making Cornish Pasties
- Depending on how thin you roll out your shortcrust pastry you risk having the “hard” ingredients (the potatoes and rutabagas) pierce through the dough. If you prefer a thinner crust and you want to avoid that you can place the softer ingredients on the top and bottom with the harder ingredients sandwiched in the middle: Place the onions on the bottom followed by the potatoes and rutabagas and then the meat on top.
- Use firm, waxy potatoes so they hold their shape. Starchy potatoes will disintegrate during baking and turn mushy.
- Use a lean cut of beef. Traditional Cornish pasties use skirt steak from the underside belly of the cow because it’s lean and free of gristle.
- Add a couple of pats of butter on top of the filling ingredients followed by a light sprinkling of flour. This will both form the gravy as well as absorb the liquids from the vegetables as their cooking to avoid a soggy pastry crust.
Can Cornish Pasties Be Frozen?
Yes. The shortcrust pastry holds up well to freezing and thawing and the filling has little liquid which means the pasties won’t get soggy. You can freeze them either baked or unbaked, whichever you prefer. Wrap each pasty individually in plastic wrap and then store the wrapped pasties in a heavy-duty freezer bag.
If you’re freezing them unbaked it’s best to cook them while frozen – don’t thaw them first. Baking time will take roughly 15-20 minutes longer.
If you’re freezing them already fully baked and cooled then you can simply reheat them in the oven (for a crispier crust) or in the microwave and you have a quick, ready-to-go meal.
How to Make Cornish Pasties
First make your shortcrust pastry.
Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined. Add the cold butter and lard and pulse a few more times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the water a little at a time, pulsing between additions, until the mixture begins to come together. DO NOT over-mix the dough or the pastry crust will be tough and won’t be flaky.
Form the dough into a ball, flatten into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before using (this is crucial). (Can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for up to 3 months.)
Roll the pastry dough into a log and cut it into 6 equal pieces.
Wrap and keep the other 5 pieces chilled in the fridge while you’re working on one at a time. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a 8 inch circle that’s about 1/8 inch thick. You can use an 8-inch plate as your guide and cut the dough around it to form your circle.
Layer the filling (each ingredient to be divided out between 6 pasties, there may be some excess remaining): Put layer of potatoes down the center of the pastry circle, leaving about 3/4 inch space on the top and bottom edges of the pastry dough. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Next add a layer of rutabagas and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add a layer of beef followed by the onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Lay a couple of pats of butter on top of the beef and sprinkle a little flour over the filling.
Wet the tips of your fingers and lightly moisten the edges of the pastry dough.
For the remaining steps work gently so that the filling doesn’t puncture through the dough. If this happens, patch up the hole with some of the scrap pieces of pastry dough. Bring the sides up and seal the pasty down the middle.
Turn the pasty onto its side and crimp/braid the edges in traditional Cornish fashion. This is the challenging part of making traditional Cornish pasties and takes some practice. There are some YouTube videos you can look up that show how to do this.
Assemble the remaining pasties and lay them on a lined baking sheet.
Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the center of each pasty.
Lightly brush each pasty with the beaten egg mixture.
Bake the Cornish pasties on the middle rack for 40-50 minutes until golden in color. Remove from the oven and let them sit for about 10 minutes (they will be very hot inside) before eating.
They can be reheated in the oven (recommended for a crispier crust) or microwave.
Enjoy!
PIN ME!
For more authentic and delicious British recipes, be sure to try our:
- Fish and Chips
- Yorkshire Pudding
- Mushy Peas
- Bangers and Mash
- Crumpets
- Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Mincemeat Pie
- Beef and Guinness Stew
- Spotted Dick
- Yorkshire Parkin
- Toad in the Hole
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Eccles Cakes
- Pickled Onions
- Scottish Shortbread
- Homemade Golden Syrup
- Treacle Tart
Authentic Cornish Pasties
Ingredients
For the Shortcrust Pastry:
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces unsalted butter , very cold, diced
- 5 ounces lard , very cold (can substitute butter but lard makes the flakiest crust)
- How to Render Lard (click link to learn how to make it yourself. It's super easy and much cheaper than store-bought!)
- 2/3 cup ice cold water
For the Cornish Pasties:
- 1 pound beef skirt steak or sirloin , cut into small cubes
- 1 pound firm, waxy potato (e.g. Yukon Gold) , peeled and diced in 1/4 inch cubes, or slice them according to personal preference (**starchy potatoes will disintegrate and turn mushy so be sure to use a firm, waxy potato that will hold its shape)
- 8 ounces rutabaga , peeled and diced in 1/4 inch cubes, or slice them according to personal preference
- 7 ounces yellow onion , chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- unsalted butter (for cutting in slices to lay inside the pasties)
- all-purpose flour (for sprinkling inside the pasties)
- 1 large egg , lightly beaten
Instructions
- To Make the Shortcrust Pastry: Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined. Add the cold butter and lard and pulse a few more times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water a little at a time, pulsing between additions, until the mixture begins to come together. DO NOT over-mix the dough or the pastry crust will be tough and won't be flaky. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before using (this is crucial). (Can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for up to 3 months.)
- To Make the Cornish Pasties: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Cut it into 6 equal pieces (rolling the dough into a log and then cutting makes this easier). Wrap and keep the other 5 pieces chilled in the fridge while you're working on one at a time. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a 8 inch circle that's about 1/8 inch thick. You can use an 8-inch plate as your guide and cut the dough around it to form your circle.
- Layer the filling (see note at end): Put layer of potatoes down the center of the pastry circle, leaving about 3/4 inch space on the top and bottom edges of the pastry dough. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Next add a layer of rutabagas, onions and finally the beef, adding a light sprinkling of salt and pepper between each layer. Lay a couple pats of butter on top of the beef and sprinkle a little flour over the filling.
- Wet the tips of your fingers and lightly moisten the edges of the pastry dough. For this next part work gently so that the filling doesn't puncture through the dough. If this happens, patch up the hole with some of the scrap pieces of pastry dough. Bring the sides up and seal the pasty down the middle. Turn the pasty onto its side and crimp the edges in traditional Cornish fashion (see blog post pictures as a visual).
- Assemble the remaining pasties and lay them on a lined baking sheet. Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the center of each pasty. Lightly brush each pasty with the beaten egg mixture.
- Bake the Cornish pasties on the middle rack for 40-50 minutes until golden in color. Remove from the oven and let them sit for about 10 minutes (they will be very hot inside) before eating. They can be reheated in the oven (recommended for a crispier crust) or microwave. NOTE: Depending on how full you stuff the pasties you may have leftover filling. No worries, just fry it up together or add it to soup and enjoy it as a separate meal.
Carole Byrd says
these pictures of the mines could have been taken right from Poldark!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Carole, it is every bit as stunning in person as the scenes from Poldark!
Doug W says
Interestingly, as I understand it, miners at some point went to work in South America and Mexico and took pasties with them, the locals took these and added their local flavors and thus the Empanadas was born. Empanada, the South American pasty.
Also, can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m English and live in the US, I miss proper pasties.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’ve read the same history, Doug, and it is very fascinating. I hope you enjoy these pasties, a true taste of home!
Grahame says
If you have crimped them down the centre of the top of the pasty, as illistrated in your recipe, you have in fact made a Devon pasty NOT a Cornish pasty.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Grahame, not sure which photos you’re referring to but mine are crimped down the side, not the top. Look at the photos of the finished pasties.
katie says
Thank you very much for this recipe! They turned out fantastic, much nicer than shop bought. I thought they might not have enough flavour, but they were wonderfully tasty. Great Sunday afternoon – really enjoyed myself making these…
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Katie, I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Pat Langenbacher says
My mom and Dad were born and raised in the U.P of Michigan. I member my mom said that during the depression her mother would crack an egg inside because they could not afford the meat. It is the substitute for protein. My family of ancestors came from Cornwall England and my mothers side is French Canadian from Quebec. My mom made the best pasty’s. However you want to spell it or say it you know what I mean. I just want to say one other thing my mom did when making her best pasty.If she knew that you had a big appiette, she would make a larger one because she knew how much you were looking forward to seeing it on your plate. In closing my mom had a extra trick to a moist pasty.When you take them out of the oven, cover them with a towel for 1/2 hr.Simply perfection. Thanks mom.
Samira says
I LOVE the informative bit about what makes this recipe authentic. As our cooking and baking becomes more international we are beginning to mix flavours, spices and ingredients. Sometimes what starts off as an ethnic dish from a certain area often does not taste the way it should and is only identifiable due to its name. And I’m totally guilty of this. My curries rarely taste Indian, my Ghormeh Sabzi hardly passes as Persian. And I hate it when my best friend gives me a vegan brownie made from chick peas! I am so glad to hear that certain foods must stand up to strict requirements before they can bear their name. I’ll be making REAL pasties tomorrow, but the problem is I won’t even know if they taste Cornish :)
Sonia Rouch says
I have been wanting to try making a traditional Cornish Pasty as most of the ones I have bought in Australia have been a disappointment, especially the pastry. Your recipe was perfect and turned out better than I expected. We eat a lot of highly spiced food and I was so worried that given the few ingredients and nothing but salt and pepper it might end up being bland. Was I wrong! Super tasty and will now become a family favourite. We had ours with a crisp side salad and home made tomato chutney. Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Sonia, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them, thank you!
Martin Dance says
your metric measures do NOT increase when you double or triple the quantity you want to make
Diana says
Used butter and shortening and a heaping tsp of kosher salt for the pastry. After chilling, an easy pastry dough to handle. I found that a flat iron steak was the perfect cut for pasties. A delicious recipe, especially the rich flaky crust. Question: I froze 3 fully cooked pasties. Should I reheat them fully frozen at 350? Or defrost first? Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Diana, thanks for the feedback! I would thaw it first, overnight or up to 24 hours in the fridge, and then bake at 350F until heated through. You’ll probably need to tent the pasties with foil to prevent them from over-browning.
MarySC says
Scrumptious! I made 1 ½ times the shortcrust which yielded 9 pasties with the perfect amount of filling. I used shortening instead of lard and got flaky, easy to handle pastry which I rolled out, stacked and chilled several hours in advance. Later everyone made their own pasty after watching a short YT video of a Cornish gran doing it. Great fun and great food.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, MarySC, thanks so much for the feedback!
Bern Brooks says
It’s incorrect to call the Cornish pasty the “national dish of Cornwall”. National refers to a country, not a region. So ‘fish & chips’ is one of the favourite national dishes of England while the Cornish pasty is a much-loved regional favourite.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
The Cornish will disagree with you most passionately, Bern.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_nationalism
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/26/survival-of-cornish-identity-cornwall-separate-place
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/cornish_nation_01.shtml#:~:text=For%20centuries%20Cornwall%20retained%20the,Stoyle%20explains%20how%20it%20happened.
Steve Gilo says
Cornwall is indeed a Celtic nation :)
Sherri says
Thank you for the wonderful pasty recipe. I made them today and they are delicious. I grew up in an Arizona copper mining town, where pasties are still enjoyed. In the early days of mining pasties were taken into the underground mines for lunch. Today you can still find them in local restaurants and frequently sold in churches as fund raisers. Such a lovely meal and great childhood memories.
Desmond Bull says
Thank you for such clear instructions, I followed your recipe and they tasted great.
My late father was from Cornwall , and my mother used to make them for the family.
They always referred to them as Tatey Oggies. I was in Cornwall on holiday in 2019 and locals still referred to them by this name.
I live in St Albans in Hertfordshire, and thought you may be interested in a British Easter treat “Hot Cross Buns” that originated in this city in 1361.
Great web site, keep up the good work.
Des
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Desmond, I really appreciate the feedback! I adore hot cross buns (“Alban buns”) and had planned to publish a post on them in time for Easter this year but am in the middle of a move from the West Coast to the East Coast right now (literally living in an empty house with nothing in it but blow up mattresses, haha!) so the buns are on the back burner for a while! :)
Richard says
Still looking for that recipe that includes a pudding at one end! My Mother often made them for me to take to work.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Richard, you would simply put a strip of dough down the middle of the pasty to separate the two fillings, then fill one side as directed with the savory ingredients, and then fill the other side with things like apples or dried fruits or jam/preserves. The “sweet” side of the pasties were very simple and basic. Then just bake as directed.
Kathy says
Richard,
Are you refering to Bedfordshire clangers? Dessert on one end of a pasty and savory entre on the other?
A pastry wall is placed in between savory and sweet filling to prevent mixing of the fillings.
See The Great British Bake Off S8 E8
To see the bakers make them during the episode. Lots of online recipes, too.
Chris says
It was watching this episode that got me interested in making them. I love the idea of the two sided pasty, but would need instructions on how to make the wall leak proof. That doesn’t sound so easy!
Kristina says
Thanks for this recipe. I made pasties for my first date with my husband of 42 years, and we laugh how long it took me–many hours! But we had a marvelous picnic later and I have made them several times. I plan to make them with your recipe for Easter, as we are looking forward to seeing friends we haven’t seen in over a year, and they all prefer simple seasonings (as in not garlic, hot pepper, or strong spices). I will look for some technique improvement for the crimping, as ugly pasties taste very good, but I think I can do better. Thanks again.