Scotch Pie - Aiming for Perfection

[@jeanwinders9556]

My Grandmother always cooked them in the oven over a pan of water to keep them moist. She put Marjoram in hers, had a bakery in Kilmarnock and miss her and think of her baking for 4 household every Saturday.

[@Keefcooks]

But they're not supposed to be moist!

[@csachevauxsansabri2612]

@@Keefcooks yes but in the begging they should. At the end remove the water to crisp up think of french baguette.

[@jeanwinders9556]

@@Keefcooks The meat should stay moist and the pie crust firm, but not crumble, but rather have a little give to it.

[@WeAreThePeople1690]

The pastry on a scotch pie made in a factory would be pressed into a mould, thats how they get it so thin. If you get them from a local baker they are usually a bit thicker, although some do use a press also they aren't that expensive. Bells is mass produced muck 😄

[@bl_leafkid4322]

No Danny McClardy "glascow rangers fc" always made his thin and delicious.

[@ampz1466]

It's amazing how many different takes you can have on a traditional meal, especially from different families. Like my mom taught me to always put a knob of butter in the top of our Cornish pasties before we seal it (for good luck). But I've only seen two other people who do this.

[@Keefcooks]

I've always put some butter into pasties - subconsciously, that may be why I put the lard in these!

[@ampz1466]

@@Keefcooks It's always good to add a bit of luck in the mix ; )

[@roballen7937]

Hello Keef! Thank you for this interesting video about your Scotch Pie adventures. My own attempts started about 25 years ago based on my memories of real authentic Scotch Pies from the Scottish Butchers and Bakers in Kearny and the Oranges in New Jersey, USA from about 68 years ago!! Alas they are all pretty much gone these days. I learned how to make the hot water crust which is fairly easy. It has to be thinner than what you are making and indeed "pale" as Mrs. Keef pointed out. My problem has always been the meat mixture has never been the moist and light version from my childhood. I have tried both beef and the lamb which is readily available here in Thailand. I knew about the mace seasoning and while my pies taste right they have always been too dense and not as light and airy as I remember. I am going to try your trick of adding in more fat to see if that helps. Thank you for these great pointers and tips!! Our Mum was from Glasgow and loved a good Scottish Pie and Scotch eggs as well! Keep up the good work! Warm regards, Rob Allen in Thailand. 😊😊😎👍👍👍❤️

[@ml5955]

My Scottish grandfather made them with a little beef broth and added oats to the mixture. For spices he used salt, black pepper, a bit of ginger, a bit of coriander, a bit of nutmeg, and in my opinion the secret ingredient, white pepper. I also added a bit of sweet onion to the mix when I started making them based on his recipe. I’ve only had Scottish pies that they sell at the highland game / Celtic festivals in the southwest US (only place I could find them in the US), and Lanark Scotland when I visited about 40 years ago when I was a kid. My granddads recipe is superior to the one’s I’ve had in the US. His recipe was closer in taste to the pies I had in Scotland, but I’m partial to his recipe probably due to good memories I had eating them as a kid. 👍

[@ampz1466]

Today I learned Nutmeg and Mace are almost the same thing and both come from the Nutmeg seed. I've never heard of using "mace" in cooking. I always learn some much watching these videos.

[@Keefcooks]

Yeah, nutmeg is more common, I guess because there's a lot more of it in the nut. Mace is maybe a bit more expensive than nutmeg.

[@marianne6876]

Mace is the outer coating of the nutmeg whilst nutmeg is the inner part of the seed of the nutmeg.

[@digvijayparmar8349]

Thanks , from Charlotte NC parmar family, parmar family from Charlotte NC,👍🙏

[@MrPaulsPantry]

Hi Keef, love the video. Having made hundreds of Scotch pies in the bakery both in the UK and over here in Spain, I always used a pie die of course which is heated and that sets the pastry shape, they are then removed from the ring and then left to dry out for two days before filling and baking baking. Plus white pepper is better. Plus you really should moisten the filling with a little stock before filling.

[@Keefcooks]

I did use a bit of stock in my previous attempt a few years ago and was told very firmly that that was not the done thing. Hmm...

[@99brucie]

Thanks for your comment Mr Paul and I hope you are well. I am not sure what yu mean by the heated pie dish as I have watched your video about this and didn't see that step. Sorry Keith but trying to make them as we used to eat them on holiday in Scotland.

[@suzys4316]

I tried your recipe @MrPaulsPantry I found it way to greasy you put to much lard in it, being Scottish born and bred and made Scotch pies in Stuarts the Bakers, your pastry is terrible, Keef do your pies your way , Im sure they are better tasting them Mr Pauls

[@bondaluh]

The ending is just the cutest thing ever!

[@crackerboxpalace2697]

I made these recently with minced lamb and they were great, unfortunately, lamb in Canada is very expensive, I paid $12 for 1 lb, so I tried the beef and I really liked it too and much less expensive to make.

[@Keefcooks]

Well done!

[@montymagic5886]

I'm from South coast England and first had Scotch pie whilst holidaying somewhere in Scotland. It was some 30yrs ago and I thought it was superb and the memory of it lingers on. Gorgeous pastry and slightly spicy filling. If it helps, we have an excellent local bakery serving pies of all sorts, but their Scotch pies have been very disappointing...very. Keef don't beat yourself up over it. They're obviously a real challenge.

[@manuelstarr3602]

You are a good Babbling Brook mate, and you are so human. Take care.. Cheers 🍺🍺🍸

[@Keefcooks]

Just looked up Babbling Brook - Australian for 'cook'. Hadn't heard that before and thought you were telling me I talk too much (which is also true, hah).

[@annatamparow4917]

So, that’s Aussie rhyming slang, like Cockney?

[@Keefcooks]

Who knew? 😀

[@jasoncrook1]

Good attempt Keef , little tip buy some 4 inch spring loaded tins , put your pastry in and chill overnight, do everything exactly the same , just cut your lids about 10 mm short of the pie , 160 degrees 45 minutes, perfect, keep up the good work your videos are very entertaining, loving Mrs Keef she should have her own channel 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻

[@theresa5059]

The dancing was adorable! 🥰

[@mgbgth5097]

Tommy Cooper springs to mind lol. Loved the video Keef.

[@Keefcooks]

Hmm, interesting.

[@Ryandunbar1996]

You say beef is wrong but from a person actually from Scotland traditionally yes it's wrong but now it's not wrong and a scotch pie can be minced beef

[@Keefcooks]

Wrong/not wrong. Yeah, I love it. Same thing's happening to the Liverpool stew Scouse - originally mutton, now people accept beef. IF a dish has been traditionally made with lamb or mutton, that's what I'll go for because it's so much more interesting than beef!

[@Ryandunbar1996]

@@Keefcooks I totally get that it's just me being Uber protective a Scottish treasure

[@arfcorps]

If you served an actual mutton pie, most Scots would tell you it tastes funny, because beef has been the primarily filler for a long time now (because it’s cheaper)

[@karendaley3184]

Hahahahahaha! Wonderful video! I enjoyed the Scotch pie trilogy. Looks very tasty!

[@woodysmum4471]

Hi keef your pies look good, a lot of the bakers up here add soya flour in with their plain flour, your right bells pies are not good. The scotch pies although now mainly made with beef (mutton is better) has a secret mix of peppers and spices usually nutmeg or mace mixed in with the meat, rusk also.

[@brendarigdonsbrensden.8350]

Keef I’m wondering if those bought scotch pies are softer because they are older and have aged in the fridge then brought to market. I think you might think I’m mad but try using a slurry of 2 tbsp water and about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of bicarb in your 1 lb of meat as it alters the ph and makes it juicy. I thought they were smashing looking pies and going to have a go but I’ll have to use beef 🤦‍♀️ I loved the dancing kitchen style Yessss!!!

[@danielvallelunga1596]

I pushed the wrong button on my first comment, so here I go again. You guys are GREAT 👍 Allways happy vids 😊 Keep it up 😊 Love DANIEL and my Two FELINES, Las Vegas, Nevada. USA 🇺🇸 🐈 🐈

[@ianbrooke6342]

Hope you won't mind a slightly off-topic comment, My grandparents used to correct me saying that "Scot, Scots and Scottish" are the people and things, and "Scotch" is only ever the drink. So these should be Scots or Scottish pies, and yet we also have Scotch Eggs so I give up!

[@Keefcooks]

I'm glad you brought this up. I had an angry comment on my previous Scotch pie video but I can't find it now. 'Scotch' is used for many food and drink items - scotch pancakes, scotch eggs, scotch whisky. But there are other usages - scotch mist and Scotch Corner come to mind. These usages are very common and I'll continue to use them as long as they appear in print or on road signs. At the risk of upsetting the SNP, 'Scots' just doesn't sound right in these traditional usages.

[@barbaradeselle9087]

I use beef. Being from the west coast of the United States we eat very little lamb or mutton, so beef it is and turned out nicely. Maybe not Scottish but as close as my family will get to the authentic. But to be fair, I call them meat pies but you and I know the truth, lol. Used your recipe, except for the lamb/mutton, 😉😉. Love your videos, thank you.

[@numbersix100]

They have to be baked in the tin. 200c, 170c fan. No milk or other glaze. The pastry has to be thin and mailable, preferably left over night

[@FarleyHillBilly]

And many other things. Go to Scotland and try a few, then you won't need to guess.

[@Jennifer-qo4kz]

Bread pudding looks delicious Keef!👍🏻 Goes great with a cuppa!

[@paulcentral1]

Nice write up.like your videos with Mrs keef! Corby town market had the best scotch pies. Very thin watercrust pastry built as you described. Think your filling has too much meat causing the filling to swell. Scotch pies are cheap food and usually baulked up with oats. Nothing wrong with oatmeal! The scotch pie filling should more resemble a well seasoned meaty dry porridge before lid. Salt pepper mace thyme agree.but add some oats and water to make thick spoonable meaty slurry for the cases. Love your channel. Hope you don't mind suggestions

[@Keefcooks]

Thanks Mr Paul, suggestions all helpful. I just made a small batch of 4 with leftover meat and pastry. Rolled the pastry out in my pasta machine. Worked a treat!

[@stevewhitcher6719]

Was this episode sponsored by the UK Lard Association LOL. Sometimes things need fat! just dont eat them if you are on a diet or eat less of them and enjoy it. I do wonder if this is going to be the new long egg! Isnt most hot water crust things served cold? In a pork pie the fat renders out from the filling and soaks into the crust making it yummy and adding to the mouthfeel.

[@mr.piechipsandbakedbeans7967]

Ey up our lad our goer Keef cooks. Aye, Scotch pies are a staple at footy matches in Scotland an' at chippies. That recess on top is reyt handy for gravy or beans. Traditional fillin's mutton or lamb, but beef works too. The pastry's thin an' crispy, soakin' up all that fat from the meat as it cooks-proper tasty! They're wonderful, but not the easiest to make. Folks say lettin' the pastry cases rest in t'fridge for up to 3 days makes a difference. Lookin' forward to seein' how different restin' times affect the pastry in this video.

[@kurtweber162]

Love your channel. and the two of you are wonderful.

[@danielvallelunga1596]

You guys make me happy 😊 Your vids are GREAT great

[@ruadhagainagaidheal9398]

Nice channel, fun people. Liked and subscribed.

[@Keefcooks]

Welcome!

[@elaine58100]

As always you two are my favourites :)

[@garrick3727]

Maybe the Bell's pies bulge out at the sides because they put something on top of the lid while it cooks to keep the lid from rising up. Great video. I once had a scotch pie from a butchers shop in Dumfries. It's the only one I ever had. It was bloody awful. Edit: That experience won't stop me trying this recipe out though. I just have to find some lamb. It's sometimes hard to get without raiding Fort Knox for a gold bar to pay for it.

[@Keefcooks]

Good luck with the lamb!

[@ralphrowlands3902]

Hi Keith. Really enjoy your videos and this was no exception. I imagine Strictly Come Dancing will be in touch soon! It might be worth watching a video By What’s for tea. I came across it by accident but what was interesting was how little filling she put in. You may find it useful - or not. Keep your videos coming,they’re great. Love your style of delivery.

[@Keefcooks]

LOL - does Cheryll pay people to promote her scotch pie on my video? You are about the fourth person to do it.

[@ralphrowlands3902]

@@Keefcooks totally unpaid I just can’t figure out why I can’t move in my garage for all the scotch pies!

[@Keefcooks]

Hahaha

[@csachevauxsansabri2612]

Hi Keef was wondering if you maybe take half half lamb and beef that is, 50% fat. Of cause les meat filling and poke holes though the top and bottom because yes you have the big hole in the middle but because of that preacher will only escape in the center and hearby lifting up the lit and that is why you have that dome shape. Just for the fun of it mix egg yolk and shallots and or leek with the mixture. Kind of like bangers. To me that standards to reson. What do you think.

[@dabblingwithbonsai]

Awww! Happy dance! Love it :D Also the pies seem interesting enough, but unfortunately we don't have minced mutton here

[@csachevauxsansabri2612]

That is why you bye mutton and mince it your self. Don't have to have a fancy mincer, a hand crank one on Amazon cost penny's

[@dabblingwithbonsai]

@@csachevauxsansabri2612 we hardly have any mutton here, unless you buy it straight from the producer... At Easter time you might aquire some, but it's very expensive!

[@bigsteve9291]

Hi could it be the fact you done them in the air fryer the recess in the top kept rising cause of the confined space of not being in the oven just a thought the only scotch pies I have tryed was from my local iceland and wasn't very keen on them yours looked well better chef love mrs keef cooks lol

[@Keefcooks]

Interesting theory - I might try an experiment with the real oven vs the air fryer!

[@dwaynewladyka577]

I think lamb is a wonderful meat. The fat on it is so good. I love lamb. Those Scotch pies look great. Cheers, Keef!

[@michaeliannotti3922]

YES!!! KEEF COOKS!!! Wooooooooooo!

[@derekwilkinson7939]

They look really tasty 👍

[@Larryloafer488]

I’m just as intrigued about the lids too Keef, I just watched a Scots lady make them, identical in every way other than some Marjoram, came out perfect 🤷 (Must be something to do with Adrian’s wall..)

[@Keefcooks]

That would be Cheryl - somebody has suggested mine puffed because I did them in the air fryer. I made a little batch in the oven today and they are pretty close to perfect!

[@Larryloafer488]

@@Keefcooks Ah ok, that explains. My air fryer tends to run hotter than the setting, not tried pie’s yet, so maybe I’ll stick to the oven for them 👍

[@robinrice8842]

Love your ways of trial an error The end was so nice you and your wife are so cute.

[@disturbedlovergirl8965]

hey, love ur videos, biggest fan here :)

[@Keefcooks]

I'll think about it!

[@disturbedlovergirl8965]

@@Keefcooks ok np ;) u and ur wife are so cute together, awesome couple.

[@Beruthiel45]

Top and tailed tuna cans are pretty good for making crumpets too. 😊 I don't know if it's my aging eyesight and faulty memory but aren't those pies meant to be just a teensy bit taller? Same diameter perhaps but higher, plus same amount of meat filling, and you'd get a nice hollow top for your mushy peas? I might be confusing them with pork pies but as a Newcastle lass I did grow up eating Scottish pies in days of yore. I could polish one off right now come to think of it but lamb or mutton are rare in Alberta beef country. Ah, those were the days. 😋

[@Keefcooks]

I made them the same height as the commercial ones. Pork pies are somewhat taller.

[@Adam_Garratt]

I wonder if maybe the pastry is still too thick. Looking on Google, it seems like the pastry is super super thin. Maybe rolling through a pasta machine is not such a bad idea! Great experiments though Chap

[@Keefcooks]

I think I will try the pasta machine!

[@allenbrown8158]

good effort Keef. I dont think the end result is worth the effort, i have tried shop bought ones and was totally unimpressed, we have a clarks pie in cardiff they are brilliant.

[@Keefcooks]

LOL I lived in Cardiff for 6 months in the early 80s. I must have had a Clark's pie or two but I was probably too full of Brain's Skull Attack to notice. I disagree about the Scotch pies - I think a well-made one would be wonderful but I would avoid mass-market ones. I just made a mini-batch this morning, about a week after starting the originals, and I'm getting close!

[@allenbrown8158]

@@Keefcooks cant beat a pint of SA, although a pint of brains smooth is better.I am going to try to make a Clarksie this week,or something similar

[@ralphrowlands3902]

Keith, why does the ratio of lard to water vary in different recipes? Your help would be appreciated. Thank you

[@tomjohnston1108]

Used to love these but struggling to find them anywhere near where I am (South of the border)

[@Keefcooks]

I believe the Bells ones can be bought frozen from Iceland and some other big supermarkets - but they're not the best Scotch pies, as we've seen.

[@jerkym2521]

Keifay Barbers are open now lol. Never tried a scotch pie before

[@Keefcooks]

I know - got a fabulous cut yesterday. Now, Jerkaye, when are you going to learn how to spell 'Keefie'?

[@joshuajohnson2216]

@@Keefcooks you're amazing.

[@kevinbyrne4538]

Glad to hear that you've finally gotten a haircut. You were looking a bit disheveled, almost impoverished.

[@Keefcooks]

LOL, I am both of those things!

[@joshuajohnson2216]

@@Keefcooks Yes you are. Even if I'm a guitarist, I'm a foodie.

[@lfcmonkeyyyman6229]

My wife's family in Phililpines put the ribs in the pressure cooker, before doing the bbq sauce in the oven. They ARE very tender and fall off the bone, bit because they haven't got the rub on, tend to lack a little in deep flavour! By the way Keef, when you was cutting the eyes from the potatoes, it looked rather scary and not health and safety friendly..might be because you was using a huge carving knife rather than a small peeler or paring knife!!

[@edgarburlyman738]

Whew, from the title I thought you were deep frying the whole pie. Yeah I don't understand the beef thing, mutton tastes better and from what I've read, a sheep makes more meat from the same amount of grass than a cow.

[@neesargon3497]

I'd just have to add some finely chopped onion to the meat.

[@Keefcooks]

It would certainly help, but wouldn't be traditional.

[@englishguineasjb]

Where do you get the crumpet rings from Keef ?

[@Keefcooks]

The Amazon's Choice ones on this page: amzn.to/3KvBIeP

[@englishguineasjb]

@KeefCooks Thanks Keef 😊

[@harrithomas4876]

👍🏻

[@Hu4est]

The pastry for the lid is not the same as the pastry for the shell.

[@Keefcooks]

Clarify please 😌

[@arfcorps]

Oh yes it is! (In Panto tradition) 😂

[@ryanhorow4590]

Sorry for my Words ITS ĺìviñg in ĺondon ITS slang mr mrs keef ì am sorry for the way ì text you and leave comment thañks for ŕeply Kevin

[@donner101]

Keef you hair got increasingly erratic as the pies went on, did this experiment cause you sleepless nights?

[@karendaley3184]

Enjoying video very much so far, but keep getting distracted by your guest on the counter. Is it a sourdough Death Star? Giant puffball mushroom? Enormous celeriac? Construction project in progress for a future video? Knitter's dummy for blocking tea cosies? Early stage pinata? Phrenologist's training aid?

[@Keefcooks]

Ah, no, it's a sourdough loaf. Once we've cut some off the edge we stand it up so the cut face doesn't harden.

[@sandrabuckley9520]

Minced lamb needs cooking first!

[@Keefcooks]

Not in this recipe - that is never done.

[@sandrabuckley9520]

@@Keefcooks sorry in any recipe for scotch pies it’s done. Then your just baking the case and heating the meat

[@jackoshea7668]

🍷🍷🍷

[@jlyssagraywolf7503]

😂😂😂😂