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–+ servings
The From Scratch Farmhouse
baked traditional Irish pasty on a plate

Easy and Delicious Traditional Northern Irish Pasties

By Staci Drovdahl
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
SERVINGS 8

Equipment

  • baking sheet

Ingredients
  

Pasty Filling

  • 5 T butter divided
  • 6 yellow potatoes 3 cups diced
  • 1 large onion 1 cup diced
  • 3 medium carrots 1 cup diced
  • 1 1/2 lbs. stew meat defrosted
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1/4 cup cream

Pasty Crust Dough

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup lard or shortening
  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups boiling water

Instructions
 

Step One: Mix the pasty dough and chill.

  • Dice the butter and measure out the lard. Set aside. To a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer, (my fave) add 2 cups of boiling water. Quickly add the diced butter and lard and whisk until they are both melted and mixed into the water.
  • Turn the mixer on low and slowly add 5 1/2 cups of flour. Add up to another 1/2 cup just until the dough comes together and starts to pull away from the sides. It will NOT feel like bread dough. It should be pillowy soft, but it shouldn't stick to your fingers. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 45 min - 1 hour.

Step Two: Prepare the pasty filling.

  • Dice the onion. Add 1 T butter and the diced onion to a hot skillet. Sauté until the onion begins to soften and caramelize. Transfer the cooked onion to a large bowl to let cool slightly.
  • Dice the potatoes, carrots, and meat into 1/2" cubes.
  • Add the diced veggies and meat to the bowl with the onions. Add parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 350 F if you will be baking these right away.

Step Three: Assemble the pasties.

  • Take the dough and divide it into 8 even balls. Roll out one dough ball on a floured surface into a 9-inch circle, or until the dough is about 1/4" thick. To one side of the circle, add about 1 1/2 cups of the meat mixture. Add 1/2 T of butter, in several chunks, along the top of the mixture.
  • Dip a pastry brush or your fingers in the cup of water and moisten the edges of the dough circle. Then fold over the empty side of the dough on top of the meat mixture to form a half circle. Roll the edges to seal. See the photos for how this should look.
  • Carefully move the pasty to a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Then, repeat with the remaining balls of dough.

Step Four: Bake the pasties.

  • Use a knife to make a few slices in the top of each pasty to release steam.
  • Bake the pasties in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
  • While the pasties are baking, pour a little cream into a bowl and grab a pastry brush. Pull out the baking sheet of pasties and brush a little cream onto each one.
  • Return them to the oven and continue baking for another 30 minutes, or until the filling reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. The meat and veggies should be tender.
  • Remove from oven and serve hot. We love to serve with homemade ketchup. Enjoy!
Keyword pasties
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