Cornish Cowboy Pasties Recipes

CORNISH PASTIES

Steps:

• Make the shortcrust dough: Add flour and salt to a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening and butter until well combined. Stir in 5 Tbsp of water then add 1-3 more tablespoons as needed till dough binds together and is not dry. Be careful not to over mix.
• Divide the dough into two balls and form each into a log. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Prepare the filling: Cut the steak into bite size cubes, and chop the potatoes, rutabaga, onion. Add steak, vegetables, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a bowl and toss.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll the Dough: Take one dough disk out of the fridge, leaving the other to continue to chill while you make the first four pasties. Cut the log into 4 equal pieces. Place one piece at a time on a large piece of parchment paper sprinkled lightly with flour. Roll the dough into a thin circle about 7-8 inches across. Don't worry if your circle isn't perfect as you will be folding and crimping the edges.
• Add filling: Place a heaping spoonful of filling into the center of the dough. Cut off a sliver of butter and place it on top of the filling.
• Fold and seal edges: Lightly moisten the edges of the pastry dough with a little bit of water (use a pastry brush or your finger). Gently lift the dough on one side and bring it over the filling, laying it on top of the dough on the other side. If the dough punctures at all, use any extra dough to patch the hole. Squeeze the edges of the half circle of dough, pressing them firmly together.
• Crimp the edges of the dough: Push down on the edge of the pasty and using your index finger and thumb twist the edge of the pastry over to form a crimp.Repeat this process along the entire edge. Tuck the end corners underneath. Lay the cornish pasty on the baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. When you've crimped all four pasties, remove the remaining dough from the fridge and repeat process.
• Add egg wash: Lightly prick the top of each pasty with a fork (2-3 times) for air to escape. Mix egg and water in shallow dish for the egg wash and use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer on top of each pasty.
• Bake at 350ºF for 40-50 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating.

CORNISH COWBOY PASTIES

Steps:

• Marcy Tatarka, an absolutely lovely cook I met in Wyoming, was full of all sorts of local food knowledge. She told me that people in this part of America are really into their pasties! Turns out that in the 1920s and 30s, miners from Cornwall came over to work in Montana and it wasn't long before the locals developed a taste for the good old Cornish pasty. Their recipes haven't evolved radically since, but they do embrace local ingredients like chicken, squash and sage. Pastry isn't exactly health food, but a delicious pasty once in a while won't hurt you. If you like, you can make a slightly 'skinnier' pasty by reducing the butter to 200g and adding 50ml of olive oil. But frankly, if I'm making these I just go for it old-school style.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Bring your butter and water to the boil in a large pan, then take the pan off the heat. Stir the flour and 1 tablespoon of sea salt into the mixture bit by bit with a spatula, until you've got a dough. Tip it on to a floured surface and use your hands to shape it into a smooth ball. Put the ball of dough into a floured bowl, dust the top with flour, then cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes while you make the filling.
• Meanwhile, get a large pan and fry your chopped onion in a lug of olive oil for 10 minutes or until softened. Add the diced chicken and fry for 5 minutes until brown, then add the rest of the chopped vegetables and herbs. Fry for another 5 minutes, then add 3 or 4 good gratings of nutmeg. Season well with salt and black pepper, then pour in the chicken stock and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the flour and simmer on a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until most of the stock has cooked away and you're left with nice thick gravy.
• Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour, then divide your pastry dough in half and roll each half out until it's slightly thinner than 0.5cm. Use a cereal bowl (about 15cm in diameter) to cut 4 circles out of each half, so you end up with 8 circles. You may need to cut out 2 or 3 circles from each half first, then re-roll the remaining pastry to make the rest. Dust the circles with flour, and spoon your filling into the middle of each one. Brush the edges of the pastry with some of the beaten egg, then fold each circle in half over the filling and crimp the edges with your finger and thumb to seal them. If you want to see how this is done, check out this video on how to assemble a pasty.
• Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper, scatter a handful of cornmeal or polenta over the paper, and place your pasties on top. Brush the pasties all over with more of the beaten egg and sprinkle over a little more cornmeal. Bake in the hot oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden, and serve straight away with a fresh green salad. A taste of Cornwall in the Wild West - who'd have thought it!

CORNISH PASTY

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, cover carrots with water. Bring water to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool and slice. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Add butter, and rub to the consistency of coarse crumbs. Mix in water. If dough is sticky, add more flour.
• Roll dough out until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out six circles, each about 5 inches round. Do not stretch the dough.
• Mix meat and vegetables together, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover half of each pasty base with the filling. Moisten pastry edges, fold pastry over the filling. Press edges together with a fork. Transfer raw pasties to a baking sheet, brush tops with milk, and make a small slit in each top to allow steam out.
• Bake at 450 degrees F ( 230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for 35 minutes.

CORNISH PASTIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 375°. In another large bowl, combine beef, onion, potatoes, turnips, salt and pepper. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion into a 9-in. circle. Mound 1-1/2 cups filling on half of circle; dot with 1 tablespoon butter. Moisten edges with water; fold dough over filling and press edges with a fork to seal. Place on a parchment-lined rimmed 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Repeat with remaining dough, filling and butter. Cut slits in tops of pasties. Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown. (If desired, pour milk into slits halfway through baking time.) Serve with ketchup., Freeze option: Freeze cooled pasties in a freezer container. To use, reheat pasties on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a preheated 375° oven until heated through.

CORNISH PASTY

Steps:

• Rub the butter and lard into the flour with a pinch of salt using your fingertips or a food processor, then blend in 6 tbsp cold water to make a firm dough. Cut equally into 4, then chill for 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Mix together the filling ingredients with 1 tsp salt. Roll out each piece of dough on a lightly floured surface until large enough to make a round about 23cm across - use a plate to trim it to shape. Firmly pack a quarter of the filling along the centre of each round, leaving a margin at each end. Brush the pastry all the way round the edge with beaten egg, carefully draw up both sides so that they meet at the top, then pinch them together to seal. Lift onto a non-stick baking tray and brush with the remaining egg to glaze.
• Bake for 10 mins, then lower oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and cook for 45 mins more until golden. Great served warm.