Cornish Pasty Recipe - Cornish Recipes

How to make Cornish Pasty:

It is a privilege for me to include my Cornish pasty recipe in the Green Chronicle. I was born in Cornwall which is the last county in the Southwest of Great Britain, surrounded on three sides by the sea. It is a wonderful county, steeped in history and legend with breathtaking scenery. Two of its most famous authors are the late Daphne Du Maurier, who wrote the book Rebecca, and Sir Arthur Quiller Couch who wrote under the nom de plume of Q. One of his best known books is entitled Troy Town and is about the sea port of Fowey where they both lived and where I worked for several years. Cornwall was always a comparatively poor county. The main industries were tin mining (now finished), china clay mining, fishing and agriculture; therefore the food had to be nutritious, economical and cheap. The men folk for the most part needed a packed lunch which would travel well, hence the birth of that most delectable savoury the Cornish pasty. I still make my own most weeks, because it is very difficult to buy a shop pasty that would come anywhere near a Cornish person's high standards.

Cornish Pasty Recipe for 4 Pasties (using a six inch diameter tea plate)

To help you make the pasties, I have some pictures showing the process I take to make my pasties. Just click on the links (e.g. Picture 1) and the picture should pop-up on the screen.

Ingredients for short crust pastry

1lb plain flour
1/2 lb either lard hard margarine or butter or a combination of these
pinch of salt
cold water to mix
(see measure conversions for more information)

Method

Rub the fat into the flour but not too finely. I sometimes cut the fat into small lumps. Add the salt and then start adding the water gradually until it works together into a ball without being sticky. Put aside in a cool place.

Ingredients for filling

3/4 lb beef, not stewing beef
raw potato
raw swede (also known as rutabaga or yellow/swedish turnip - see wikipedia)
small onion
salt and pepper
a walnut sized piece of butter

Method

Cut the steak into small pieces but do not mince. Slice potato and swede into thin, small pieces about half an inch across. Chop onion finely. Dust the work surface with flour. Roll out the pastry to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using a small plate cut out circles (Picture 1 & Picture 2). Moisten the edge with milk or water (Picture 3) and support half of the pastry nearest to you over the rolling pin (Picture 4). On the other half, put a small layer of prepared vegetables then a layer of beef (Picture 5 & Picture 6). Repeat this once but be careful not to have too much filling which would cause the pastry to burst during the cooking process (Picture 7). Sprinkle sparingly with salt and pepper then add a small bit of the butter (Picture 8 & Picture 9). Sprinkle a dusting of flour over the filling (this helps to make the gravy). Fold the other half of pastry which has been resting on the rolling pin over the filling and squeeze the half circle edges firmly together (Picture 10 & Picture 11). Starting at the right side whilst supporting the left side with other hand, using first finger and thumb turn the edge over to form a crimp (Picture 12 & Picture 13). Repeat this process all along the edge (Picture 14). This will come with practice but you must get a good seal. Brush pasty with beaten egg wash to help with browning process and put a small one inch cut in the centre of the top to allow steam to escape (Picture 15, Picture 16 & Picture 17). Bake in a hot oven 220 degrees centigrade for about 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 160 degrees centigrade for a further 40 minutes. Smaller pasties need less time. If they are browning too quickly cover loosely with greased paper.

I hope this recipe helps you create wonderful Cornish Pasties. I am delighted to say that we now have a Forum on The Green Chronicle and part of it is dedicated to the Cornish Pasty and all things Cornish. I would love to hear your stories and questions and see any pictures that you have.

Gans oll an colon vy,

If you have a question or comment relevant to this page, then please post it below.

Comment Script

I'm Canadian and have always wanted to make a good Pasty. Before stumbling upon this website, I'd tried another recipe and had attempted to convert UK volume measures to our measurement system. The pastry was very sad, tough and hard to work with. I almost gave up, but chalked it up to my own fault.

I decided to give it another go after I read the good reviews here and am I EVER glad I did. They were absolutely wonderful and turned out beautifully! I used a combination of butter and lard for the pastry as suggested and made everything as directed.

For fellow Canucks, here are some little tips if I may be able to share. Local butchers here have mentioned we have nothing described as 'Skirt Steak', but flank steak is similar (and always slice it on the bias). It was very nice, tender and flavourful.

I decided since I love UK recipes so much, I'd invest in a decent digital food scale with a 'Tare' function. I was very happy to see the conversions here, however, the scale made for a perfectly accurate and easy way to measure for me and any of my future UK recipes. And I've always wanted a scale, so it was a great excuse to purchase one.

I wasn't that adept at doing a beautiful crimp (like I see with the authentic Cornwall ones) but that should come with some practice. They looked pretty darned good.

The pastry turned out lovely and it was so easy to work with. The filling was scrumptious and I thank you SO very much for the great tutorial.

My son-in-law randomly mentioned the other day how tiring run-of-the-mill bag and thermos lunches can become on the construction site. I'm going to surprise him with some delicious pastys, then teach my daughter how to whip them up, thanks to this fabulous recipe.

Anyone reading, if you're thinking you'd like to try making these, this is the recipe for you. Go for it! :)

#159 - Diane - 10/06/2012 - 19:49

I've made a batch which are in the oven NOW!. In fact, my youngest son has just informed that the pastry is smelling REALLY good! I can't call mine "Cornish" pasties as I am born, bred and live in Essex! I also put in,(horror of horrors!) some chopped carrot as I forgot to get some swede. But then again, I seem to have the old music Hall song "Boiled Beef and Carrots" repeating itself in my head. Perhaps I have created the "Cockney Pasty"!!!!!!!

#158 - Tracey H - 08/21/2012 - 11:32

Hi I am going to try and make some cornish pasties and hope they turn out ok
it is my first go at them
Will let you now how they came out . bill

#157 - william monish - 07/19/2012 - 01:20

I tried the recipe to the book but found the filling dry and the pastry a bit on the hard side, any suggestions ?
Regard

#156 - Kathryn - 06/27/2012 - 15:15

I made this recipe it is absolutely beautiful.My family love them. I had this recipe saved in favourites, but lost the recipe when my computer crashed. Its taken me hours to find the recipe again, so now I have handwritten in my book of personaal favourites so I can't lose it again. I have never travelled outside Australia but I can dream. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Regards veronica

#155 - Veronica - 04/26/2012 - 03:03

I am American and about as far from Cornish as can be...and pasties are rare as hens teeth in Central Pennsylvania. I have had an occasional pasty, so I have an approximate idea of what they taste like.

Last week I read about the Pasty Tax kerfuffle that is occupying Parliament's attention and was so amused and outraged, that I obtained a recipe from the trusty internet and baked about 9 of them last night in solidarity with the beleagured British pasty eaters.

Two are left (4 mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night - I suspect maurauding children). A really big hit and I should have looked into them years ago, but have been slightly intimidated by pastry dough (I bake pies, but the crust is my least favorite part.) For some reason this time, I found it to be not very difficult, probably because I left the dough to sit in the fridge overnight. A major success and new supper item. Please don't let Congress know about this.

Hands off the pasty! Repeal the tax!

#154 - John L. - 04/02/2012 - 15:19

A great pasty recipe. I went to Uni in Camborne, Cornwall, UK and miss jumping into Rowes Pasty Shop on the High Street or going to Portreath and sitting on the beach eating a true pasty. Now I'm in ON, Canada so have resorted to making my own and this is as close as I've been to the real thing outside of Cornwall.
Many thanks, JD.

#153 - James D - 03/03/2012 - 12:23

Interesting to read the variations in recipes, my late Aunt Daisy always made pasties every week of our holiday when visiting her in Penzance. She always taught me to add ox liver to the mix which gave a different layer of flavour especially when eaten cold the next day. At university in the 70's I sometimes made pasties to impress my friends, they were never very small so I could hear my aunt's reaction when one friend - from Manchester - asked where the vegetables and gravy were!

#152 - Maurice Botham - 03/01/2012 - 17:17

i love this recipe. it was the most gorgious pastie i have had in ages

#151 - iluvu - 02/23/2012 - 20:06

Just drove through Cornwall NY and asked the local butcher at Cornwall Farms if they sold Cornish Pasty. He said no, but they may be interested in looking into it. I think it would be a wonderful item to introduce especially in a town with that great name!

In July, it will be two years ago our family traveled to Cornwall, England for R&R and some family research. We had our very first Cornish Pasty and loved it!

#150 - Jon Martin - 01/21/2012 - 17:11

Hi Connie,
Thank you for the pasty recipe my husband loves cornish pasties and he wanted me to make the real thing!
Kindest regards,
Jen, Canberra, ACT.

#149 - Jen - 01/12/2012 - 20:14

This is the business. My mother and grandmother are both Cornish and this is exactly how I was taught to make them. I seem to recall that my gran used to also make them with fresh mackerel sometimes instead of the meat - bit like a cross between a pasty and stargazy pie. My favourite recipe though is to follow the method exactly, but use very little potato, plenty of swede and onions and use chopped pig's liver for the meat - then after putting a little lard or dripping on top for gravy and the customary dusting of flour, I add as much moss curled parsley as will fit. I never call these Cornish pasties, but liver pasties, but even though I never liked liver as a child I have always found this variation to be totally delicious and the filling is moist, so no need for sauces. They are best eaten when lukewarm or cold.

#148 - Nina Booth - 01/06/2012 - 05:28

Great recipe, much the same as my own, works every time. We have many happy memories of camping in Cornwall and having a pasty for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We left Devon 7 years ago for New Zealand, but still make pasty's regularly, our kids love them.

#147 - Tim - 01/02/2012 - 15:47

Thanks a lot, dear Connie. I'm from Brazil and I've been in England two weeks ago and I tried some cornish pasties. Simply delicious. I became a "pastie'holic"! Here in Brazil no-one have never heard about pasties and I am thinking about to show the brazilians the wonder of british food.

#146 - Alexandre Lastres - 11/30/2011 - 16:01

My Mother used to make pasties which sat from corner to corner in the oven (in the old Cornish fire place) and put our initials at one end. I am now nearly 78 and am going to start making them myself, my Wife has a bad right hand and can't do very much so I have taken over the cooking. A Cornish pasty is a must

#145 - Preston Thomas - 10/18/2011 - 03:28

In answer to Tony Wong being a celiac...
Pastry is a bit tricky, but most supermarkets sell frozen ready to roll pastry which is lush. Just alter the recipe to the amount of pastry. Now a days I get gluten free flour made by Doves Farm and just use it in normal recipes, my cakes, buns and biscuits all turn out fine. Hope this helps.
A Non Cornish person living in Cornwall for 24 years and I hate going away!!

#144 - Angela Holland - 09/09/2011 - 07:46

What a wonderful recipe. I was born and live in Plymouth Devon and although at the ripe old age of 74, this has to be the ultimate recipe for Cornish Pasties. This is the second time I have used it and you just cannot go wrong. My family say they are the best they have ever tasted - Thank you so much.
Regards
Margaret Plymouth

#143 - Margaret Hitchcock - 08/05/2011 - 00:53

Is there anyway to make good pasties when you a celiac like me?

#142 - Tony wong - 07/18/2011 - 05:09

Hi Connie, thank you for this recipe. I have been looking for a proper one because I'm 40 tomorrow and want to make the pasties my mother used to make, for the picnic we are having to celebrate. When we were children she used to make them in the morning and wrap them in foil and newspaper once they came out of the oven, then pack them in a big bag so they were perfectly warm when we came to eat them at lunchtime.
I'm really looking forward to this!

#141 - Tam H-B - 06/10/2011 - 11:40

It's about time I said thank you for this recipe. I use it repeatedly and we absolutely love it, thank you.

#140 - Chrissy - 05/19/2011 - 09:45

I had the privilege of living in England while doing research for my dissertation. I was also a guest lecturer at Newbold College southwest of London. Every week when I would travel from Cambridge to Bracknell, I would start the day out right with a Cornish pasty to eat while on the train. It is one of my favorite memories of England, along with walking in my wellies with the lambs during lambing season.

#139 - Karen - 05/08/2011 - 19:17

Excellent Recipe !!!!
My ancestros are Eddy, Hosking and Pengelly from Cornwall migrated to Mexico Real del Monte in the mines, Thanks for all

#138 - Luis Manzano Eddy - 04/23/2011 - 14:11

great recipe - many thanks

#137 - john - 03/29/2011 - 19:16

I love the recipe and it was very sucessful when I tried it out. I mixed the veggies and meat rather than putting them in layers and had no problem. My one comment is that unless I am not looking in the right place there is no picture of how it should look when it is cooked.i.e the finished article!!!

#136 - Keturah Mattacott - 03/27/2011 - 06:41

my Cornish girlfriend is celebrating st piran's day by making these pasties and shes so excited. this guide is awesome my other cornish friend duncan agrees. thanks lovely ladyx

#135 - mikey - 03/06/2011 - 13:42

dear connie just found your website by accident been going to cornwall since i was a child i am 51 now i remeber eating a cornish pastie when i was 7 years old overlooking fowey the best and now im going to make some pasties your recipe thanks connie alison

#134 - alison jones - 03/05/2011 - 15:44

Great, I know what I'll be making this weekend.
Cant wait after living in Australia and other parts of the world for so long and not having on in years, just hope I can get all the ingredients.

My Mouth is watering.

Thank you so much.

Mark

#133 - Mark - 02/21/2011 - 03:00

My mother died last year, a Devonian living in Wales, and for her wake we had her favourite food, Cornish pasties delivered from Plymouth by train. The smell of them cooking away in so many houses was amazing, but nothing beats the real, home made ones.

#132 - Susan Fletcher - 02/10/2011 - 08:52

The first time I have actually seen the pasty recipe that I grew up in Cornwall with
printed! In my times living abroad I have taught German, Spanish and even Italian friends to make them - they all love them.
My variety are of the "reach over the edge of the (dinner) plate" kind! When I was a child in the forties we also had a dash of "H.P." sauce with them but never any other accompaniment - would have been too much for even the hungriest miner or fisherman to eat!
Glad to hear non-cornish people like them so much.
Gill

#131 - gill - 02/09/2011 - 09:47

Thanks for this very tasty recipe it looks very delicious by just looking at the ingredients. Indeed this is a must try recipe. Would love to try it at your country when I travel.

#130 - Hotels in Shenzhen - 02/08/2011 - 23:23

I was feeling homesick for Torpoint, cornwall a walk on the beach

can not wait and a pasty this morning.
Living in liverpool im not gonna find a decent one (people if its square, puff pastry, soggy and got no swede it aint a pasty!!)
so thanks i'm making them now!!

get on kerrnow!!

#129 - hayley - 02/06/2011 - 05:21

I enjoyed reading your recipe for pasties. My whole family is from Cornwall. We immigrated to USA when I was a child Our recipe is the same as yours...with these variations: My father's family put a couple of thinly sliced tomatoes on the top of veg and meat before closing it up. My mother's family sprinkled chopped parsley before closing. So....of course, I do both. I am also so proud to see my grandchildren help me make and thoroughly enjoy eating their pasties. I hope to visit the land of my birth one day...even though, as you and my mom always said...you can't get a good shop pasty.

#128 - Hi - 01/21/2011 - 17:19

Cornish Pasties are our familys' dish. My Great-Grandfather came to USA/Canada and brought with him the pasty recipe his mother made - and now we make. We use the same ingredients as you - but we add chopped fresh parsley as well. We also don't add the butter on the top. It is so wonderful to see my 10 and 9 year old Granddaughters making pasties with their Dad - 7 generations down! We add ketchup on the top once it is opened up after baking. Nicely served with toss salad and pickled onions.

#127 - Susan Miller - 01/04/2011 - 01:44

Pengelly is my name and I have never been to Cornwall, but I love cooking - 43 years and 450 cookbooks and in all those, no decent pie recipes. Many have remarked on the poor quality of pies and this applies her too in Johannesburg South Africa.

Next week I am making Cornish pies for the first time and I like Connie's clever touches. A nob of butter and a little dust of flour just as in a steak and kidney pudding. And dont make the steam hole too large because the food cooks perfectly IN the steam. If the hole is too large it will dry out. Also beware of the length of time in the oven and temperature.

I have not cooked pies for about 15 years but last week I made 3 types in muffin tins. Shiatsu mushroom, a few haricot beans, asparagus and ... a little joke in the form of a date. The next was a cauliflower cheese with onion marmalade and lastly chicken Panang curry.

Just remember to spice it a little high as some of the taste cooks out.

The point is everything goes in RAW and that is the key that makes it so healthy.

As a food type it is very undeveloped as there are hundreds of different types of possible pies - BUT the king of all is a proper Cornish pasty which I am going to make using this recipe because nobody has a clue on how to cook them around here.

Trevor

#126 - Trevor Pengelly - 12/12/2010 - 07:58

Thank you for such a lovely recipe.
What spoiled it was when your pictures poped up they where stuck behind the bloomin adverts that we never seem get away from

#125 - brian - 12/01/2010 - 08:12

How many does your receipe make? How and when do I freeze? How long? How to reheat frozen and thawed? Thanks, Sharon

#124 - Sharon Webster - 11/16/2010 - 07:49

Hi Connie, I've always wanted to try Cornish pasties and don't remember them being available in Nova Scotia. It was my first attempt but we really enjoyed them!

#123 - margiesmith@eastlink.ca - 11/11/2010 - 19:12

Great to see a proper cornish pasty recipe - had forgotten how to make the pastry. Cornish pasties are the ones with the crimping around the edge - Devonish ones are with the crimping on top. And can you all get it straight; Cornwall is NOT a county of England. This is a source of great irritation to all Cornish people. The information is freely available on the Internet.

#122 - Adrian Daddow - 10/11/2010 - 03:53

im from plymouth which is as close as you can possibly get,in fact we have two bridges connecting to saltash,cornwalls 1st town on leaving devon,ive been to cornwall thousands of times and even have relatives there but,i shamedly admit that i wasnt sure of the recipe,we had delicious "proper" pasties for tea tonight thanks to your post of cornwalls pride,it is a pity though that 80percent of pasties sold in our shops are a "sodden mess" as described by a american chap once,they dont make em like this.

#121 - martyn plymouth - 09/27/2010 - 16:54

Love Cornwall with a passion :o) adapted your method which i needed to complete the cook on the advice of a St Agnes butcher. Instead of the butter i used clotted cream ..... yummy yummy ... because of my inability to slice the veg (cut fingers and such like) i cube it, tho i anticipate on purchasing a tool to help me slice. For now i make cornish/sheffield pasties.
missing Cornwall already sees you next year :o)))

#120 - Nicky - 08/19/2010 - 08:12

hello, i cook alot even though i am only 12 and i would like to suggest when doing your cornish pasties to ask before you make them to whom you are serving to as many people are allergic to pepper like myself :) thanks xx great recipe x

#119 - Chantelle - 08/14/2010 - 18:21

Hi!
I come from Norway but I justed to live and work in Cornwall, in a small village called Lerryn. One day as I had the day of I walked from Polperro to Looe. And had a pasty as I had my lunchbreak on the walk. I will never forget - the scenery, the pasty, everything!!
Now I live in Norway, but missing UK all the time! Thank you for this recipe and for bringing back one of my best memories!!
Thank you, Ida

#118 - Ida - 08/09/2010 - 02:21

Hi Connie,
At last an authentic cornish pastie. Born in India, lived in England for the best part of my life I learned to relish a cornish pastie, but they were not a cornish pastie, as I soon learned, when I holidayed in Cornwall. Now living in Australia I have been salivating for a good pastie, as memories linger in my taste buds from my daily pastie lunch on that holiday. Out of the blue the light came on in my mind and I took to the net for help to see if I could achieve 'that taste'. Hey Presto, I found your recipe. Thank you so much. Theresa

#117 - Theresa Lambert - 08/06/2010 - 03:14

hi im having trouble making the pastry. i got a big family so i uped it to 1kg flour 250gm lard and 250g of butter. made pastery let it rest. went to make first pasty and it kept cracking when i tried to crimp. is it better if i leave the butter out and just do 1kg flour and 500gm lard????

#116 - chyanne - 07/26/2010 - 11:10

I agree totally with Martin Burridge's recent informative and interesting post regarding the use of 'Flaky Pastry' for Cornish Pasties.
I've often wondered why this is and for example,I wonder if it is because, it may be more economically viable to use flaky pastry when pasties are made commercially in large quantities?
While I do appreciate the fact that many may prefer flaky pastry pasties, there may also be those who have just got used to them?
To me, a true 'Cornish Pasty' must only be made with shortcrust Pastry and this has been well endorsed by many of the postings seen here and of course, in 'Connie's great recipe'

Regards,
Mike

#115 - Mike L - 07/25/2010 - 21:37

I tasted my first pasty in London when I was 10 and I loved it. Not traditional Cornish but shortcrust pastry and a nice meat filling that was the bakers own concoction. Finely minced meat with potato and spices I would imagine.

At the same time we went to Swanage in Dorset and again we found good pasties more like Cornish but different again but again made with shortcrust pastry.
Next we went to Cornwall and was delighted with the real pastie, you could go to any pub or shop and buy great pasties, all with shortcrust pastrie.

Nearly everyday I would buy a pastie from Gallops in North Chingford London till I left school and London.

We moved to Bournemouth when I was 25 and nowhere can you buy a pastie that is not utterly awful. 99% of them are made of some soggy, greasy, falling apart flakey pastry and a variety of tasteless meatlittle fillings.
I still look for new shops to try to see If I can buy a nice pastie, I often buy them and throw them away in disgust yet still I look and try. I now ask before I buy if they are shortcrust, but no they are all flakie. I ask why and they say people like them "we sell loads of them" Have you tried making shortcrust pasies I ask, you would sell out much quicker I say. They say no why would we people like our pasties. I want to scream at their complacancy and peoples stupidity in accepting such utter rubbish. These people are largely ignorant of any quality food. It is just the same when you eat out, poor poor poor quality food wherever you go, and when you complain you are made to feel the odd one out because they never get complaints from anybody else.
So recently I could stand it no more and went down to Helston Cornwall to the bakers at Porthleven that 40 years ago baked the best pastie I had ever remebered. Still the same family running the shop great. "could I have 12 pasties please" "shortcrust or flakey she asked" I nearly cried in disbelief. "Flakey!! Why would you make flakey ? " " The locals dont buy them but we sell most of our pasties to holiday makers and thats what they want she replied" Well the shortcrust pasties I bought were just as good as I remembered. But I had to try the bakers in Helston because they made a great pastie too. I bought one and took one bite and took it straight back, "whats this pastry its not shortcrust" "No they said its half and half because we cant be bothered to make 2 different sortsthe holiday makers like them"

I know make my own pasties and I have'nt found a single person that wants to eat a flakey pastie ever again once they have tried mine.

So now I have educating a few people and just need to convert the local bakers, but I am afraid they are a lost cause, tottaly stuck in their ways.

In Christchurch Dorset recently we had a new shop open, The Cornish Pastie shop, selling nothing but genuine made in Cornwall Cornish pasties, but would you believe it, yes, all made with flakey pastrie.
Ho Hum. Why oh why I keep asking myself.

#114 - martin burridge - 07/14/2010 - 16:52

My father was born in St. Ives and our family immigrated to America in 1960. He loved Cornish pasties, but my mother never made them often enough for his liking. As an adult I started baking a dozen of them for his birthday every year. "The best birthday present I could have ever given him", he said. He's passed on now, but I just met a woman recently who's father was Welsh. We got chatting and she told me SHE cooked Cornish pasties for HER father's birthday every year until he passed on! So we both had a good cry over missing our Dads and promised to keep making them in rememberance of how much pleasure it gave them.

#113 - Jacky from Cle Elum, Wa - 07/13/2010 - 17:50

Hi Connie. Your recipe looks great, and it's so informative! The pictures were a great idea to show people how it's supposed to look. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope to soon. I love these kinds of all-in-one dinners. I only started looking for a pasty recipe because we have some leftover steak from a barbecue and I thought we should do something with it. I thought of the pasties we used to get out in Wisconsin from a local business. They were great, although probably not very similar to this. All I know for sure, as it's been a long time since I had one, is that they WERE properly handmade (and correspondingly expensive).
I do have one small question. Those pasties had two types of dough you could choose from: a plain dough and a savory dough. I was wondering if you might know what was added to the dough to give it that extra flavor?
Thanks for the great recipe!
Amy

#112 - Amy - 07/06/2010 - 13:15

Great recipe! I am working in Saudi Arabia and was itching for a taste of home. Found some pasties in a supermarket, but they were terrible: garlic . . . in a pasty. These are wonderful. I like a little more sauce with mine, so I put in English mustard, fresh parsley, Worcester Sauce and a cup of beef stock - left to 'relax' in the fridge for an hour makes a tasty pasty with a little extra sauce.

Thanks for the recipe :)

#111 - Steve - 07/02/2010 - 06:06

Hi Connie,

At last, a recipe that matches my Grans perfect pasties. Made a batch this morning for the first time in 10 years. Taste just as i remember.

Thanks

andy

#110 - Andy - 06/27/2010 - 02:38

It is good for homework

#109 - Florence child - 06/13/2010 - 04:41

Thank you Connie so kind of you to give us your recipe.I live in Chile and love Cornish Pasty ,I´ve tried it first in Southampton and later in London couple of years ago, it wasn´t so good,maybe too commercial,not handymade.I will try yours, almost can smell them mmmmmm
Many thanks
Soledad

#108 - soledad - 05/06/2010 - 20:51

Hi Connie, Thank you so much for this authentic recipe I have made them using so many other recipes but this is the best one ever, I also loved the pictures they were really helpful this recipe will be sure to go into my favorites book we really enjoyed them. Cheers!! Janine from Australia

#107 - Janine Abbott - 05/05/2010 - 03:22

Thankyou for a great cornish pasty recipe made with proper ingredients. I was born and bred in Newquay lived there was 21 years, im now living in Essex missing the pasties but will attempt to make one for my fiance and i.

#106 - kerry m - 04/07/2010 - 08:10

Great recipe. Grew up in Devon and in states now missing the westcountry. A home made pasty, fit for a tin miner :)

#105 - Dylan - 03/19/2010 - 23:24

I have lived in cormwall many a year as part of the Armed Forces, now retired; had my first pasty in Plymouth and loved them ever since. I am in the Ukraine helping my wife to get a Visa to live in the UK, wish I could try your recipe but turnip is impossible to get here, I shall return home in a couple of weeks though my wife a little later so I shall have a practice before she arrives and I know she will love them just as much as I do. We are ever so pleased so a big thanks to you.

#104 - Albert Gorton - 02/16/2010 - 13:04

If I'm reading this correctly, filling goes in uncooked?? Is this correct?? Not tried it yet

#103 - Lin - 02/06/2010 - 01:47

Correction to a comment of mine on this page, dated 4/13/2008.

The web site cited, devoted to the Cornish pasty, has moved to The Cornish Pasty & Pastypaedia: http://www.cornishpasties.org.uk

Keith

#102 - Keith Ryan - 01/26/2010 - 03:46

Pasty is an obsession to this relative of a Cornish ancestor. It is always in the back of ones mind. My one and only lifetime trip to Porthleven, Cornwall, the home of my grandfather Henry Martin and grandma Mary Polly Hosking was the highlight of my life. No one in the area of the city of Lansing, Michigan can come close to creating a pasty such as your Cornish heritage can. Please market yours worldwide. We live for them.

#101 - Tom Martin/Hosking - 01/12/2010 - 09:15

I grew up in st ives and now live in hampshire but return to cornwall every year and always have a pasty! so glad to be able to make my own now too : ) thanks x

#100 - errin - 01/12/2010 - 07:06

I am American and my husband is from London although for many years he lived in Plymouth. We live in the US and I LOVE this recipe! I have made these about 3 times now and think I've finally mastered it. My husband is sooooo happy that I have learned how to make these! THANK YOU for sharing your recipe and especially the pictures.

#99 - Denise - 01/11/2010 - 09:21

well im in snowy bulgarian village and i woke up n thought i gotta have a cornish pasty! ok i know how to make my version but i trawled thru the internet and your recipe is as close to the memories of my holidays of cornwall in the 70s! nut i cheated with the pastry and i added 2 teaspoons of port to each as well! well it is xmas! my scottish friends popped in just as they were coming out of the oven so theyve all gone now! oh well a good excuse to do some more!!!!!

#98 - mark - 01/03/2010 - 08:05

"Babymona"... About your judgement of "Nige". Perhaps you should check your facts before telling someone they are wrong. Nige, is correct that Cornwall is not a county of England, it is a Duchy. The Duke of Cornwall is head of State in Cornwall, not the Monarch.

Thanks and GREAT recipe too, very yummy!

#97 - Alex - 12/29/2009 - 12:23

I would just like to say fab receipe!

Also comment to "Nige-a proper Cornish job"
Have a word with yourself you Silly man " Cornwall has never been part of England constitutionally or Legally-WHAT then I guess you don't pay taxes or have any Government agencies then?
This is a rediculous comment to make & you Pro Cornwall, Anti-everyone who isn't make me laugh, your the first to moan about tourist's etc but then your happy to make money out of them selling the ware's of your local area!

#96 - Babymona - 12/06/2009 - 04:07

We always added a nice bit of chopped parsley on top of the other ingredients, after softening it up in a little very hot water first. That was curly parsley, not the less flavorful flat kind.

My mother would make small jam pasties with the leftover pastry.

#95 - margaret carne - 11/19/2009 - 10:15

hay, loving the pasty recipe

#94 - bill - 11/19/2009 - 04:38

Just a quick heads up to all postin on here that Cornwall is a part of Englnad, it is not and never has been a part of England consitutionally or legally.

I know you don't mean to cause offence, but as a 'proper job' Cornish boy I would just like to get the facts right.

As for my pasty story, my ancestors were tin miners in the Redruth area - in fact one of the shafts at South Crofty is named with my family name. The pasties I was brought up on were made to my great aunts receipe that she learnt from her parents, and so on.

The greatest pasty memory was my mother making them early on a summer morning, wrapping them up in towels for a day out at the beach. After hours of messing about in the water, to be wrapped in a pasty warmed towel and munching a pasty on a sun baked sandy beach was near to heaven for young Cornish kids !

#93 - Nige - 11/19/2009 - 03:24

In pursuit of finding the best method to freeze pasties, with great delight I stumbled upon your website. I am cornish from Boscastle and Saltash, now living in Calgary, Canada. I have been making pasties all my life. My Mum and I used to make them for the church bazaars (and way back for the Women's institute!!) Since my son loves his pasty, I make up batches of 24 a few times a year and freeze them. I find if I freeze them uncooked the potato goes grey when cooked. So, I now cook them and take out 10 mins. before cooking completion. Then freeze individually. They still tend to be a bit soggy when reheated. Any other suggestions are most welcome.

As an aside ...this is a good recipe - I was taught the meat has to be "shredded" and the potatoes "chipped" ..but hard to explain w/o hands on instruction. Also the roping - on top, it's from South Cornwall, along the side from North Cornwall. And, I was also told, "the devil never came to Cornwall for fear he would be put into a pasty" !!

#92 - Christina Stephens - 11/18/2009 - 11:26

I am just making your pasties for a Cornish lady I am nursing at work. Her dying wish is to have what she knows as food. I'll let you know what she thinks. I have a feeling it will be good

#91 - Val - 11/12/2009 - 00:48

I live in Buffalo, NY and am of Cornish decendency, I am learning of my heritage and have raised my 3 children with splashes of traditional foods their ancestors made. I will be trying this pasty recipie this weekend and am very excited. My 22 year old son read the recipie and cannot wait for me to make it!!!! I will leave a crumb for the Piskies, should I leave a bowl of cream as well?

#90 - Elizabeth Baran - 11/06/2009 - 12:15

I made these pasties using rump steak, vegetables from the garden and 'a lot' of salt and pepper. Sorry, but they tasted of nothing - the occasional taste of swede.

Gravy? where is that supposed to come from? There was none.

Adding Worcestershire Sauce to the mixture made a lot of difference !

Trevor

#89 - Trevor - 10/29/2009 - 11:55

I had an awful so called "Cornish Pasty" at "Prontos" in Warrnambool Victoria Australia it was bloody awful full of bitter cabbage and heated in a Micowave soggy LOL

#88 - Michael M. - 10/13/2009 - 00:04

I'm a Padstow boy who moved away for work and education. I only get a decent pasty once a year around Mayday, Mother's secret recipe (Nod/Wink) Feeling a little home sick I made one from yours today and twas some andsome you. You can take the Cornish man out of Cornwall, but never Cornwall out of the man. Thanks and kindest regards

Malcolm

#87 - Malcolm Martyn - 10/12/2009 - 05:28

This is very similar to my recipe which is good to see.

You really have to add .... that a true pasty will hang over each end of the plate to be the right size,

Best regards,

Adam

#86 - Adam L Bowden - 10/10/2009 - 20:46

Hey, I must say that is a good pasty recipe! Ive lived in Cornwall all my life and have eaten many a pasty, there is a lot of bad ones out there! But I must say this one is very very good!

Don't forget to leave some crimp for the piskies!

Dyw genes!

#85 - Tom - 09/15/2009 - 04:37

My gran was from Cornwall ,Her maiden name was Rose Annie HOARE. i can remember her making pasties when i was very young ,I am now 72. I willbe attempting your recipe today .Right down here in NEW ZEALAND Kind Regards Glenys 11 September 2009

#84 - Glenys webb - 09/09/2009 - 19:20

Hi, I grew up eating Cornish Pasties made by my father. His famiy were from St Ives so I guess he got the recipe from his mother. I can still remember taking one of his dinner plate sized pasties to school for lunch (chunks of beef, onion, potato and swede - just like yours although my father never put butter in, just a sprinkling of cold water, salt and pepper) and then seeing the so-called Cornish Pasties my friends had with who knows what minced ingredients. I feel so sorry for people who have never tasted the 'real' thing and have only ever eaten those mass-produced ones. Thanks for posting your recipe and encouraging more people to try it for themselves.

Juliet

#83 - Juliet - 09/09/2009 - 07:23

I grew up in Ely, Minnesota, where everybody's mother made pasties, not just the Cornish/English. I have fond memories of the Barbara Ann Bakery, where they had pasties every day at lunchtime for fifty cents apiece, with onions or without. I think I'm going to use your recipe, because the pictures look a lot like the pasties we had when I was a kid. (I haven't had one since then.) I'm going to add suet to mine, though, so it'll be just like I remember.

#82 - Ed Rom - 09/07/2009 - 19:03

I'm originally from Devon where the same sort of pasties are called 'Oggies'. The difference is, I believe, is that the Cornish Pasty has a roll on tp wheras the Oggie has the crimping on the side. Both delicious

#81 - Anne Green - 09/07/2009 - 17:29

I have a tummy full of the most delicious Cornish Pasty I ever tasted. Thank YOU!

#80 - steve - 09/05/2009 - 12:21

I'm happy to find this recipe! Because my Nan (who is Cornish living in Canada) doesn't have to measure her ingredients when she makes pasties so up till now I could only guess at how much of what to put in.

#79 - Ash - 09/01/2009 - 00:37

Living in the American southwest this recpie reminds me of the latino empanada. I am going to be brave and make a batch of your pasties. If I double the recepie can I freeze some and reheat them later? How long can they stand the freezer and what are the instructions for reheating? For example does one reheat from frozen or thaw first? Perhaps freeze before baking and bake them off as needed?

I would also be interested any hints you have for making pasties and keeping them warm for a potluck.

#78 - Colette - 08/29/2009 - 11:20

My grandmother was welsh and cornish, and she said miners wives would make these meat pies for their husbands with one half meat and turnips and such and the other was dessert with apples or mincemeat, and when my dad would take us to his moms home she would make the meat version and let us kids take the left over pastry and put sugar butter and cinnimon, or just our favorite jelly inside. I miss the pasties and my grandmother.

#77 - Sunday Weiss - 08/07/2009 - 18:43

great recipe lol

#76 - james - 08/03/2009 - 17:31

great recipe. i substituted the beef with Morrison's own Vegan mince and it tasted fantastic! thank you!

#75 - jake benton - 12/02/2008 - 05:20

Thanks so much for the great pasty recipe. I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where the pasty is a favorite regional dish due to the Cornish miners who brought them over. So I've been looking for a good recipe, and thanks to you this is exactly what I remember from childhood. Thanks again!

#74 - Jen - 11/02/2008 - 10:55

hi,
im' doin a school cook and i'm wondering
who invented the first pastie and where was the country it was made from and in what year was it found in thank you n i'm goin 2 use the recipe thank you ann x x

#73 - annmarie - 10/12/2008 - 07:44

I'm glad your sweet'n sour turned out so well. I must have a go at one of those. My mother used to make them with a little stewed fruit or jam and we took them down to the beach.
Your pastry sounds delicious and would probably be near to rough puff.

#72 - Connie - 09/27/2008 - 04:09

Hello Connie, I wrote to you a few days ago about have dinner and dessert in the same pasty. I had meat and veg filling 3/4 of the way along, then a little pastry wall, followed by some sliced apple layered in with brown sugar. On the outside I cut an arrow out of scrap pastry and stuck it on the outside to show in which direction to start eating.

I followed your pastry mix instruction, but then I rolled it out, spread butter and rolled and spread again a few more times. It's probably got a name, but I don't know it. It made a lovely light flaky pastry.

If you cut out an initial and stick it on, personalised pasties make super gifts.

Regards

Bill

#71 - Bill - 09/25/2008 - 18:07

Hello everyone. Thanks for taking the trouble to comment in Cornish! How wonderful!
I'm glad you are all enjoying your pasties.
I agree Bill that it would make more sense to eat the "handle" if you were hungry. I think they say that the miners had dirty hands! We never have any problems eating up all the pasty.
I have definitely heard of the savoury and sweet pasty. You need to put a little pastry dividing wall into the middle of the pasty.

#70 - Connie - 09/24/2008 - 12:06

Hello Connie,
Just come back from a holiday in Cornwall, so thanks for the the recipe. The pastry is in the fridge right now waiting to be rolled out.
I think that bit about the rolled edge being something to hold the pasty with and then throwing it away does not match up with the statement that miners needed a lot of nourishment and were poor. It would make more sense to hold the pasty in the paper wrapper and eat all of it. The pasty, not the paper.

I was evacuated to Gerrans and Portscatho (and it doesn't get much more Cornish than that) in the war, and my memory is that one end of the pasty had something sweet, apple or jam, in it for afters. That's what I am going ahead with. Let you know the result

In reply to the lady or gentleman in South Africa who cannot buy swede or turnip, why don't you grow some? Might even be able to sell some on and turn a small profit

Regards

Bill

#69 - Bill Lehan - 09/24/2008 - 10:35

I am not from cornwall or that part of england, i'm from Surrey but i love a good pasty! I loved them since the first time i tasted them. I like this traditional pasty but there is also one with similar ingredients but with onions, gravy and no beef which is also very nice!

#68 - Ben - 09/20/2008 - 16:24

Meur ras, Connie, ha pub bolonjedh da. My av vy mos gul pasti !

#67 - John - 09/10/2008 - 15:38

my husband made these for me and the kids this evening and they were the best yet, we've lived in cornwall for five years now and i haven't tasted beter.
thanks
jacky, st austell

#66 - jacky - 09/09/2008 - 15:17

It is a shame you can't get Swede out there.Are you sure they don't go under another name like Rutabaga or maybe they are only grown for cattle food.
sounds as if you are doing ok with your pasties.

#65 - Connie - 09/07/2008 - 10:48

Well, the thing about the Cornish pasty is that in fact you can put anything in it.Different families had their own favourite recipes. There was an old saying that the Devil wouldn't cross the Tamar for fear that the Cornish would cook him in a pasty (because they'd put ANYTHING into one).So really it is difficult to define exactly what a Cornish pasty is.The generally accepted pasty is the one which found favour with tourists ie the beef,potato,swede and onion version.
It must be commercial reasons that are leading people to get this trade marking and probably,in these days of the internet, to stop a London bakery from setting up selling pasties by post and calling them Cornish.That would be annoying to say the least for folk like The Chough Bakery.
We have all stood by in this country and seen so much of our heritage destroyed and rubbished so..Long live the Cornish Pasty!

#64 - Connie - 09/07/2008 - 10:34

Dear Connie,
Just after I sent my comments to you earlier this morning, I know think you might have already and indirectly gone a long way in answering my question regarding the conditions that are considered necessary to support the 'authenticity' of a Cornish Pasty.
I refer to your information regarding the Chough Bakery in Padstow and their attempt to trade mark the 'Cornish Pasty' you posted on 08/18/2008.
This appears to be a very interesting development and I would love to read your and other's comments on this topic.

Many kind thanks again for a great comprehensive, informative and interactive site.

Best regards.

#63 - Jimboy - 09/06/2008 - 03:14

Hi,
I live in South Africa and recently I've had many discussions regarding Cornish Pasties and pasty recipes with friends here.
Only last week, I gave them my rough idea of what a basic Cornish pasty recipe is from what I vaguely remember. In this regard, I thank you for your detailed recipe web page and I will certainly forward this on to them as I consider it to be a classic and dare I suggest,'authentic' Cornish Pasty recipe. It looks to be very much in line with the recipe my old Gran and Mum used to make their great tasting pasties in Plymouth, Bristol and Southampton when living in those parts many years ago.
By the way, when I was Somerset - just a few years ago, I bought a couple of hot pasties from a popular bakery in the main shopping area of Welles. I'm open to correction, but I think the bakery was 'The Cornish Pasty Company' and I must say that their pasties were very good.
One problem we have here in South Africa and to the best of my knowledge is the fact that swede is hard to obtain - if at all. Because of this, some folks here use ripened white turnip or carrot as a substitute for swede. The result is ok, but it's not the same. Others here also make them with just the beef, potato & onion filling.
Finally and a lighter note, I have a question: Is a Cornish Pasty considered by some as 'authentic' if it is only made and eaten in Cornwall by Cornish people?
Perhaps there are others out there would like to comment on this.
I would be grateful to read any opinions and views on this etc.
Many thanks.

#62 - Jimboy - 09/06/2008 - 02:27

That is so interesting Norma.The cornish have always been very adventurous.I had relatives who went off to work in diamond mines in South Africa.
I reconise the use of the word chip because that's what we used to say in the family. like you we never chopped or sliced we always chipped!

#61 - Connie - 09/04/2008 - 11:56

My grandparents came to the US with their parents from Cornwall and lived in Pennsylvania until they moved to the Upper Penninsula in Michigan. My greatgrandfather was the first captain of the Ropes Gold Mine.
My mother made pasties all the time, she learned from her grandmother. Mom used "flank steak" which used to be cheap to use. It stays tender and is not fatty. The only other thing she insisted on was that the potatoes be "chipped" not chopped. She also added parsley and since we didn't care for turnip or swede, she substituted carrots. Love pasties. thanks for the recipe.

#60 - Norma - 09/03/2008 - 06:03

I'm so glad that so many of you are interested in the pasty. there is some good news on that front.The Chough Bakery in Padstow is trying to trade mark the Cornish Pasty so that only pasties made in Cornwall from fresh ingredients can actually be called Cornish Pasties.

#59 - Connie, - 08/18/2008 - 12:23

Hello John! Fancy you living "up Poldrea" as we always used to say.We lived in Belmont Street and I went to school in the village until I was 14 and then went to work in Fowey.Do you have any memeories of the pasties, cream and fish? How do you like Canada?

#58 - Connie - 08/18/2008 - 12:20

Hello connie I have just been reading some of the comments. Although I now live in Canada I was born in Tywardreath I lived at#3 Poldrea. I went to School in Fowey.

#57 - John Goyen - 08/16/2008 - 11:58

Hi Connie.
My paternal grandfather came from Co. Cork and worked in the copper mines in Butte, Montana. He and my dad talked about eating the pasties in the mines. My dad would make them when we were kids.

In baking, I was always intimidated by rolling out the dough as the results always seemed happenstance and I didn't know why some crust turned out great, and other crusts didn't.

Your recipe makes it all work out. Today, at 56 yrs. old I made my first consistently good pasties. My two teenagers liked them very much as did my wife who ate two this evening. One of my daughter's friends exclaimed, after eating one from your recipe, that it was better than her mother's pasties.

Best Wishes to you and yours.

Jim Mahoney
Spokane, WA

#56 - Jim Mahoney - 08/03/2008 - 01:24

Wow what can i say, i decided to treat my wife to some nice traditional home cooking. I normally make mexican food but i thought nope i will do something original and pure English. Now we both love cornwall and when ever we come down my wife loves a good cornish pasty. So i really appreciate your recipe i made them exactly how you have and they turned out fantastic.. My wife was over the moon and i was loved !!! haha

Thank you very much
Best wishes and happy long health
Steve

#55 - Steve E - 07/11/2008 - 12:08

Hello, thanks for the pasty recipe. It is so neat for me to see this recipe and recognize it as the same exact ingredients that my family has made for generations, down to the rutabaga!

#54 - Michele McNett - 07/04/2008 - 20:42

Connie

I have made your recipe many, many times and every time they have hit the spot. I make them with half Beef dripping and half butter.
My neighbor is passionate about the "Authentic" Pasty and has been singing their praises for years - insisting NO CARROTS EVER!
He grew up in Plymouth and Cornwall - Now living in Suffolk, for him your pasties come closest to ones his mother made.
I have tried them out on young and old - Everybody who has tasted them has shared their magic and been totally won over - Thank You !

#53 - Ashen Kitchen - 07/04/2008 - 10:15

I've only made pastry where the directions were to cut the butter into the flour until crumbly. Is that the same idea as rubbing the flour into the butter? I'm really excited to try the recipe and didn't want to mess it up right from the start!

#52 - Amelia - 06/16/2008 - 13:12

hi connie thank you so much for sharing your recipe and really thankyou for the step by step pictures makes life easy for people like me ,tomorrow i am going to make your pastys thank you so much my children love pastys.

#51 - ollie - 06/15/2008 - 07:38

My ancestors emigrated from Cornwall to the mines in Grass Valley, CA in the 1800's. Our family pasty recipe uses grated potatoes and no turnips, but is otherwise similar to this. It's wonderful to read about all the other traditions! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us.

#50 - Kristen - 06/09/2008 - 13:32

Hi Connie, I'm going to try your recipe next time I make pasties, I have just made some with a similar recipe but didn't know about the flour to make the gravy, mine were just moist meat and vege bits. I have small children so also made little ones using a saucer, they are easier for them to hold in their hands. Kids love them as something different to 'same old meat pies' Great site!!! Louise.

#49 - Louise, Australia - 05/18/2008 - 22:23

My family originate from Perranporth, and i was always led to believe that a true cornish pasty is made from lamb - usually scrag end, as in cornwall there are many more sheep than cows - the land does not sustain good grazing.
There are also various recipes that invovle putting fruit etc in the pastry, so when the miners ate thier lunch, they started off with the meat and veg and ate along the pasty to thier pudding! I was also lead to believe that the crust was thrown away as it was used to hold the pasty, and therefore got contaminated.

#48 - Mick Hansford - 05/15/2008 - 02:23

Thankyou all so much for your wonderful comments about Cornish Pasties and all your experiences and memories. to think that pasties even inspire poetry! I think it is wonderful that something as humble as a pasty can bring so many people together,
Best wishes,
Connie xx

#47 - Connie - 05/04/2008 - 03:41

Dear Connie,

I am an American resident of Mexico and on a recent trip discovered Cornish Pasties well established in the old mining town of Real del Monte, State of Hidalgo. Cornish miners worked there in the 19th. century and introduced not only pasties, but football, now Mexico's grand sports passion.
The pasties have spread too, and I often buy them in the bus station in Mexico City. After surviving for so long in Mexico it is difficult to find the original version as they have gradually acquired a true Mexican flavor, ie. lots of hot chili. You can find them made with mole, picadillo, frijoles, etc.
If you would like more information, please let me know.

Jerry Davis
#0 -

#46 - Jerry Davis - 05/04/2008 - 03:36

A cousin of mine wrote a poem after watching his mother making pasties so that he could remember for later in life. This was in Hayle, Cornwall.

PS - Like the site!

#45 - Keith - 04/13/2008 - 17:01

I really am so glad that you are all enjoying the Cornish Pasty recipe and having fun making the pasties. It is lovely to think that the recipe is bringing back memories for so many of you.
I still make my pasties and I do love eating them and so does the family!!
Love and best wishes,
Connie xxx

#44 - connie - 04/12/2008 - 11:57

Hi Connie,
I was very excited to find your recipe for Cornish Pasty. It was one of the first things I learnt to make in cookery class years ago! I have since grown up! and moved to Auckland New Zealand and cannot wait to make them for my daughter who is a first generation NZ'er and thinks her mum is a bit quaint to say the least. I am always on the lookout for "English Recipes" from my childhood and have heaps of english cookery books but not one contains "Cornish Pasties" I remember long summer holidays in Cornwall as a child and so making these delicacies will evoke the tastes as well as the memories. Thanks very much - the pictures will help me remember how to make them.

Regards, Jo J, Auckland, New Zealand

#43 - Jo J - 03/31/2008 - 19:12

Thanks for your infomation. It is the same as the way my mother used to make them and it's very similar to the way we used to make them. Now we cut corners because I'm a cornishman and my working wife is Italian and we live in Melbourne Australia and we buy shortcrust pastry which comes in squares and we finish up with rectangle pastys! They taste very nice though.

#42 - Denver - 03/23/2008 - 00:10

Memories in Camborne of an old cast iron stove (the black leaded type) in the kitchen, full of pasties on greaseproof paper on thin iron shelves in the oven, each pasties contents being slightly different and each marked on top with a distinguishing mark for identification purposes. The smell of pasties cooking penetrating all corners of the house and parts of the garden too if the back door was open.

The mining fraternity in Cornwall in the nineteenth century were usually pretty poor and their pasties often contained mutton rather than the more expensive beef.

It was said that a proper pasty was 'one that mother made' and 'twouldn't scat to lembs** if you dropped un down the shaft' (** break into little pieces)

As I understand it, the main reason for the crimping was that the miners often came across !@#$%nic adjacent to tin lodes and often got it on their hands so they ate the pasty by holding the crimping and then threw away the crimping. Probably weren't no rats down them mines !

Many Cornish miners ended up in Michigan and Australia. It was said that, if there was a hole in the ground, you would probably find a Cornishman in it.

Incidentally, I have just made three pasties and put them in plastic bags straight into the freezer. They look ansom !

#41 - Geoff - 03/20/2008 - 14:00

Thankyou going to the effort to print up this recipe and to include the handy photos at strategic points, it made it much easier to memorise.

My mother in law makes them and she is from Cornwall, I couldn't remeber the recipe but I remberered the taste.

Best regards,
Gareth

#40 - Gareth - 01/16/2008 - 09:05

At last I have succeeded in making a proper pasty!
After spending my late teens working for warren's in Penzance I crimped many a pasty but never knew how to make one; especially the pastry!
Now living in Edinburgh I have treated myself and others to a feast!
Thanks for your recipe, I found that a mix of 2/3 lard to 1/3 marge works best!

#39 - stephen corrall - 12/20/2007 - 11:19

I was doing a report on Great Britian for my accelerated class and I decided to make Cornish pasties. Although there are only a few people that are in the class with me, they LOVED it! Thanks for the recipe!

#38 - Brittany - 12/18/2007 - 15:02

As a child I loved Cornish pasties, in spite of being a Devonian! As an expat working abroad in Russia I found time to occupy myself by cooking dishes that I remembered as a child. This is far superior to shop pasties, the pastry is beautiful and I've even made pasties with offal - don't mock it until you've tried it! Thanks again for this wonderful recipe.

#37 - Cooperman - 12/02/2007 - 18:52

I'm not Cornish but wanted to make a genuine Cornish Pasty. I trawled thru' a lot of recipes on-line before I decided to go for yours. It's tasty and reminded me of the Pasties my Husband and I had when we took our children to Cornwall many moons ago. I shall be making these pasties again as they are not only very filling but also very tasty. I have book marked this cite as I'm looking forward to trying many more Cornish recipes. Thanks for the recipe, Maria I.O.W

#36 - maria - 11/23/2007 - 06:24

Hello again Connie,

I made the pasties last night - tasted just like my gran used to make - and the crimping must be in my genes, as it felt natural!!

Thank you for the recipe,
Zo�

#35 - Zoe - 11/01/2007 - 07:48

Dear Connie,

Having tried to get an Ivor Dewdney at lunch time - unsuccessfully - I am going to go home & use your recipe. I am a Cornish Lass myself, but unfortunately, my gran hasn't been able to pass the recipe on to me, so I have never learned! A sorry excuse - which is about to be rectified! Will let you know how I get on!!

#34 - zoe - 10/31/2007 - 08:07

Hi Mary,
I'm really glad that you enjoyed the pasties.
As far as I can make out a rich biscuit dough is made with milk rather than water. Sometimes cornish pasties are made with a richer flaky pastry.

#33 - Connie - 10/30/2007 - 15:01

Dear Connie,

My Grandmother used to make Pasty's when my Dad was a boy. As an adult he would go to her house and beg for her to make them. I don't know where she got her recipe and I never had her recipe. All she ever told me was to use a "rich biscuit dough" for them. I never tried making them until last night after I saw your web site. My husband and I (both in our 70's) enjoyed them so much that they will become a regular treat in our house.

My Grandmother was an Encell and I believe her forebears were glass blowers in Wales. Maybe that's where her recipe came from.

I enjoyed your photos and it made it easy for me to make your Pastys.

I live in North Carolina where nobody has ever heard of them.

Again, Thanks.

#32 - Mary Pope - 10/30/2007 - 09:07

How lovely to hear from you. I actually grew up in Tywardreath and my mother lived there all her life! I think that every family had their own favourite recipe based on previous generations' taste and maybe availability of ingredients. I've got recipes for fish,rabbit and egg pasties but we never made them. I know that a lot of people just don't like swede!

#31 - Connie - 10/28/2007 - 05:53

My dad's favourite meal, which he taught me to make as a child.
It's funny - my husband suggested adding some swede to my pasties, and I resisted making any changes to the recipe that had been passed down to me - now I find out it's traditional!
My great grandparents left Tywardreath in 1868 - their version is not too different though. It contains sliced potatoes and onions and strips of beef and is made/baked two at a time in a pie tin (GGrandma's father did mine in Devon for a few years - maybe that's where the variations came from)

Many thanks!

#30 - Wendy in NC, USA - 10/27/2007 - 21:00

Yes it is possible to make pastry from the following. Just mix to a dough the following.
1cup flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg
a little salt, diet permitting.

#29 - Mary - 10/14/2007 - 09:21

I AM ON A LOW FAT DIET. IS THERE A WAY I COULD MAKE PASTIES USING EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL?

THANKS

#28 - NATHAN CLARK, KENTUCKY, USA - 10/14/2007 - 03:58

Hi Connie,

loved your pictures....and who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks...I've been making pasties for 60 years...from Upper Michigan (big pasty country)..plus an English step grandmother...Don't use turnips only new potatos w/skin,steak, onion, chopped parsley...but never used the rolling pin to hold up other half of the crust...tried it yesterday, and it worked beautifully....my son's request for a Christmas present last year was to teach him, and my 2 grandaughters how to make pasties....this will make it so much easier to teach...my only other variation from yours is to add the butter thru the slits, when I take them out of the oven, and leave them covered for about 5 minutes with a tea towel.....

#27 - adele - 10/07/2007 - 19:18

Just had "my" cornish pasties for our evening meal and thought I would look up a cornish recipe. As my Grandfather, William Chenoweth came to Australia from Gunwalloe in 1890, the Cornish Pasty has always been a favourite with our family. The family recipe finely dices potato, onion, swede and beef, sprinkles with a good serving of worstershire sauce and placed in the pastry. I have never had anyone refuse a Cornish Pasty, they always want more.
Thanks for your recipe.

#26 - Dell Ashcroft - 10/06/2007 - 06:14

heyy peepz...x

wassup ... ?

we love r traditional cornish pastys
THEY ROCK R SOCKS !!!!!

#25 - ceri morgan and beth penrose - 09/28/2007 - 02:52

Hello everyone,
I am so glad that you are all enjoying the pasties and all the wonderful memories that they evoke. It is lovely to think of people all over the world united by the shared experience of their cornish roots.
I would love to see any photos of old Cornwall you may have and share any of your cornish anecdotes.
Very Best Wishes,
Connie.

#24 - Connie - 09/22/2007 - 05:56

my grandfather George Woodland from Selsy UK made pasties, until now I have never been able to make them as he did. Thank you, Connie they are great, regards from Melbourne Australia

#23 - Olive Robbins - 09/21/2007 - 01:11

My Grandfather, Albert Kitchener Caldon
was from Cornwall, England and this was and still is a family favorite!!

Sincerely,
Shari L. Caldon
Aiken, South Carolina
United States of America

#22 - Shari Caldon - 09/13/2007 - 09:00

Dear Doug,

thankyou for your comment. Did you mean seasoned pudding which is basically a suet pudding filled with steak and kidney or did the pudding that you remeber have a different sort of filling? Let me know and I'll see if I can find a recipe.

Best Wishes,

Connie

#21 - Connie - 08/31/2007 - 14:04

Dear Jane,

thanks for your comment and I hope that you enjoy making the pasties. You can freeze the pasties but I have only ever done so once they have been fully cooked.

Best Wishes,

Connie

#20 - Connie - 08/31/2007 - 14:03

I was brought up on Cornish pasties, your recipe is great.
You don't happen to have one for Steam Pudding - my mother used to make it and it was so good.

Doug

#19 - Doug P - 08/26/2007 - 18:38

Hi Connie,

first thankyou for sharing your recipe - I have wonderful memories of homemade 'Tiddy Oggies' from my holidays down there as a child, and am looking forward to making some myself.

I love to batch bake though - and wondered if you can freeze these, and if so, do I have to cook them first?

Thanks, Jane (Lancashire)

#18 - Jane - 08/23/2007 - 09:30

I live in Seattle now (since August 2000) but still make pasties when I get homesick. I was asked to give a favourite recipe at the office and found your site. Thanks so much for the photo's, they really help illustrate the recipe!
Regards, Chrissy L, Seattle, Washington

#17 - Chrissy - 08/07/2007 - 10:11

I'm really glad that you enjoyed making the pasties. The horseradish sounds like a good idea - I might try it myself. You can put just about anything into pasties so keep experimenting!
Have a lovely school holiday,
Best wishes from Connie.

#16 - Connie - 08/03/2007 - 10:48

Dear Connie,
This morning, we were looking into recipes we could make for supper. We suddenly were inspired to make cornish pasties. We were very enthusiastic about this project since all four of us lived in Cornwall a few years ago. We are currently 14 and 17 years old and are not residents anymore. Our time in Cornwall was quite pleasent and this dish is one of our best memories. Searching on the internet we found your recipe , bought the ingredients quite quickly and executed your fabulous recipe. It was actually not as hard as we imagined and the result was marvellous. We thank you so much. You may be scandilized to hear that we substituted swede for horseraddish, but the thing is we are currently visiting France and it was impossible to find swede at the local Super U. Thank you again, we greatly appreciated all of your help throughout this procedure.
Cheers,
Emilie and Elisabeth: Canada
Lucy and Elsa: Devon
XX XX XX

#15 - Emilie,Elsa,Lucy and Elisabeth - 08/02/2007 - 11:51

This is a wonderful recipe. My grampa came from Cornwall in 1906. I learned these pasties from my gramma. She made them for years to sell at GM plants in Flint Michigan. So glad to see the crimping----I am so BAD at it---but yours look great. One thing's different---we always mix all the ingredients--(guts)---together. Thanks alot.

#14 - Marcia Eddy - 07/23/2007 - 16:37

Thank you for your recipe. Waldport, Oregon

#13 - Ted Hunt - 07/21/2007 - 10:57

In OUR Treloar family recipe, the raw potatoes are sliced 1/4" thick and placed down first onto the pastry. The potato aborbs all the juices and therefore keeps the base of pastie dry. The raw topside meat,onions and turnips S&P a little chopped bacon fat and a sprinkle of Plain flour are placed on top.
The pasties were originally made the width
of a miners shirt pocket in which he would place the pastie ready for " smoko ". For a two course meal he would eat the other end which would be filled with apple or raisins as a sweet treat.

#12 - Margaret Treloar Aust - 07/21/2007 - 05:40

Another bit of pasty folklore- the thick crust made by the crimped edge of the pasty was used by the grime encrusteed tin miners as a handle to avoid eating to much dirt and then donated to the 'Knockers' or spirits of old miners.

#11 - Martin C - 07/05/2007 - 04:41

Much Thanks. Wonderful recipe, the instructions are faultless. And the results were spectacular. What a treat. I can't wait to have my grandchildren over and show them how to make a pasty.

#10 - Jerry K - 06/27/2007 - 11:49

My husband, myself and our daughters lived in Cambridgeshire County for 4 years (and times wish we were still there). Our oldest daughter has wanted a Cornish Pasty recipe for such a long time and I just wasn't happy with any that I had found until now. Thank you so very much from America...we miss that part of the world so very much...and this will help bring back alot of memories for us. Thank you again.

#9 - Maggie R. - 06/24/2007 - 22:32

Absolutely delicious. Worked a treat.

Thank and bless you, Connie.

#8 - Stephen Stokoe - 06/22/2007 - 11:57

I�m a good old traditional english man living in Denmark, I have made a few pasties from this recipe, the Danes love them, and I love to make them some traditional english food. so Tak (thanks) from this end.

#7 - Antony Billingham - 06/22/2007 - 07:45

They do say that the cornish will put anything into a pasty! In the past many other fillings have been used such as fish, rabbit, chicken etc and as you say there were even double-ended ones, savoury at one end and sweet at the other (jam or any fruit could be used). There are similar traditional "packed lunches"in other areas for example,the Bedfordshire Clanger, a suet roll with savoury mince in one end and jam or fruit in the other.

#6 - Jon - 06/15/2007 - 09:05

My mum whose name is Carhart and from Cornwall said a Cornish pasty had two fillings One end of the pasty with meat, the other with apple so the miners would have a full meal.

#5 - Jennifer Hawkins - 06/14/2007 - 02:10

thankyou for recipe. ive just made them and they are great. thanx again

#4 - pipsy - 06/03/2007 - 06:22

I first heard of the Cornish Pasty when I was in my early teen years, but didn't try one untill I met my current wife, a first generation Canadian born to British parents. She got me hooked, and since then, every time we visit a bakery I diligently look for pasties. We are headed to Britain this summer, and I will no doubt scour the country in search of the perfect pasty, but untill then thank you for posting your recipe (and the small history lesson that accompanies). This my be just enough to get me through!

#3 - Joel - 05/04/2007 - 09:39

Hi,
Thanks for that recipe and the steps that you use it has helped and i came from devon, and now live in Australia and they have never herd of pasties so i have to show them.

thanks once again.

#2 - Thomas - 05/04/2007 - 09:37

My Grandparents heralded from Cornwall and i have a passion in the blood for the pasties, so many thanks for what is a great recipe, i look forward to many great Pasties being created at last by my hands
Regards Mick H

#1 - Mick - 04/23/2007 - 10:00

Hey,

just wanted to say thanks for the pasty recipe! I have visited Cornwall a couple of times and fell in love with the pasty while there. ;-) I'm looking forward to trying your recipe asap!
Regards, John M, Ontario

#0 - John M - 04/14/2007 - 14:07


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