How Far Would You Go For A Forfar Bridie?

Unless you are from somewhere near the town of Forfar in Scotland you, like me until last week, will probably never have heard of a Forfar Bridie. Friends of mine who have lived in Perth Western Australia for at least the forty years I have known them, but originally from Forfar, posted on social media a photo of their attempt at making Forfar Bridies. The attempt was brought about by them not being able to get back to the hometown in Scotland to satisfy their craving.

The term Bridie evidently comes form the tradition of serving Forfar Bridies at wedding receptions .

My curiosity was aroused and a Google search quickly informed me that the Forfar Bridie is a meat filled type of pasty unique to the town of Forfar. Naturally I had to try making some!

Ingredients

500g beef mince

1 small onion grated

1 tsp mustard powder

40g butter softened

60ml beef stock

10gm salt (1 teaspoon)

generous grinding of black pepper

2 sheets of shortcrust pastry or an equal quantity of your preferred shortcrust or one quantity of sourdough shortcrust pastry here

1 beaten egg for glazing

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan forced).

Place all ingredients down to the the black pepper in a bowl and mix together well.

Cut each sheet of pastry in half and trim the corners to make two oval shapes approximately 12.5cm by 25cm or roll out your pastry to about the same size and 3mm thick. This will give you the traditional shape for the Forfar Bridie. Mine shown above were made from a round of pastry and therefore not the traditional shape. Don't be too phased by the shape; its's all about the taste!

Lay out the four pieces of pastry with one short side of each facing you. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg.

Divide the meat mixture into four and place a portion on the half of each piece of pastry closest to you then fold the rear half over to enclose the filling. Press the edges of the pastry firmly then crimp them by pinching with your fingers or pressing with a fork to ensure the edges are fully sealed.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the Bridies on the tray.

Brush with beaten egg.

With a sharp knife make an 8mm hole in the top of each pastry to allow steam to escape.

Place in the oven and bake for around 30 minutes until golden. Yum!