Liver, Bacon & Guinness Pasties

Directions

1. Make the pastry: Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl, then rub in the cubes of butter and lard into the flour mix with your fingertips until combined. Add 180ml chilled water through with a spatula or wooden spoon, to bring the mix together into a rough ball. Turn the mix out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough feels soft and elastic.

2. Rest and chill the pastry: Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with clingfilm, then leave to rest in the fridge for 2 hours.

3. Prepare the livers: Toss the cubed livers in the flour with some salt and pepper to season. Set aside in the fridge.

4. Fry the bacon and onions: Melt the 20g butter in a pan, then add the sliced bacon and fry until the fat starts to render. Then add the thinly sliced onions and cook until they are starting to soften and have some colour.

5. Add the other ingredients: First the tomato paste, then the Worcestershire sauce, then the herbs, then some salt and pepper to season. Pour over the beef stock and the Guinness, then simmer the stew on medium heat for 20 minutes, until it begins to thicken.

6. Fry the liver: When the pastry has about half an hour of chilling remaining, add the drizzle of olive oil to a pan and fry the floured livers on high heat, tossing regularly, until they are lightly browned all over, 2-3 minutes. Then add the livers into the stew and stir to combine. Take the stew off the heat and leave aside for half an hour to chill until the pastry is ready to be rolled out.

7. Preheat the oven: To 190°C

8. Make the pasties: Take the chilled dough out of the fridge and cut it into six even pieces with a sharp knife. Then roll out each piece of dough until it is no more than 5mm thick. Cut out a circle that is about 18cm in diameter from each piece of dough (a side plate is normally this size, so that is what we used!)

9. Fill the pasties: Place three generous spoonfuls of filling into the centre of the circle, then fold the dough over to create the classic Cornish Pasty half-moon shape.

10. Crimp the pasties: Wet your finger in some tap water and draw a line around the edge of the pasty to stick together the dough. Move across the pastry folding the dough over your thumb, crimping the dough until the filling is fully sealed into the pasty and the characteristic rope-like crimp is visible in the pastry. Generously brush some of the beaten egg over the top of each pasty.

11. Bake the pasties: Place them on a parchment-lined baking tray, making sure each pasty isn’t touching any others, otherwise they can fuse in the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the pasties are golden and their bottoms are perfectly crisp.