How do you make Pie mash and liquer the east end way?

Question

How do you make Pie mash and liquer the east end way?

Answer 1

Pie Mash and Liquor

  Serves 4

  Ingredients - Pie Filling

500g ground mince

1 red onion finely chopped

Salt and Black Pepper

50ml of Beef Stock

Dash Worcester sauce

100ml red wine or beer

4 tsp cornflour

  Ingredients - Shortcrust Pastry

8oz plain flour

2oz butter

2oz Lard

4 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

  Ingredients - Suet Pastry

12oz self raising flour

8oz Beef suet (Atora is fine)

Salt and black pepper

4 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

  Ingredients - Liquor

400ml Chicken stock

2 tbsp Arrow root

4 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

4 Tbsp potato water

  Method

Filling

Fry the onion in a little oil until softened, add the mince and cook through. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir in well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to cool.

Pie Bottom

The pie bottom is suet based. Sift the the flour and mix with the suet in a big bowl, season and stir in with a knife ( a fish knife works very well ) then mix in the water till moist but still a solid mass. Roll out to about 2mm thickness.

Pastry top

For the pastry top make the shortcrust pastry. Combine all ingredients in a food processor add enough water to allow the pastry to roll without splitting. Roll out to 2mm thick.

Assemble pies

Ideally you will serve individual pies but you will be constrained by the utensils you have. I use a muffin tray which doesn't produce pie and mash shop shaped pies but work very well. butter the dishes well, line with the suet pastry. Fill with the mince meat and top with the shortcrust pastry. Cover with a damp cloth and leave until ready to bake. Bake in a Water bath or bain marie in the oven so the suet base is steamed and the top is crisply baked. The cooking time will depend on the pie sizes somewhat but around 20-30 minutes should be enough at 180 degrees. Cook your mash as you like, traditional pie and mash shop mash is pure potato, no butter or milk but remember this is traditional East and South London working class food so it was made cheaply, it can be improved on (though diehard fans wills insist on making it like it was!). The liquor is made by melting the butter in a pan, add the arrowroot, stir in the stock, the water from the boiled potatoes, parsley and vinegar, if it goes lumpy use a hand processor to blend smooth. You can use cornflour instead of arrowroot but arrowroot thickens with a clearer finish and is more authentic. Serve with Malt vinegar as an accompaniment and hot jellied eels if you can find them, if you do, add the jelly to to the liquor for a final authentic touch.

Answer 2

Jasmine is quite right,the liquor is always made with eel stock and parsley,certainly not peas.Wish we had a Manzies near here,I wouldn,t be out of the place!

Answer 3

Sainsbury do a decent frozen one,but they are a bit small...you'll need 2.

Answer 4

Pie Mash and Liquor

  Serves 4

  Ingredients - Pie Filling

500g ground mince

1 red onion finely chopped

Salt and Black Pepper

50ml of Beef Stock

Dash Worcester sauce

100ml red wine or beer

4 tsp cornflour

  Ingredients - Shortcrust Pastry

8oz plain flour

2oz butter

2oz Lard

4 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

  Ingredients - Suet Pastry

12oz self raising flour

8oz Beef suet (Atora is fine)

Salt and black pepper

4 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

  Ingredients - Liquor

400ml Chicken stock

2 tbsp Arrow root

4 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

4 Tbsp potato water

  Method

Filling

Fry the onion in a little oil until softened, add the mince and cook through. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir in well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to cool.

Pie Bottom

The pie bottom is suet based. Sift the the flour and mix with the suet in a big bowl, season and stir in with a knife ( a fish knife works very well ) then mix in the water till moist but still a solid mass. Roll out to about 2mm thickness.

Pastry top

For the pastry top make the shortcrust pastry. Combine all ingredients in a food processor add enough water to allow the pastry to roll without splitting. Roll out to 2mm thick.

Assemble pies

Ideally you will serve individual pies but you will be constrained by the utensils you have. I use a muffin tray which doesn't produce pie and mash shop shaped pies but work very well. butter the dishes well, line with the suet pastry. Fill with the mince meat and top with the shortcrust pastry. Cover with a damp cloth and leave until ready to bake. Bake in a Water bath or bain marie in the oven so the suet base is steamed and the top is crisply baked. The cooking time will depend on the pie sizes somewhat but around 20-30 minutes should be enough at 180 degrees. Cook your mash as you like, traditional pie and mash shop mash is pure potato, no butter or milk but remember this is traditional East and South London working class food so it was made cheaply, it can be improved on (though diehard fans wills insist on making it like it was!). The liquor is made by melting the butter in a pan, add the arrowroot, stir in the stock, the water from the boiled potatoes, parsley and vinegar, if it goes lumpy use a hand processor to blend smooth. You can use cornflour instead of arrowroot but arrowroot thickens with a clearer finish and is more authentic. Serve with Malt vinegar as an accompaniment and hot jellied eels if you can find them, if you do, add the jelly to to the liquor for a final authentic touch.

Answer 5

Ok - an eastend girl talking now ..... the pie is generally a steak & kidney or a mince with onions cooked in a short crust pastry (top and bottom)... the mash is mashed potatoes with butter and milk (mashed until they're really soft and no lumps) ... and the liquor is made from cooking peas in some boiling water until they're really soft and starting  to melt down .... the liquor is what's drained off from the cooked peas with some salt and vinegar added (check this as you go - you don't want too much) and then poured over the mash and pie.....

Answer 6

Don't know where Ziggy comes from but it ain't the east end of London - that liquor is made from a weak parsley sauce, and THAT'S made from the water the eels have been cooked in used 50/50 with milk to make a thin white sauce (i.e. with flour and butter as normal) to which some chopped parsley is added.