Scotch pie

Scotch pie
Alternative names	Mutton pie, shell pie, mince pie, football pie
Type	Meat pie
Place of origin	Scotland
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Mutton or other meat, hot water crust pastry
Cookbook:Scotch pie  Scotch pie

The same pie, partially eaten

A Scotch pie or mutton pie is a small, double-crust meat pie filled with minced mutton or other meat.^[1] It may also be known as a shell pie or mince pie (although the latter term is ambiguous) to differentiate it from other varieties of savoury pie, such as the steak pie, steak and kidney pie, steak-and-tattie (potato) pie, and so forth. The Scotch pie is believed to originate in Scotland, but can be found in other parts of the United Kingdom, and is widely sold all over Canada. They are often sold alongside other types of hot food in football grounds, traditionally accompanied by a drink of Bovril, resulting in the occasional reference to football pies.

The traditional filling of mutton is often highly spiced with pepper and other ingredients and is placed inside a shell of hot water crust pastry. An individual piemaker's precise recipe, including the types and quantities of spice used, is usually kept a close secret, for fear of imitations. It is baked in a round, straight-sided tin, about 8 cm in diameter and 4 cm high, and the top "crust" (which is soft) is placed about 1 cm lower than the rim to make a space for adding accompaniments such as mashed potatoes, baked beans, brown sauce, gravy or an egg.

Scotch pies are often served hot by take-away restaurants and bakeries, and at outdoor events. The hard crust of the pie enables it to be eaten by hand with no wrapping. Typically there is a round hole of about 7.5mm in the centre of the top crust, which has given rise to the colloquial name 'chimney pie' in Scotland.

Every year, the Scotch Pie Club holds the World Scotch Pie Championship. Butchers and bakers enter their pies into this competition, and the maker of the pie judged tastiest by a panel of judges is awarded the title of World Scotch Pie Champion.

See also

• Rabbit pie
• List of lamb dishes
• Food portal

References

British pies Sweet Apple pie Bakewell tart Banoffee pie Bedfordshire clanger Black bun Custard tart Manchester tart Mince pie Rhubarb pie Treacle tart Savoury Bacon and egg pie Bedfordshire clanger Bridie Butter pie Chicken and mushroom pie Corned beef pie Cornish pasty Cottage pie Cumberland pie Curry pie Devizes pie Fish pie Game pie Homity pie Killie pie Meat and potato pie Melton Mowbray pork pie Pork pie Scotch pie Shepherd's Pie Squab pie Stargazy pie Steak pie Steak and kidney pie Steak and oyster pie Woolton pie Manufacturers Clark's Pies Dickinson & Morris Fray Bentos Ginsters Higgidy Holland's Pies Mr Kipling Peter's Poole's Pork Farms Pukka Pies Shire Foods Square Pie Wall's Wrights Pies