The ingredients for a meat pasty must be raw – you cannot use any cooked left-overs from a joint. The best type of meat is sirloin skirt because it has fat running through it and this makes it tender.
THIS QUANTITY OF PASTRY
MAKES 3–4 PASTIES
225 g (8 oz) rough puff pastry (see here)
TO EACH PASTY
100 g (4 oz) raw meat
3 medium-sized potatoes
1 small onion
milk
salt and pepper
Roll out pastry about 5 mm (¼ inch) thick and use a plate to cut out a circle of about 15 cm (6 inches) diameter. Chop the meat finely, peel and thinly slice the potato and onion. Put the potato slices in the middle of the pastry; cover with the meat and sliced onion. Season well. Moisten the edge of the pastry with a little water and bring edges up across the filling. Pinch together firmly.
To make the crinkle, hold the edges of pastry firmly with the first finger and thumb of the left hand, then twist the edges over each other with the right hand until they are firmly joined. You should have an oblong object, like a closed purse.
Brush over with milk and put on to a greased flat tin. Bake at 230°C (450°F) Gas 8 for the first 20 minutes then lower temperature to 190°C (375°F) Gas 5 and bake for a further half an hour.