Cornish Pasties

Ingredients

• 1 package (2 crusts) refrigerated pie dough, or a double batch of homemade dough
• 1 lb beef skirt or chuck, diced small, 2 diced potatoes, 1 diced rutabaga or turnip, 1 diced onion, salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Cook the filling in a skillet until the meat is browned and any vegetables are softened; season well and let cool slightly.
3. Roll out the dough and cut into 5- to 6-inch rounds.
4. Spoon the filling onto one half of each round, fold over, and crimp the edges shut with a fork.
5. Arrange on the prepared sheet, brush with the egg wash, and bake for 20–25 minutes until deep golden brown.
6. Serve warm.

The Tale of Cornish Pasties

Story updated September 19, 2026

The pasty is recorded in southwest England from at least the 13th century, when it was food of the wealthy rather than of laborers. By the 17th and 18th centuries it had become the classic meal of Cornwall's tin and copper miners: meat and vegetables sealed in a sturdy pastry crust, portable, filling, and able to stay warm for hours underground. A popular tale says miners held the thick crimped edge with dirty, arsenic-dusted hands and threw it away, though this is folklore. As Cornish mining declined in the 1870s and 80s, emigrant miners carried the pasty abroad, notably to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where it remains a regional specialty.