Best pies

[SuspectUsual]

Inspired by the mention of pies in the fish and chips thread…..

I’m thinking primarily of individual rather than family sized pies, and to my mind a pie is entirely encased in pastry, not some sort of “stew with a lid”

Pies I love…..

Steak and ale from Kitsons butchers in Northallerton. Proper big lumps of meat and a rich, tasty gravy. Marvellous

Beef brisket and pancetta ragu pie from Yorkshire Handmade Pies. “Well spenny” as my kids would say but worth every penny

 

[bearhugger]

Petch's pies from the Petch Butchers on Great Ayton, North Yorkshire. Also we I went to Belper for a football match, their grounds food shack sold a really nice pie too, full of steak pieces & not just enough gravy in them.

 

[nlogax]

The pies from Lochinver Larder are top notch. Their popularity has grown over the years and nothing beats sitting on the deck beside the loch eating a pork, manchego & chorizo pie while the sun sets, that is if you can beat the NC500 crowd.

 

[dangie]

Unfortunately nowhere near to where I live but Higginsons Butchers in Grange Over Sands make wonderful pies.

 

[ChrisC]

The pies from Lochinver Larder are top notch. Their popularity has grown over the years and nothing beats sitting on the deck beside the loch eating a pork, manchego & chorizo pie while the sun sets, that is if you can beat the NC500 crowd.

I’m pleased to hear it’s still going. I remember the pies from Lochinver Larder from almost 30 years ago when I had a few holidays at Clashnessie a few miles north of there on the coast road. It was so lovely and quiet up there before the NC500.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Any pie from Lathams in Preston. Sadly they may be going out of business because I would love to try them one last time when I am home.

 

[davehsug]

The homemade steak puddings from Bispham Kitchen in Blackpool are the best there is. Their Steak pies are pretty darned good too!

 

[Bevan Price]

Burchall's pork pies (St. Helens)

 

[Jimini]

Sweeney & Todd in Reading. Legendary in RG1!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I rather like Greenhalgh's, the little craft bakers in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. There's one in Salford, one in Wigan, and I believe one in Leyland too.

 

[GusB]

not some sort of “stew with a lid”

Can we put this silly argument to bed now? A pie does not need to be fully enclosed in pastry - fish pie, cottage pie and shepherds pies are not so enclosed but they're still pies.

A stew with a pastry top is still a pie.

 

[52290]

I rather like Greenhalgh's, the little craft bakers in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. There's one in Salford, one in Wigan, and I believe one in Leyland too.

There's certainly one here in Leyland on Hough Lane, also one in Preston on Fishergate and one in Chorley on Chapel Street. The company are based in Bolton. I recommend their pea and ham soup with its large chunks of ham and thick peas.

 

[dangie]

…..A stew with a pastry top is still a pie.

In cooking theory maybe yes, but in eating reality no. The contents need to be surrounded by pastry, definitely shortcrust.

I love meat pies. However when we eat out if there’s meat pie on the menu I’ll ask what pastry it has. If shortcrust then I’ll have it, if puff then definitely no.

Note: Having said this I do occasionally go against both these statements. I like Frey Bentos Minced Beef & Onion Pies. They only have a pastry top, and it’s puff pastry as well. So it’s do as I say, not do as I do

 

[Halwynd]

I rather like Greenhalgh's, the little craft bakers in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. There's one in Salford, one in Wigan, and I believe one in Leyland too.

I used to like Greenhalgh's too, but in Wigan they now only have one tiny shop not much bigger than a kiosk, the staff are a bit moody and the pies don't seems as good as they once where. I reckon Galloway's Bakers are superior - they do a cracking deep-fill chunky steak, delicious, and the staff are nice and friendly too.

In Preston, I used to go to Round & Son at Deepdale, very popular with the locals. Proper homebake pies from a shop in a terrace row. They didn't come with a foil case and were wrapped up in newspaper.

 

[DerekC]

Genuinely home made steak & kidney pie prepared by Pete, the landlord at the Hare & Hound, Waytown, Dorset. Melt in the mouth shortcrust pastry, juicy meat & tasty gravy. A nice big slice out of a really big pie. I have tasted nothing like it anywhere else. Sadly he retired a couple of years ago. ☹️

 

[Vinnym]

The Rural Pie Co. In Twyford, Berks, do lovely pies.

 

[randyrippley]

Can we put this silly argument to bed now? A pie does not need to be fully enclosed in pastry - fish pie, cottage pie and shepherds pies are not so enclosed but they're still pies.

A stew with a pastry top is still a pie.

No it's not
A pie is something you can pick up with your fingers, hold and bite without needing cutlery.
You can't do that with a stew with a pastry top.
Just because pretentious chefs may have appropriated the name, it doesn't mean the usage is correct.

 

[bspahh]

Can we put this silly argument to bed now? A pie does not need to be fully enclosed in pastry - fish pie, cottage pie and shepherds pies are not so enclosed but they're still pies.

A stew with a pastry top is still a pie.

Sure. It doesn't mean that a bowl of superheated stew topped with a 3 inch thick layer of puff pasty is a nice pie.

 

[PeterC]

In Bucks both Gerry Martin in Chesham and Block & Butcher in Wendover make excellent pies in house.

Not individual pies but the best that I have had in a pub is steak and Stilton at the Alma Arms in Navestock near Brentwood. That is cut from a proper pie although some of their others are the topped variety.but all made in the pub kitchen.

 

[DarloRich]

your favourite pie shop will be the best!

We all know that the best pie is the football pie: 3mm superheated/super chilled grey " meat" sludge within pastry so tough a tank shell would bounce off it!

 

[gg1]

Pieminister pies are rather good, both from their restaurants and the ones they sell in supermarkets.

 

[Ediswan]

No it's not
A pie is something you can pick up with your fingers, hold and bite without needing cutlery.
You can't do that with a stew with a pastry top.
Just because pretentious chefs may have appropriated the name, it doesn't mean the usage is correct.

The term 'pie' covers a multitude of styles. Shepherd's pie ?

 

[Broucek]

Apparently, some rail enthusiasts are as pedantic about construction of pies as they are about other things (e.g. "train" station)

I'll get my coat....

 

[nlogax]

I’m pleased to hear it’s still going. I remember the pies from Lochinver Larder from almost 30 years ago when I had a few holidays at Clashnessie a few miles north of there on the coast road. It was so lovely and quiet up there before the NC500.

They seem to be thriving and now they offer full mainland UK delivery of all their pies at PiesByPost.

Clashnessie is a fine place to eat a pies, absolutely beautiful up there.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

The homemade steak puddings from Bispham Kitchen in Blackpool are the best there is. Their Steak pies are pretty darned good too!

I have had one of those! Yes, pretty damned good. Take a walk to the end of the illuminations to work up an appetite and have one of those with chips. Heaven.

 

[sprunt]

I rather like Greenhalgh's, the little craft bakers in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. There's one in Salford, one in Wigan, and I believe one in Leyland too.

There's nothing little about them these days - they've got nearly 60 shops of their own and a big wholesale network selling into all kinds of other places.

 

[TheTallOne]

The winner is this one, with a pint of beer too!

The Fleur De Lys | Lowsonford

You might know the Fleur De Lys for its pies, or its beautiful beer garden on the banks of the Stratford Canal, or for its fine pints of exemplary ale.

www.thefleur.co.uk

You might know the Fleur De Lys for its pies, or its beautiful beer garden on the banks of the Stratford Canal, or for its fine pints of exemplary ale. The Fleur is many things to many people but, for us, it’s home.

 

[youngiecj]

Project Pies in Carlton near Nottingham are probably the best ive had. Often sell out, last time I went there was a massive queue!

More locally to me Dunham Butchers and Boston sausage are superb as well. Particularly the Boston Sausage Pie.

 

[507021]

No it's not
A pie is something you can pick up with your fingers, hold and bite without needing cutlery.
You can't do that with a stew with a pastry top.
Just because pretentious chefs may have appropriated the name, it doesn't mean the usage is correct.

Absolutely agree. If my partner decided she was going to start calling me Keith instead of my actual name, it doesn't mean I am one.

To answer the question, the best meat pie I've ever had was from The Farmhouse Kitchen in Southport.

 

[randyrippley]

Morecambe Football club are consistently one of the best

Morecambe Football Club Chicken and Ham Pie

A trip to Morecambe Football Club to review their award winning Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie

goodpieguide.co.uk

Pies and football go together hand in hand, but football is big business these days. This means that many clubs go down the route of using one of a handful of big pie manufacturers to fulfil their catering services, which does mean that football pies can be a touch overpriced and generic at many places.

One football club that has bucked that trend for a long time is Morecambe Football Club. As I understand it, stewardship of the all important job of baking the pies has changed hands a few times over they years, but they have always been bloody goo

They even got a session on one of the Hairy Bikers shows