Hearty Lancashire Hotpot Recipe

England is famous for its location-specific dishes. From Eccles cakes to Chelsea buns to Cornish pasties, it seems that everywhere in England has some sort of food associated with it, especially so when it comes to meat pies. Did you know that, according to the Guinness World Records, the most expensive meat pie in the world comes from Lancashire, England? Thankfully, the traditional way of making Lancashire hotpot, a specific type of potato-topped pie, is more affordable, and Tasting Table recipe developer Jennine Rye shares her fail-safe recipe for this hearty Northern English favorite.

The traditional meat for Lancashire hotpot is lamb, and while it may be a more expensive protein than chicken or beef, this dish uses lesser prized and often cheaper cuts of lamb. That's because the recipe calls for the meat to be stewed for a long time, which allows for the connective tissues in these tougher cuts of meat to break down, making the lamb mouthwateringly rich and tender. With its warming gravy and crispy potato lid, Lancashire hotpot — like many British comfort foods — will put the heat back in your bones on a long winter's night, and because it contains meat, potatoes and veg, it serves very nicely as an all-in-one meal. So why not put on your clogs and your flat cap and give this Lancashire hotpot a try?

To begin this recipe for hearty Lancashire hotpot, you will need to gather the ingredients. First, you want to source the lamb. There are a couple of lamb cuts you can choose for this recipe. Shoulder, thigh, or neck will all work nicely — just make sure the meat is nice and fatty with plenty of connective tissue. Thanks to the stewing process, these will add flavor and tenderness to the dish. To increase the rich, gamey flavor of the hotpot, you will also want lamb liver (or kidneys if you prefer).

You'll also need cooking oil, an onion, and some carrots. For the gravy, you'll want stock, fresh thyme, a bay leaf, and some Worcestershire sauce, as well as flour to thicken it. Lastly, you'll need potatoes for the top, as well as some butter to make them golden and crispy. 

The first step is to brown the lamb. Rather than adding the meat straight into the stock to cook, you'll want to fry the meat separately first. This is to allow a process called the Maillard reaction to take place, altering the proteins of the meat and helping to release the deliciously rich and caramelized umami flavors of the lamb, making the resulting dish super tasty.

This recipe also calls for lamb liver, which you'll brown the same way as the rest of the meat. An inexpensive, protein-rich, and powerfully flavored cut of meat, lamb liver is a wonderful ingredient addition in this dish. However, if you don't enjoy the flavor of liver or can't get ahold of any, feel free to just substitute this ingredient for a little more lamb stew meat.

Next up, it's time to assemble the ingredients of the stew. Remove the lamb from the pan, then add in the veggies and sauté them for a few minutes. Once they take on some color, return the lamb to the pan and stir in the flour — this will serve to thicken the resulting stew. Add in the bay leaf and the fresh thyme before pouring in the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Give the ingredients in the pan a stir, then put the lid on the pan and leave the stew to simmer for roughly 20 minutes. 

While the stew is happily simmering away, it is time to turn your attention to the potatoes. Start by peeling them, then slice them into thin discs. You can use a knife for this, although a mandolin will make the job far quicker and give you a uniformity of thickness that would make a professional chef proud. Whichever method you choose, once the potatoes are sliced it's time to layer them on top of the lamb stew in an overlapping pattern to create a "lid." There are a variety of ways to do this; some swear by adding a layer of potatoes to the bottom of the cooking pot before putting the meat on top and adding a second layer of potatoes on top, or you may choose to stick to just one layer on the top.

Brush the potato topping liberally with melted butter and then bake the hotpot in the oven for 1 ½ hours. The idea is to cook it slowly over a long period of time to allow the flavors time to infuse and the lamb to tenderize. In order to prevent the potatoes from browning too soon while everything cooks, keep the whole thing covered for the first hour. Then, remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes to let the potatoes get lovely and brown.

This hearty Lancashire hotpot can be served as a standalone meal, or you can make a simple side of peas or broccoli to add an element of freshness to this comforting English classic. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, and use within 3 days.