A Forfar bridie is a popular Scottish creation that isn’t quite as famous as Cornish pasties, but if you ask me, they win the prize for the tastier of the two!
Have you ever heard of a bridie? Unless you’re from Scotland, or possibly the UK, I’d place a bet that you haven’t, and that’s such a shame! Let’s change that, shall we?
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What is a Bridie? (or a Forfar Bridie?)
A Scottish Forfar bridie is a meat and onion filled pastry that is popular in Scotland. The traditional and authentic Forfar version uses shortcrust pastry, however, bridies are often made with flaky pastry in Scotland. In the US and Canada, it would be referred to as a handheld meat pie.
What is a Bridie in Scotland?
A tasty meat and onion filled pastry that is often eaten by hand and sold in bakeries and cafes.
What’s the Difference Between a Forfar Bridie and a Cornish Pasty?
The main difference is in the filling. While a bridie only contains pieces of beef and onion, a pasty also includes potatoes and swede, or turnip or rutabaga (depending on where you live, it is known by different names.) Although both authentic versions use shortcrust pastry, the crimping style of finishing the edge is different, and as noted above, bridies often are made with flaky pastry.
What is a Forfar? 😂
I am adding this question as people are searching for the answer on Google! Forfar is not a thing, but a place! Forfar is a town in Scotland, not too far from Dundee (Dundee Cake recipe coming soon!) Forfar bridies are simply the same as the aforementioned Dundee Cake, a dish from a place, just like St. Louis style ribs.
Although the ingredients are rather similar, Scottish sausage rolls taste quite different than Forfar bridies. Why not make both and compare for yourself?
Scottish Sausage Rolls Recipe
Forfar Bridie Recipe
Adapted from Rampant Scotland and Traditional Scottish Cookery Cookbook Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (mince) or chopped lean, organic beef, cut into 1/2″ pieces (1 cm)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 oz butter (about 2 Tbsp) cut into small pieces, or shredded suet
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
- 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp beef stock (I use water and Oxo beef cube)
- 1 lb flaky pastry or puff pastry (I used Trader Joe’s puff pastry for the bridies in the photos) Note: shortcrust pastry is the authentic option.
Oven temperature to start: 450ËšF (230ËšC)
Put all of the ingredients, except for the pastry, into a large bowl and mix well, preferably with your hands.
Divide the pastry and meat mixture into six equal portions. Roll or cut (if using puff pastry) each piece of pastry into an oval or circle about six inches in diameter, and about quarter of an inch thick.
Place some of the bridie mixture in the middle of the pastry.
Wet the edge of the pastry with water, then fold over to seal.
Seal the edge of the pastry with a fork.
Place the finished bridies onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone sheet or piece of parchment paper. Cut a small slit or two in the top then brush with an egg white wash (slightly beat an egg white with half a teaspoon of water.)
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 450ËšF (230ËšC) for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350ËšF (180ËšC) and cook for another 35 to 40 minutes until they are golden brown. If they start to get too brown, cover with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and if not eating them right away, place on a metal cooling rack.
Serve hot, with a generous amount of HP Sauce! and chips (as in chunky fries) and Heinz beans. Thanks to Rona B. from Forfar who told me that they’re traditionally served with chips (and not mashed potatoes) and beans. She also went out of her way to ask NINE other friends how they eat theirs and they all concurred. So there you have it: straight from Forfar! Thanks again, Rona! 😊
Forfar Bridie Recipe
Traditional Scottish handheld meat pies from Forfar, Scotland.
Ingredients
- 1 lb mince or chopped lean, organic beef, cut into 1/2" pieces (1 cm)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 oz butter (about 2 Tbsp) cut into small pieces, or shredded suet
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
- 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp beef stock (I use water and Oxo beef cube)
- 1 lb flaky pastry or puff pastry (I used Trader Joe's puff pastry for the bridies in the photos) Note: shortcrust pastry is the authentic option. (link to shortcrust pastry in the instructions)
Instructions
Oven Temperature: 450˚F (230˚C)
- Put all of the ingredients, except for the pastry, into a large bowl and mix well, preferably with your hands.
- Divide the pastry and meat mixture into six equal portions. Roll or cut (if using puff pastry) each piece of pastry into an oval or circle about six inches in diameter, and about quarter of an inch thick.
- Place some of the bridie mixture in the middle of the pastry.
- Wet the edge of the pastry with water, then fold over to seal.
- Seal the edge of the pastry with a fork.
- Place the finished bridies onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone sheet or piece of parchment paper. Cut a small slit or two in the top then brush with an egg white wash (slightly beat an egg white with half a teaspoon of water.)
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 450˚F (230˚C) for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350˚F (180˚C) and cook for another 35 to 40 minutes until they are golden brown. If they start to get too brown, cover with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and if not eating them right away, place on a metal cooling rack.
- Serve hot, with a generous amount of HP Sauce! You can make it a full meal by adding hot, fluffy mashed potatoes and a green vegetable, like peas, (or Heinz beans.)
Notes
Note: shortcrust pastry is the authentic option. Also, omit the mustard powder and beef stock for a more authentic recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 710Total Fat: 44gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 1030mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 3gSugar: 16gProtein: 32g
Nutrition information is only an estimate.
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My mother used to make these but hers was with ground beef and a can of tomato sauce and a hard boiled egg. I can’t remember what else was in the recipe.
I am making these for our New Years Eve Dinner! Every year for last 45 yrs I have gone to a re-enactment of the French Traders landing in our area off of the Wabash River here in Indiana-It is called the Feast of the Hunters Moon. For about the last 20yrs or so, the 42nd Royal Highlanders have been serving up Forfar Bridies and they are soooooo popular sometimes the line can be an hour long! Not sure how many they actually end up making over the course of the weekend but it has to be thousands! Well, due to the pandemic the re-enactment was cancelled and I missed my annual Forfar Bridie- thank you for the history lesson and for the recipe!! will be keeping this one!
Good for you! Way to think outside the box! Enjoy them and hopefully next year, it will be on again (sounds like a great event)! Happy new year, Muna!
wonderfully written..recipe is too good.
Going to make Bridies this week. I have not had one since 1979. I was on company business for Timex Corp and spent a good part of my trip visiting with my counterpart Rick S. While at the Fisher mans cafe. I asked the bartender if i could run out and get some Brides for my Scottish friends to go along with our Tartent Cream Ale. i went to the Dundee Bakery and bought 1 and half dozen bridies. all the guys loved the Bridies and naturally so did I.it was one of the best business trips i ever experienced. The Scotts are really great people and made me feel at home. spectacular people Including our bar keeper. theBrides were the best ever, i am hoping the brides i make this week come close to what i ate from a professional bake shop.
Oh that’s a lovely memory, Bill! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, but please do let me know what you think. Of course, not eating them in Scotland is the downfall of any recipe made overseas, but the best way to revisit places through tastes and smells! Enjoy!
oh how delicious do these sound! i love a pastie or a small pie like this. basically anything wrapped in pastry is delish to me:)
You’ve explained everything so nicely. Thank you for sharing valuable information. I will definitely this one.
Living in Scotland and teaching Home Economics I get my students to make these. Have you tried a Bedfordshire Clanger? These are amazing and originate close to my birth town in England. They were redeveloped at Gunns Bakery in Sandy, Biggleswade and Bedford by our family friends and have now become very popular there locally and further afield after their exposure on The Great British Bake Off. I’m sure you’ll love them too. Great for lunches and picnics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2B-r6NO9HY
First time I heard of Bridie, looks deliciously good and has a good resemblance with empanadas.
Love this recipe
Another post on Forfar Bridie – made the recipe a couple of days ago, but used puff pastry (because I had it on hand), and I’m not very adept at pastry (Yet!) The meat pies were seriously beyond outstanding. a 10! If you haven’t already made them, now is the time.
I had a little more than one pound of meat, so I made 8 pies by cutting the puff pastry sheets into quarters. Shared them with 6 friends – who raved about them IMMEDIATELY. FYI, I did add some slightly spicier seasonings – and- I didn’t have time to finish them on the afternoon I got the meat mixture together, so I stored the meat in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until the next day. It was perfect because the meat had time to absorb more of the spices.
No steak sauce needed here – although HP is our favorite.
Now seeking rhubarb and on to the next recipe
As always Christine – thank you, thank you.
I can just hear your dad say ‘Bridie’ with his most incredible Scottish accent, Christina. You know, it’s so long since I’ve had one that I really appreciated having a reminder about the differences with a bridie and Cornish pasty. They’re so good, no need for any sauce, IMHO. Yours look good – and what lovely looking pastry. Would you believe (of course you do) that we have the same tea-towel but the funniest is that I ran out of Guérande salt and have the same Fleur de Sel from the Camargue – same packaging and baking with it just now too!
Haha! Yeah, we don’t make them often enough. I’m SO not surprised about the salt! :)
I’ve never heard of a bridie before but I like the recipe! And we’ve got all the fixings here at home, so I may just give this a go this week.
Yes, nothing fancy required, Frank! Enjoy!
Yum! i love any kind of meat pie! I can’t wait to try this!
You’re going to love them if you love meat pies!!
I will be anxious to try these. The recipe sounds quite similar to the French Canadian Tortiere I make for the holidays (having grown up in Montreal). anyway the meat in a Tortiere is a mixture of beef, pork, veal (if you like),cooked a simmered, put in a pie crust and baked. In older times it was usually consumed when families returned from Xmas Eve midnight mass, after having fasting for the day. Christina love all of these good memories and fantastic recipes you are serving up. Thank you
Ooh, that sounds interesting! Thanks, Wendy! I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes :)
I have never heard of a bridie – but I want to make them! I will probably use short crust because, well, I’m avoiding shopping! Hope you are well! xo
That’s the authentic way, so you’re good!! Enjoy, David!
I remember Forfar Bridie’s as being very popular fare served at the annual early October Feast of the Hunter’s Moon, an authentic re-enactment of a festival celebrated at a French fort and trading post on the Wabash River outside present day West Lafayette, Indiana. It included the arriival of French river voyagers, the wail of Scottish bagpipes, and native Indian dancing as the regional native people and European settlers gatheted. I remember the hand pies as including chunks of potato and carrots as well as meat, forming a savory gravy. It has been many years since I was well enough to attend, but I remember the children’s trading blanket, and the beautiful setting on the bend of the wide river so fondly. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
Wow, that sounds like a really interesting festival! How much fun that must have been. I think you’ll have to try the bridie recipe now! I bet it will bring back memories! :)
Yes! Feast of the Hunter’s Moon! I think these, Buffalo burgers and roasted corn were all we ever ate on those weekends! Happy to find this recipe and anxious to try it out! Ah….the memories! Envious of friends who still live in the Midwest and attend….(except for this year) hoping it returns with a vengeance in Fall 2021.
I love this & I’m actually salivating, looks so delicious. I do love a good bridie.
I think you need to make them, Karen! :)