The Scotch pie has been enjoyed for decades and, for many people, is a treat to look forward to - and warm you up - at football matches all over Scotland. It’s thought that the Scotch pie has been around for over 500 years but its exact history and origins aren’t known.
The Scotch pie we know today, made with thick, crispy, hot-water-based pastry with butter or lard, and filled with minced beef, lamb, spices, cereal and salt, comes from the ‘penny mutton pie’ of the late 18th and early 19th century.
In December 1937 writing in The Scotsman, Scottish folklorist and author Florence Marian McNeill referred to the Scotch pie as: “our most distinctive Scottish pie, the small mutton pie”.
In the piece, McNeill describes a pie from the memoirs of James Stuart MP, writing: “Perhaps our most distinctive Scottish pie is the small mutton pie, which was praised by Samuel Johnson—not that the learned doctor was much of a gourmet , but he was never lavish with praise of anything Scottish.
“In his Reminiscences , Professor James Stuart (the main inspirer of the modern English Universities) pays tribute to Mrs Giilespie , the pie-wife of his St Andrews school-days . Excellent as were her pigeon and apple pies , "her chef-d ' oeuvre . . . was a certain kind of mutton pie. The mutton was minced to the smallest consistency, and was made up in a standing crust, which was strong enough to contain the most delicious gravy.
“There were no lumps of fat or grease in them at all. They always arrived piping hot . . . . It makes my mouth water when I think of those pies. The small mutton pie was as popular in eighteenth century Edinburgh as it is today.”
Ms McNeill also discusses Glasgow claiming to be the Scotch pies ‘true home’ and asks if any reader of The Scotsman can ‘throw light on this grave issue?’
While Glasgow may claim to be the home of Scotch pies (and takes them so seriously that a speciality in the city is a 'Glasgow Oyster' which consists of a Scotch pie on a buttered morning roll), there have been traditional bakers making them for centuries with mentions of penny mutton pies and shops from Brechin to John ‘O Groats from the late 18th century.
In more recent years, the actual definition of a Scotch pie has been made clearer, in the Meat Pie and Sausage Roll Regulations (1967).
This states that “‘Scottish pie’ means a meat pie composed of a shallow cylindrical pastry case not exceeding 5 inches in diameter containing minced beef or minced mutton, (or a mixture), cereal, water, salt and seasonings, and not containing any jelly.”
According to Thredinburgh, there’s a formula for making a pre-cooked Scotch pie, which takes into account the fat in the meat and fat in the pastry.
In 1999 The World Championship Scotch Pie Awards began, and was set up to recognise quality and innovation in Scotch pies.
The Scottish Bakers trade association organises the event each year and in 2024, the winner was James Pirie & Son of Blairgowrie. The 2025 champion will be announced by the end of March.
Edinburgh’s oldest butcher shop, Mathiesons has been making Scotch pies using the same secret recipe for over 50 years. Over in Glasgow James Campbell Butchers is a family-owned business that's been making Scotch pies for almost 150 years.
Makes 6 pies
Ingredients
Method
Cut the meat into small pieces and season with salt, pepper and mace.
Sieve the flour into a bowl and add half a teaspoonful of salt. Make a well in the centre.
Melt the butter or beef dripping into a saucepan with half a pint of water, bring to the boil and pour into a well in the centre of the flour.
Mix the flour, water and fat together with a knife then your hands until it’s smooth. Put aside a third of the pastry somewhere warm and divide the rest into six.
Line six small ring tins or mould them into small cases or around a tumbler.
Fill the cases with meat and moisten the top with water or gravy.
Cut rounds for the lids from the remainder of the pastry, moisten the edges and cover the pies. Trim with scissors if necessary.
Make a hole in the middle of the pies and brush with milk or a beaten egg.
Bake for 30-40 mins in a 180c fan oven.
Remove pies and fill with gravy. Serve hot.
Scots Mutton Pies
Remove the skin , bone , and gristle from three-quarters of a pound of lean mutton . Cut the meat into small pieces , and season with salt , pepper , and , if liked , a little mace . For six pies make a crust as follows : —Sieve a pound of flour into a bowl , and add half a teaspoonful of salt . Put four ounces of fresh beef dripping into a saucepan with half a pint of water , bring to the boil , and pour immediately into a well in the flour . Mix at first with a spoon or knife , but when cool enough use the hands , and mix quickly into one lump . Turn out onto a floured board , and knead lightly till free from cracks . Put aside nearly a third of the paste to keep warm , and divide the rest into six pieces . With these line six small ring tins , or mould them into small cases round a tumbler . Fill the cases with the meat , and just moisten with water or gravy . Cut rounds from the remainder of the paste , moisten the edges , and cover the pies , pressing the edges of the paste firmly together . Trim with a pair of scissors , make a hole in the centre of each pic , and brush with a little milk or beaten egg . Bake for from thirty to forty minutes in a moderate oven . Remove the pies from the tins , fill them with hot gravy , and serve piping hot . F . Marian M'Neill .
