Dr Mobeus
Lancashire Hotpot
Lancashire hotpot is the dish mill workers used to leave on the bakery’s shelf to cook slowly through the working day: cheap cuts of meat, onions and a lid of potatoes, baked until the whole thing turns into its own gravy. The traditional version uses lamb neck, but braising steak is a good deal cheaper in most supermarkets and behaves just as well after a slow bake. The whole pot costs about £5.45 and feeds six, which works out at about 91p a portion. The only real rule is that the potato lid must be overlapped properly so it crisps on top while steaming everything underneath.
Lancashire Hotpot
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 160C (140C fan). Season the beef generously with salt and pepper. Sear in a hot pan with a little oil in two batches until browned all over, then transfer to a casserole dish.
- Soften the onions in the same pan for 5 minutes, then stir in the flour and crumbled stock cube. Add the boiling water, scraping up the sticky bits, and simmer for a minute until slightly thickened. Pour over the beef and stir in the thyme.
- Layer the potato slices over the top in overlapping rows, like fish scales, covering the filling completely. Brush the potatoes with the melted butter and season with a little more salt and pepper.
- Cover with a lid and bake for 2 hours, then remove the lid and bake for a further 30 minutes until the potatoes are golden at the edges and a knife slides through them easily.
- Rest for 10 minutes before serving, then scoop down through the potato lid so everyone gets potato, beef and gravy in each spoonful.
Tips and Variations
Lamb neck fillet is the authentic choice if it is on offer, and needs the same cooking time. Any leftover hotpot is even better the next day reheated gently on the hob. Pick a floury potato such as Maris Piper for the lid; waxy ones refuse to brown. A knob of butter on the potatoes in the final 30 minutes helps the crust along, and a spoonful of pickled red cabbage on the side is very Lancashire.
