Taste Panel - Slow Food Edinburgh

23^rd March 2009 

“Who ate all the pies?”

Products: Savoury Pies

Scotch Pies.

Traditional double crusted meat pies, traditionally made with minced mutton although beef is most often used nowadays. The lid of the pie is purposefully lower than the rim of the pie to allow for the additional topping of brown or red (tomato) sauce, gravy, baked beans or mashed potato if required.

Steak Pies.

Producer contact details:

John Sanderson Butchers. 40 Leven Street, Tollcross, Edinburgh, EH3 9LJ, 0131 229 8348 www.johnsaunderson.co.uk (2009 World Scotch Pie Silver Medal Award)

Crombie’s Butchers. 97-101 BROUGHTON STREET,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3RZ, 0131 557 0111 (Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Speciality Steak Pie Champion)

Boghall Butchers. 65 Margaret Avenue, Boghall, 
Bathgate, 
West Lothian, EH48 1SN, 01506 630 178 (2009 World Scotch Pie Champions) “Little oasis of care, attention and fresh food in Boghall.”

Findlater's Fine Foods, Unit 8, Mill Place, Mill Road Industrial Estate,
Linlithgow EH49 7QY 01506 671577

Morrison’s Bakery. 147 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8AG. 0131 229 6470

John Lawson Butchers. 8 Main Street, Winchburgh, West Lothian, EH52 6RT. 01506 891018

    Also at: 16 East Main Street, Uphall, West Lothian, EH52 5DA. 01506 855634

    www.johnlawsonbutchers.co.uk

Glen Lowe Butchers. 19 East Main St, Broxburn, West Lothian, EH52 5AB. 01506 852717

 

Comparison products – either not small scale or not produced in Edinburgh

Simple Simon Pie Factory. 1 Coulter Park Farm, Coulter, Biggar ML12 6HN.
01899 220118 www.simplesimonspies.co.uk

The Store. Foveran, Newburgh, Ellon, Aberdeenshire. AB41 6AY. Own produce is from Aberdeenshire but they have a shop in Edinburgh, 13 Comely Bank Road, Stockbridge, Edinburgh. EH4 1DR. 0131 315 0030. www.thestorecompany.co.uk

Pie Cuisine. Unit 5, Wemyss Rd, Dysart, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY1 2XZ. 01592 650555

Greggs. Nationwide large chain of baker retailers specialising in sandwiches and pies. www.greggs.co.uk

Scotch Pies:

Panel favourite:

Morrisons Bakers: Serious lamb flavour, nice pastry.

Runner up favourites:

Crombie: Real taste of gravy (Oxo.) Juicy without being too fatty. Ingredients listed as 14% lamb

Boghall: Moist, well seasoned and peppery, balanced flavour.

Commended:

Sanderson: Fine ground meat with glutinous texture, quite sweet taste.

John Lawson (Broxburn): Meaty. More solid meat than others suggesting much less rusk. Almost rough pate like inside. Thicker pastry but very pleasant.

The others:

 Greggs: Salt, rusk and fat, no other flavour. Nice crisp pastry though. Innocuous.

 Pie Cuisine (Fife): Fatty and bland. Only distinct flavour is pepper. Sickly. 22% beef, 17% beef fat – no lamb

 Glen Lowe (Broxburn): Coarse and crumbly interior, seemed to be largely fat and rusk. Not huge amounts of flavour.

 

Beef/steak pies:

Panel favourite:

The Store Aberdeen Angus Pie: Made in Grampion but sold in Edinburgh shop. Almost barbeque flavour, very meaty. Packed with beef, not swimming in gravy.

Taste panel favourite so we’re claiming it for Edinburgh because of their shop here!

Runner up favourites:

Boghall Steak Pie: Lots of creamy gravy. Firm good textured meat. Nice beefy flavour and nicely flavoured pastry.

Morrison’s the Bakers: Big chunks of beef in very strong and rich gravy. Shortcrust pastry.

Commended:

Simple Simon Steak and Mushroom Pie: Very different from the other pies as contains potato and vegetable. Delicate with the vegetable/stock flavours predominating. Having tried 8 Scotch pies and 4 steak pies before we tried this pie the lighter vegetal flavours here were a bit of a relief! Mixed reactions from the panel – favourite of one but others not overawed.  Well made pie however and an interesting range available from the company.

The others:

Sanderson Mince Beef Pie: Mild, slightly sweet taste from the pastry, watery aftertaste. Not very exciting. Minced meat so not a direct comparison with the other pies.

Crombies Steak Pie: Slight stodgy pastry. Moist meat. Not huge flavour but not unpleasant

Findlater Steak Pie: Contains very large chunks of well cooked steak but flavour didn’t quite live up to the look. Not much gravy.

John Lawson Steak Pie: Not much flavour to the meat at all, although there was a lot of it. Washed out flavour and thick puff pastry.

Warning. Readers are advised not to try holding a similar tasting of 8 Scotch Pies followed by 8 Steak Pies without trained medical professionals at hand or at least good supplies of lettuce for the following days!