It doesn’t sound right that does it? The humble meat and potato is the signature dish of the town of Wigan and is also prevalent in many Lancastrian towns stretching north as far as Morecambe and Barrow.
I’ve had over 100 different ones of these in the past two years and almost all have been typified by their earthy charm’s in terms of filling and of course, the all-important price. A working man (or woman’s) nosebag after a hard morning down the pit. Or up a ladder if you prefer. Never usually overly blessed with meat – as meat was and still is expensive, just a settling of mincemeat usually slopping around within the creamy potato-ey gravy with maybe a bit of salt and pepper seasoning added to pad out the flavour. Lovely!
In truth, when I started this project it was initially to find the nation’s best meat and potato. However, as soon as you head out of Granada-land, in fact even within Granada-land in some cases the meat and potato filling of choice quickly cedes ground to steak and kidney and chicken and mushroom.
The conclusion of my book will contain a narrated award ceremony and the M&P category will be as piping hotly contested as many of the pies I have burnt the roof of my mouth on. I’ve had my favourites, some of them new discoveries and I am looking forward to the final tally up. And there are still more out there I am yet to try.
Now that the Twitter and Facebook accounts are up and running, I am finding increasingly that the recommendations are coming to me rather than me having to search them out. And whereas I will be bringing matters to a conclusion in the next few weeks, there’s always room for one more pie. So with that in mind, I headed to Stockport to visit Lord of the Pies who I’d picked up from Twitter.
After negotiating the labyrinth that is the narrow winding streets of Stockport town centre, I park up on a meter outside a nightclub and search for the venue.
An inconspicuous outlet, I walked straight past first time, seduced by the bright lights and noise emanating from Stockport market over the bridge. Lord of the Pies (ace literary pun there) is situated at the quieter end of Jordangate but it is a smart, clean, functional unit with plenty seating inside and display racks full of hot or cold pies to take away.
The gentleman serving, who may also be the proprietor is amiable throughout and calls me “captain” or “chief”, nicknames of authority clearly demonstrating a mark of respect in both the military and fast food industry. I’m aghast by the pie selection however, it seems like there’s dozens of them and they all take a similar wide diameter form, with no little depth to them either. They’ve got lamb and mint, pulled chicken balti, cheese and onion and beef, chestnut mushrooms and real ale plus a range of sweet pies, for when one pastry course is never enough. This is truly a pie shop to be proud of, as the many awards testify.
The only haggling point here is the price, which many of my notoriously thrifty fellow Wiganers may baulk at. £2.75 may seem a lot for a pie but this is a pie and a half – at least! It’s the sort of size which gentleman (or ladies) with a heartier appetite – OK I’ll spell it out then – FAT BASTARDS – will truly drool over. A heavy, sturdier package you will not find, topped with herbs and pastry which maintains that waft you get when you’re walking past a bakery for several hours later. And it doesn’t just claim to be a gourmet pie – it really is one.
After some deliberation as to which flavour to procure, I decide to go for their signature dish “The Stockport Pie”, essentially a beef stew in a pie, or if you prefer – a posh meat and potato. I buy it cold and take it home to follow the cooking instructions. Even cold, the pastry smells lush and I find myself nuzzling up to it through the wrapper.
As I unwrap this pressie, it comes with it’s own greaseproof sheet to put on the baking tray and as I wait twenty five minutes, the aroma emanating from the oven just gets better and better. It’s done to a tee and upon opening up the product, the inside is equally appealing. A circular layer of mincemeat, golden slabs of potato and rampant slithers of onion operating in a free role throughout. There is no sloppy gravy here but the combination of the three constituent ingredients makes it delightfully moist and a real treasure on the tongue.
It’s above average size makes it a filling proposition and the onion adds a real sharpness and juicy edge to the content. This is a pie beyond parallel to satisfy even the most demanding of appetites. It’s like every meat and potato pie I’ve ever had but a bit of added oomph to it. It’s the sort of pie that posh people can enjoy too or it could be served up as part of a sit down meal in a pub, where you’d pay considerably more than three quid. Nevertheless, despite it’s density, it is soon gone from the plate (although eaten with hands obviously) and my stomach is left to continue the applause.
Without giving the game away, and whilst I am still amending my scoring system, it would be unfair to reveal marks here and now, but the Lord of The Pies Stockport Pie easily gets 9/10 in many of the categories putting it firmly in the running to win the Life of Pies Best meat and potato pie award.
Indeed, with only Scotland and Newcastle left to visit and the North West done to death it may well be the last pie of this variety I have for a while….
For more information on Lord of the Pies, check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LordofthePiesGB
Life of Pies: a book about pies, travel and driving the missus up the wall. Details about revised publishing dates will be online in the next few weeks.
PS Release date is not Autumn 2013 anymore but it’s getting there 🙁
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