bridies: traditional scotish street food

...With a twist, of course.

And we return once again to my need to source out and then cook the foods mentioned in the "Scottish Books" as Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series is lovingly referred to in this house.

There, I finally said it, I love the Outlander series.

Most of you probably have no idea what I'm talking about and therefore I am, as happens often, making a big deal about nothing.

Here's the thing, as a writer I fear I hate the idea that I'm caught up in some sort of Twilight-esque novel series. And Diana Gabaldon's books certainly have their own intense following....though minus the screaming teen girliness.

I have a complex. Actually I have several complexes. I am complex.

But I hereby publicly endorse Outlander and the series. The writing is brilliant. The historical accuracy is beyond impressive. And goddamit it's a good story.

And I'm still sure that the overwhelming majority of you have no idea what I'm babbling about and don't care.

So, on to the food.

Bridies are basically Scottish street food, believed to have been originally made by a travelling food seller. They are basically a simple meat patty that would be perfect for carting around with you and snacking on your travels. I wanted a more interesting filling so I added the garlic and herbs.


Preheat oven to 450 degrees and make your filling and dough.

Filling
* 2 lbs. ground beef
** 2 oz butter
1 large onion minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup beef stock
s&p

* or chopped rump steak
** traditionally would have been suet but I wasn't going there!

Mix the filling together well.
Make sure the butter is distributed evenly throughout.


Pastry
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup lard or shortening
4 to 5 tbsp. cold water

Sift together the flour and salt.
Cut in the lard until mix comes together in smallish pieces.
Sprinkle in water a little at a time tossing mix with fork until everything is moist and holds together.
Shape into ball and place on floured surface.

Assembly

Roll dough out into large rectangle.
Cut into 8 rectangular pieces.
Place amount of filling along one side of each rectangle.
Fold rectangle in half and seal edges with water.
Crimp edges with fork to ensure seal.
Cut slit in top of each bridie to allow steam to escape.
Place bridies on parchment lined baking sheet.
Cook at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Leaving bridies in the oven, lower the temp to 350 degrees and continue cooking for 45 to 55 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.