Friday 22 November 2013

THAT Pie!




I have no idea if these pies are sold 'worldwide'; I shall presume they are not.

Named (inexplicably) after the Western Uruguay town of Fray Bentos, this student-favourite pie from the 1960's was always a great store cupboard stand-by when I was in my late teens/early twenties. They were a real treat in an otherwise world of takeaways or inadvertent 'cordon noir'.

The pies are made by Baxters; a Scottish 'food purveyor' of considerable reputation; by appointment to Her Majesty, no less.

When I saw this one, above, in a local supermarket (here in France), I just HAD to remind myself of how wonderful they were.

Lady Magnon has made several extremely derogative remarks about my purchase, so I'm eating it in her absence.


I have to say, it was just as I remember them. Very good.

It was also the first meal I've eaten in a very long time (other than in restaurants) that I didn't prepare myself from scratch. What Luxury!


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28 comments:

  1. They are indeed wonderful.
    I have three in my dry and tinned food store. It must be six months since I ate one.
    They do several different flavours these days, The chicken and mushroom are fine. I haven't tried the curried corned beef one.

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    Replies
    1. I seem to remember having a Steak and Kidney Pudding as well; I wonder if they still do those?

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    2. Yes Cro they do. I don't have any as they don't pack or stack very well.
      I often see the pies on offer for a pound. They are great with mushy peas and boiled potatoes.
      Pudding should always be Heinz spotted dick and Ambrosia tinned custard.

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    3. I'm not a desert eater, so I'll skip the spotted dick-n-custard.

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  2. My brother used to love these......when cooked he would have the filling and I would have the pastry.

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  3. I like to think of myself as a steak and kidney pie expert and in my mind no one can do them like Fray Bentos, we eat them regularly. You have excellent taste Cro!

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  4. It looks wonderful…I think the picture on the tin has changed though!

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  5. I certainly remember them from long ago Cro although I don't know whether you can still buy them here in the UK - shall keep my eye open for them and let you know. Looks deliious.

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  6. The last time I had one I was disappointed. There was a lot less filling than I remember from my student days. Or maybe my tastes have changed now that we also cook nearly everything from scratch.
    They were a special treat for the family when
    I was a child and REALLY special if we were allowed a whole one each !

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  7. Oh this is one of my favourite foods. As a young thing I was allowed to eat a WHOLE one on my twelfth birthday - yum yum!
    My most favourite bits are the kidney and the soggy underlay of pastry - always leave these til last.
    Still buy them and my mouth is watering. ..
    Anna :o]

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  8. I used to love these, the flaky pastry, with deliciously soggy under- layer, quite heavenly!
    I only wish they made a vegetable one :-)

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  9. Careful Cro, it can be habit forming lol.

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  10. Did you buy more than the one, then?

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    Replies
    1. No, Joanne, and I don't suppose I shall ever buy another. It was just for 'old times sake'.

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  11. Cro, you can make your own. When I was cooking in hotels for my brother I used to boil up beef shin or neck any rubbish from a butchered cow add onions any herb but tarragon. Leave it overnight then dice up beef heart. beef liver, beef kidneys. Pop a few raw diced potato cubes in , they thicken the runny bits, don't salt, salting makes runny bits. A bay leaf or two shredded well and Marjoram, Jobs a good un Divide up the aforementioned beef rubbish stock. Pile in the offal, Cover with suet crust pastry and bake. I used to use the ovens as they were cooling. They ran at 300C in serving hours. By the time we had washed up and mopped up a quick brush over the pies with egg and stock whisked up. Back in theywent. Were perfect for tomorrow lunch. I had to get extra pie trays. People like a pie with a bottom and sides. Sixty portions going out twice a week. Folk like comfort food.

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    Replies
    1. PS. I don't seal the meat. I let the cooking juices run out. If your pie is a little on the astringent side then soak the kidneys in milk, strain and discard the milk. Milk seems to drag the piss out of kidneys.

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    2. My God; I hadn't realised it was simple as that! I shall make a batch tomorrow.

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  12. In the US, you might find this can in a specialty gourmet store that stocks foods that are not usually found in the pantry of most Americans.

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  13. Enjoy. I used to love those little round Fray Bentos too. Haven't seen any over here for ages so perhaps they've stopped producing them.

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  14. The main problem with them is getting into the tin! They're murder to open. :)

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  15. My Grandparents lived to 81 eating lots of these with Cabbage Cro. They kept the empty tins which I remember stacked high in their Kitchen .....warm memories. They still sell them in the UK. I hope they never change the Recipe as they are truly scrumptious. Marion

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    1. Why did they keep the empties? I suppose one could use them for putting small flower pots in!

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  16. That pie does look good and bring back memories - pity I couldn't eat one now (even if I could find it).

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  17. I don't think they've made it across the Pond to the US, unless as Starting Over said, they're in specialty shops. Pot pies, we've got aplenty, but not steak and kidney.

    I'm glad it's as tasty as you remembered. I've had a few instances where an item tastes better in memory than in real life.

    I've a mind to try making a bacon roly-poly. We had some snow here today, and it's supposed to be a cold weekend, so a roly-poly would hit the spot, methinks.

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