Hairy Bikers Corned Beef Hash Pie

The Hairy Bikers corned beef hash pie hides in Brilliant Bakes under a fancier name, since the book calls it a galette. Their own explanation is that a galette is just a free-form open pie, and this one serves 4-6 at around 480 calories in about 75 minutes.

Free-form is the trick that makes it beginner-friendly, because the pastry simply folds up and over the edges of the filling. No pie dish, no lining, no crimping under pressure, so a slightly wonky fold is part of the look.

The filling goes further than the pan hash too, since swede and carrot join the potato before the corned beef and seasonings go in. The book also pushes hard for the optional cheddar and parsley topping, and it is right to.

Hairy Bikers Corned Beef Hash Pie Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 35 minutesCook time: 40 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:1 hour 15 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:480 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

A homemade shortcrust comes together with butter and lard, then chills while diced swede, potato, and carrot get a brief boil. Fried onion, corned beef, garlic, thyme, mustard, ketchup, and Worcestershire build the filling, which piles onto the rolled pastry, gets its edges folded over, and bakes golden under a cheddar and parsley crumb.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

• 250g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 65g butter, chilled and diced
• 60g lard, chilled and diced (or another 60g butter)
• 1 egg, beaten

For the Filling

• 125g swede, diced
• 125g potato, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 250g corned beef, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Leaves from 1 thyme sprig
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• A good dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and black pepper

For the Topping (optional)

• 35g Cheddar or other hard cheese, grated
• A few parsley leaves, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Make the pastry: Rub the butter and lard into the salted flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Bind it with most of the beaten egg and just enough cold water, keeping a tablespoon of egg back, then chill the dough.
2. Boil the veg briefly: Cover the swede, potato, and carrot with salted cold water, bring to the boil, then simmer for only 3-4 minutes until just tender. Drain and leave to cool.
3. Build the filling: Fry the onion in the oil until soft and caramelised at the edges, then add the corned beef, garlic, and thyme for a couple of minutes. Stir in the mustard, ketchup, and Worcestershire, season, then mix it through the vegetables and let it cool.
4. Shape the galette: Heat the oven to 200°C and roll the pastry into a large round, then carefully move it onto a big baking tray, where overlapping the edges is fine. Pile the filling on, leaving a 3-4cm border, then fold the border up and over so most of the filling stays exposed.
5. Top and bake: Mix the cheese with the parsley and scatter it over the open filling. Loosen the reserved egg with a little water, brush it over the pastry, then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Serve piping hot.

FAQs

What is a galette, and why does the book call it that?

The book answers this itself, explaining a galette is just a fancy name for an open free-form pie. There is no dish and no lid, since the pastry base folds partway over the filling and the middle stays open.

That openness is why the cheese topping works so well, because it crisps directly on the exposed filling instead of steaming under a pastry lid.

Can I make this with ready made pastry?

Yes, and the book itself suggests shop-bought puff as the quicker route. The fold-over shaping works exactly the same, though puff gives a lighter, flakier frame while the homemade shortcrust slices more cleanly.

The baked galette also freezes well in slices, so wrap them individually and reheat in the oven rather than the microwave, which keeps the pastry crisp.

How is this different from their corned beef hash?

Same family, different jobs, since the pan version is a 40-minute one-pan supper while this is a proper bake. The filling here also adds swede and carrot to the potato, which the corned beef hash never uses.

The seasoning trio of mustard, ketchup, and Worcestershire is identical in both though, because that is the Bikers’ corned beef signature across the books.

Why boil the vegetables for only 3-4 minutes?

The dice size does most of the work, so those few minutes take the vegetables to just tender without turning them soft. They then finish cooking in the oven inside the filling, where they hold their shape in the slice.

Fully boiled vegetables would collapse under the fold, and a wet filling is the one thing that ruins a free-form pie.

Is corned beef gluten free, and can this pie be?

Corned beef itself is naturally gluten free, since it is only beef, salt, and curing spices, though always check a tin’s label for additives. The gluten in this recipe lives entirely in the pastry.

Swapping the plain flour for a gluten-free blend works better here than in most pies, because a free-form galette forgives the more fragile dough. Roll it slightly thicker and patch any cracks as you fold.

What other corned beef pies do the Bikers make?

The fully enclosed classic is their corned beef and onion pie, a double-crust shortcrust with potatoes and celery that appears in two of their books. It is the deeper, old-fashioned cousin of this open bake.

For the same shortcrust skills pointed at a different filling, their steak and mushroom pie is the full heritage version, so the three pies make a natural progression.