Lancashire Hot Pot

After a balmy weekend where we basked in temperatures in the low 70’s F, by Sunday night it was all change again. The warm southerly wind that had blown steadily all weekend changed to a northerly, and within minutes temperatures dropped 20° and continued to fall.

On Monday, temps hovered around freezing all day, only to plunge into the teens at night. Mick lit a log fire, and we and our three cats, Wilson, Alvin, and Tommy, huddled round it. On a night like this, one needs comfort food. And what better comfort food can there be than a traditional dish from my native county in England, a Lancashire Hot Pot was definitely called for. Even Mick, a Yorkshireman, didn’t complain, and in fact he had second helpings.

For those of you still laboring under freezing weather conditions here is my recipe for Lancashire Hot Pot.

Sheep abound on the hill farms of the county of Lancashire, England, and the original Hot Pot was made with mutton. Nowadays neck of lamb is the traditional cut of meat used in this dish, however, beef stew meat works equally well. It has to, as lamb is about as rare as hen’s teeth in Oklahoma.

Lancashire Hot Pot

Ingredients:

1lb beef stew meat.
2lbs russet potatoes. (thinly sliced)
2 carrots, sliced.
1 large onion, sliced.
½ pint beef stock
2 tablespoons butter, melted.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ cup all purpose flour
Black pepper.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Season flour with pepper and coat the meat.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over a medium heat, and brown the beef.
4. In a 1½ quart casserole/ovenproof dish place alternate layers of meat, onion, potato, and carrot, ending with a layer of potato.
5. Pour over the stock, cover with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours.
6. Remove from oven, brush potatoes with melted butter, and cook uncovered for a further 30 minutes, or until potatoes are browned.