Lancashire Hotpot

Lancashire Hotpot is thought to have originated in the 19th century for the workers in the mills of the North. It could be put on at breakfast time to be ready for tea after work. It needs long slow cooking.

Some people reckon that you can use any old meat for a Lancashire hotpot but in my book it is strictly only neck of lamb, in fact not just lamb but old mutton. Luckily nowadays we have plenty of Muslim butchers around and they do like a bit of mutton. The flavour is stronger and, as the sheep are old, the cuts are larger. However use lamb or hogget if needs be.

As to the difference, it varies slightly from country to country but, roughly speaking, spring lamb is slaughtered at about 6 months old, hogget in its second season so it is between one and two years old. Mutton is the old bastard of the family.

Back in England I used to cycle to Borough Market on Saturdays. This was before it got hip and the prices had overtaken Harrods’. There was a butcher who used to drive his meat wagon down from Morecambe every weekend and I would buy neck of mutton each visit. I told him that my Ma hailed from there, He asked me what I did with it. He was delighted until I told him how I cooked it. As far as he was concerned hotpot had three ingredients and no more: Neck of mutton, onions and potatoes. Even salt he was a bit suspicious of, herbs were unnecessary and garlic was foreign muck and the devil’s work. He was never quite the same after that discussion.

Anyway given here is my soft southern bastard version.

Lancashire Hotpot recipe

2 Necks of mutton sliced to 2 cm
500 g Lamb’s kidneys, cut in half
3 Lamb’s tails if you can find any
1 kg King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes
1 kg Large onions
Fresh thyme and a few bay leaves
3 cloves of Satan’s garlic, finely chopped
An Oxo cube, crumbled
A splash of Worcestershire sauce.
A bottle of dry white wine

Peal the onions and, with a mandolin, slice, cut across to form whole discs, 4mm thick. Wash the potatoes and, without peeling, slice to 8mm.

Brown the lamb in batches in a very hot cast iron pan, a single layer at a time. Set aside. In the same pan deglaze the bottom with a small amount of wine then add the rest and reduce by a third, adding the Oxo cube and Worcestershire sauce.

Take a heavy casserole dish and butter the bottom and sides. Stick vertical slices of potato to the sides. Now, starting with potato, layer onions, meat and potato. On each meat layer add garlic, kidney, thyme and an occasional bay leaf. You want to finish with a potato layer on the top. Pour the reduced wine down the side until it reaches no more than half way up. Finally, if you have them, place the lamb tails across the top.

Fit a lid or cap of tin foil and put the dish in the oven at 150°C for 3 hours, after which remove the lid, up the temperature to 180°C and cook for 30 minutes or until the potatoes on top brown. Serve with greens.

Goes well with a decent Burgundy or chilled Beaujolais