Name: Hairy Bikers Shropshire fidget pie recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves: 4–6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 3 medium potatoes, peeled and finely sliced; 2 onions, sliced; 2 Bramley cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced; 3 slices Sweetcure gammon, de-rinded and cut into strips; 40g butter (1½ oz); 2 tsp brown sugar; ½ tsp ground nutmeg; 2 tsp sage or a small bunch of chopped fresh sage; 150 ml pork or vegetable stock (5 fl oz); 225g shortcrust pastry (8 oz); Milk or beaten egg, to glaze

By Hairy Bikers

last updated 5 October 2023

Contributions from

Jessica Ransom

in Recipes

This Hairy Bikers fidget pie is a hearty classic from Shropshire and it only takes 25 minutes to prepare

There’s lots of versions of fidget pie up and down the UK and nobody knows its exact origins. One thing that’s certain, is it makes a delicious crowd pleasing dinner. This pie is topped with shortcrust pastry and the filling includes potatoes, onions, apples and gammon. Eating apples in a savoury pie might sound unusual but the sweetness compliments the salty gammon wonderfully. It’s like a roast pork dinner all tucked up under a shortcrust pastry lid.

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 Bramley cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 slices Sweetcure gammon, de-rinded and cut into strips
40g butter (1½ oz)
2 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp sage or a small bunch of chopped fresh sage
150 ml pork or vegetable stock (5 fl oz)
225g shortcrust pastry (8 oz)
Milk or beaten egg, to glaze

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Method

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan, Gas 4). In a large pan, lightly fry the potatoes, onions and apples in the butter until just golden.
Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Keep the pan on the heat.
Place the gammon in the pan and fry lightly in the remaining fat.
Layer the gammon and the potatoes, onions and apples in a 1 litre (1½ - 2 pint) pie dish, seasoning with sugar, salt, pepper, sage and nutmeg. Pour over the stock.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry and cover the pie, trimming the edges. Make a steam hole and decorate with the trimmings. Brush with milk or egg.
Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 170C (150C fan, Gas 3) and cook for a further 10-15 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.

Top tips for making the Hairy Bikers' Shropshire fidget pie

Bramley apples are particularly good for cooking and baking with as they have the right balance of sweet and sharpness and they hold their shape well rather than baking down into a saucy mush. If you can't find them, green Granny Smiths are a good substitute.

Why is it called fidget pie?

There is no universally accepted origin story when it comes to the name or creation of this pie recipe. While some people say it is because the ingredients move or ‘fidget’ about once cooked and transported. Others say the pie’s name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word for five-sided, ‘fitched’.

Can you eat fidget pie cold?

Yes fidget pie makes an excellent addition to any picnic or party buffet. It will transport best whole but as long as you wrap slices tightly for transit, they will arrive in one piece. You could enjoy the pie with condiments such as mustard or chutney if you like.

What is fidget pie made of?

This pie includes rich buttery shortcrust pastry, slices of gammon or ham and soft cooked apples. Some recipes also use Shropshire potatoes for the topping but we have potatoes inside instead. We have also bulked it out a little with some onions and seasoned it with pepper, nutmeg and sage.

For more classic and comforting dinner inspiration, check out this chicken pie recipe. You might also like the Hairy Bikers’ steak and ale pie or our turkey and ham pie.

Explore More

Simon King and David Myers are the fantastic duo that make up the Hairy Bikers and are best known as Si and Dave. The Hairy Bikers have several cookbooks published including How to Love Food and Lose Weight and Eat for Life. Hairy Biker recipes are always triple tested and try to be as fuss-free as possible so you can trust the timings. Si and Dave have also had several hit cooking shows as they remain as one of the UK’s favourite cookery duos.

With contributions from