Sausage and Potato Cakes (Belfast Pasties)

Nothing like its pastry-cased Cornish cousin, the Belfast pastie is a patty of sausagemeat and potato dipped in batter, deep fried til golden and then either slipped between side of a buttered bap and anointed with your choice of sauce, or served as a pastie supper with chips.

2½ lbs ground meat (pork, beef, lamb or a combination)
2½ lbs potato, mashed (~ 4 large Russet potatoes)
½ cup onion, minced
¼ cup fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. black pepper, freshly ground
¼ tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
2-3 eggs, beaten
butter and vegetable oil, for frying

To Serve:
sour cream
hot sauce

Peel and quarter potatoes. Cover in cold water in a large sauce pan. Pour about a Tbsp. of salt in the water. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes can easily be penetrated with a fork. Mash potatoes and set aside.

Whisk the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin and nutmeg together. Set aside.

Break up the ground meat in a large bowl. Cover with sauce mixture.

Add potatoes, onions, and parsley to ground meat. Combined well.

On medium-high heat warm a cast iron skillet with about 2 Tbsp. of butter and vegetable oil. Make sure it is good and hot before you fry the patties.

Put 2 beaten eggs in a large dish. Sprinkle some bread crumbs in another large dish.

Make palm size patties of meat potato mixer. Coat the patties with egg and then breadcrumbs before you put them in the skillet to fry. Cook for about 4 minutes per side or until the outside of the patties gets good and brown.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a little hot sauce. A side of vegetables would be nice!

Makes 8-12 servings.