A comment on this earlier AskLemmy post inspired me to ask this question. I think there’s lots of delicious British food/it really depends on how you cook it, as with any cuisine.
I had a crack at assembling a pie barm after learning what it was. It was way better than it should have been.
What is it? A meat pie served on a bread roll (barm is a specific type I believe) with optional brown sauce (HP for example).
The roll is great for handling reasons and for when the arse falls out of the pie.
Two things definitely stand out for me:
- The fish and chips are Awesome - fillets are delicious, and 3x the size of what I get in the States. The fish and chips are hot, crispy outside, tender inside.
- Baked goods. Pies, cakes, napoleons, etc are universally fantastic, especially anything made with puff pastry. I got sausage rolls for a pound sixty from under the heat lamps at Tesco that were as good as entrees I’ve had in US restaurants.
My grandma’s Yorkshire Puddings
Mine too. She was from Canada.
Haggis and cock a leekie soup. Mince and tatties are a close second.
Tbh haggis was the one thing that disappointed me. But the quality varied hugely from place to place. I brought home a canned one the shopkeeper highly recommended as one of the better brands. Meh.
I don’t have much to add to the actual question asked, I’m generally pro British food done right. I do want to mention that recently I found a British restaurant near my house in the US, and I’ve been watching too much GBBO so I had to get the apple pie, and it was the saddest thing I’ve ever eaten.
The apple pie was essentially an orb of wonder bread with a few slices of limp apple in the middle, and the whole thing was smothered in custard until soggy. Not one bit of sugar or anything resembling flavor to be found anywhere in the three ingredients. The apples were extremely gritty for some reason, it definitely wasn’t cinnamon.
I wanted to go full Karen and call the chef out to apologize for this food crime, but I’m not confident enough in my understanding of British food to say that isn’t authentic. If someone had made that on GBBO I’m sure they would have sent them home without even trying the rest of the food. I can imagine Paul going “Why is it so gritty?!”
Made with wrong kind of apples and kind of not enough thought into it is what i would say. But also i think you went in expecting american pie (xd) American Apple Pie, that is, which i guess holds togehter better than british apple pies.
BUT since it’s a restaurant they maybe should have made it a bit better - i’m sure british patrons would also scoff at that because they could just buy one from a supermarket that is functionally the same.
Your analysis is totally correct, they could have used cinnammon for instance to make it nicer, and i’ll repeat that they either used the wrong type of apples or cooked them wrong entirely.
More specifically, I went in hoping for the kind of pie I saw in Great British Bakeoff. Or, at least, a pastry of some sort. I think what I saw was less of an example of British cooking, and more of a chef who actively disdained humanity as a whole.
I can’t think of any dough that would end up like wonder bread, you should have gone full Karen. Granny smiths stewed with sugar (and optionally spices) in a short crust case is the right way to do it, though they did get the smothered in custard until soggy bit right.
Indan takeout
…served with a cold beer. (chef’s kiss)
Does a steamed pud from a container count? Those things actually do kind of slap.
Yes
Visited Scotland
Walked into a little mom-n-pop fast restaurant
Wondered wtf is a “deep fried pizza”, ordered one.
Dude took a “frozen” pizza out of the fridge
Dude folded it in half and stuck it in an oil deep fry.
OMFG never tasted such sweet sin… crispy flakey crust on the outside, melty cheesy inside
Totally worth the 10 million calories and arterial hardening
I’m flabbergasted that I’ve never seen that dish in the US. Well done rando Scot!
What, did you think that was the one bit of Americana that didn’t cross an ocean?
Nah, thought Scots like themselves enough to not eat like that.
Oh, this isn’t ‘rando’. Chippies in Scotland will deep fry any fucking thing. Pizza? Standard. Mars bar? Of course! In some chippies you can even take something you’ve bought somewhere else and ask if they’ll batter and fry the fucker for you and they’ll say yes.
Whenever I get home to Scotland, my personal supper of choice is the haggis supper - a sausage of haggis meat, battered and deep fried, and served with beautifully fried chips, of course. The second night I’m home (especially if the wife isn’t with me) is a haddock supper. Fuckin’ grand.
I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I’m told by those who do that the deep fried Bounty is just the wrong side of the acceptable line of deep fried sweet shit.
I used to do a star bar tempura as a dessert.
I’ll never forget passing my local chippy when I lived in Edinburgh and seeing they’d handwritten “almost” on the “WE WILL DEEP FRY ANYTHING” sign.
Behind every sign there’s a story.
I’ve had a lot of good food in Scotland, but one of the most memorable meals was in the Crinan Hotel’s seafood bar - a big plate of langoustines that had been caught that morning, served with perfect chips and aoli. On the menu they were called Loch Crinan jumbo prawns.
That image is playing major perspective tricks on me, lol. They look giant
Fish n chips hands down 100% final answer lock it in.
To anyone whos been to both places can you get “proper” fish n chips the world over? I’ve asked a few americans on xbox a few times and they tell me that its “fish and steak fries” and its basically the same thing, but it doesnt sound like it will be the same.
Chippy chips are a very specific thing and its incredibly difficult to explain that to someone who hasn’t experienced it and just understands.
You’re right, US fish and steak fries are not in the same league as authentic UK fish and chips.
I lived in the US for a while and never once had proper fish and chips. Even the ‘English themed pubs’ didn’t do it right.
But there’s some amazing American food and if you’re just looking for British fish and chips while abroad you might as well go on a package holiday.
It’s weird, even americans who actually try hard don’t do fish and chips as well as brits who look like they’re barely trying.
Its no good to me now, but my dream was to get a big van and go touring other countries selling proper fish n chips. Get a social media presence showcasing peoples reactions and announcing my next stops like a tour.
If everywhere else already has authentic chippies then its fairly dead already. I don’t know if they do or don’t without doing the traveling that that career was going to provide though.
Got to have mushy peas with it to complete a proper fish n chips.
In America, the best approximation we can get to chippy chips are our steak fries. It’s the cut of potato that’s most similar, but there is a whole spectrum of doneness that one is rolling the dice on when ordering steak fries.
And you’re right. There ain’t nothing like chippy chips. I’m over here chasing a dragon when I should just be buying a plane ticket.
Oddly enough, the fast food Greek place here (not a chain) gets the closest to what I had in England.
Midwest fish fry at a supper club?
Vindaloo.
Classic. Also a fun one to say to troll people who don’t know much about british food.
Phall. If you know, you know.
When I lived in the states for a while, I’d often crave a curry. Me and another Brit would head out to an Indian restaurant and usually order a Vindaloo. The waiter would say “Are you sure, it is quite spicy hot.” And we’d tell him we were British and he’d say “Oh, I understand.” and give us what we’d asked for without further comment.
I’m from the EU, but I love making shepherd’s pie. It’s pretty easy and when done correctly, it is an absolutely fantastic dish.
I’m a Brit, and personally, I think a lot of the staples we are weirdly defensive of are not that exciting. A Sunday roast? Sure, it’s probably associated with family and comfort or whatever, but give me Thai, Mexican, Italian, Japanese food, etc., over it any day.
That said, the two I will defend to the grave are a decent fish and chip supper and an English/Scottish breakfast.
Let’s start with:
Fish and chips
Chip butty
Yorkshire fishcake butty
Whitebait
Scottish smoked salmon
Cromer crabs
Potted shrimp
Scallops and Black Pudding
Sunday Roast (beef, lamb, pork, chicken, vegetarian)
Beef Wellington
Full English
Full Scottish
Full Welsh
Ultster Fry
Deviled kidneys
Mixed grill
Gammon, egg and chips
Steak and Ale pie
Steak and oyster pie
Meat and potato pie
Pork pie
Chicken and Mushroom pie
Scotch pie
Game pie
Fish pie
Shepherd’s pie
Cottage pie
Steak and kidney pudding
Lancashire hotpot
Irish stew
Cornish pasty
Scotch egg
Sausage roll
Ploughman’s lunch
Haggis
Afternooon / Cream / High Tea
And of course the full range of BIR curries: Chicken Tikka Masala; Madras; Jalfrezi; Vindaloo; Korma; Pathia; and Balti
And a bunch of puddings and sweet things, sticky toffee pudding, apple pie, mince pie, hot cross buns, etc., but I don’t have a sweet toothDepending on where you get said foodstuffs it can be everywhere from grim inedible sadness to glorious sublime perfection.
British food
Irish stew
ಠ_ಠ
They make a mean Irish stew in Northern Ireland. So, yes, Irish stew.
Cooked by Protestants
Just to clarify / confuse but both Irelands (republic and north) are on an island in the British Isles… but, yeah, the Irish Irish certainly ain’t British; as we’re using it here.
Also you forgot Toad in the Hole
I didn’t forget it. I’m just not a massive fan of toad in the hole, tbh.
Oh :(
Same
Mmm Cornish pasty
Nothing beats a proper English breakfast
Also, beef wellington is pretty great if done right.
Had beef wellington for the first time recently, and it was way tastier and less gimmicky than I expected. The mushroom mixture does a lot more work than you would expect from pictures.
Nothing beats a proper English breakfast
English Breakfast is a brilliantly balanced meal and it helped me get comfortable with eating a wider range of things (mushrooms, ratatouille, tomatoes) when I was younger. Love it.
Also, beef wellington is pretty great if done right.
I’ve never actually had one - always been told it is more effort than it’s worth. Looks good though - one day I’ll have my prize
I’ve never actually had one - always been told it is more effort than it’s worth.
Beef Wellington isn’t even English, it started as a French dish and was refined and popularized in the US. And yes it’s way too much work to cook.
Maybe the French disowned it then. “Too much pastry and too much meat, this meal is practically English!” They seem to like more fancy-shaped pastries in France.
ratatouille
What madness is this?
It’s good on buttered toast, but yeah not exactly an English dish.
Haha yeah, we just have it from the can because it goes on potatoes and things and means you’ve got half your vegetables sorted for the meal.
I buy it canned most of the time too.
The canned stuff is almost identical to the homemade version anyway as there’s only like 8 ingredients in a ratatouille and 6 of them are always going to be the same vegetables in approximately the same ratios.
OMG
Having a proper Full English at a farm-stay, on the way down to Cornwall, was a standout lifetime meal.
The same exact one cooked by the wife for the farmer, to last him all day out in the field. Glor-i-ous.
Frying the toast slices in the bacon oil was next level.
