Lancashire Hotpot

5 from 7 votes

This rendition is made with venison, but lamb or mutton also work well. If you are using lamb, cut the cooking time down by 1 hour. If the potatoes on top get too brown for your liking, cover the pot.

Prep Time1

Cook Time3

Total Time4

Course: lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: British

Servings: servings

Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

2 to 3 pounds venison, mutton or lamb neck, boneless
3 to 5 venison or lamb kidneys, cleaned (optional)
Salt and pepper
Flour for dusting
1/4 cup lard, bacon fat, butter or oil, divided
3 cups sliced onions
2 teaspoons dried thyme or savory
2 cups beef or venison stock
1 to 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced thin (see below)
3 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

Slice the neck meat into slabs about 1/2 inch thick, then again into big chunks. Cut the kidneys into pieces about the size of the last digit of your thumb. Salt all the meat, then dust it in flour.
Heat half the lard, bacon fat or other cooking out in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the kidneys well, stirring once in a while. Remove and set aside. Brown the rest of the meat in batches. Do not crowd the pan, and take your time on this. You want a really nice browning. Add more fat as you go if you need to so nothing blackens. This process can take 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the meat as it browns.
Add all the onions to the pot and stir well. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits. Brown the onions well, salting them as they cook. As they cook, preheat the oven to 325°F. When the onions are done, turn off the heat on the stovetop.
Remove most of the onions, leaving a thin layer. Add a layer of venison and kidneys, then some sliced potatoes (use the knobby ends here), a little dried thyme and a splash of Worcestershire. Top with more onions and repeat with another layer. Add enough stock to come about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the stew. Grind some pepper over everything, then top with the remaining slices of potato to form something of a top or lid.
Brush the potatoes with melted butter and bake uncovered for 3 hours if using venison or mutton, or 90 minutes to 2 hours if using lamb neck. After about 2 hours, you might need to put a lid on the pot to prevent the potatoes from burning. When the meat is tender, serve in bowls with a crisp salad, pickles and some malty beer.

Notes

If you are using kidneys, I have instructions on cleaning kidneys here.

If you are using venison, slice the potatoes about 1/8-inch thick. If you are using lamb, make them thinner, like thick potato chips.

Nutrition