Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pie

Morning Glory

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In another thread, it transpired that quite a few members buy the occasional Fray Bentos tinned pie. They seem to be a favourite of our menfolk in particular. They have been around for many many years and I suspect they have been largely superseded by chilled or frozen whole pies which are readily available in supermarkets. Despite their name, they are made by Baxter's who are well known for their soups.

My suspicion is that they will end up being discontinued, just as tinned steamed puddings were a few years ago. Anyway, I thought I would test one out - so first up is steak and kidney. I cooked and served one to my partner and here is how it turned out.

N.B. This post is destined to be a review - but I would like some input from other members first.

I cooked the 425g pie which ought to serve 2. It cost £1 from Tesco's although this was a discounted price. It comes in a tin like this:
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Before you can cook it you must remove the lid. This is quite a tough job, so you need a strong tin-opener! Its a pity they don't have a ring pull system, although perhaps that wouldn't work on such a wide diameter tin. The pie is then placed in a hot oven for 25 mins. It came out like this:

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I was quite impressed by the puff pastry and it looked appetising - until I removed the lid (really the only way to serve it is to take off the lid first)...

I couldn't see much in the way of meat. Lots of gravy but not much meat. So I fished out as many lumps of meat (minus gravy) as I could to demonstrate:

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Not a lot of obvious whole pieces - and the pieces were much smaller than I'd expect in a steak and kidney pie. They were about 2 cm square, There was other evidence of meat in the gravy but it was in a sort of mushy, not whole pieces. Here it is with gravy added:

DSCF3133.jpg


Overall, the filling does taste rather good and there is no shortage of rich gravy. Due to the small pieces of meat it was difficult to differentiate between the steak and the kidney. If this was feeding two people I think they would be disappointed with the lack of chunks of meat they each received.

My partner said he enjoyed it and would eat it again - but for me I would prefer more pieces of meat in chunkier pieces.

Now - please do cook one and tell us you verdict! Or tell us your memories of eating one.
 
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These pies are one of the few ready made pies that the ever fussy Mrs Pete will eat (apart from the steak and kidney on review, as she doesn't like the kidney!)
Luckily, she has the appetite of a sparrow, so will only have a third of the Minced Beef & Onion pie, leaving me with a slightly larger portion, and served with mash and veg, are a decent meal.
At £1.00 each, 90p with my staff discount, they are a bargain.
 
My partner said he enjoyed it and would eat it again - but for me I would prefer more pieces of meat in chunkier pieces.
Hahahaha I could have written that myself - exactly the same here!
Hubby always says its the pastry he likes....especially the underneath bit that never seems to cook.

Despite their name, they are made by Baxter's
Fray Bentos was bought by Baxters pies a while ago, the original Fray Bentos company was founded by the same guy who also created Oxo. Interesting fact: the company was named after the town of Fray Bentos in Uruguay, which is where the original factory was located.
 
These pies are one of the few ready made pies that the ever fussy Mrs Pete will eat (apart from the steak and kidney on review, as she doesn't like the kidney!)
Luckily, she has the appetite of a sparrow, so will only have a third of the Minced Beef & Onion pie, leaving me with a slightly larger portion, and served with mash and veg, are a decent meal.
At £1.00 each, 90p with my staff discount, they are a bargain.
I have one of the Minced Beef and Onion pies in the cupboard, awaiting review! I suspect it might be better than the steak and kidney as minced beef is cheaper so hopefully it will have more meat in it.
 
Hahahaha I could have written that myself - exactly the same here!
Hubby always says its the pastry he likes....especially the underneath bit that never seems to cook.


Fray Bentos was bought by Baxters pies a while ago, the original Fray Bentos company was founded by the same guy who also created Oxo. Interesting fact: the company was named after the town of Fray Bentos in Uruguay, which is where the original factory was located.

Yep! My partner likes the soggy underneath bit too!

Interesting about the name - obviously they are a major beef producing country but it didn't occur to me the pies originally came from there!
 
These pies are one of the few ready made pies that the ever fussy Mrs Pete will eat (apart from the steak and kidney on review, as she doesn't like the kidney!)
Luckily, she has the appetite of a sparrow, so will only have a third of the Minced Beef & Onion pie, leaving me with a slightly larger portion, and served with mash and veg, are a decent meal.
At £1.00 each, 90p with my staff discount, they are a bargain.

The Fray Bentos pies here (when you can get them) are Bht 190.00. Could I ask if you would pay £4.40 ($5.50) for one.

However, I have eaten two in the last 3 (?) years. The first one was cooked in my old gas oven that couldn't reach the required temperature so I had to bin the "lid". I ate the meat with mushy peas and a roti and it was adequate for me (but wouldn't be for two persons). The second one I cooked in the new halogen oven and unfortunately started it on the higher rack (forgive him Lord, he knows no better) and it charred slightly before I moved it to the lower level.

s&k and mushies vs.jpg

To conclude, I enjoyed both because the gravy was very good and if I could buy them for 90p I would likely cook more. However, given that I can buy an excellent 250 gm fillet steak for £4.00, I doubt that I'll bother.
 
Plus if you wash out the tin you have a small tray that has dozens of uses, from holding small parts in the garage/doing craft work/or any DIY [very good for standing paint tins in] to catching drips in the oven. Brilliant things.
I'll remember that next time!
 
I always keep one in the pantry as an emergency meal, they require next to no thought and, if I'm truly honest, they are a bit like a comfort food to me purely by dint of being around since my childhood. The pastry is 'interesting' initially nice and crispy but then two layers down it turns slimy.

They are also very handy for boaty types and for motorhomers,

There is also a steak and kidney pud that I don't think I've ever tried.

IDShot_540x540.jpg
 
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