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Mary Berry Lancashire Hotpot Recipe

Mary Berry Lancashire Hotpot Recipe

Mary Berry's Lancashire hotpot is a slow-cooked lamb and onion casserole under a golden, crispy potato lid — deeply comforting and completely wonderful.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 6 Portions
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British
Calories: 520
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Lancashire Hotpot:
  • 1.2 kg middle neck or shoulder lamb chops trimmed
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 3 large onions halved and thinly sliced
  • 3 carrots in 1cm rounds
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 500 ml hot lamb or chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • Potato Lid:
  • 1 kg waxy potatoes Charlotte or Désirée, peeled and sliced 3mm
  • 30 g unsalted butter melted
  • Salt and white pepper

Method
 

  1. Season lamb — brown in batches in hot oil 3–4 minutes per side until deeply golden. Remove.
  2. Cook sliced onions in same pan over medium heat 15–18 minutes until completely collapsed and golden. Add carrots and thyme — 5 minutes.
  3. Add flour — stir 2 minutes. Add hot stock, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. Season. Simmer 5 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3. Layer browned lamb into the sauce.
  5. Arrange potato slices in overlapping circles over the lamb — working from outside inward. Brush generously with melted butter. Season.
  6. Cover tightly. Cook 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove lid — increase to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6. Cook 25–30 minutes until potato lid is deeply golden and lamb is completely tender. Rest 10 minutes. Serve from the casserole.

Notes

Cook onions 15–18 minutes minimum — properly caramelised onions are the soul of this dish.
Use middle neck or shoulder chops — the fat and connective tissue give extraordinary flavour.
Slice potatoes to exactly 3mm — consistent thickness gives even cooking and a golden lid.
Remove the lid for the final 25–30 minutes — gives the crispy golden potato surface.
Serve from the casserole — the intact potato lid is part of the dish's appeal.
Freeze in portions for up to 3 months.
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